Rejecting my mate

11. The Full Moon ceremony

Melissa's POV

I was so grateful to Rachel, I was sure that if it wasn’t for her insistence on me being with her, and Fang’s desire to keep his guests happy, I wouldn’t have been in a condition to attend the ceremony. Not only have I enjoyed the first full night's sleep since arriving at the Pack House, but I had avoided being beaten by the brats. I was so hopeful for what could happen that day. Maybe I would turn out to be Rachel’s brother’s mate, that would be so perfect.

I was also grateful to have her to guide me in my first ceremony, I wasn't sure what to expect, most people in a pack participated in the monthly ceremony, but my mother had kept me away, and because of that, I wasn't sure what was going to happen, and I have to accept I was a little scared. Luckily Rachel was an expert and had offered to help me every step. We were in her room getting ready, and it was a carefree experience that I never expected to have.

“Hello!” a voice called, knocking on the door at the same time. Rachel went to open the door, and I recognized Sandra, Hunter’s main w***e, the one who sometimes acted as his mate, even if she wasn’t. She was also Finn’s and Fiona’s mother.

“I’m here to help you get ready,” she said with a false smile.

"No help is needed, I have Melissa here to help."

"I heard that you are leaving the pack," Sandra told me, casually. "I'm happy for you, I wish you the best."

"Thanks," I knew that she wanted me away, not for my own good, but because she believed that Hunter wanted me, and couldn't have someone capable of affecting her position in the pack.

"The ceremony starts in half an hour, don't be late."

Since the important part of the ceremony involved shifting into our wolves, we needed to wear something easy to discard, and easy to recover once we shifted back. For women, it usually involved a dress-like piece of fabric that tied on our shoulders and that our wolves could easily get out of. I had seen it many times, but it was my first time wearing it, and Rachel noticed my hesitation and offered to help me.

"It's hard to believe it's your first time," Rachel said, "I have so many memories of me being little and going with my parents to the ceremony."

"I was eight years old when Hunter killed my father. I guess I might have been to some ceremonies before that, but since I didn't shift until I was twelve, I don't remember much about them. We usually had pack gatherings and parties when I was little, so I guess some of them could have been during the ceremony, only I don't remember anything special about them."

"That's kind of sad. From hearing Fang talk about his pack, I never imagined things were like this."

"I guess for him everything is perfect, he is the prince of this place, he gets all he wants, whenever he wants it. He is going to be his father's clone when he takes over, and will think everything is as it should be. I'm sorry if you are friends with him, but he is just as sick as the rest of his family. I can't wait to get out of here, as far as I can, and never look back."

"But what if you find your True Mate tonight and is someone in this pack?"

"If I'm that unlucky to find my True Mate in this place, then we will go away together. You don't get just how awful it has been growing up in here, with all those people treating me as if I'm lower than dirt. I want to go away and start over in a new place, where I can be myself, and be free."

"I think you are giving too much credit to the outside world, but I kind of get it, you need a new start. You can count on me and my brother for that, we will welcome you in our pack for as long as you need. You can travel with us for the ceremonies until you find your True Mate, and if you don't, you can stay with us." Rachel's offer was sincere, and I couldn't believe it, she was so kind and we barely knew each other, but I needed her help, and I had the feeling that Rage, no matter his name, was a good person.

"I would be so grateful to you if you help me like that. I haven't really thought much beyond getting out of here, and having a place to stay would be great. And I don't remember the last time I had a friend..."

"Well, now you have me. And probably Rage, he doesn't have many friends, everyone is afraid of him, but you didn't look afraid when he was growling yesterday."

"Well, he was growling on my behalf," I said after a moment. He did look scary for a moment, but I didn't feel afraid of him. I was used to Hunter and his brats being mean to me and trying to dominate me, and I stopped being afraid of them a long time ago. Compared to them, that actually wanted to hurt me, Rage's anger for my situation feels refreshing and even safe. "It would be wonderful to have someone like him as a mate, I wish I could be that lucky."

