Celestial and The Alpha

Celeste's POV

From the minute I woke up, my stomach was in knots. I spent an extra fifteen minutes in the shower; combing through every tangle in my hair, shaving every inch of visible skin (almost cutting myself in the process as it was maybe my third time shaving), and being overall stuck in my head about tonight. Last night ended wonderfully. Everyone danced the night away, ate amazing barbeque, and caught up with the former Alpha and Luna. They told stories of their travels that made me feel as if I was glimpsing into mine and Xavier's future. Him and I, hand in hand as we sail around the canals of Amsterdam. Xavier, leading me through the streets of France or Germany.

But today was supposed to be about me. Everyone watching as Xavier introduces me to and welcomes me to the pack. Everyone saying some form of hello, probably asking me questions about myself and my history. The thought of all that attention was making me extremely anxious. I ran to the bathroom, feeling like I was going to throw up only to sit there hacking over the toilet, nothing willing to leave my stomach.

A knock sounded at the door. I swayed on my feet as I went over to the door, pulling it open and wiping at my mouth in case there was any drool. Josh stood at the door, a big smile on his face until he saw the state of me. "Uh, are you okay?" I nodded unconvincingly. "Okay, sure, lie to one of your closest friends here." I glared at him.

"My stomach is in knots," I admitted.

"Relax, tonight will be fine and done in a blink of an eye. Besides, Xavier instructed me to take you out for a day of pampering." He did? Of course he did. . He knows how nervous I am for tonight. "So you and I are going to a spa in the human town nearby." The human town?

"Xavier okayed that?" He rolled his eyes.

"All I had to do was explain that a nice hot stone massage would do wonders to help his darling little mate and he said I could take you anywhere I felt would get the job done." I smiled at that. Of course he said that. "We do have to bring a few extra warriors with us but I figured that would happen." Yeah that also sounds like something Xavier would have happen. .

Josh and I drove, a car following behind us with three extra warriors, to the nearby human town and got breakfast. My stomach was still in knots so I poked at my scrambled eggs and english muffin, only eating when Josh encouraged me to. I still left my plate half untouched. We then went and got pedicures, to which I raised a brow at him. "What? Guys should get pedicures too, feet are gross." I nod, that's fair. The warriors tried to blend in but it was clear that the three bulky men outside the nail studio were there with an intention. The nail ladies whispered about them, glancing outside as they did our nails. "Sorry ladies," Josh apologized. "They're with us. She's famous." My eyes went wide at his blatant lie. The whispers stopped as they stared up at me.

"I'm not famous," I say quietly.

"Hush," Josh says, leaning back into his massage chair.

Once our nails were done and dry, we headed to the spa for our massage. He booked a couples massage but asked for a privacy partition, emphasizing to the ladies that I was taken by a 'big, bad, hunk of a man.' I blushed profusely. I was glad the massage was with Josh and not Xavier, because I made some noises that I think Xavier would read far too much into. The warriors followed us as we made a few final stops at some shops Josh had seen on his way in. He insisted I get a piece of jewlery that stopped me in my tracks. It was a green stone, surrounded by a dark metal on a matching chain. The green reminded me of Xavier's eyes and I found myself asking to try it on. Josh whistled as the store attendant put it around my neck. "Yeah, you have to get that. Xavier will notice for sure." I blushed, brushing my hand over the cool stone. Josh handed the same gold card he'd been using all day to the store attendant. "She's going to wear it out." The sales attendant handed Josh a little pair of scissors, to which he cut off the tiny blue price tag, before handing them back and getting his card in return. "Do you already have an outfit for tonight?" I nod. Lesa helped me pick out an outfit before her parents arrived yesterday. It was a long, flowy dress with a floral pattern. It was two separate pieces attached by a belt-clasp looking piece in the middle of the front waist of the dress, leaving my back and sides exposed. At first, I was unsure about the amount of skin that would be showing, but then she pointed out that Xavier would be able to run his hand over my back, letting our bond calm me better through the night. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, thank you Josh." I give him a sincere smile. Josh gets that far off look in his eyes and I know it's Xavier, asking us to come back. It was just past two and the ceremony wouldn't be until six so I wondered what was making him want us back so early. The human town was cute, colorful and full of art. I knew I'd have to come back another time.

When we got back to the pack house, Xavier was waiting outside, an anxious look on his face. He comes up to the car as it comes to a halt and opens my door. The minute I'm out of the seat, Xavier has his arms around me and buries his head in my hair. I laugh a little as I pat his chest. "Is everything okay?"

"I don't like when I can't see you," he grumbles. I laugh again.

