The Possessive Alpha
Chapter 120

ELLE POV

I thought the nerves of today would be so overwhelming that breathing is difficult, but for the first time in a long time, I am at peace. Twirling the ring I found in the psychic shop, the ring my father gave to my mother, I know I should get rid of it, but a part of me can’t give it up. While my mother owned it for a time, it was never truly hers but belongs to the entire Luna lineage of Silver Run, so getting rid of it never felt right. So instead of thinking about my mother, I focus on the amazing Lunas’ who wore it before her and will wear it after me.

‘Biscuit,’ Damon’s husky voice comes through my mind, like liquid gold coating my body, sending shivers down my spine. ‘I think your dad would understand if you didn’t want to wear that ring.’ He comments, knowing my inner struggles without verbalization. Choosing to learn from our parent’s mistakes, we always keep the connection between us open.

‘I know,’ I sigh, as I stare at the ring sitting on my finger, ‘I miss you,’ I change the subject as the makeup artist bends in front of me to fill my eyebrows and apply the fake lashes.

‘So impatient for the private ceremony, are you?’ he teases as he chuckles, flashing an image of him shirtless as he gets dressed, and I can’t help the blush that creeps up my cheek or the heat that begins to form between my legs.

‘Maybe,’ I reply, a sneaky smile creeping over my face, flashing him an image of myself in the lingerie set I was wearing earlier.

“Elle, stop sending dirty images to Alpha Damon,” Taylor murmurs with a smirk. Her voice pulled me from my naughty conversation, “I am finished; if you are ready to get dressed now.”

“How dare you suggest such indecency!” I squeal, in mock horror, clutching my chest before bursting into giggles that I can no longer hold in as Charity and Emma join in on our antics. The four of us have been sequestered in the room since last night. It’s a New Moon’s tradition for the ceremony; Damon and I using traditions from both packs, The Alpha and Luna, are kept with a few same-s*x friends, hidden from the rest of the pack until the very last minute.

‘You sound happy. Goddess, I could live in your laugh,’ Damon whispers like we are children, and he is telling me a secret. ‘I’ll see you soon, my Luna,’ quickly as his baritone voice entered my mind, it was gone like it never existed. Damon throwing the wall between us into place, and my heart started to ache. I am used to his presence there or next to me at all times, two halves of the same soul. Being without him for a full day has been torture.

Standing from the chair, I grab the Silver dress, with moon and stars wove into the fabric and its deep v-cut neckline meant to drive Damon wild. Removing the hanger, Taylor and Emma help me get into the dress pulling the sleeves over my shoulders while Emma’s fingers make quick work of the buttons at the back. Charity comes over the silver velvet choker meant to cover my mark until it’s complete. The lines grow darker and more defined the closer it gets to midnight of a full moon.

While Taylor and Emma are her cousins, Charity would never allow them to put something around my neck, Summer taking her role as my protector seriously. “Wow,” Emma says, as her eyes scan over my body, taking in the dress. I am sure that Taylor was speechless for one of the few times since birth.

Turning to face the mirror behind me, I am taken aback by the ethereal glow surrounding me, even with my mismatched eyes. My hair is in an updo, except for the few kept out to cascade down my back in loose curls. Clips and pins that match my dress. “Alpha Damon is going to rip out the eyes of every unmated male in the room,” Taylor says, finding her voice after a few moments of silence. “Did you have a second dress made? I don’t think that one will last the night.”

A smile breaks over my face as I continue staring at the masterpiece she created. A knock on the door grabs our attention, and the moment falls into a memory. Answering the door, Emma finds Helena waiting on the other side, letting us know it’s time to head down to the ceremony. Taking a calming breath, I straighten my shoulders and raise my chin before linking arms with my closest friends and allies.

Women who risked their lives to stand beside me are now honoring me by walking with me into the newest phase of my life. Charity and I exit the bridal suite, following behind the twins as they lead me into Silver Run’s ballroom in the special events venue.

