Mating Season

Mating Ceremony

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Chapter Two (Mating Ceremony)

Two weeks passed with no sign of her alpha, and thank God for that. Amber doubted that she could have handled being watched any longer. He'd left without saying a word to her that day in the restaurant's kitchen, leaving her to wonder to this day what exactly had warranted his rather unprecedented behavior.

She watched the stage on which Alpha Lucas's mating ceremony would take place being erected in the middle of the pack house's garden. Tables were being set up and decorated. String lights were being strung from poles. The florist had just arrived with a truckload of arrangements for the table tops. And from the mouth-watering smell that wafted to her nostrils, it seemed that the catering company had arrived as well. The whole thing was coming together quite nicely. Dozens of werewolves milled about, all doing their designated jobs.

Michael tossed another string of lights at her and she caught it with one hand without looking.

"Hurry it up, Omega. Stop it with your daydreaming; you're slowing us down."

She glared at Michael, who was supposed to be helping her dangle the light strings from the hanging poles. As usual, he did close to nothing.

"The day I finally lose it, you'll be the first I come after," she promised darkly with a sickly-sweet smile, then climbed up the ladder and started hanging the lights, but not before she saw Michael's ashen expression.

She inwardly sighed. The last time she'd heard someone refer to her using her name was when she'd been pulled over for driving 50-mph in a 40-mph zone a few weeks ago. She might as well legally change her name to 'Omega'.

Amber wasn't even sure why she was an omega. Omegas were the runt of the pack. She was most certainly not a runt, at least in her humble opinion. She excelled in physical activity; she was one of the fastest runners and the strongest fighters in the pack. Yet from the moment she'd opened her eyes in this world, she'd been dubbed an omega. She suspected it was because she was an orphan with no one to defend or look after her.

But there was no escaping it. The Shadow Hunters were the only family she had in the world.

All thought went out the window when the ladder suddenly quivered and she instinctively held on for dear life, her heart lodged in her throat.

"Michael!" she growled, furious that he'd let go of the ladder.

"Oh, shit!"

A few minutes later, she announced to Michael, "Alright, I'm all done!" She then added sarcastically, "Do the honors, your Majesty."

Michael practically ran to the switch. Raising it high in the air for dramatical effect, he yelled, "Let there be light!" And flicked the switch. The white lights came on and illuminated the large garden, basking it in a creamy white glow. Astonished gasps and sounds of approval followed immediately afterward.

A smile lit up her face. She'd done one hell of a job, if she did say so herself.

She looked down and saw that the jars of fireflies were being screwed open. One by one, they were uncapped and hundreds of glowing fireflies were released into the night. All around her, radiant fireflies floated. Still smiling, she touched one. It immediately flickered like a malfunctioning tube light and flew away. Chuckling, she started to climb down the metal ladder when she felt them again. She froze halfway down the ladder.

She didn't have to look to know who was watching her.

****

The moment Lucas stepped foot in his garden, the hanging string lights lit up. He was impressed by how sophisticated and elegant the place was turning out to be. It was exactly as he'd planned it to be. Everything was going perfectly.