Star Crossed Liars ✔

Chapter Thirty Six

I hadn't seen Orion all day.

We had slept in separate rooms last night, in fact, we had slept in separate houses. Orion stayed firm in his bedroom while I had made my way to Val's house, spending the night with the three girls.

My last night as Althea Lavois.

I had woken up the next morning feeling only excitement. Val's house quickly turned into a pampering room. Gloria, Josephine and Florence had barged through the doorway before I had even woken up properly. My two bags were in their hands as they dragged me upstairs, three giggling girls following behind.

The initiation ceremony was first.

I wore no makeup other then lining the underneath of my eye with a dark kohl liner, taking the endless time to sweep my hair up into a mess of curls on top of my head, beads woven throughout. The sunk into my hair as the light caught them. Then jewellery, it was obvious that we were going all out. Earrings the size of an egg with a decorated chain pendant lying comfortably on my collarbone.  Silver bands lay on my wrists, being a comfortable weight against my skin.

We pulled out the dress, a small gasp escaping the mouth of the younger girls. I stripped out of what I was currently wearing, pulling the dress up and letting Gloria zip up the back. I adjusted the straps before grabbing the skirt and pulling it up, evening out the dress.

I felt Florence's head lean against my leg, "You look so pretty Althea, like a fairy princess!"

"The silver... really suits you" Josephine added quietly.

I smiled and thanked them, fiffling with the pleated material.

And now I was waiting. People filtered in and out of the room, but I knew that running around the room as if dressed in a pair of jeans was definitely a bad idea. Of course, excluding the fact that the dress was probably the heaviest thing I had ever worn, the weight already sucking out my energy and I was only sitting down. I looked out the window. Val's house looked out onto the forest, and I could slowly see an altar coming together. 

The mating ceremony.

Both Orion and I had decided that we had have initiation inside and mating outside, the idea of being traditional was, for some reason, quite appealing.  It was practically a backyard wedding, none of the houses having backyards cut off with fences, all joining together and leading out into the incoming forrest.

A delicate white altar with flowers climbing up the side. A long piece of white, dainty material lined the floor, leading out to be where I would walk.

I was secretly glad that the initiation ceremony was first. A chance to adjust and experience a proper ceremony first before doing the one that most little girls dreamed of having.

The door opened again,

"It's time to leave," Gloria whispered, "Are you ready?"

I took in a breath, shoving down the urge to fiddle with my hair, "As ready as I'll ever be I suppose."

She came over and helped me up out of my chair, holding my face in her hands. "It's nerve-wracking, becoming a Luna. But trust me Althea, it's something that you'll never regret."

I leaned into her touch, missing the motherly figure. "I know. It's quite an adjustment, going from a doctor to a Luna. But I know it will be fine - I'll have Orion."

Gloria smiled, red tinging her cheeks. "And me, and Daniel, the girls... plus, there is a reason that a pack has more than the Alpha making up the high family."

She was right, a voice of reason. "Alright, no time for moping, I have an initiation ceremony to attend."

I exited the room, Gloria fluffing the back of my skirt as I walked out into the hallway and towards the entrance of the house. A car was waiting out the front, knowing that there was no way I could shift, nor walk all the way to where the ceremony was happening. I pulled myself into the car, feeling like a suffocating bag of feathers, the entirety of the dress puffing up and leaving me almost no moving room. Gloria clambered into the car practically being pushed against the door because of the size of my skirt, flying over the seats.