Chosen

26

It hadn't escaped my mind that the pack coming to visit for the Gathering was Golden Moon, Rykor's true Mate's pack.

In fact, it had been the only thing occupying my mind for the last few days.

I knew she wouldn't be coming, as only unmated Lycans and Alphas came. Alaina's father and mother were still very much in charge of Golden Moon, and since she had apparently chosen the Beta's son as a Mate, she would have no reason to come. Still, a churning ball of uneasy curled in the pit of my stomach as the day continued to approach.

In an effort to be helpful, I had volunteered to assist with getting the farm homes fitted for the visiting Lycans, since the Betas -who had originally overseen the project- were off in Red Moon for a few days. The numbers Shawn had received told us that there were two more Lycans than we had rooms, so we paired two rooms with two beds, making four of the Golden Moon members bunk together. We made sure to give them the biggest rooms with the most space, so they didn't feel cramped, and with a few partitions, the rooms had an inviting illusion of privacy. Hopefully, we'd get lucky and there would be a few siblings or friends coming along that didn't mind a roommate.

The accommodations were completed a couple of days before their arrival, which meant I had a lot of nervous energy and nothing to focus on. I ended up deep cleaning the house, baking up a storm, and mending mine and Rykor's clothes for the Gathering. Cleaning the house was obvious, as the Gathering would be held in here. The backyard was trimmed neatly and the tables were set up. The spot where the bonfire usually stood was swept, and the stones surrounding the charred ground were cleaned and polished. Fresh wood would be placed there the day of, ready to be lit for the evening meal.

Although Black Moon didn't have a pack cook, there were still Lycans tasked with making food for certain ceremonies. I had volunteered to help out, knowing that baking was a decent stress reliever for me, and I would need a lot of stress relief. The kind Lycans in the cooking committee were eager for my assistance, and I found myself blushing at just how ecstatic they were to have me.

"It's because they see who you are to the Alpha, and it's been so long since we've had a Luna grace our pack." One of the old women told me. I'd rushed to explain that I wasn't the Luna, especially as Rykor and I had not officially said anything yet about our chosen Mating. The woman only laughed it off, effectively switching the conversation to her twist on butter pecan pie.

The clothing, well, that was honestly a little embarrassing. Rykor and I hadn't truly mated yet. Though we had chosen each other, the Mating would only be completed once we had, ahem, mated and bore each other's marks. Usually, this occurred after the official Mating ceremony. Traditional Mating ceremonies had the two Lycans professing their bond in front of the Moon Goddess, then the Lycans would go off into the woods and, well...

White Moon had modernized this tradition, having the two Lycans submit the paperwork of Mating to the Alpha, who would offer the certificates to the Moon Goddess every month. Travis and I had never quite gotten around to completing our Mating paperwork; it involved written pledges between Mates, and we'd (un)surprisingly found ourselves struggling with that. Well, I had. Travis had eventually written down the same vows his father had used, but I had wanted something more personal, and could never quite find the words.

But the clothes, the ones we'd wear to the Gathering, they were a sort of substitute for the marks Mated couples usually bore. Rykor had explained to me that all the Black Moon Lycans wore black to the Gatherings, to symbolize unity to their pack. I had explained to him the shock White Moon had expressed when seeing the obviously Mated Betas in black before, and Rykor had nodded, saying it was a reaction they often got, but he allowed his pack members to dress how they chose, and he wasn't about to tell his Betas to be more "colorful." I had laughed, but then realized the predicament we'd be in during this Gathering. So, I'd come up with a small solution.

One I still should mention to Rykor, before I go essentially bedazzling his suit...

Okay, bedazzling wasn't the right word for it. I wasn't going to place rhinestones on his clothing, or even mine for that matter. It had started when Rykor had seen the gown I'd been prepared to wear – a soft, warm cream with yellow flowers printed on the fabric – promptly picked up a new dress for me, a black one. Understanding the implication, I'd blushed and promised to wear it. However, it felt strange not to have any color, so I'd started to embroider those same yellow flowers around the neckline of the black dress. That's when I had the idea.

But Rykor had been busy, and we'd been missing each other, so I found myself stress-sewing yellow flowers on the lapels of his black jacket in a daze at one in the morning while waiting for him to finish his Alpha duties. He'd been in a rush to get ahead of schedule so that he could take some time off and focus on the pack that would be visiting, but that meant late nights for a week or so beforehand.

I'll tell him in the morning, and if he hates it, I can always find the time to take them out, or perhaps get him another jacket from somewhere...

But as luck would have it, time was not on my side that morning. I had woken up late – turns out late-night sewing is not beneficial to a healthy sleep schedule – and noticed Rykor's side of the bed was warm, but empty. The shower attached to his room was running, so surmising where he was, I took the time to run to my own shower next door. I was often awake before Rykor, which meant that I must be late, so I hurried through the shower. I quickly braided my waist length red hair and pinned it up, throwing on a green gingham dress and brown sandals before racing downstairs. But I was too late.

Rykor was seated at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in his hand, another cup next to him for me, along with a plate of eggs stood between them. Bashful, I mumbled a quiet good morning. His smirk answered me.

"Someone slept in late. What kept you up, Lahla."

"Nothing, I was just really tired. Well, I mean of course I was working very hard yesterday, so it stands to reason I'd be tired. And I guess my body knows it's going to be a long day, so maybe I was subconsciously trying to get more sleep, you know? And-"

"It's okay, Lahla. I was only teasing." His warm arms coaxed me into his embrace. I sat in his lap as he fed me bits and pieces of breakfast, occasionally allowing me to take the fork and feed him as well. Our meal was leisurely and sweet, but oh, too quick. Before long, it was time to greet Golden Moon, and the ball that had been stuck inside my gut for days suddenly made a lurch.

"Come, Lahla, we must greet out guests." His arm wrapped around my waist as he guided me down to the land bridge. Many Black Moon members were already out and about to get ready for the guests, and they waved happily at us as we passed. Rykor nodded to each and every one of them, while I smiled back shyly and waved.

When we finally made it to the land bridge, we saw that Golden Moon was the only one there to meet us.

"Catherine!" I bounced quickly into my friend's embrace. It seemed the Betas had returned just in time for the Gathering. "How was Red Moon? Is everyone okay over there? And our warriors?"

Catherine smiled at me, linking our arms and walking us a little ways away from the males. "Red Moon was lovely, although that poor Alpha of theirs needs a lot of help. Our warriors are just fine, barely even broke a sweat. With the Red Moon warriors, it was easy to chase the rogues off the pack lands. I'm sure they'll be back, but not for a while at least. And we wanted to be home for...for our guests." There was something in Catherine's eyes that stoked the negative ball of energy in my stomach.

"Why? Catherine, what is it?"

My friend sighed, her worried eyes meeting mine. "We overheard from Red Moon that the Golden Moon's Alpha was bringing his unmated daughter to the Gathering. And...well, Alpha Hurn only has one daughter."

"Oh." My head suddenly felt fuzzy. What did she mean unmated? Rykor had said that Alaina had chosen the Beta male. Had she, perhaps, changed her mind? Was she coming to claim Rykor?

"Shh, Lily, breathe. This might not mean anything. Golden Moon is very traditional, and Alpha Hurn might just want to be sure his daughter hasn't "met" her Mate before he retires and hands her the title. Besides," She turned me to face Rykor, who stood a distance away with Shawn. His eyes met mine, having already sought me out before I had even turned, and they warmed immediately. "I see the way he looks at you. You have nothing to worry about."

Right. Nothing to worry about.

Still, I hope this female vomits on the way over and has to go home.