Chapter 90 - The Ceremony

LUNA ASTERBELLE'S POV

As if on cue, the rain poured on us as if it were Althea who was getting dramatic over the loss of a prominent werewolf. If Brian were one of her children, she would surely be cursing all of the people who teamed up just for a single purpose: to annihilate Brian.

A deafening silence surrounded the three of us in the woods when no one dared to speak after Jerome got rid of his bloodlust over Brian.

Mrs. Asterbelle arrived at the scene and told us to gather around the mansion. "I don't know what to say. I still can't believe that he's really dead," she anxiously muttered while holding onto my forearm. "Thank you, Luna. All of this wouldn't have been possible if you weren't here."

Left without the reason for her existence, a query popped into my head. "Aren't you feeling a sense of melancholy now that your mate is gone?"

My mother shook her head, distancing herself from me. "It's fine. I'm actually happier than ever. Brian ridiculed me since the first day he chose me as the luna," she replied, which triggered a memory fragment to flash through the depths of my mind.

It was a memory of Mrs. Asterbelle. She was tortured by her mate, who threatened her that she'd have nowhere else to go even if she'd been set free from his chains. He warned everyone to treat her as a pitiful omega once she refused to be their luna. Brian was probably favored by the moon goddess before.

***

Several weeks passed. We expected that Grimstone would crumble because of the fall of two alphas simultaneously, but we didn't know that it would be this bad.

There were no signs of peace anywhere. Everyone wanted to start chaos, saying that nobody could stop them. Their selfish desire to claim the rank was eating their souls.

"Jerome, can't you be the one to lead all of the packs? Merge all of the members; you can even execute those who aren't worthy of your leadership," Nero suggested while walking beside Jerome together out of the clan's garden. "Grimstone won't last longer if this continues," he added.

Jerome stopped watering the flowers that were graciously blooming under the blazing sun. He turned to Nero and put a smile on his face. "There's no reason to reject the offer to be the king of all. But I would still need to see if that would be everyone's wish as well."

Nero glanced at me as if he were seeking my assistance to urge Jerome too. I couldn't help but sigh, which made my shoulders slightly move.

"The blood moon wolves would be more than glad to have you as their new alpha. They're already familiar with you, though your reputation quite sucks because of how you bullied me in the past." I laughed it off.

Jerome already knew that the Crimson Moon wolves weren't fond of him because he spends most of his time with vampires in his clan.

"Shall we lead a banquet to bribe them to cooperate with us?" Yve spoke from the bench, where she sat beside Yana, who was still obviously weak. "It's not like those vampires are harmful. I've only lived with them for a few months, but I can testify that they weren't like how I imagined them to be," she said while meeting my gaze.

Yve's probably referring to the day when she believed all vampires were demonic creatures who only lived to feed on every creature's blood.

Just like Yve's recommendation, Jerome has arranged a banquet for all of the wolves residing in Grimstone, except for those that were rogues who were originally or previously cast out.

Nero was the one who insisted the Crimson Moon wolves participate in the celebration, which was held at the Blood Moon Pack, where I had my debut.

Mrs. Asterbelle helped me choose a decent gown that made me look effortlessly resplendent. She was also the one who did my make-up, even though there were maids present in the room.

For once, she acted like a real mother to me, not someone who only saw me as a threat to their pack.

"Use this," she said as she lent me a glass container that stored a transparent liquid.

I scrunch my forehead. "What's this?"

"It's a perfume that can hide your scent as a hybrid. We can't let our guards down so that you won't be attacked by anyone who desires your blood," Mrs. Asterbelle answered. "It's better to be safe than sorry."

I sprayed it all throughout my whole body, not leaving a single spot behind. "Thanks. You should get ready soon too. The rites will begin after half an hour."

My cold hands cupped my own cheeks as I started to get an eerie feeling that everyone's eyes would be set on me instead of Jerome, who would be hailing himself as the new alpha.

I wasn't mistaken since, from the very first second that I stepped foot in the venue, all heads turned to look at me.

The walls were painted in cream. There were three banners that were hung on the railings of the second floor, which commemorated the packs. The red leather carpet extended from the entrance until the edge of the room.

There wasn't anything extravagant inside. I assumed that Jerome gave a dress code in advance, since everyone's attire looked similar to one another.

"You're here," Yve greeted me with a raised hand. "Doesn't this seem nostalgic to you? I still remember how Jerome appeared out of the blue."

I wasn't a fan of reminiscing about the past, but that just can't be a coincidence. He must've sensed my wolf and purposely came to my debut to verify who his mate was.

"Jerome just couldn't accept the fact that we're mates. He was persistent in not letting me know about it," I commented, followed by a short laugh. "Where's your sister, by the way? Has she recovered from the silver bullet yet? How did she even survive that shot?" I consecutively rattled out my queries.

"Yana's wolf offered her life as a sacrifice. There was no other way for Yana to survive if her wolf didn't do so," Yve replied with a frown.

I didn't know if I had any right to comfort her with simple words, knowing that I was the one who told Yuki or anyone out there that Yana was a puppet under Brian's control.

"I'm sorry; I really thought Brian had kept Yana safe." I sincerely apologized, bowing my head to her.

She waved her hand. "As long as Yana's breathing and alive, nothing else matters. It would have been a different story if she died there."

A man clapped his hands multiple times from the center aisle at the same time that the microphone echoed through the huge speakers.

Jerome completely gained all of our attention, so he started to fake a cough. "It's my pleasure to see all of you here. I won't make such a long speech. I'm sure you already know who I am."

He picked up the microphone and walked closer to where I was. I was astounded to see how different his facial features were compared to how I regularly saw him.

I gulped, thinking about luscious deeds, the moment that his hands reached for mine.

"This is Luna Asterbelle, my beloved mate." Jerome introduced me to the crowd. "I, Jerome Dawson, happily take you, Luna Asterbelle, as my luna. I swear to the moon goddess' name that I'll be a virtuous alpha, a king of all wolves, in order to protect you for eternity."

Jerome pressed his lips against the back of my hand with his eyes closed. Those simple gestures of his made me scream internally.

"I, Luna Asterbelle, gladly accept you, Jerome Dawson, as my mate and alpha. I swear to the Moon Goddess, Althea, that I'll be an impressive luna who's full of tactics to defend Grimstone as a whole," I replied.

I leaned closer to him to give him a short peck in the cheeks before we faced everyone else. We received tons of congratulatory messages from our allies and other unfamiliar wolves.

After a few minutes, Jerome announced that he'd have Nero as his beta, which was followed by everyone else's respective titles.

Mrs. Asterbelle and Yana chose to stay as omegas, while Joseph also remained as a pack doctor.

Yve and Yuki were promoted to Gamma Female. Yve would have no choice other than to work well with Yuki.

Zen was removed from doing any tasks related to butlers as he moved to the pack warriors and was also designated to be an enforcer.

I just genuinely wish that this would be a great start for us.