"Seriously?" Josh says, getting out from the driver's seat. "You made us come back early because of your wolf's separation anxiety?" He scoffs, locking the car and heading into the pack house.

"Did you two have a nice day?" I nod into his chest, fingers tracing over his arms.

"A great day, thank you for letting us go."

"I never want you to feel stuck here. I just need you to be safe so if you're okay with the warriors following you, then you can go into the human town more often." I smile.

"After today, I don't think there's really any other choice."

"You liked it?"

"A lot," I say with a smile. "We need more color here."

"And how do we go about that?" He pulls back with a hum, swaying us in our spot.

"Flowers," I suggest off the bat. "And art," I think of the murals and sculptures I saw in town. "Maybe paint a few of the shops in the town square?" I think the coffee shop would look cute in a shade of yellow or blue.

"Whatever your heart wishes is my command," he says honestly. His eyes zero in on my new necklace and a smile lights up his face. "I like this," he picks it up, placing a kiss over the cold stone. "I like it a lot." I feel my heart swell. "Are you ready for tonight?" I shake my head no and he chuckles. "It'll be okay, love."

As the sun goes down, the nerves begin to build again. The entire pack, minus warriors on patrol, gathers outside of the pack house and it feels much more compact than last night. I had changed into my dress and was staring at the gathered pack outside from the porch. Zay gave me a smile as she exited the pack house, stopping to give me a brief hug before melting into the crowd. Before I knew it, a hush settled over the pack and the sound of the night met my ears. "Are you ready?" My head whipped to the side to see Xavier beside me. When did he come out? I shook my head and he chuckled, taking my hand. "It'll be okay, little one." I felt myself melting at the pet name and his tone, full of reassurance. He pressed his lips briefly to mine and began to lead me through the crowd. A walkway cleared for us as he led me towards a fire, smaller than last night, but still in the same place. No tables were placed in front of it, instead ten wolves stood facing the crowd. I recognized three of them as Jared, Jacob, and Josh. They all held stoic looks on their faces but gave me reassuring nods, eyes full of confidence. Xavier stopped us in the middle of them, five wolves on either side of us.

"Tonight we gather to welcome Celestial Jacobs into the Paramount Pack." I'm surprised to hear my full name but before I can process it, a round of cheers erupted from the crowd and I felt some of the nerves melting away. They all look so happy, bright smiles on their faces. "Tonight, we vow to protect her from any harm that may come her way and ask that she gives her all to give that same care and protection to those now around her." I gulp and Xavier rubs my hand. I hadn't even noticed but he never set it down.

"Celeste, do you agree to fight for and love this pack until your soul moves on to be with the Goddess?" I nod, my mouth refusing to open. Xavier chuckles, "I need a verbal confirmation, love."

"Yes, I do." I tighten my hold on his hand. "Until the day I meet the Goddess." A series of howls erupt on either side of us. I smile.

"Please hold out your hand." I nervously put my free hand in his. Zay comes forward and hands him a small scalpel and I gulp again. "This will only sting for a second." He applies a brief pressure to my palm and I wince as a drop of blood makes itself known. He hands the knife back to Zay, grabbing another and doing the same to his own palm. He guides my hand over the fire, along with his own and our blood drips down into the fire. "Moon Goddess, we ask that you lovingly place Celeste into this pack's hold." A spark emerges from the fire and flies up towards the sky. An ache forms behind my eyes and I furrow my brows. Xavier wraps our hands in cloth bandages and pulls me to him, his hand finding my bare back. The ache increases and I hiss. "It's okay, it's just the link forming. Give it a minute." True to his word, the ache settles after a minute.

'Can you hear me?' I furrow my brows. 'Celeste?'

"Yes, I can hear you." Cheers erupt from the crowd and I find myself smiling. People begin to get up, some coming up to hug me and say hi, others going straight to the tree line. "Where are they all going?" My brows furrow in confusion.

"They're all excited to share their first run with their new pack mate, their future Luna." My chest swells with pride. He begins to lead me towards the tree line, following the crowd. When we get there, most everyone is already shifted. Xavier takes a look around and leads me behind a large tree. I carefully take off the pretty dress and shift. The world around me enhances and I open my link to everyone in the pack. Their words are mumbles in loud waves but I can make out the hum of 'Welcome Luna' that echoes in most everyone's words. When I come back around the tree, Xavier is already shifted. He grins wolfishly at me and I trot to him, weaving myself in and out of his legs. He nuzzles his nose into my fur and I do the same. 'Come, little one. Let's lead our pack.' Our Pack. We make our way to the front of the crowd and Xavier nods to me. I look out towards the crowd, my pack, and I howl towards the sky. A chorus of howls echo in front of me before I turn around and begin to lead my pack through the woods.