บท 21: Book 2 [Prologue]
Sawyer sat quietly on a reclining chair in the dimly lit room he was slowly getting accustomed to as his. He was feeding Teagan his baby formula while darting his eyes at intervals towards a sleeping Milo that lay in the crib. It'd been over a month since he'd put to bed, and his mind had never been more at rest.
Until today. The Moonlight Ritual was to take place in a few hours. He'd taken a peek out the window at the sound of horns and trumpets blaring, engines turning as Anita and her family convoy filed into the Pack Compound. He'd flushed with envy and resentment as she curtsied before the Elders; their eyes bright, welcoming. Then Daniel had shaken her hand, beaming. He shouldn't have felt envious of her. Daniel was mated to him, not her, no matter how much the Elders decided to pretend he didn't exist. That could be the reason they kept him around. Daniel wouldn't be at rest if Sawyer left the Pack.
The preparations had started shortly after he'd been delivered of the twins. The Elders had a big celebration party planned out after Daniel officially declared Anita as his Luna. Sawyer had seen her in photos and noted the way her blue eyes crinkled with an outdated innocence, her blonde hair curly and falling in large ringlets down her shoulders. Her lips were a cute cupid's bow and enhanced her facial features. She was the sort of girl you regularly saw behind a counter in a coffee shop. But Sawyer didn't want to underestimate her at all. Every demon had a pretty face after all.
They'd ushered her into the house, and assigned three omegas to help her get dressed while the Elders and Daniel remained in the living room, chatting and exchanging ideas about the merger between the Gavin Business group and Sturm Enterprises. From what Sawyer could gather, Anita's father, Gavin was pure Delta royalty. The amount of money in their possession would never get finished even if they exhausted their generations, and Sturm Enterprises were heavily indebted to them. So, what better way to resolve things than by getting their Alpha to marry Anita as she was the heir of Gavin Group?
The Elders were more scheming than he'd originally thought.
Milo's sneeze made him shake off his ruminations. Teagan had fallen fast asleep too, the bottle feeder still in his mouth. He was hot all over, so Sawyer had to place him on his bed, directly underneath the ceiling fan so he could cool off. After their birth, he'd prodded Daniel to buy books filled with information about the Crescent Twins. The Moon Goddess was married to Nyx's twin brother, who ruled the night along with her. But their difference was that Nyx used her power for evil, while her brother Nyxe was a god of good deeds. He battled the god of the Sun for many centuries when the latter sought to take over the night as well but lost. But the Moon Goddess, in all her glory rescinded his decision to take control of the night by sleeping with him, while already pregnant with Nyxe's child. He gave her control of the night and full moon and allowed her to create a new species – werewolves. When she finally put to birth, the Sun god's child, Artemi came out first, a sign of his eternal victory over Nyxe. He was light-skinned, with blazing yellow hair that looked like the sun burning, and eyes that had gold mixed with black. Nyxe's son, Zeus was dark-haired and serene, just like his father. Artemi inherited his father's temper and wrath, burning up rebellious cities that opposed his orders. Zeus was more comely, and always helped the survivors of the villages afflicted with his brother's wrath. The two of them never got along because Artemi always believed himself superior, while Zeus detested his pride.
Teagan was exhibiting some of Artemi's characteristics while the god was a baby. He tended to overheat whenever there was no wind to soothe his inner flames. The first night Sawyer had stayed awake, watching them sleep peacefully, he'd been intrigued at the glow of Teagan's hair in the dark – like a candle flame, yellow with a tinge of blue. The infant was lively and grew quiet whenever he was upset – which was mostly when Sawyer devoted a part of his attention to Milo, or Daniel carried Milo first before him. At that moment, his temperature rose to a quivering degree, throwing Sawyer into a state of panic. This made Sawyer ensure that Teagan was always asleep first before he attended to Milo.
He lifted his head from the crib as the door opened. Sophie drew it shut and stood back for a moment there, holding a tray of food and a bowl of fruit. Sawyer beamed at her thoughtfulness. He hadn't taken anything today because of one of Teagan's jealousy episodes and it was always Sophie that noticed. He'd grown to like her because she was the most honest amongst the omegas in the Pack. He gestured towards the table for her to drop the tray.
"Thank you. How many minutes' ore till the Ritual starts?"
"Not too long now," Sophie said, pointing to the almost full Moon. "Once it's the full moon, the opening howls start and everyone will have to shift. Anita will be blessed first by the Elders, then go on a run with Daniel to prove her speed and proficiency as a would-be leader. Our processes are very different from other Packs. Our customs hold no similarities whatsoever."
"Would he be expected to breed with her in front of them all?" Sawyer asked, breathless, his heart sinking. Sophie shook her head.
"That was how it was done before, but now, Alpha Daniel himself has to decide if he'd like to mate with her after the rituals are over. Anita's parents would bug because they want Anita to give birth to a son for Daniel."
Perhaps Sawyer should have been a little worried at that, but why would he? Teagan was the legitimate heir no matter what happened. His position as Luna Consort had nothing to do with his sons. They had the Pack's blood running in his veins.
Sophie twisted a finger in Teagan's curls, retrieving her hand immediately in shock. "Whoa. It's hot."
