I woke up as early as 8 a.m. the next day to start preparing for the ceremony. The ceremony will be held on the soccer field in the evening. Preparations were being made, and everyone was going about their respective work.
I started off the day with a much-needed shower, until my body was as smooth as a newborn. Ava came over, and together we went to get a special spa treatment.
I was washed, scrubbed, and waxed until I looked and felt like a hairless cat.
We went back to the fashion house for the fitting and to also check how far they had gone with the dress. They pretty much sewed the clothes in less than 24 hours. What was left were the finishing touches on the dress.
The dress only required a little adjustment. They took note of it, promised to work on it, and had it delivered to my doorstep the following day.
"What do you intend to do about your braids?" Ava asked as we were getting closer to the packing house. "It is a bit rough."
"Honestly, nothing. I was just going to leave it down, and if it is too much of a bother, I will pack it up." I had even forgotten that I still had my braids on. It was already too late; even if I were able to loosen it before tomorrow, I wouldn't know how to style it.
Ava gave me a disappointed look, saying, "Tomorrow is your day. You are going to become the Luna of the seventh most powerful pack in Europe. You should look your best. Don't worry, I know a place."
"Where?" She didn't answer me. Instead, she dragged me to a nearby salon.
"Welcome, welcome!" A baldheaded woman in her thirties came out to usher us in. "It is an honor to have you, Luna. So what can we do for you?"
"My friend here needs to look her best tomorrow, so we will start with letting her hair down and washing it, and all those other things you guys do."
The baldheaded woman ushered me to a chair. It was pretty ironic—a bald woman owning a salon. "Don’t worry, Luna, you are in safe hands. I have handled a lot of Type C hair, so I know what I am doing. Just relax." She reassured me. I flashed her a smile and relaxed into the chair, almost drifting into sleep as a group of young ladies, about four, helped loosen the hair. It was washed, conditioned, and styled.
I came out of the salon feeling like a celebrity. It was as if it was my wedding day, the way the preparations were going. I only wished my family would be able to make it.
We went back home, and with nothing to do, I continued familiarizing myself with the pack while Ava helped me with areas I was finding difficult.
"How did you cope, coming from another pack to this one? I mean, I still struggle with it, and I miss my family so much." I asked Ava.
"To be sincere, I had it almost as bad as you did when I first moved. I had a horrible breakout. Plus, my family was across the sea. But Ian helped me and, of course, my baby Jake, and the pack made me feel welcome. But I do visit home once a year. The summary of the whole thing is that it gets better with time."
Hmm... I hope so.
The day passed by like a blur, and night descended on the city.
Knock, knock. The sound jarred me awake from my sleep. I tossed around the empty bed, willing that whoever was knocking would stop. I was about to drift off to dream land when I heard it again.
Knock, knock.
The person behind the door was persistent; he or she had a death wish.
I glare at the offending object of discomfort with sleepy eyes. The wall clock read 7 o'clock. Who would dare disturb me at this ungodly hour? I need my beauty sleep!
"Who the fuck is that?" I boomed, my eyes trying to burn holes through the door.
"Delivery for the Luna."
"Just leave it at the door!" I waited till I heard the retreating footsteps before I got down from the bed. Richard's scent was lingering faintly in the room. I had slept before he could come back, and he was gone before I woke up. He had left early today to prepare for the ceremony.
I wore my flip-flops and waddled to the door. On opening it, there was a huge ass box on the floor, and beside it was a clothes rack. I looked sideways, trying to see if I could catch the culprit, but they were far gone.
I took them inside and placed them on the bed. I opened the clothes rack first, a little box fell out, together with a card. I picked up the card first and opened it. "Congratulations on your mating ceremony" was boldly written in cursive.
I opened the box and was greeted with the delicious smell of white chocolate. I threw one into my mouth and sighed as the creamy goodness dissolved in my mouth.
I hung the dress in the closet before going back to open the rest. A mysterious red box was staring at me. It had no letter attached to it. Inside was a set of silver jewelry: earrings, a necklace, a bracelet, and an anklet. I sniffed the box, trying to detect any scent on it. But there was nothing. It was as if the person had masked their scent.
