Chapter 83: Chapter 83

Charlotte smoothed down her dress by sliding her palms on the sides even though it really didn’t need any smoothening. She was nervous as hell. It was the day of her initiation ceremony into the pack and she was freaking out. The girl who has been living in the pack as a human is going to introduced as the pack’s Luna today. She has no idea how they’d react to this news but the books she has read till clearly said that the werewolves don’t like humans.

Wait! Is she even considered a human now?

God, she has no freaking idea!

The ceremony is supposed to start at 11:15, a time communicated by the pack astrologer as “the best” for the ceremony. Later tonight, Azraiel is throwing a sort of welcome party for her which is more for an informal introduction to everyone in the pack. She didn’t want a party but he insists that she connects with the people and make them feel the sense of loyalty for her from within. He didn’t want the pack members to respect and love her just because of the title and neither did she.

The clock showed 10:45 right now. She had woken up super early today, most likely because she couldn’t sleep because of her nerves. She took shower twice, one before the training session with Azraiel and one after that. The whole morning, she has refrained from eating anything heavy since she is afraid that she’d puke during the ceremony. Yeah! That’s her fear!

She has been imagining everything that could go wrong in an hour and her wolf was now getting frustrated. “Calm down! It’ll be alright. You are their Luna and they’ll love you!” Her wolf has said the same thing again and again.

Charlotte turned to the side and inspected her reflection in the mirror. She was dressed in blue, the color of the Blue Orchid pack. Her dress of shiny satin material with thin straps, showing her toned shoulders and neck, covering her all body down to her ankles. It was form fitting on her upper body but flowing loosely past her hips. It actually accentuated her curves and made her look sexy instead of a potato. Her hair was pulled back in a complex hairdo that Ayleen somehow managed to do within fifteen minutes. Sparkly accessories adorned her hair on the side and she was sure her hair never looked better than this before. Ayleen has done very minimal make up on her face, going for the “natural” or “no make-up” make up look. Her skin looked healthily flushed and glowed. The black eyes lined with a thin line of kohl made her eyes look a little lighter than they actually are. Her lips were painted a pretty pinkish nude that complimented her dress and the overall look. On her neck hung a beautiful delicate pendant gifted by Azraiel. This morning he surprised her with the pendant. It was a small circle with a silver crescent moon at the end and crystal in the middle. It looked great with her dress and she was just so happy to wear something from him on her neck.

“Charlotte! Come on, you haven’t eaten anything properly. Eat something or you’ll faint.” Ayleen calls her out as she pokes her head inside from the gap in the ajar door.

“I don’t think I can eat anything.” Charlotte makes a face hoping she could get out of this. Azraiel has put Ayleen in charge of her for today and his little sister was really taking her job seriously. She not only helped her getting dressed and putting on makeup but has been also constantly following every order of her brother despite Charlotte’s reluctance. She glances as Ayleen opens the door wider and shows herself. She is dressed in a beautiful light blue gown with beaded work on the neck and sleeves, her hair pinned to the side flowing in waves. With those killer heels and radiant face, she looked nothing less than a model.

God, these siblings can very well beat any model in the human world.

“No! Azraiel has called twice to remind me to make you eat something. He’ll kill me if you fall sick.” She enters the room and starts dragging her by hand.

“Okay, okay fine! Slow down, please. I am not used to wearing heels.” Yeah, Charlotte was wearing heels. They were nothing too high but she was just being dramatic.

They reached the dining room and Ayleen put a plate filled with all sorts of snacks in front of her.

Charlotte makes a face at the plate, “I am telling you that I can’t eat anything and you are feeding me everything that you have in the kitchen!”

“Oh God, Charlotte! Just eat whatever you want.” Ayleen throws up her hands in the air and starts pouring some juice in two glasses.

Charlotte looks at the plate for a long second and finally picks up the bowl of chopped apples and starts munching on them.

“So, are you okay?” Ayleen asks her as she sits in front of Charlotte and takes a sip of her juice.

“Noooo…! I am not. I am freaking out!” Charlotte knows she looks ridiculous saying that with a straight face.

Ayleen chuckles. “It’s okay to freak out. Just remember we are with you. Azraiel will be right next to you. Matt and Theo will be on the stage too and Katya and I will be in the front row, cheering for you!”

“Thank you! Thank you so much, for everything!” Charlotte smiles at Ayleen and squeezes her hand.

“Now come on, finish it already. Azraiel will be here by eleven to take you to the packhouse.” Ayleen gulped down the juice and leaned back in the chair. Charlotte smiled at the image of this beauty drinking orange juice all dressed up and ready to walk on the ramp.

