Before I Rise

Em’s POV

“Can I look yet?” I asked Alicia. We were currently in her room getting ready for my Luna Ceremony. She thought it would be fun for her, Julie, and I to get ready together. I quickly grew thankful that she insisted on it.

I was so overwhelmingly nervous for the ceremony. It was nice to hang out with her and Jules, they kept my mind off of it. They also have taken over getting me all dolled up, which I was also thankful for. Alicia did my makeup and Jules focused on my hair. Though, I had no idea what I looked like. Jules thought it would be fun for me to see myself in the mirror after everything was complete. I was patient at first, but now I am dying to see the final product.

“Just one more button and then you can turn around.” She said, as I felt her tug on the dress so she could do the last button. “There, are you ready?”

I nodded my head as she gently turned me around to look at the full body mirror. My mouth fell wide open, I barely recognized myself.

My hair was pulled into a low bun with an intricate braid that wrapped around it and a few loose hairs framed my face. The light brown eyeshadow Alicia used made my green eyes pop and the neutral pink lipstick tied everything together. But what really shocked me was the dress. It was a spaghetti strap, white lace dress that had buttons on the back going down to my waist. It was tight on my chest but flowed out from my waist all the way to the floor, making it look whimsical as I walked. There was a bit of cleavage due to having a v-neckline with a bit of a plunge, and the fact that the person that wore this before me was a lot smaller in that area than I was.

Due to everything that happened to the Blood Moon Pack, Marcus had asked me to push the ceremony closer. We were able to get everything accomplished within a week, except the dress. Everything I tried on either didn’t look good on me or would have taken weeks to get the alterations done. When Lily heard about this, she came to Marcus and I with this dress. It was Marcus’s mothers dress that she wore for her ceremony. Apparently she had told Lily that she wanted to save this dress for the future Luna. When I had tried it on it just felt right, like it was made for me. I felt extremely honored to be wearing this dress. I know Marcus loved the idea too, it was nice to have a piece of his mom on this day.

The door to Alicia’s bedroom opened and Jules walked in. She stopped immediately, her eyes growing as big as they could get.

“Holy shit! You look amazing Em!” She said with a smile on her face. She walked up to me and pulled me into a hug.

“I know! We make an awesome team.” Alicia said as she winked at Jules. Julie simply rolled her eyes and chuckled.

“Here, I want to give this to you.” Julie handed me a small gray box. When opened, it revealed a simple yet elegant diamond bracelet.

“Oh this is beautiful.” I said, as I pulled it from the box.

Julie took it from me and placed it on my left wrist. “This was my grandmothers. Every woman in our family wore it during their mating ceremony and I wore it on mine. I thought since you don’t have anything to wear from your mom, that you could wear this.”

My eyes began to mist over. I will always be amazed by how selfless Julie is. I pulled her and Alicia in for a hug. “Thank you both so much.” They both gave me a quick squeeze before letting go.

“Well, I better head down now. Everyone is getting seated and Jacoby is waiting for me. Good luck Em!” Julie blew a kiss in mine and Alicia’s direction before walking out of the room.

Nerves began to hit me again. I was suddenly nauseous. The thought of standing in front of the entire pack was terrifying. Not to mention, the added pack members from Alexis’s pack. Though it was only an extra thirty people, it still was thirty extra people. I did wonder if Alexis’s would be there. I hadn’t had the chance to meet her since she had barricaded herself in one of the pack rooms when she arrived here. Marcus told me that she just needed some time. Which, given her circumstances I can understand. Still, it would be nice to meet another one of his best friends.

“Are you ok?” Alicia asked me.

I took a deep breath to try to calm my racing heart. “Yeah, just really nervous”

She took my hand into her own and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “No need to be nervous. I’ll at least walk you to the back door before we have to separate. Once we get there count to a hundred before walking out after me. From there, it’s a short walk down an aisle to the stage where you’ll join Marcus, who by the way will already be there. Just focus on him when you get to the aisle. That way, you won’t notice everyone. Or you could just picture everyone seated naked, I heard that can help.”

“You are such a dork.” I said as I laughed.

She linked her arm to mine as she began to lead me out of her bedroom. “Duh, that’s why you love me!”

