Chapter 23

Lumae then finally got the courage to go see who it was. She took one slow step at a time, not daring to make a sound as she did so. When she approached the tinted glass door, she could see a glint of red. She reached for the door handle with shaky hands, but when she opened the door, she was surprised by Dominic standing there holding a big red coat. He walked in worriedly, tossing the coat to Sera and grabbing both sides of Lumae's cheeks, inspecting her as he pushed her to the centre of the room.

"Lumae, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Why did the pack say you were running this way in distress? The rogues didn't do anything to you, did they? If they did, then I'll..."

Dominic was clearly distressed and Lumae knew she had to do something about it quickly. She stared deeply into his worried eyes and thought of a plan.

Lumae calmed him down by gently touching his right hand and leaned into it. "I'm fine Dominic. I'm alright." His breathing then slowly started to calm down and Lumae could now feel the pulse from his hand, slowing down on her cheek.

Dominic had a clear expression of confusion on his face, "If you're alright, then why are you hiding here, and from whom are you hiding?"

Lumae exchanged a worried glance with Sera. "Sera, would you mind closing the door please?" Sera instantly rushed to the door and closed it, standing to the side to keep watch, just out of the hazy sight of the tinted glass door.

When Lumae knew that is was safe to talk, she looked over to Dominic, "We need to talk." She then started walking towards the living room and sat down on the large, white, comfortable sofa. Dominic followed behind, but not yet sat down. Lumae then patted her hand beside her on the sofa, and he finally decided to go sit down next to her, like a cute, obedient puppy, who waited for an invitation first.

"So, Sera told me about your aunt, Lady Victoria, and how she was the cause of most of the deaths of the White Moon pack back in the day. That she created the wolfsbane gas." She sighed.

Dominic looked at her confused, not yet knowing where this was going. "Yes, I believe she's come to visit today, what's wrong? Did she do something?"

Lumae looked into Dominic's eyes and for the first time he saw fear in hers. "Dominic, I'm the daughter of Raymond Nocte, the deceased alpha of the White Moon pack, which means that my offspring will all be alphas or will be able to produce them, which also means that the White Moon lineage will continue through me. If your aunt finds out who I am, she'll..."

Dominic cut her off, "No, this can't be possible, my father killed the White Moon pack 22 years ago, when I was only 3...years...old." Dominic now came to a realisation, that Lumae's age and early wolf transformation completely made sense now. She was telling the truth and he knew it. It scared him, but he couldn't deny it.

He grabbed her shoulders once again, but harder this time, now more out of fear, and looked her straight in the eyes, worried. "Lumae, no matter what, my aunt will NOT find out about you, and if she does, I'll be ready to fight with everything I have. You are now the luna of this pack, and if anyone so much as lay a hand on you, it'll mean war between our packs." He loosened his grip on her shoulder a bit.

"But we'll have to seal your spot as luna first." He looked over at Sera, still standing at the door. He looked at Lumae for a second, stood up and walked over to her, "I think the preparations for the luna ceremony should be rushed a little. Lumae MUST become the lawful luna of the pack by tomorrow night. Have everything arranged and don't let Lumae out of your sight. I'm going to make all the necessary calls, secure some attendants." He then rushed through the door and Lumae stood up wanting to follow him, but Sera placed her hand on Lumae's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Luna, but the Alpha asked me to keep you in my sight and I cannot disobey him. We'll have to make a bunch of preparations quickly anyway, so come along with me." She gently took Lumae's hand and led her through the entire town. Through tons of different places such as flower huts, decoration huts, pastry huts and, finally, a dressing hut.

"It is a custom to wear the colour of the pack, Luna, but there are rare occasions under rare circumstances when a Luna may dress in the colour of the moon and sky. Lucky for you, Luna, you are under those circumstances. I don't think red and black would've been your colours anyway." Sera rushed to the back of the hut, coming out with a gorgeous silver, sky blue and navy ombre dress.

Lumae's fingers slowly trailed down the fabric of the dress admiring it, and she already knew that this dress was way too much for her. "Wow, this is beautiful Sera. I'm not sure I can wear something as beautiful as this."

"Nonsense, Luna, this dress doesn't even compare to your own beauty, Luna. It's a perfect match for you. Come now, try it on, you definitely won't regret it." Sera was basically jumping from excitement.

