War Claim (The Claim: Book 3)

Chapter 5 - Madison (Part 2)

Madison held her head up higher the next day as the entire pack gathered together outside the Hall, as they called it, for her Welcome Ceremony. It was a medium-sized wooden building with a kitchen and room full of tables in the basement and a big open space with a stage on the main level.  It was a space reserved for social gatherings of up to two hundred, whereas the lounge in the pack house was designated for smaller gatherings of fifty.

The Zhooniyaa Miskwi Pack was large. They couldn't cram a quarter of their wolves in the building with the rest standing outside in wolf form in the cold weather. There were hundreds of them—maybe a thousand, she couldn't be sure.

She stood on the stage with Animkii and his family with the high ranking wolves she met the previous night. Animkii stood beside her, brushing his arm against hers and raising the hairs under her long-sleeves to stand on end. The two of them were dressed in matching celebratory clothes made of soft white rabbits' fur and decorated with colorful beads and tassels, honoring them as the future Alpha and Luna. As usual, his long black hair was tied back in a traditional braid while hers was braided and pinned around her head to look like a crown.

The pups of the families of the higher-ranking wolves were on the main floor rather than the stage as there wasn't enough room for all of them. Madison avoided looking at the pretty little female down below, holding her little sister with her two brothers at her sides. There were so many eyes on Madison that she couldn't focus on her and instead focused her attention on Animkii's parents—the Alpha and Luna—and showing them the proper respects.

Gifts were laid on her—heavy gold necklaces, soft flowy skirts, tunics, and dresses with beautiful embroidery and beads stitched into the fabric.

Normal wolves didn't receive this kind of lavish display of welcome gifts—but as the future Luna of the pack, it was custom.

She bowed her head in submission to the Alpha and Luna, pledging her loyalty to them and the pack knowing that someday, that would be her there, welcoming her future daughter-in-law to the pack.

A weight pressed down on her shoulders as she straightened back up, along with all the gifts in her arms.

The thought of becoming their Luna in the near future was daunting. What if she wasn't good enough? Smart enough? Strong enough? What if she failed them and brought catastrophe upon them?

She struggled to swallow as the Luna stepped forward with a pallet of paint in one hand. With her thumb, she painted two lines on her cheeks. One in red under her eyes and black below it. Then with her index finger, she painted a white line from the base of her hairline in the middle of her forehead, down between her eyebrows, over the arch of her nose and fullness of her lips, and ending at the tip of her chin. Luna pulled away, her face now mirroring Madison's except that the Luna had an extra line on her cheeks. One that Madison knew she would be given the day she became Luna of the pack and she would have to wash the lines from Luna's face.

"On Monday, we begin your training," Luna said. "But for now, welcome, Daughter." She leaned in as if to press her cheek to Madison's but left a bit of space between them so as not to smudge her markings.

Stepping back, the Luna set her paints down and Beta Gekek's mate took the gifts from her arms. The Alpha and Luna stepped forward with a silver-laced dagger in their hands. Alpha cut his palm before handing the dagger to his mate for her to do the same. They then handed the dagger to Madison where she was instructed to cut both of her palms and press her hands to theirs, combining their blood in a blood-bond.

As her blood mingled with theirs, she witnessed their decades of trials and tribulations in their minds and they witnessed hers.  Dizziness swept over her and she felt weak, needing Animkii's strong hands to support her when her knees threatened to buckle under her.