Her Rejection's Revenge

CHAPTER FIVE: CROWNING CEREMONY

Three hours to go….

The big day was finally here. The crowning ceremony. I have learned every ritual by heart just to make sure I didn’t miss the slightest detail. It was important to me that everything turned out perfect when Brax would mark me. The success of the ceremony would somehow compensate for my lack of strength and rank.

Therefore, I was determined to go through it no matter what. Even if I had to bite my own tongue, I would do it without hesitation. This was the opportunity that I had waited for too long to let it go to waste.

As I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my room, I once again removed an imaginary pleat down my thigh. The orange peachy material clung to my curves in an unflattering way, showing off the tight flesh. The big lace at the bottom looked very old and was too large to fit the modern fashion standards.

I didn’t mind – I wasn’t about to let anything come between me becoming Luna. Not even myself. I pulled my peachy neutral lipstick from my purse and applied it carefully on my lips. It didn’t matter if I looked anemic, I was going to dramatize my eyes a bit more today to make my translucent grey eyes look livelier.

“Hey pumpkin,” the familiar chirpy voice of Bee sounded from the corridor, and she stopped in the middle of her track when she saw me. “Ooops, you really do look like a pumpkin,” she laughed freely, and I felt somewhat mortified. I knew I didn’t look my best self, but did Bee had to rub it in so malevolently?

“I look okay,” I replied unfazed, picking up my Huda obsession palette and started to paint my eyes with some color. The reason why I hated dull colors on my lips was because it didn’t make my eyes pop out. I wasn’t about to let anybody rattle me before the ceremony.

As it was, I was already having some difficulty to breathe as the dress was squeezing the air from my body with its tightness. It was a wonder that I was still able to keep my body straight.

“Well, somebody’s confident. Look, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to make you feel bad about yourself. I guess I’m a little jumpy too.”

That statement made me turn to look at her properly and I swallowed the lump at the base of my throat. Beatrice Larson looked her finest best – her off-shoulder moss green dress was a perfect match to her eyes. With exaggerated tulle skirt flowing from her waist with ruffle accents, she should have looked ridiculous, but she was gorgeous. The structured bodice with ruched cups emphasized her huge boobs, and a lace-up back added glamor to the crowd favorite gown.

“Wow,” I uttered automatically, envy filling my heart at how she looked. “You look lovely.”

What surprised me was that I had no idea that she’d been planning to wear something so exquisite on the ceremony, and we usually talked about everything. Well, I certainly showed her my peachy dress before, and she never said it made me look like a pumpkin.

I sighed. Why was I feeling so jealous of my own best friend? Hadn’t I just promised myself only minutes ago that I wouldn’t do this to myself? What did it matter that Bee looked more beautiful than I did? I was going to be the next Luna, and that was all that counted.

Bee smiled at me sweetly, doing a full turn and the tulle skirt rotated with the movement. “Thank you. I got this as gift from my mother. She wanted me to have something special for this grand event,” she rolled her eyes playfully at me.

There, I was resenting her for nothing. She hadn’t planned anything behind my back, she would just look gorgeous in anything that she wore.

“Well, she chose well,” I smiled, forgetting my earlier misplaced grudge. “That dress fits you perfectly. You look lovely.”

“Oh thanks honey. You look pretty too. I was just kidding earlier. You know how I can get jumpy when I’m nervous. I can’t believe that you’re not freaking out. My palms are all sweaty and my heart’s beating out of my chest like crazy,” she murmured coquettishly, placing her hand on her heart in a placating gesture.

Finally satisfied with the outcome of my eyeshadow, I snapped the makeup kit shut and gave myself another critical inspection. I looked passable, I only had to survive the night.

With a perfect smile pinned in place, I faced my best friend. “I’m ready,” I announced in an assertive voice. “Let’s go.”

Bee blinked at me in undisguised surprise at my autocratic tone, but she didn’t argue my command. She gave a curt nod and led me to the garage where my grey Toyota awaited us. I was driving both of us to the Bronx hall which we had rented for Brax’s birthday to the outside world.

Alpha Finn had waited for three years to surrender his throne to his only son after four years. Brax should have been Alpha when he’d turned eighteen, but Alpha Finn had felt that his son had not been ready. He had very particular methods about managing the pack among the human world and the strict rules were important for us to keep our identity hidden.

Two hours to go…

The crowning ceremony was a grand thing in our pack as it happened every two decades – it meant the beginning of a new era. It was not something which any of the surviving members took lightly. Beautiful dresses were very superficial compared to the depth of meaning behind the ceremony.

Braxton was seated on the dais where a figurative throne had been set up and he looked imperious. Every of our pack member would pay homage to our new Alpha by offering a drop of their blood. I watched as one by one went up the stage to bend on the knee and cutting open their wrist to feed the Alpha with one drop.