Lumae, in an attempt to please Sera, gently took the dress and excitedly smiled as she headed towards the dressing room. When she came out everyone in the dressing hut was stunned by Lumae's beauty. Their jaws were basically through the ground with awe and amazement. She felt as though she was a delicate, new art piece on desplay for everyone in that hut. She felt appreciated, worthy of being a luna, she felt that she finally belonged.

"Wow, Luna, you look like a moon goddess. You surely were blessed by her though, no one will be able to take their eyes off you. Your beauty literally radiates through this entire hut. You'll be a blessing to us all, that's for sure." Sera was clearly the most stunned person in the entire hut. She couldn't even hide how stunned she was and it made Lumae happy.

Lumae smiled, but she had not yet seen the dress on her, herself. She slowly walked towards the tall mirror at the opposite side of the dressing rooms and was stunned by how she looked. "Wow, who would've thought a dress could make such a difference!" Lumae turned around, showing the beautiful twirl of the dress, before it gracefully fell back to the side of her legs.

"I love it." Lumae said with a huge smile, Sera following with a grateful smile and turned towards the dressmaker.

"This one will do. Could you please send it to the Casablanca quarters tomorrow morning, 5 am sharp. It cannot be late, or we'll be thrown off schedule."

"Yes, miss Sera. It will be washed, steamed and sent to you tomorrow morning." Lumae then quickly got undressed and handed the gorgeous dress to the dressmaker, who then handed the dress to one of her co-workers.

"Please make sure to put this somewhere safe, away from dust and sunlight. We wouldn't want to ruin the dress before the big day now, would we?" She had a big smile and turned towards Lumae.

"You've made an incredible choice, Luna. You'll clearly be the light of the ceremony."

Lumae smiled and headed back with Sera. "Welp, it's time for your beauty sleep now, Luna. You've got to be all bright and fresh tomorrow morning."

For the next few hours, all that went on around the pack was a hustle and bustle about the ceremony. People were running up and down with heaps of flowers, decorations and food. Men were carrying benches and tables. Women carried tablecloths and cutlery. Whereas Lumae was forced to sleep a full 11 hours, only to get bathed, fed, dressed and made ready for the day, whilst being stuck in the Casablanca quarters all day, up until the very last second.

The entire day was filled with beauty treatments, such as massages, facials, pedicures. She was glamorised like she'f never been glamorised before.

They were now busy putting on the finishing touches of her hair after an eternity beautifying. Finishing it off with a gorgeous silver crescent moon pin. Seeing the final result of Lumae's hair, Sera couldn't wait any longer to show Lumae how she looked and eagerly pulled on Lumae's arm.

"Come, Luna, come. You must see how beautiful you look, you truly did inherit the moon goddess' beauty!"

Lumae smiled and followed along compliantly, "Alright, alright, I'm coming, Sera." She chuckled.

When Sera finally managed to get Lumae to a full, rounded body mirror, with fairy lights trailing around it, Lumae couldn't help but wonder if the person in front of her was truly her. "This can't be me, Sera." She looked at Sera, who seemed a bit worried and looked back at the mirror, softly touching her dress.
"She's too beautiful to possibly be me."

Sera now smiled widely, jumping for joy and once again grabbed Lumae's arm, leading her back to her seat for her makeup. All that Lumae could was chuckle at the excitement radiating off Sera, and it was starting to catch. Lumae was starting to feel excited about her big day.

She wasn't allowed to move a single muscle as they were busy making her even more beautiful for the big day though. When she was finally allowed to step outside of Casablanca, Dominic waited for her at the door. When he saw how beautiful she looked, it was as though his eyes sparkled. He knew she was his destined luna. "You really are gorgeous." He held out his arm and she accepted it.

He then led her to an area where the leaves of another willow tree formed a kind of entrance. Dominic took her hand that was wrapped around his arm and pulled her closer to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Are you ready to be the luna of the Tenebris Lupus pack?" Lumae looked at him, smiled gently and looked at her gorgeous silver shoes.

She exhaled deeply, took in a deep breath in and stared straight ahead of her. "Ready as I'll ever be." Dominic nodded to two men standing at the side of them, and they pulled the leaves sideways, revealing a fantasy, a dream, a reality to Lumae. In that moment, she knew that she was made for this, she was made to lead, and this was only the beginning of her story.