I couldn’t argue with that. She really was good at calming people down when they are nervous or anxious. I was already beginning to feel much better as we went down stairs, stopping in front of the door that leads to the backyard. I could see that there were lanterns lighting up the stone pathway to the stage through the tree line.

“Well this is where I leave you. Remember, count to a hundred as soon as I leave.” She gave me one more hug and whispered, “You are going to be great.”

I hugged her tightly for a few more seconds before letting her go. As soon as the door shut behind her, I started counting to a hundred. When I finished, I took a deep breath and reminded myself that at the end of the night, it would just be me and Marcus. I can do this.

The nervousness increased the closer I got to the tree line. I was instantly glad I decided to not wear shoes. Though Alicia wasn’t necessarily happy about that, I was so afraid I would end up tripping over my own feet and falling face first in front of the entire pack.

I began to hear the murmur of pack members quietly talking just as I was about to break the tree line and into a small clearing where we had held the alliance ceremony. There was a path of white rose petals with pack members all standing on the side lines. They were all dressed in different shades of white. I made eye contact with a few at first, everyone had such a gentle look of adoration upon their face. It made my heart warm. I was still amazed at how open and kindhearted everyone in the pack was.

I realized as I started walking further, that I had yet to look towards the stage to where my mate would be. I decided to finally look and once I did, all the air left my body. He looked marvelous under the moonlight. The white button down shirt hugged him in all the right places. His piercing brown eyes held absolute love and infatuation towards me. As soon as we locked eyes, everyone else faded away. It was just him and I.

I walked down the aisle to the stage and reached up for Marcus’s hand. He helped me on to the stage and led me to stand in front of Elder Morgan, who had a small dark oak table that held a chalice on top of it with a ceremonial knife. Apparently the chalice is passed down from Alpha to Alpha. It was used for the Alpha Ceremony as well as the Luna Ceremony. It was silver with all the moon phases etched on it. There were black diamonds on the stem of the chalice that was supposed to represent the pack. The knife was the same knife they used for the alliance ceremony.

“You look absolutely beautiful tonight my love.” Marcus whispered in my ear.

My face heated up with the compliment. “Thank you.” I whispered back. He gave me a small smile before turning his attention back to Elder Morgan.

“Are you both ready?” She asked us. We both nodded our heads. “Great, please face each other and take both of each other’s hands into your own.”

The last of my nerves finally disappeared as I turned to stare at Marcus. He instantly made me feel safe and protected, I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Elder Morgan cleared her throat before she began. “Dark Moon Pack, we are gathered here today to usher in the new Luna. This pack has been without a Luna for too long. Let’s take a few moments of silence to honor Luna Annie, who I know is smiling down at this very moment.”

I lightly rubbed my thumb over one of Marcus’s hands in a way of comfort. I knew he must be thinking about his mother a lot today and I also knew that this part of the ceremony meant so much for him. I really wanted him to feel like she was here with us, smiling and happy about our union.

Elder Morgan cleared her throat again. “The Luna is one of the most influential pack members there is. She is what holds the pack together. The Luna is a representative to the Moon Goddess and embodies all her traits. Kindness, empathy, gentleness, nurturing, and protector. She is also said to be the one to keep the Alpha sane and grounded. Without her, our Alpha would fail. She is the missing puzzle piece to not only the Alpha, but to the pack. And, we have found her.” A few people let out some cheers, causing me to blush again. Marcus winked at me and squeezed my hands.

Elder Morgan grabbed the ceremonial knife and handed it to Marcus. Marcus looked at it hesitantly before he grabbed it. I know he was struggling with this part of the ceremony where he has to place a small cut on my left palm. He didn’t want to do anything to hurt me, but I reminded him that I was going to do the same with him and it would be small. It seemed to calm him down slightly, but he was still hesitant. I thought it was endearing in the way he was so worried.

“Do you, Em, promise to uphold the Luna standards? Do you promise to love this pack and protect them? Do you promise to be the Alpha’s partner in taking care of the pack and promise to always honor the Alpha with everything you do? Do you promise to never betray this pack or it’s Alpha?” Elder Morgan asked.

“I do.” Marcus lifted my left hand and placed a small cut on my palm with the knife. I tried to not wince as he did, not wanting to make him feel worse about this than he already did.