After being blood bound to him, the members offered the cut wrist to the Alpha’s mouth who would gently bite the wound before licking it. Alpha’s saliva had healing powers, especially after being bound by flesh and blood.

When the wound was healed, each member recited the words that would pledge them to him forever.

From this day forward, me before you, mine to you, yours to you, Alpha

And he would reply with the same refrain but replacing ‘Alpha’ with the word ‘pack’, thereby pledging ourselves in both directions. The bond was unbreakable only if the Alpha himself reneged on someone, and with good reasons.

My turn was last because after the flesh and blood ceremony, there would be the marking ceremony as well. He would bite the side of my neck, sink his fangs in my delicate flesh and make him his in front of everyone. My heart picked up speed at the thought as I waited for my turn.

I wished he would lock eyes with me for one second as it would make me feel special. But he was so focused on the members that he didn’t pay any attention to me. My throat dried when he smiled genuinely to some members, and I knew that he never bestowed me with one of those smiles. I knew the difference, the ones that he gave me was fake and forced.

One hour to go, I reminded myself dutifully. After three years of living under his tyranny, I wasn’t about to give up. I heaved a huge sigh for courage which left me as soon as I realized who was up next.

Anna Calhoun.

The breath stuck in my lungs and with bated breath, I watched as Braxton’s face stretched larger as his eyes locked with the beta’s daughter. A visceral jealousy started inside me as pictures of them naked tormented my mind once again. My lips became dry, and my head started to spin.

Forty minutes, Zel, my wolf warned dangerously as I was on the verge of passing out. My tongue darted out to moisten my lips, and my eyes darted around in desperate search of an ally in that difficult moment. Anyone would do at the moment provided I was given the moral support that I needed.

Nobody was even looking in my direction. My mother was smiling with tears in her eyes as she looked in Brax’s direction, like the revelation of their betrayal did nothing to diminish her esteem for the Alpha. My father stared furiously at Braxton, ready to serve him at his bequest.

In blind confusion, I turned to the only person who would help me out in that situation. Bee. My eyes looked for her everywhere, but I could not find her. Defeated, I averted my eyes from the humiliating scene and waited with downcast eyes until the torture was over.

Did everybody know about them and did not give a damn? Why did I care so much then? Why wasn’t I so unaffected as them? I blinked back the tears, furious with myself for that moment of weakness. I was such a pathetic creature.

When I looked back at the dais, Anna’s turn was over, and she’d already descended from the stage. I could see her eyes pinned on me, and I refused to give her the satisfaction of seeing me break.

Thirty minutes. But who was counting?

The rest of the members flashed in front of my eyes, as I waited for my turn with diverted attention. My head snapped back in place when I saw Bee walking up the dais and my breath stuck in my chest once again. She was gorgeous and she seemed to glow as she approached Brax with an illuminating smile which lit up her whole face. I wished I could also be that happy.

Finally, everybody was done, and all expectant eyes turned towards me. I took a deep breath and fixed a smile on my face wishing that it could have been as authentic as Bee’s only a few minutes ago.

Fifteen minutes, Zelda! I chided myself as I forced my steps towards the stage in Braxton’s direction. When our eyes met, I nearly fled from there, leaving everything behind. There was no kindness or love in the cold grey eyes which stared back at me, only a faint disdain and disgust which I could not ignore.

With alarm, I finally acknowledged to myself that I had paid no heed to his feelings for me for too long, and now it was too late to back down. My smile faltered as I took the knife which everybody had used to slit their wrist.

My hands were trembling as I mimicked their action, a technique which had been taught to us as a young age not to spill too much blood. I accosted my wrist to Braxton’s mouth, and he opened it to drink my blood. It felt like he was taking a piece of me, a precious piece of me and I thrust the negative thoughts at the back of my mind.

The smile I offered him was more real as his mouth touched the delicate skin at my wrist, and his saliva wetted my wound. It was supposed to be therapeutic as per the books we’ve read, but nobody prepared me for the onslaught of memories which assailed me.

There was nothing erotic in my mind as I recalled all our lovemaking moments, where he would invade my body with pain and ruthlessness. I clenched my jaw against the assault and braced myself against the agony. I was not going to ruin this.

I heaved a sigh of relief when the wound was healed, and he dropped my hand. He gave me a nod and I joined him at his side, and he bent to gently bite my neck marking me. With great effort, I tried not to flinch at the small pain he administered on my soft flesh in front of everyone.

Then, his father approached him with the golden crown to place on his son’s head.

Then, all of a sudden, the atmosphere changed as every werewolf howled in the room snarled at the same time as we smelled the unfamiliar scent. But it was too late. A figure appeared on the dais near Brax, snatching the crown away from Alpha Finn.