**********************

The cluster of scents waiting just inside the door to the ballroom has my nerves suddenly skyrocketing, realizing for the first time I will be the center of the room. Sure, that’s fine when I am fighting but putting me in a dress and nice heels, I become a useless mess. What if I forget the words?

‘Breathe, Biscuit,’ Damon’s voice sneaks past the barrier we should still have in place, but I welcome his voice like an addict, my worries melting into the ground. ‘I’ll meet you in the middle of the aisle; focus on me.’

Taking in a lungful of air, I exhale, centering myself as the doors swing open to reveal the guests packed into the space; looking across the hall, I find the only person who matters staring back at me. I know I said it a million times, but Goddess, did she create the most amazing man or what?

Consumed by the invisible string pulling me to him, my feet carry me down the aisle, and my cells are driven by one purpose; him. Every inch of my skin begs me to feel him against me as memories of our childhood flash before my eyes. The iPod he got me for Yule, how he has always been my safe space, a break from my mother’s torment. With him, I was allowed to just…exist…

It’s not until we finally touch that the crowd buzz breaks through the trance, calling our attention as the councilor stands before us, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. “Alpha and Luna?” Councilor Johnson says, looking between us as Damon corrects him. “Alphas, please,” he says, but his eyes don’t leave me like I am the only person to exist in his world.

“Of course,” he says, looking at our eyes one last time before turning his attention to the crowd sitting in the seats, the moons glow illuminating the room through the giant skylights. “Welcome, everyone; we are here to celebrate a joyous occasion, uniting two Alphas and packs in a fruitful union underneath the Goddess’ light.”

I don’t notice the others in the room. As Damon’s thumb turns circles on my palm, a bubble seems to form around us as the rest of the world falls away. “The Goddess has chosen to pair these individuals because they complement and balance each other in a way no other could. Alpha Damon and Luna El-” the councilor starts, but one look from Damon has him correcting himself.

I apologize,” he says, turning his neck slightly before continuing with New Moon’s mating speech, “Alpha Damon Ledger of New Moon and Alpha Elle of Silver Run, do you promise to hold the mate bond in the highest regard? To love and protect each other above all else?”

“Yes,” Damon and I say together, our eyes locked on each other, our fingers laced together, our walls down while our emotions mingle together like the perfect cocktail.

Continuing with the ceremony, “As the Alpha of New Moon, it is your responsibility to protect its land and people. Do you accept?”

“Yes,” we say without hesitation, turning our palms up and waiting patiently for the blade to slice across our skin, barely flinching as the titanium breaks apart our skin. As b***d begins to pool in our palms, the counselor grabs our wrists, pushing our palms together. “Through the divine power of the Goddess, let your b***d bond strengthen your commitment to each other and New Moon as their Alphas. Let her supreme light guide you in moments of doubt and jubilation.”

As he says the words, a warmth starts at the top of my head as the connection starts to form with New Moon’s pack, but I pay no attention, my eyes locked onto Damon’s dazzling smile. “Under the power of the moon, I present to you Alpha Damon and Alpha Elle Ledger of New Moon!” The crowd goes wild at the end of his introduction as my body tips backward and soft lips find mine.

Standing me upright, Damon pulls away, leaving me slightly dazed as he looks out among the crowd of guests, “please continue onward to the reception for a cocktail hour and appetizers while we finish our second ceremony.” While New Moon holds a large mating/Alpha ceremony, Silver Run’s tends to be more intimate, with only the inner circle, but since they all witnessed this one, we decided to make the second ceremony only the two of us.

Before I have time to process what’s happening, I am lifted off my feet and cradled against his chest as he walks the crowd of cheering and laughing guests, carrying me to the smaller ceremony rooms.

There are pillows, flower petals, and candles lining the room, a colorful hue from the stained glass skylight. In a corner sits two potted plants, filled will soil from each of our pack lands, a small table in between with another blade sitting in between for the Silver Run ceremony.

