Chapter 44: A Ceremony

-Rogan-

“You idiot,” Rhys said.

“What?!” I asked.

I had just barely sat down at my desk before Rhys was shaking his head and looking almost disappointed at me. After I had fucked Serena that first time and marked her, I had quickly wanted her again and we went for a second round before we went to shower, and I had pushed her up against the tiles with her back to me and fucked her again. Only then did I let her patch up the little wound on her shoulder, but it was barely bleeding anymore, and I couldn’t wait to see the white scar it would leave, giving everyone a clear message about who she belonged to.

“You don’t think I smell her on you? Or that I don’t see the little skip in your steps?” he asked me.

I rolled my eyes.

“And you don’t think we all feel this new connection to her *through* you?! Have you forgotten who the alpha is?” he asked me.

An alpha was the center of the pack. Kind of where all the links sprung from and how everyone was connected, so now that I had chosen Serena, they all felt a new link, and I knew they felt a bit uneasy about it. It couldn’t come as a surprise, that I couldn’t wait anymore, but I could understand it still felt strange and weird to them. It was clear Serena was helping a lot. Everyone knew that, and she had helped track down the spies, and we were getting ready to end this fight against the hunters, but she was *still* a hunter. It was hard for people to look past that, and I knew it would take time, but my heart was now beating for Serena. I already felt so deeply connected to her, that I couldn’t even imagine her not by my side.

“I’m aware of who the alpha is,” I said. “And as alpha, I choose who my luna is.”

“I am not saying don’t mark her. I’m saying you should have waited.”

I raised an eyebrow, looking at my friend confused.

“You really think I could wait another second?” I asked. “I have already waited for too long.”

“A few weeks isn’t “too long”,” he said.

“It is for us wolves.”

He sighed.

“Just wait until you meet your mate,” I said.

Rhys didn’t seem very happy about the comment. While Marcus wasn’t very bothered about not having a mate, Rhys seemed rather bothered, but of course, Rhys and I were closer in age. Marcus was a few years younger than us, and maybe that was why he wasn’t bothered by it. Usually, we found our true mates when we were in our twenties, often early twenties, or the chance of it ever happening was very slim. I knew Rhys feared he wouldn’t ever find his, but I just couldn’t imagine my friend not finding her. He was a good person. A very loyal one too. And smart. I knew he would find someone, but he didn’t believe it himself.

“The pack is still not used to her,” he said. “And now you have connected everyone to her.”

“I know … I couldn’t wait any longer.”

Rhys shook his head.

“Tell me you at least talked with Eric about you and Julianna,” he said.

I nodded. I hadn’t told anyone really except Serena that I was going to fix this mess between me and Julianna, and I could see Rhys felt relieved to hear it.

“She is gay, by the way,” I said.

“Serena?” he asked confused.

I laughed and shook my head.

“No! Certainly not!” I chuckled, only to be reminded of this morning.

Serena had gone out running afterwards. She was still very addicted to training and wanted to stay in shape. I understood that. We still had a war to end after all, but I wondered if some things would just be too hard to let go of, even though she wouldn’t need the training as much unless she wanted to stay in shape, of course.

“Julianna.”

“Julianna?!” he asked.

I nodded.

“She told me. She seemed rather happy I wanted to break the engagement,” I told him.

“I can understand why since she is gay. That would not have been a good union.”

I nodded, agreeing.

“We would probably never have had children,” I said. “And other than business, I don’t believe we would have spoken much.”

“She had seemed rather cold, hadn’t she?”

“Actually, after I broke off the engagement, she seemed much more open,” I told him.

“Maybe she felt a little fear towards you.”

I nodded.

“I think so. Her family’s way to deal with it is by not dealing with it,” I said.

“What?”

“They like to ignore it.”

Rhys sighed, shaking his head. Like me, he thought that was a terrible idea. It was clear it would only bring unhappiness by ignoring Julianna’s sexuality, but many people, even wolves had a hard time accepting it. I didn’t get it. Love was love, and it was not going to change whether you loved a man or a woman.

“Terrible choice,” he sighed.

I nodded.

“Still, you know the pack might be a little angry about this,” he said.

“I’m aware.”

“You know what would fix it?” he asked.

I sighed.

“A proper ceremony.”

He nodded and smiled. Something wolves loved were traditions. It gave them a sense of calm doing something that had been done for hundreds of years.

“It’s not really a hunter’s thing,” I said.

“No, but it would show she was accepting the ways we are doing things and that she wants to be part of it,” he said.

“I don’t want her to feel forced to do anything,” I said.

He sighed.

“You need to win the pack over. Too many things have happened. Just do it after we end it all.”

“If I can get her to agree,” I said.

“It would really change some things here, and you know it.”

I nodded slowly. I knew it. I knew my pack and I knew how us wolves liked to behave. While I didn’t put much into our old traditions, I knew a lot of others did, and I had to respect that.

“Dammit …” I sighed.

“Is it really that bad?” he asked.

“Serena still got a lot to get used to,” I said. “I don’t want to push her too hard.”

“What are you afraid of will happen if you do?” he asked.

“She might run … I don’t think I could handle it if she did.”

“She really got under your skin.”

I smiled and nodded.

“She really did.”

“What’s that like?” he asked, actually sounding intrigued.

“It’s … I don’t think I can explain it. Everyone experiences the bond differently,” I said. “In a way, it feels like your mate strengthens you and makes you feel stronger than you ever had, while also somehow changing you for the better.”

Rhys seemed to fall deep into his thoughts, and I knew he wanted to find out what the bond would feel for him too. I knew he wanted the experience and the connection to his mate desperately, but the Goddess worked in mysterious ways. We all knew that.

“I will try and convince her,” I said.

Rhys just nodded and then stood up and worked outside. It seemed like he might need a run too to clear his head.