"I think he has a fever." Sawyer lied, avoiding her eyes. He didn't want to go into the whole story of why his son's hair was piping hot like a volcano. He was weak and hungry, not in the mood for long talks.
Worry creased Sophie's brows. "Shall I tell the healer? It's hard to know because he looks...fine."
"He's getting a lot better, but he's still hot all over. It's nothing. Tell me about Anita."
He trusted that she'd take the distraction, and she did. "I hardly know much about her myself, but she's super popular here in Manhattan. Her pictures are everywhere; on billboards, fashion magazines, werewolf elite columns...you name it. She has a lot of good reviews due to her excellent character and business charisma. She's every man's dream lady."
"Is that so?" Sawyer suppressed an eye roll, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Sophie nodded, encouraged to reveal more.
"Plus, I heard she's never dated anyone but Alpha Daniel before. She's her father's gem – they've grown stronger ever since Mrs. Gavin passed away while giving birth to her."
"So sorry for her loss." Hearing that Anita had been through similar pain as he endeared her to him a bit. At least there was one way he found her relatable.
"Mmm-hmm. She's a nice person. Aren't you coming down for the ceremony?"
Sawyer shook his head. "Teagan's sick. I have to look after him – "
A knock sounded at the door. "Who is it?"
"F-forgive me, Luna Consort, but your attention is needed downstairs. It's time for the rituals."
Sawyer glanced at the full moon, beautiful in the night school. The first howl pierced through the night – powerful and thundering. He made a decision.
"Can you help me look after them while I'm gone?" He got to his feet and began searching for something suitable to wear. If he turned up in casual wear, the Elders could use that as an unnecessary excuse to loathe him the more.
"You can always count on me, Sir." Sophie agreed with a slight bow. Sawyer donned long, blue apparel that Daniel had given him in case he wanted to come down for the rituals.
"I don't want to insult you further," the Alpha said, threading his fingers with Sawyer's hair. The omega melted into his touch, drowning in the emerald ocean of his eyes, "and I can't stand to see you disrespected. You can stay back in your room and look after our little boys until the rituals are over. You don't have to stand her if you don't want to."
"Luna Consort?" the omega's nervous voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Right. Give me a second." He pressed a kiss softly on the boys' forehead and dashed out.
The omega led him to an unfamiliar part of the Pack House. It was at the back, overlooking the dense forest beyond and the full moon illuminated every corner of the huge space. He could make out Anita's family by their fur, which was blazing white and fluffy. Daniel's dark eyes twinkled at him in surprise as he shifted and apologized for coming down late.
Elder James led the first howls as they all ran in a tight circle around Daniel and Anita. Sawyer figured that this was their way of blessing the union as Sophie had said. His eyes were glued to Anita the whole while, on her all too perfect white fur, the way she looked so graceful with her head bowed. Not a single thing looked out of place.
He bumped his nose into the Elder James' butt, whimpering when the old, black, ugly wolf growled at him. Focus! You ninny.
Sawyer decided to leave all assessments of his rival until later, suddenly noting the fact that Spencer was absent. The Pack and gone livid when he revealed that he was mated to a human. To Maddie, his best friend.
"She can never belong to this Pack! We've never been mated with humans!" the same hard-faced Elder that'd condemned him as Daniel's Luna exploded. Spencer sat beside him, head bowed, anger sizzling just beneath the surface. Sawyer had wanted a place a hand on his shoulder in comfort, but he knew that Spencer's control level was fragile at that moment. He looked ready to snap the disgusting old Elder in neat halves.
He'd opposed their decision and accepted Maddie as his mate, against their 'better' judgment. The consequences had been dire and he was exiled, going rogue. Maddie who didn't fully understand the mate bond stuck with him. He hadn't heard from them since then.
Considering how close and the services Spencer had rendered to Daniel and the Pack in general, Sawyer had expected the baldy, old wolfs to have a change of heart and call Spencer back. But it seemed they never did care about him. He'd served his use and obeyed their commands until his eyes opened.
Sawyer shut his eyes, wishing that Daniel had Spencer's courage to stand up to the Elders. He caught himself then, remembering that he'd been the one that encouraged Daniel to agree to their wishes for peace. He had no case.
After running around the Alpha and Luna-to-be, they sat back down and Elder James began reading out the duties, responsibilities, and power of a Blue Moon Pack Luna. Sawyer absorbed the words; a Luna was fierce and commanded the omegas in the Pack household. She was to be tolerable to the Luna Consort. She was to support and bring forth children for the Alpha, not minding if the Luna Consort already bore the heirs of the Pack. Sawyer felt like these rules had been amended recently and not the words of the ancient werewolves in the bloodline that had long gone. But who was he to interfere? His title had little relevance.
"It is time for the declaration, then the breeding which is the last part of tonight's celebration." Elder James surveyed the faces, his eyes settling on Sawyer a little longer. He moved out of the way for Daniel to take his place before Anita. The Alpha cleared his throat, then said the words that Sawyer knew would bring doom and chaos to the Pack in the coming years.
"I, Alpha Daniel of the Blue Moon Pack accept you, Anita Gavin as my Luna."
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