I set it aside. I will get to the bottom of that later. The familiar tune of my phone rang, its sound disturbing the silence. I picked it up, and behold! It was my brother calling via video call.
I moved towards the window where there was a lot of sunlight and picked up the call. The screen was dark. I could hear no sound, nor could I see anyone. "Hello?" The screen was still dark and had no response.
"Alex? Is it a prank?" There was still no response.
I shrugged, about to cut the call. Maybe it was a mistake when... "Congratulations!" The voices of my Dad, Mom, and Alex ranged through the speakers.
When I heard their voice, a huge ass smile spread across my face. They were all there together, peeping through the screen.
"Congratulations on your mating ceremony." My mom whispered, trying to blink back tears.
"Thanks, mom. Thank you so much, everyone. But how did you guys know? I was going to tell you after the ceremony."
"Richard called and told us, so we decided to give you a little morale boost." My dad replied.
"Yo sis! I can't believe your crazy ass is about to be the Luna of a pack." My brother piped in. I chuckled at his words. It still feels surreal to me.
"Same here, bro. I can't believe it."
"I'm so proud of you, baby. It hasn't been a month since you swore you wouldn't get back with him, but here we are." My mom chimed in, trying to hold back her tears, but failing. "I hope you are happy and Richard is taking care of you."
"Yes, Mom, I am happy. Richard is trying his best."
"He had better try harder. I only want the best for my girl. " My dad's gruff voice replied.
"I’ve missed you all so much."
"We missed you as well, Baby." My mother responded with sniffles, ready to burst into tears again.
"All right, we have to get going." My dad collected the phone from her hands. "Goodbye Angel, always remember that we love you and we will always be with you." And then the screen went blank.
For a while, I continued staring at the black screen with misty eyes, trying to blink back tears. Hearing their voices had made me weak.
Knock, knock. The scent of wildflowers and vanilla wafted into the air; there was no doubt it was Ava and Jessi.
"Come in."
"Congratulations!" They screamed as Jessi rushed in to hug me while Ava was spraying the confetti gun on me.
Haha "What's the occasion?" I asked, beaming from ear to ear.
"Someone is going to be mated today, so we came bearing gifts." Ava gestured to the package that was lying on the floor. "But before that, we have to pop the Champagne." She picked up the bottle of champagne and shook it, and boom! The cork came off, splashing the content around.
Screams filled the air as Jessi passed the glass to us. We all raised our glasses in toast. "To our friends and Luna."
"To our friends and Luna." We clinked the cups before I drank the entire contents in one go. "Woah!" I exclaimed as the drink hit my system.
We moved to the chair in the room and sat down, sipping our drinks. "Thanks a lot, girls."
"It is no problem. So, how is it going?" Jessica was sporting a new look. She had dyed her hair back to blond and removed her tongue piercing.
"Fine. I don't even feel nervous." Maybe it hasn't hit me yet, or maybe it was the drink talking. "Did you guys send me any packages?"
"No, I didn't." Jessi replied. I looked at Ava, and she shook her head in negation.
"Is something wrong?" Ava added
"Not really. I just received a strange package of expensive jewelry, and it has no scent attached to it that I could use to track it down.
I took the box and opened it, showing it to them. They were green with envy as they examined it. "Wow! This shit is legit and freaking expensive. I am jealous." Ava exclaimed.
But Jessica was silent, observing the accessories. "I think I know who sent them." She spoke up after a while. "It should be from my mom. It is customary for the preceding Luna to present the incoming one with jewelry to be worn during the mating ceremony."
Woaw! What on Earth is happening? Did my arch enemy just send me something?
I put on the jewelry with their help and stood in front of the mirror, admiring it. It looked so good. The pieces would go well with the dress I picked.
"Wow! This is so nice. It really brings out the color of your eyes."
"I know right." Today was going to be a good day; I could already feel it in the air.