She finished up the fruits and followed Ayleen to the living room. They sat down and talked about mundane things. Well, it was Ayleen who kept on speaking and Charlotte just listened, laughing occasionally at the way she got distracted by the young girl. Ayleen sure knows how to wipe off the worries.

“Ready?” Azraiel came in through the door and smiled at her.

“Mhmm…” Charlotte looked at her hot mate. He was dressed in a royal blue suit and a white shirt underneath. He looked handsome as hell and she was glad that werewolves believe in mates and she’d never have to worry about someone else.

“You look great!” He leans down and softly kisses her lips. Charlotte smiles and says, I was about to say the same.”

Azraiel smiles and takes her hand, “Let’s go or we’ll be late. Ayleen! Come down.” He hollers for her sister who has vanished to touch up her makeup.

Hand in hand, they move out of the house, Ayleen a few steps behind them. There’s a black car parked in the driveway and it’s gorgeous. She has no idea what car it is but she loves it. Azraiel opens the door for her and helps her down with the dress as she sits. Ayleen sits in the backseat and Azraiel starts driving. It’s quite as they know the drive is shirt and they’ll reach the packhouse within minutes. This is the first time that Charlotte is going to the packhouse and from now on she’d be free to wander anywhere she wants without thinking twice.

They reach the packhouse and Charlotte is stunned. The building is huge! From the front it looks like a freaking mansion and gives her the vibes of old buildings. Well, it certainly looks old, like way old but still in good shape.

Azraiel takes her hand and squeezes it. The three of them walk inside. Charlotte gets a weird sense of protection as soon as she steps inside. The inside of the packhouse is painted in dark colors but since there are so many windows, the light prevents it from giving spooky vibes. Gorgeous artifacts are hung on the walls. In the center there is a huge hall lined with sofas and chairs and coffee tables and Charlotte can see corridors on the three sides. Azraiel leads her to the corridor in the middle that starts behind the hall. As they walk through the corridor, Charlotte feels the nervousness bubble up.

They walk through the whole corridor and when they reach the end Charlotte is puzzled. There is nothing but a door in front of her which looks like a door to a room. Azraiel quietly opens the door and pushes the stopper with his foot. The room Charlotte enters is big but not big enough to hold 4000 werewolves. She looks up at her mate to see him grinning to her.

“Come!” He motions his hand towards another door. Charlotte expected to see a bathroom or closet behind the door but she is surprised when she finds another door inside it.

What the…

Azraiel pushes that door and Charlotte can see a staircase going down. She just stares at it with her mouth wide open. She thinks she hears Ayleen chuckle.

Azraiel enters and starts walking down the stairs. Charlotte follows him, Ayleen coming right after her. There are around thirty steps and the stairway is illuminated with yellow lamps and she can see that there is plenty of light at the end of the stairs.

The stairs end and a big hall comes in front of her eyes. The huge basement is lit up with bright white light and a few small chandeliers are hanging down. There is a small wooden stage against the center wall with a podium. The hall is currently empty with the exception of a few men arranging the chairs. The chairs are lined up in front of the stage and Charlotte feels like she’ll past out if all of these chairs get filled up with people.

Yesterday, Azraiel had told her about the ceremony and what she is expected to do. First, Azraiel will tell the crowd about her so that if anyone has any concerns or objections to her joining the pack, they can be addressed and resolved. Usually, no one objects their Alpha’s decision but the elders do have a habit of questioning his judgement. Azraiel calls it as a governance practice. Then, there’ll be oaths and promises incorporating the four elements of nature; Air, Water, Fire and Earth. After that will come a blood pact with the Alpha and the pack making her a part of the pack and then the declaration of her being the Luna of the Blue Orchid pack. She’d be then asked to take an oath as the Luna of the pack.

She was trying so hard to not think about the whole ‘Luna’ part and yet it was the only thing going on in her mind.

“You look gorgeous!” Theo’s voice breaks the chain of her thoughts. Matt and Theo walked towards where she was standing and hugged her briefly.

“Thank you!” She pulled her lips in what she thought was a smile.

“Hey! Relax, You’ll be fine.” Theo tried to assure her while Matt gave her a nod and walked towards the stage where Azraiel was talking to the elderly astrologer.

Charlotte gulped, “What if I am not good enough to be a Luna, Theo?” she voiced her concern.

“Look, I know you are nervous but trust me, the Moon Goddess would have never chosen you as his mate and our Luna if she didn’t believe you were capable for the responsibility. Trust her judgement. Trust yourself!” He squeezed her shoulder lightly and smiled.

His words didn’t ease her fears but it was sweet to know that he has faith in her.

As Charlotte watched the clock strike 11: 10, she just hoped that everyone else has the same faith in her as Theo, most importantly, she has the same faith in herself.