Alpha Ultima

Chapter 19

Holding the athame confidently in my hand I looked into Tyler's intimidated, deep green eyes. I remained still, giving him a moment to collect himself. Once he nodded, I began.

"Tyler Evans, Lycan of no sire, no bond, I ask this of you. Do you come here of your own free will?"

"I do." His voice waivered slightly and he cleared his throat.

"Do you submit to the blood oath willingly?"

"I do."

I brought the athame's blade down quickly. Slicing through the meaty part of his palm in one, clean slice. Tyler hissed through his teeth but made no move to pull away. Blood quickly pooled into the center of his palm, the thick metallic scent filling the air around us.

The full moon is upon us and is currently in the highest point of the sky. The silver light glistened off the dark red liquid. I held the blade up once more and took a deep breath.

"I, Carter Silver-Thorne, Queen of the Wolves, Luna to the Silver-Thorne pack, come into to this blood oath of free will and sound mind."

The cut was quick and hot. My palm burned through the sliding of the athame. Once my blood began to pool, the symbols on the athame's blade began to glow an ethereal white-blue color.

I turned the athame so that the blade pointed directly to the sky and directed Tyler to wrap his hand around my own. I held my bloody palm out and grasped Tyler's so our slick hands became intertwined, gaping wounds held tight.

My hand tingled where our blood joined. Warmth spread from the gash in our palms, up my arms and into my chest. I could feel the bond growing between our souls as the ceremony continued.

"Tyler Evans, our blood is joined, our essence combined. I ask you now, standing in front of my people, for your honesty and your loyalty. What say you?" My voice echoed through the air and I knew my eyes had turned white with Lupin hiding just under the veil.

"I give you my oath under the light of the moon, as my blood joins with yours, that I am here under true pretenses. I give you my honesty, my loyalty, and my life if need be. I vow to be worthy of your pack and your protection."

His deep eyes looked into ours with nothing but truth. His words flowed clear without hesitation and a breath I didn't know I had been holding, released. I think I had been waiting for the punch line, like waiting for the other shoe to drop tonight. In the back of my mind I pictured Tyler betraying us once more.

"What is it that you require of our pack?" I questioned.

"I wish to be apart of it, I wish to be welcomed."

"If we were to welcome you to our pack, would you honor our way of life? Would you protect those who would protect you?"

"I swear it."

"I accept your oath of blood, your vow is now bound." At my words, a blinding white light exploded.

A hum filled the air and I had never felt such untapped power before. It sent goosebumps over my whole body as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. We were all standing there blinded by it when I felt mine and Tyler's wounds begin to stitch back together. I couldn't help but smile, the oath was successful. I released our hands and the light began to fade. I dropped the athame to my side and turned to face our pack.

"Silver-Thorne pack, please welcome Tyler Evans as your newest member. His blood oath holds true and has been blessed by the moon."

Cheers and hollers of everyone surrounded us. A blood oath has not been performed in ages. So much so that most of our pack has never seen one. The ceremony tonight is one that would be talked about for ages, definitely one for the books even though it was so simple and quick.

Quinn let out a heavy breath and turned to me with a smile. "I was worried that the ceremony might have failed with the concerns of the Goddess, but thankfully all went well. Let's get settled so our family can celebrate and relax."

The night went on as we smiled and ate an unnecessary amount of food. Music played in the background and the crazy little terrors that were the pups ran a complete much. The sounds of their laughter and squeals made my heart light. It has been so long since everyone had been together like this.

"We need to do this more often, mates." I whispered to them. "Look how happy our pack is tonight."

Xander chuckled his agreement and grumbles came from Quinn's chest as he leaned over in his chair to press his lips to the top of my head before he held out his hand for me to grasp. I looked up at him with a raised brow.

He wiggled his fingers at me and being the smart-ass that I was, I ignored the meaning and stared at him. I knew what he wanted, but I wasn't going to let him get away with it that easy. Quinn rolled his eyes and shook his hand in front of me. I giggled and lowered my face, placing my chin in his palm.

"Stubborn woman." Xander chuckled.

Quinn threw his head back and laughed. "You've got that right. Come on, little wolf, dance with me."

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. "Was that so hard?"

Lifting my hand and placing it into his larger one, he lifted me from my chair and moved towards an empty spot on the grounds. I kicked my shoes off and felt the cool blades of grass kiss the bottom of my feet. Quinn wrapped his arms around my waist as I draped my own around his neck.

I inhaled his scent and growled. He smelled like fresh rain mixed with his own signature musk. He smelled like home. Quinn danced smoothly around the open area and I laid my head down on his chest, listening to his heart beat in a slow, calm manner.

"I love you, my soul."

"I love you more, little wolf."

"I love you most."

I lifted up on my tip toes and pressed my lips to his. What started as a soft peck quickly heated. His fingers gripped my hips tightly, pulling my body closer and his mouth opened slightly, his tongue trailed lightly over my bottom lip. I met his kiss with hunger and urgency.

I felt a tug on the bottom of my dress and I pulled my lips away from Quinn's to see what was happening. My eyes met another's, so filled with happiness and light. Little Shauna stared up at me with the biggest grin I may have ever seen in my life.

"Hello, little one." I smiled back at her.

"Can I dance with you, Luna?"

Goddess, her soft voice just melted my entire insides. How could anyone in their right mind ever tell her no?

"Of course, Shauna. I would be honored to dance with you."

I leant down and picked her little body up, she wrapped her arms around my neck and legs around my waist. For her age, she was quite small. Though what she lacked in height, she would make up with in fierceness as she gets older, that I was sure of.

We swayed to the music, and I felt her grow lax in my arms, her head resting on my shoulder. Before I knew it, she was fast asleep, her little snores filling my ears. I turned to look around the grounds to see if I could find her parents, this little one was done for the night. I caught the sight of her parents figures dancing slowly under the moonlight.

I took a step in their direction when a streak of movement in the tree line caught my attention. I squinted my eyes to focus on anything that might be out of the ordinary when everything around me suddenly turned to chaos. Figure after figure burst out of the forest and into our grounds. What the hell was happening?

"Vampires!" Someone yelled and my people began to take off in every such direction.

I wrapped my arms around Shauna tightly and felt the order my mates sent through the pack link telling the warriors to shift and get ready to fight. I looked around and noticed a few pups hiding under the tables while their world imploded around them. I took off without a thought towards them, Shauna still sound asleep in my arms.

Wolves and vampires clashed in a fight of teeth and claws. Snarls filled the air and I had to dodge out of the way of a few battles as I dodged around the fast moving battle. I would get the pups out of here if it was the last thing I did.