"I hope so too, that would be awesome. And even if he is not your True Mate, he will be happy to know that you think he would be a good choice, I feel like sometimes he thinks he won't be able to find a mate, his temper usually scares away most women."

"I know that once he finds his True Mate, he will be a big teddy bear for her."

"Don't use that comparison in front of him, he won't like being compared to a bear, especially a teddy bear," she said, and I could tell her advice was part jest, part truth.

"Are you ready?" Letta came into the room to ask. "Do you need any help?"

"No, I think we are ready," I said, looking at Rachel to check on her, and I saw she was indeed ready.

"Lead the way," she said, and we got out of the room, following Letta and others to the woods.

I knew the place where the ceremony was going to take place, I had been there with my mother a few times, but never, to my knowledge, when other people was around. The clearing that looked massive when it was just the two of us, looked small and crowded. I could tell that everyone knew their places, while I felt out of place, unsure of what to do. Despite my words, I wasn't really ready for what would happen.

Letta showed us to the front, where all the unmated females were gathered. On the other side of the clearing the unmated males were waiting. Behind us were different groups, the mated couples, the families, the old ones. But at the center, Hunter was waiting.

"Welcome everyone to this Full Moon ceremony. Today it's especial for a couple of reasons. First, one of our own is joining us as an adult member of our Pack for the first time".  I could hear some clapping and a few words, but the response was mild compared to what I suspected happened with other better known and loved members of the pack. "She will have the chance of looking for her True Mate, for the first time, but don't worry, not many found them on their first try, it can take a while to find that especial someone. If you do find him," he added, directly to me, and I wasn't sure what he was trying to tell me, "proof of that is the group visiting us, that has been traveling from pack to pack looking for their other half. Let's hope they find what they are looking for in our pack," I wasn't sure if the others could hear it, but I could tell his words weren't sincere. "Fang, why don't you introduce your friends to the rest of the pack. They need to know how to call them if one of them find turns out to be the True Mate of one of our own."

"Thank you Alpha. As you know I have been traveling these past couple of years, looking for my own True Mate, and in my travels I met these people, who is now visiting us. These are my friends and future Alphas of their packs, Ax, Rage, s***h and Claw, also John, who is traveling with Ax, Tony who is alone, and Rachel, Rage's sister. They are all strong wolves and any of you would be lucky to call any of them mates."

"Welcome, and good luck to all of you," Hunter said. "Now, it's time to follow the moon's call and shift into our wolves. Let us hear our beasts and run into the night. We will run, we will hunt, and meet here in a few hours. Now, shift and follow me."

I wasn't sure what to expect, but that wasn't what I expected. I knew that the ceremony was our chance to find our mates, but Hunter hadn't said anything about it, so I just turned to look at Rachel.

"Our wolves know better," she said, as if answering the question I didn't ask, "once we turn into our wolves, they will be able to find our mate if he is here."

She took a step back and started shifting, all around us the rest of the people was doing the same, so I let my wolf out. Because of my mother's restrictions and then with her death, I had never shifted in front of the rest of the Pack, Paul being the only exception. The world felt different from my wolf's perspective, more alive, I felt more complete. And it was a different experience to shift surrounded by the Pack.

Once the shift ended, I shook my dress away and took a couple of steps. Beside me, Rachel's wolf was stretching. I noticed her wolf was slightly smaller than mine, but the other wolves around me were significantly smaller, and were looking up at me, I could tell, in surprise. I had never shifted near them, so I had never had a chance to compare size, and I wasn't sure what it meant.

I heard a howl and looked at the other side of the clearing where the male wolves had also shifted. Five wolves were bigger than the ones around them, and I could tell those were the alpha wolves, they were already fighting among them, trying to show dominance, while the smaller wolves around them cowered away.

A new howl came from the forest, and every wolf answered, it was instinct, and my wolf, even if it reveled against it, also answered the call before it started running after it.