Daisy May (2)

Chapter 19 - The Mating Ceremony

Walking into the room I saw there was a great feast on a row of tables. My long dress and coat were so heavy and warm that I felt myself becoming dizzy fast. I had to grab onto the wall for a second before watching over the great hall. It wasn't as big as back home but I could tell it was only temporary. But even though the food was what I first saw, I couldn't help but look at all the people staring back at me. There were so many of them. Men, women and children. My mate stood in the middle of them, dressed up in black. His eyes were dark as he laid his eyes upon me, his hands tied down hard against his side. He was happy with what he saw. I could tell... because I could feel his inner wolf fighting against him.

He held his leader facade and walked forward, meeting my gaze that never faltered from his. He was so handsome, and even when he didn't touch me I could feel my soul being torn apart, wanting to wrap myself around him and kiss him deeply.

Instead of grabbing me and forcing me to the ground like I knew he wanted, he took ahold of my arm and walked me down the steps to the tables where we would sit. The people cheered on and spoke quietly about us. Even though I was seen as a traitor, after tonight I would be seen as one of them.

We sat down, my mate spoke to his people in another language and I took a look at my surroundings. As soon as the Alpha took his first bite, the others could sit down and eat as well. Tade laid his left hand on my thigh under the table and ate with his right. I picked at the food, even though it looked good, I just couldn't eat. It would mean that I betrayed my family by taking another pack's food... at least that's what it felt like. Tade stopped eating to look at me for a second. His hand stopped wandering my thigh and grabbed my fork to feed me. "Please," I said to him. "I'm not a child. I can feed myself"

"I know you can," he told me. "But if you do not eat by yourself, I will feed you"

I had to make a choice. Was I going to be the submissive that he wanted me to be and take his food, or would I be the rebel I had been sought out to be? 

"I am not hungry. Therefore I will not eat. Put down your fork or put it in your mouth."

People started to turn at my comment, they looked at me with open mouths and glazing eyes. How dared I defy their Alpha? Poor little me was going to get a beating, they would think. But they all underestimated me.

Instead of cursing me out, bringing me down and spitting on me, he gave me a grin while grabbing my jaw and harshly kissing my lips. I was paralyzed for a second as his rough hand caressed my face. His touch left me confused and even more crippled to what he wanted. I didn't understand this man at all. He left his chair and stood up to talk to the large crowd of people. In his language, he expressed something I didn't understand. But soon I was pushed out onto the back of the house, there was a great view of a lake from the hill we were standing on. It was magical, the day was fading to night and the fireflies painted the sky above us. Lanterns were lit around the area, people scattered around with glasses in their hands. 

He lead me to a secluded part of the gathering, showing me two pair of great doors almost invisible to a mere man's sight. Two men on each side of us grabbed a hold of the doors, opening them in front of us.

I was put on a bed. Literary. It was soft and plush, the room filled with candles and the air with oil. The people were outside right in front of the open doors. I guess this would be where we would complete the mating ceremony.

It was the time for gifts, as Tade walked towards me, his eyes dark and his walk slow, he grabbed my robe and slid it off my shoulders. Leaving my dress left. The one he would take off after the gifting ceremony. As humans, and well,  every other creature in the world, the lycan culture was different from place to place and family to family. The Riveras in Brasil had a tradition that the female was to bare several layers of clothing, and by every step of the ceremony, one layer would be unclothed by her lover.