Her Fate, His Mate

Chapter 16

I looked at the tall wooden doors, Rykers hand gently squeezed my own. "Keep your head level. Find a spot or person in the room as you walk and smile. They will love you."

"Okay, let's do this." I inhaled a deep and soothing breath and let out slowly. Ryker made a small tap on the door and it opened for us. Everyone stood in their seats. I could tell some were overly eager in wanting to catch a glimpse of me as we began walking past the rows.

A little girl ran out from the crowd and stopped at our feet. I leaned down naturally to her without thinking. "Hi my name is Annabelle what's yours?"

The little girl smiled at me and "I am Millie. I couldn't see you very well because I am little you see. Momma is probably mad but I don't care. I got to talk to you first!" She looked over to her mother and waved. Her mother looked embarrassed as her cheeks had reddened.

"Well Miss Millie it is very nice to meet you. I look forward to seeing you around the packhouse!" I smiled to her and she lunged at me, gripping me in the sweetest hug a small child could ever give. I returned the hug and placed a small kiss a top of the young child's head. "Tell your momma I said hello for me. Can you do that?"

Her eyes lit up and she turned and ran back excitedly "Momma the nice lady, I mean the Luna said hi! She gave me a hug! She's amazing and really nice and pretty! Look at her momma!"

Everyone softly laughed and I stood and looked around majority of the room. Almost everyone was smiling at me. I must of impressed them. We finished walking up to the stage and Ryker gave the signal for everyone to sit and they complied.

"Good evening everyone! I am sure by now, from all of the gossip upon our arrival, everyone has heard about Annabelle." He paused and looked over to me and my heart skipped a beat as he continued, his voice booming over the large gathering "I know there have been speculations on if she is my Mate, your future Luna. Well, for those of you that didn't hear the conversation between Annabelle and Miss Millie, she is in fact my Mate, your future Luna! She has been through hell to make sure she is here for you, to fight with you and for you!" The crowd erupted into cheers.

He raised his hands, silencing them "Today marks the meeting and tomorrow night the Luna Ceremony will be held and everyone is invited per her request!" Cheers broke out once more.

He motioned me up to him and I stood next to him "Try raising your hand, they should quiet quickly for you to speak."

I raised my hand and almost instantly it was quiet. I cleared my throat and spoke loudly without yelling "Green Woodland it brings me so much pleasure to hear your acceptance into your pack. I have fought, for my life, to stand here with you and our Alpha. It is true that the future Alpha of Blood Moon kidnapped me and was planning on stealing me away and forcing me to be his Luna! I escaped with the help of our powerful Alpha Ryker along with the help of Asher and Kingston. Without their help and guidance I wouldn't be here standing with you. I know Luna ceremonies are usually pushed off for a few weeks but no worries. They're will be no work tomorrow and you will all be compensated for missed time! Those who work in human territories who need proper documentation to call out will be given the paperwork." I paused and everyone cheered. I looked over to Ryker and smiled. I raised my hand back up as I looked around the room at the cheerful faces. "I will do my very best to be the Luna this pack needs and deserves. To always do what is best in regards to the pack! Enjoy dinner being served tonight. Festivities will begin tomorrow at 2pm and the actual ceremony at 6pm followed by dinner. I look forward to getting to know you all and taking my place next to our powerful and strong Alpha!" Clapping and cheering erupted from the crowd as they stood. Rykers arm reached for my hand and his fingers intertwined with my own. We looked at each other lovingly and just as he knew what I was thinking we both lifted our arms as our hands were joined to show we were united. The crowd cheered louder than ever and began chanting "Woodland, Woodland, woodland" over and over. We waved and walked off the stage area. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a kiss by surprise. Without missing a beat my lips moved against his own, deepening the kiss. My tongue explored his mouth as his tongue explored mine. I pulled back slightly, out of breath and looked up to him "I love you."

He smiled brightly at me and kissed my forehead, "And I love you."

We walked hand in hand out to the gardens, torches lit along the stone walls and lamps lit on the pathway made it a romantic setting. "You did very well with the pack. Especially when Miss Millie busted through as we were walking. You handled her beautifully, showing her compassion, and love. I think that interaction between you two is what won over any skeptical wolves." he kissed the top of my head.

"I'm thrilled that they love me and show their support." I stopped and wrapped my arms around his waist. "This garden is beautiful."

"I knew you would enjoy it, we've added on to it and plan on adding a koi pond to the back under the trees back there." He kept me close to his side.

I softly sighed "I'm not going to lie, I am pretty worried about the next few days. I haven't heard anything from Blood Moon. Have you?"

He looked down at me and shook his head "No babe, I have not. I know they need to keep it hush, hush. Your mother is coming tomorrow though. She sent word to Gracie who relayed to Kingston."

I smiled, excitedly "Seriously?! She will be here? Oh that is perfect! I didn't want them to miss it. It sucks that my father will and I understand why but at least my mother can help me get ready."

Ryker smiled at me "That makes me happy that you're so happy and excited. Ready to go join the rest of the pack for dinner?"

Just as he mentioned dinner my stomach protested the lack of food loudly. He laughed and tugged me along with him. We walked through the garden to a field. Gennerally it would be wide and open but today it what many white tents with twinkle lights, one tent had a make shift dance floor and a band area set up. There were flowers hanging from the outter brim that lined along the tents. It was beautiful.

The smell of food soon drifted over and I inhaled the scent "Mmm it smells wonderful. I am starving."

"Lets get to our seat, the staff will be serving us." Ryker led me in the direction to our table. Arriving to the table, he pulled my chair out and allowed me to sit, pushing it in slightly. He sat next to me and poured me a glass of champagne.

I watched and made sure that everyone had been up to get their food and I stood. The pack could sense and all hushed and turned to me as I clicked my glass lightly with a fork "A toast, to the pack for welcoming me and accepting me as your future Luna! Cheers!" We all sipped and then members of the pack began following suite on toasting. We toasted over health, strength, courage and the Alpha and Luna.

As we ate I enjoyed small chatting with Ryker who finished his plate of food quickly. "Did you even taste it?" I teased.

"Oh. Yes. It was delicious. How do you like the chicken?" he wiggled his finger at my food.

I was cutting into it and took a bite. A soft delicious moan escaped my lips "It has to be the best chicken I have ever tasted."

He softly laughed "I'm glad you enjoy all of our cooking here." His arm wrapped around me, pulling my chair to him.

I laid my head down against his arm, resting it there as we watched our pack members enjoy their time. He stood up and offered his hand down to me and I took it standing. He led me out to the dance floor and we began dancing in each other's arms.

I rested my head against his chest. I listened to him the rhythm of his heart beat and his breathing. I held him tightly to me and breathed in his manly scent.

"If I could freeze this moment of time, I would." I lifted my head and kissed him softly. I heard a few "Awes" from the crowd around us.

When it was close to 11:30 we excused ourselves and walked back to our bedroom. We walked inside our room and shut the door behind us, locking it. We could never be too careful with our safety. We laid down on the bed together after we took our clothes off. He held me in his arms and soon I drifted in to a deep sleep, with beautiful dreams of our future.