On one wall hangs a beautiful dream catcher with intricate crystal work, the colors incorporating Siver Run and New Moon. The outside ring holds a quote, but I can’t make it out from this distance and poor light. “May we always catch our dreams,” Damon whispers, gently placing me on my feet. “I had it commissioned to hang in our room.” The uncertainty hangs in his words, reminding me of the preteen boy I knew all those years ago.

“It’s beautiful,” I whisper, looking him in the eyes, then feeling guilty that I didn’t have his gift brought here, “I didn’t bring yours, though, and now I feel silly.”

He chuckles, “I don’t need anything else,” he caresses my cheek, bringing his lips to my own in a brief k**s, “I have everything I need in this room. Are you ready to begin, my Luna?”

With a subtle nod, I pull him toward the trees so that we may start; facing one another, we begin Silver Run’s mating ceremony, which starts with personal vows, then the ritual.

“Elle, you’re perfect,” Damon begins while his thumb traces my lips and jaw line. “You are the strongest person I know, and I thank the Goddess that she brought you into my life. I promise to treat you as an equal, to be truthful, loyal, and the best father to our future pups. If we lost everything I know it’ll be alright as long as I can hear your laugh, see your smile, and wake with you in my arms. You are the other half of my soul, my life, my love, my Luna and I wake excited knowing that I get to chase my dreams with you by my side.”

Try as I might, I can’t control the tears starting to fall down my cheeks, as I try to talk through the sniffles. “Even when I hated you, I loved you,” I told him, making him chuckle through tears, as I continue with my speech. “You are home, my home and heart. You are the only person I can be my true self with, not the great Luna Born or Alpha Elle, just Elle, a mate and future mother. Distant future,” I include with a pointed look with the devilish smirk on his face. “I promise to never lie, or keep secrets. I promise to never submit to another Alpha, for you are the only Alpha worth submitting to. My Alpha, my soul, the place I call home and the love of my life.”

As the last words of my vows are whispered Damon’s lips are connecting with mine in a fiery passion, his teeth nipping at my bottom l*p, his tongue begging for entrance. My breathing becoming shallow as his hands travel down my body, hoping to find his way under the layers. Pulling away, I gulp for air, my finger placed gently on his lips in a reminder that we have one more step.

Turning our attention to the potted trees, Damon grabs the beautiful knife, taking my palm in his hand as he gently slices into my skin before doing the same to his own. Squeezing our palms over both plants squeezing our fists so that our b***d falls into the soil as we say the words of Silver Run’s simple ceremony.

“May our b***d bond to this soil, and its people,” we say in unison, “in protection, unity, and the betterment of all. Alphas chosen by the Goddess to rule, under her guidance, light, and love. We promise to uphold these values until our dying breath as the Alphas of Silver Run.”

Throwing the dagger into the soil, Damon continues with the final step, revealing our marks, which could have happened during the first half but we decided to keep the moment special between us. Stepping behind me he unclasps the choker I am wearing before unbuttoning his shirt and removing the scarf that was tucked in his shirt.

Standing in front of me once more he pulls back his collar, as his eyes graze my neck, as his fingers trace the mark showing on my neck, tingles exploding along the skin. As my eyes follow his neck I find our mark sitting there like the most beautiful tattoo with its simplicity.

The triple moon sits on our neck, the outlines clean and crisp. Inside the full moon sits two paw darkened paw prints. Three stars connected by thin lines rest above the full moon and waning crescent. Tracing the image I enjoy watching Damon shiver while I whisper, “it’s beautiful.”

It doesn’t take long before I am being pulled to the ground with him and his lips of passion, as his hands travel down my body, growing annoyed by the layers of the dress. A growl of frustration rumbling out of his chest, as he crawls on top of me his frantic lips never leaving my skin. The darkened room begininnig to fall away as I submit to my wants, and needs to him.