Another big shout out and thank you to my amazing editor Tex Beethoven for doing such a fantastic job editing and polishing this chapter to where it is! One of the very best yet, and he did a tremendous job! Thank you Tex and you rock my friend!
Book 1
Chapter 5
It was approaching dark, and the ceremony would begin in a few hours. One of the junior female wolves who was a stylist in the town of Whitefish had come in to give Dante a haircut and a shave, using Dante's straight razor from his kit. She left, and Dante had showered and gotten dressed in a pair of black silk dress pants and a long sleeved black silk shirt tailored close to his chest and waist.
Odin walked into the suite Dante was using today, not having access to the suite he'd been sharing with Lily until after tonight's mating. Odin was holding a small package resembling a jewelry box in his hand. He was dressed in a flowing blue dress shirt that matched his eyes, and a pair of dark slacks, looking like a powerful businessman. "It's almost time son, I came to help you finish getting ready and to walk with you down to the Ceremonial Grounds. Odin paternally helped to brush out the long mane of black hair that Dante normally had to do himself. He worked it into a tight and neat ponytail, then opened the package he'd brought with him and pulled out a platinum ponytail holder in the form of a wolf's head that was very beautiful. After allowing Dante to handle and admire it, he slid it into place and secured it.
"This has been in our family for generations, and it's time for it to become yours. Welcome to the family son, we love you and I'm proud to call you family. I know you will be the best mate Luna could ever have picked for my Lily."
Dante and Odin shook hands and hugged before heading out of the Manor House and straight ahead towards the Ceremonial Grounds.
***
The whole Pack had gathered in the Ceremonial Grounds, which consisted of a clearing at the end of an expansive green stretching a mile due east from the Manor House. The Grounds were huge, with plenty of room for everyone, surrounded on three sides by forest. Several large bonfires lit up the night and conversation was loud as everyone talked excitedly about the events of the past day and expectations for tonight's momentous ceremony.
Dante was standing tall and outwardly calm off to one side of a huge structure with no walls or roof but consisting of a rectangular area defined by several massive pillars made of gray stone. Once a person arrived inside this structure after trekking from the Manor House, he or she would find themself facing the altar, which was a massive slab of granite approximately 10' long, 5' high and 18" thick. The smooth surface of the altar was at about waist level, resting upon several large boulders, apparently arranged haphazardly, but nevertheless providing a secure and level support for the rectangular altar. Everything: pillars, altar and support, had been worn smooth by the weather over the two centuries it had been exposed to the elements.
Alpha Odin had told Dante this place of Lunar worship had been erected shortly after the Alpha of the eons-old O'Connor Pack in Ireland had sent his younger brother's family plus 25 other families of wolves from his Pack to the New World, and eager for seclusion, the cadet branch had traveled as far west from the European colonies as they could, before establishing this settlement for their own. Every Alpha and Alpha Heir mated pair had publicly consummated their union on its surface since the Pack had made this location their home about over 200 years ago.
Dante understood the significance and the solemnity of the ritual. As the full moon rose in the night sky behind Dante, he heard the Pack settle down and eventually stop talking completely.
Odin strode with great dignity from the crowd to turn and face them, standing front and center before the stone structure. He beckoned to Dante, who approached from Odin's left before turning, again to face the crowd.
The crowd was sitting or reclining on the grass according to personal preference and had left an informal aisle in the middle. Lily was now led hand in hand by her Mother, Madam Alpha Victoria, down this aisle, pacing ceremonially due east, directly towards the rising moon as well as towards the altar and her recently-discovered mate Dante.
At the sight of his beloved, Dante's heart stopped and he needed to remind himself to close his mouth. Lily was a vision in silver, and he had never seen anything in his life as beautiful as she was right now. Her blood-red hair was done up and braided in several intricate weaves with a tiger lily above her right ear and small white flowers woven into her hair in several other places. (Dante appreciated the symbology: in Hawaiian culture a flower worn above the right ear signals that a woman is 'available'. But given the time and place, Lily was making herself available to only one man: himself!) Her eyes were dark and smoky and her makeup done perfectly. Her body was wrapped in a tight silk dress with elegant spaghetti straps and a plunging neckline showing a generous inside swell of each breast. The clinging dress was tight against her stomach and hips and extended to her ankles, but with a slash on one side extending above her right knee and one on the other to just below her left knee.
Once Victoria had led Lily up to Dante she let go of her hand and turned to stand on the far side of her mate, on his right, also facing the crowd. Lily stood in front of and facing Dante as he took both her hands in his.
Dante whispered reverently to his unconsummated mate Lily, "You have never been more beautiful Lily, you're radiant, and I am more proud than ever to be your mate."
As Lily smiled back with love and tenderness, her Father addressed the Pack.
