"It is time!" Maya announced, and the females milled out of the room, leaving Talia with Maya, Meg, and Sandy.
Yasmin and Mindy would also be there, but Yasmin had difficulty moving around with her huge belly, and Mindy will be at the ceremony with Gideon.
Of course, Tatiana, Kalina, Cornelia, and Michelle wanted to be part of that event also, but Talia said that they will get to participate in the ceremony when the big party happened. This was the formal part of her becoming a Luna, so only her Betas and Gammas (aka her official aides) would stand by her side.
Mindy was not officially a Beta or a Gamma, but it was just a matter of time.
Every pack had its own customs, and that applied to the Luna ceremony as well.
This was not a wedding where Talia gets to walk down the aisle to meet Damon, who was waiting in the finely pressed suit. This was a werewolf ceremony for a new Luna of the Dark Howlers pack to be crowned.
Damon accepted Talia as his fated mate and as his Luna, but the pack needed to accept her as well.
Talia was set to take a roundabout way toward the garden. She will move through the forest and face challenges set by pack members in order to prove she is worthy of being their Luna.
She didn't know who or what was waiting for her. Her challenges were selected by the Shaman and Elders.
Talia released a long breath and closed her eyes while sensing the surroundings of the packhouse. People, plants, objects… there was nothing suspicious for miles. The only people she saw were from the Dark Howlers pack, and her senses were not disturbed, giving her confidence that rogues or Guardians won't meddle with this.
This was it.
What could go wrong? Even without enemies, plenty could go wrong.
Talia was mostly worried about her body rejecting two pack links. What if her bond with the Midnight Guardians pack gets severed? Or what if this fails?
'It will be alright,' Liseli comforted her. 'You and your pup will be alright. If the Moon Goddess didn't think you could handle it, she wouldn't make you the Alpha of the Midnight Guardians pack and give you Damon as your mate.'
'Thanks, Lis.'
"Ready?" Maya asked Talia.
"As ready as I will ever be," Talia responded.
"We've got your back!" Meg exclaimed.
Talia's brows came together in concern when she saw Meg's belly. She was not super-pregnant like Yasmin, but anyone could see Meg was with a child.
"Be careful, Meg. If anything happens to your baby…" Talia stopped talking when Meg raised her hand, palm toward Talia.
"I am your Beta. Kai agrees that I can accompany you on this task. I am attending daily training without any issues. Besides, if I can't protect you, no one can." Meg declared proudly, and then she glanced at Maya guiltily. "No offense."
"None taken," Maya responded and turned to Talia. "It will be fine. It's just a ceremony, for show. Besides, if anyone gets too excited, just push them down with your aura."
"And don't forget that I'm here!" Sandy exclaimed excitedly.
Talia smiled gratefully at her three friends while wondering what the challenges could be. They were all talking like fighting would be involved, but the truth was that it could be anything.
Hand-to-hand combat, hunting, preparing a meal, a math problem… MATH!? Talia felt her insides tightening. She will definitely fail if they ask her something from academics!
'Kitten?' Damon's voice sounded in Talia's mind.
'Yes?'
'Hurry up.'
Talia couldn't believe this. 'Seriously? Is that how you are encouraging me?'
'This is to prove you are worthy of being my Luna, and I know you are overqualified. What I don't know is how delectable you look in that outfit.'
Talia sucked in a breath when Damon sent her mental images of two of them naked.
'Stop that!'
Damon chuckled. 'I wish I could. You and me is all I can think about. Well, mostly me inside of you.'
'What am I going to do with you?'
'I can suggest a few ideas if you have none. But my ideas are mostly about the two of us, naked.'
Talia was about to respond snarkily, but then she realized that this little banter helped dispel the last traces of anxiousness she had.
'Damon?'
'Yes, kitten?'
'Thank you.'
'You are welcome.'
Talia walked out of the packhouse to see that Keith and Arya were standing on the right, where the forest started.
"This way, Luna," Keith said and gestured in the direction Talia should go. "Unfortunately, we can't accompany you. The path will be marked with black scarves. There are twenty of them, and you need to collect at least ten in order to gain the Elders' approval. We will wait for you on the other side."
Keith and Arya bowed when Talia stood in front of them.
This was the first time for Talia to see Keith and Arya since they left for their solitude, but she could see they were happy.
Talia walked into the forest first, with Maya, Meg, and Sandy behind her.
Four ladies could see well in the darkness, but the shadows played tricks on them. Talia didn't tell her three helpers that she could clearly see every strand of grass all around them.
Talia led the way around traps; one big hole covered with thin branches and dried leaves, and some wires that would trigger simple mechanisms.
They collected five scarves without any issues.
"This is a piece of cake," Maya said.
"Don't celebrate before it's done," Sandy said solemnly.
A few steps later, Talia stopped advancing, and several figures emerged from the shadows.
"Maybe you should go back," a male voice spoke, and Talia recognized the guy who stepped forward when he was a few steps away from her. It was Mark from the soccer team.
"Who are you to tell me to go back?" Talia asked while her eyes moved over other figures. They were all members of the soccer team, elite warriors.
"We are warriors of the Dark Howlers pack. Unless you can defeat us, we won't acknowledge you as our Luna," a voice said from the back.
"You think you can stop me?" Talia asked. "Just you? What can you do?"
"We can make it so that Alpha Damon doesn't recognize you," another shadow spoke.
Sandy's temper flared. "Watch your mouth!"
"Pft! You are not a part of our pack anymore, Sandy. Do you think we will listen to you?"
Meg was about to say something, but Talia raised her hand, indicating to Meg to wait.
"I just need to defeat you. Is that all?" Talia asked.
There was no malicious intent from the people who blocked her way; it was all part of the show. No matter if Elders were plotting something against Talia as a last-minute resort, the warriors in front of her wouldn't stand against her. They all met her as Talia, the team spirit of their soccer team; a silly girl with wolf ears headband on her head whose furry hand they held (and kissed) while praying for their team to win... and they did. They also knew Talia as the female who brought the scent-concealing mixture, which made their missions easier and possibly saved lives. The female who secured them a tribute from the Steelbite pack.
They all looked at Talia with admiration, and she was touched.
At the same time, she needed to put up a show as well.
With one thought from Talia, all figures in front of her fell to their knees. "Do you accept your defeat, or should I prove myself more?" She released a bit more of her aura to make her point, and a few groans were heard.
"We are convinced," Mark said in a strenuous voice. "We acknowledge you as our Luna. Here is a token…"
Maya moved forward and took a black scarf from his hand.
"As I said, easy-peasy," Maya said with glee as they continued walking through the forest.
"You said it was a piece of cake," Sandy reminded her.
"Can you stop talking about food?" Meg complained. "I'm hungry now."
Sandy stifled a laugh. "You are always hungry."
Meg's eyes flashed in outrage. "You don't say such things to a pregnant woman!"
Talia, Meg, Sandy, and Maya burst into laughter. Ah, the mood was good.