“Do you, Alpha Marcus, promise to uphold your Luna with love and treat her as your equal? Do you promise to lead this pack and make decisions with her? Do you promise to protect your mate at all cost?”

“I do.” Marcus’ voice boomed out into the night, showing how serious he took this oath to me and to his pack. The way he looked at me the entire time, made my heart flutter. He passed me the knife and held out his hand. I placed a small cut on his palm, wincing as I did. I didn’t like the thought of hurting him anymore than he did me.

We moved closer to the table and interlocked our hands over the chalice. Our blood began to drip into the chalice as the breeze picked up and turned into wind. I was beginning to get nervous when after a few seconds, there still was no thunder signaling the Moon Goddess had blessed our union. A few more seconds went by, before the roar of thunder was heard right above our heads. It appeared to be louder than when we did the alliance. Marcus’s face broke out into the biggest grin I have ever seen on him.

“It seems our Goddess has blessed this union. Now, for the last part of the ceremony. The Alpha will place his mark on The Luna.”

Marcus wrapped my hand in some cloth before pulling me close. He brushed his hand against my cheek. “Are you ready for this?” He asked me.

“Yes.” I said without any hesitation. I’ve been ready for this part since I locked eyes with him for the very first time. It was him that took so long, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.

He pulled me even closer and angled my head to the left. He leaned down to where my shoulder and neck meet and placed a small kiss on top of the skin there. Shivers of delight ran down my entire body. “I love you.” He whispered before sinking his teeth into my skin.

I shut my eyes tightly and grabbed onto him. It took everything not to scream as the pain was excruciating. But as quickly as the pain appeared, it disappeared. It was replaced with warmth and love, his love. I could feel exactly how much he loved me. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced. It almost felt like I could feel his heartbeat right next to mine. We were forever tied together.

Just as he was pulling back, another loud crack of thunder was heard right above us. Marcus took my face into his hands and wiped the stray tears that had fallen. “That’s new.” He said.

“What is?” I asked him, confused on what he meant.

“Well there’s usually not a second crack of thunder from the Goddess during the mark portion. Guess she must really like us together.”

I was about to respond, but was stopped by the pack members erupting in cheers. Marcus placed a kiss on my forehead before taking my hand and turning us around to face the pack.

“Dark Moon Pack, it is my utmost pleasure to introduce you to your Luna and my mate. Luna Em!” Marcus proudly said as he lifted our interlocked hands in the air. The crowd got louder as they expressed their excitement. My heart melted at the sight. The love they showed us was something I will never forget.

We got off the stage and headed to the area that was being used for the after party. It was beautifully decorated. Alicia and Julie did such a fantastic job, especially since it was so last minute. We stopped by every table so I could finally officially meet everyone. There was lots of hugging and tears of happiness. The biggest hug out of everyone happened to be Dave. Lily was a close second, it amazed me someone that tiny could have such strength.

Finally after eating and dancing, Marcus and I retired to our bedroom. As we walked up the stairs, I started to feel a different set of nerves hit me. Alicia explained in great detail the last stage of completing the mate bond. I was so nervous I wouldn’t be good at it. I had no idea if I had done it before, but none of that matters now. I believe even if I had my memories and this was something I had done before, I still would be this nervous because it was my first time with Marcus.

My heart beat began to pick up speed as soon as we stepped into our room. Marcus shut the door behind us before wrapping his arms around me. He placed his forehead on mine and stared into my eyes.

“I’m really nervous.” I confessed to him.

He let out a small quiet chuckle. “So am I.”

“You are?” I asked him.

“Yes. I may have done this before, but this time is so much different than those other times.”

I grew curious. “Why?”

He took a deep breath before moving his hands to hold my face gently. “Because, this time is with someone I’m head over heels in love with.” He confessed.

The nerves running through my body went away, leaving me with the feeling of wanting to tie myself to this man in every way possible. I made the first move and connected my lips to his. He responded immediately and wrapped his arms around me, moving us back until I hit the bed.

The whole night we were wrapped up into each other. There were times I wasn’t sure where he began and I ended. I didn’t need my memories to tell me that I had never felt ecstasy like this before. He was gentle with just the right amount of roughness. I felt protected and at home in his arms. When we finally grew tired we laid there facing each other, just him and I in our happy, blissful bubble. No matter what the future held for us I knew we would be alright because we had each other.