Alpha Odin's voice boomed out, "Children of Luna: Tonight as we welcome the fullness of our Mistress Luna once again, we also welcome a new Pack member and a new mating. My daughter, Alpha Heir Lily has found her mate in our newest Pack member, Dante Silvrash. Tonight, under Luna's observance we shall bear witness to the Pack's new Alpha Heir pair as they claim each other and establish their bonds. As your Alpha and with the approval of my own mate, Madame Alpha Victoria O'Connor," he paused and looked at his mate as she graciously nodded her assent, "I proclaim them Dante and Lily Silvrash!"
As Alpha Odin's booming voice proclaimed the new Alpha Heir pair and their imminent public claiming of each other, the entire Pack broke into howls, carrying the news to their Mistress Luna, sharing in her joy and asking for her blessing on this mating.
Once the din settled down, this ceremony proving to be a mix of boisterous chaos and solemnity, Dante remained facing Lily as he spoke to her loudly enough for all those assembled to hear, "Lily, I claim you as my mate. I vow to love and protect you above all others. With this sacred oath I am bound to you as one soul shared between us, to love and honor you without end. I will cherish you and seek your wisdom, as well as provide for you and care for you for all time. I swear before our Mistress Luna that my words are true and given without hesitation or doubt. More than life itself, I love you Lily."
Tears were threatening to spill down Lily's cheeks as she listened to her mate professing his love for her in front of the Pack and their Mistress Luna. Her voice melodic and clear, her response rang out to Dante and to everyone else. "And I claim you as my mate, my Dante. One soul bound and shared between us, I too vow to be the one who will never fail you and who will love you without end. I will stand by your side come what may, and never leave you alone. I will honor you and love you and cherish you. I will bear your children and be the sheath for your pain and comfort you after battle. I will lead with you and forsake all others. Before our Mistress Luna, this I swear and proclaim without hesitation and without doubt. I love you Dante, now and forevermore!"
With that, Dante crushed Lily to his chest and claimed her lips with his own, kissing her deeply and making her moan and squeeze him back with desperate need.
The Pack broke into yips and howls and growls as everyone celebrated the mating.
Dante knew he would struggle with the next part, so he had decided to block out the rest of the world for the duration and focus exclusively on Lily. It wasn't difficult at all to lose himself in her as her scent filled his nose and his hands roamed her body, squeezing and caressing everything he could touch.
Lily began to whimper in need. She ran her hands hungrily across Dante's broad chest and desperately worked the buttons of his shirt open as her mouth battled with his in an age-old dance of love and passion. She pushed his shirt off his shoulders as Dante let go of her for a brief moment, so she could remove the garment completely.
As soon as Dante was free, he wrapped his arms back around Lily, continuing to kiss and plunder her mouth with forceful ardor. He reached around to Lily's back and slowly lowered the zipper all the way down her dress. Backing away from their kiss, he gazed deeply and lovingly into the pools of her emerald green eyes, but then gazed further downward as his large hands reached up and gently brushed the thin silver straps of her dress off her shoulders, causing the upper portion to fall, pooling around her hips, leaving her small and lacy black bra exposed to his hungry view. Dante next began nibbling on her neck and an ear as he knew she loved, as he pushed the dress past her hips so it could fall to the ground.
As he straightened up, Lily's mouth started to lick and bite and suck on his neck and chest, anywhere she could reach, as her insistent fingers worked on freeing his belt and pants.
Dante was groaning and breathing hard, and as Lily attacked his trousers, he worked the catch at the back of her bra and removed it from her body, baring her large breasts to his lustful gaze. As his pants fell to the ground and he stepped out of them, his right hand enveloped her left breast and kneaded the sensitive flesh, causing Lily to whimper before kissing him again and draping herself close to him.
They had discarded all of their clothing by this point except for Dante's black boxer briefs and Lily's tiny black thong, which latter impediment Dante quickly addressed by running his large hands down her sides, hooking her panties and launching them downwards until they drifted to her feet.
Lily gasped as he reached between their hips, nimbly exploring her most intimate flesh, wetting his fingers and causing her knees to tremble. She took half a step back from Dante, grabbed his last shred of fabric and dragged it all the way down to his ankles to kneel in front of him, holding it in place while he stepped out of it.
Because of the all-encompassing desire her mate had felt for her, Lily had never before been allowed to touch his male organ: he couldn't trust himself to control his passion and refrain from taking her fully. But the need for that restraint was now at an end and Dante's swollen and impressively large member was mere inches from Lily's face and her eyes were lidded with lust as she licked her lips in a last few moments of anticipation. The fire that had been building inside of her for days was now burning hot and bright, and there was no reason to hold back. She reached out and grasped his member in her hand, bringing her lips to the tip and sensually kissing the large glans that was now hers to use as she would.
