[2] Little Miss Luna.

2.04

When Sophie heard that there was an ancient and traditional ceremony that took place during the full moon, she did everything in her power to learn about it. The first couple months as Luna, Sophie was allowed to be dismissed from the ceremony. Luckily, it was something that routinely happened in packs with new Luna's or Alpha's. It was not an event you simply jumped into. It was deeply religious and familial, which meant, even those born and raised to be leaders had to sit out a ceremony or two, even after being declared Luna or Alpha.

Still, this made Sophie feel even more out of place among her pack, which was a painful feeling that she wanted to get rid of whenever it popped up. Most wolves sat out only one or two ceremonies before they attempted as Luna or Alpha but, Sophie had missed three or four ceremonies. The moon was a huge part of werewolf culture, especially, the full moon, which was intimidating for Sophie. It was what connected them to the Moon Goddess.

Sophie wasn't born and raised in this world. She wasn't a werewolf until a couple months ago. All of this was still new to her, she didn't even know everything that there was to know yet. She didn't feel worthy of attending the ceremony as the packs Luna. Everyone reassured her that she should join and they were really excited to have her as their Luna, so it would only make sense that she joined but, Sophie was still scared and hesitant.

Every werewolf from the pack gathered outside during sunset and ate a huge feast all put together by the pack on the day of the full moon. When the sun went down and the Moon was high, they lit the biggest bonfire she had ever seen and the party ensued. Traditionally, werewolves attended The Full Moon Observance completely nude. Some of them opted for small clothing items that were made of animal hide if they didn't feel like being nude. Sophie had chosen that option, even though, there was another item of clothing that was meant to cover her during the event.

The entire pack was tasked with making the Luna's traditional jewelry. The eldest wolves in the pack had to carve very, very small figures, both resembling wolves and humans, that would be strung on to her jewelry. The kids were tasked to pick out the perfect beads from big chests full of beads. The others helped, but not too much, as to not intrude on tradition, since they had a different job. Not only was Sophie going to be wearing small bits of hide and lots of jewelry but, there was something even bigger meant to cover her.

Those not yet old but neither young, went out hunting to find the perfect felt for Sophie to wear to the ceremony. Sophie was surprised to hear about that part of the tradition. There were famous fashion designers out there that created beautiful clothing out of fur but, that earned her a laugh from both Maria and Antonio when she made that point. It wasn't about the highest grade fur made by a famous stylist. It was about Sophie's pack bringing her something they had specifically hunted to please and honor her.

Unfortunately, there was an incident during one of the evenings that some of the pack members went hunting. Sophie was walking through the foyer, on her way to the kitchen, when her pack members came bursting through the front door. She whipped towards the door in a start, her eyes widening at the sight of blood. The man with his arms slung across two of his pack members shoulders collapsed to the floor with a painful groan as soon as he was inside.

Sophie gasped as she rushed towards her pack members. "What happened?"

"Hunters." One wolf panted as he leant against one of the columns in the foyer. He was obviously exhausted, as were the others that trudged inside.

"Peter? Peter, are you alright?" Sophie panicked as she cupped the mans face in her hands.

Peter, who had his hand pressing into his shoulder as blood seeped between his fingers, smiled and nodded. "I'm alright. It was only one bullet."