AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The crowd breaks into applause as my father raises his arm above his head. "By the power vested in me by the elders of the Luna Lake Pack, I now pronounce you alpha and mate."
My dad turns to the crowd. "I now call upon the elders, friends, and family of both parties to rise and join us in celebration!"
People begin to laugh and cheer as I take Caleb's hand in mine and raise it above our heads. They scatter across the clearing, quickly unloading the food and supplies they brought for the celebration.
As we lower our hands, Caleb looks out across the clearing with uncertainty in his eyes. "This is all happening so fast," he whispers loud enough for only me to hear. "I thought I was prepared for this, but..."
"Now it's real," I say to finish his sentence, feeling equally nervous.
"Yeah," Caleb says with a light nod. "I didn't think..."
"Okay, that's enough canoodling, you two!" A small group of omegas, all around our age, gathers by the steps as the elders depart. They're unmated, and judging by the supplies they've gathered, they're here to prepare Caleb for the rest of the ceremony.
"I guess I'll see you later then." I offer Caleb a smile before stepping away.
"Wait...you're leaving?" Caleb frowns in surprise as I start down the steps.
"Of course he is," the omega that spoke before cuts in. "Don't worry, sweetie. We'll take care of you. You'll see him again after sundown."
9
CALEB
This is nothing like the bonding ceremonies I'm used to back home. Five omegas usher me into the cabin, hidden from everyone else.
"You okay?" Their leader looks at me with concern as I stand in the middle of the room. "Didn't they explain everything to you?"
I shake my head. "No. No one told me anything."
"They probably didn't want to ruin the surprise," a different omega chimes in. "That's what they usually do."
"Sneaky bastards," someone grumbles.
"It's a shame they don't have a better way of handling these things," the leader adds sadly. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Kale, and I'm here to help you prepare for the chase. There's no need to panic. Everything will be fine. We'll take good care of you while we wait for the sun to set."
"Chase?" I ask, my voice sounding suspiciously high-pitched.
Kale nods eagerly. "That's right. The mating ritual. He'll chase you through the woods tonight after sundown. Then he'll catch you and claim you as his own. It's supposed to be fun!"
"But why..." That makes no sense to me.
"It's part of the bonding ceremony." Kale shrugs as he gestures for the rest of his team to start unpacking their supplies. "It tests how in-tune you are with one another. The longer you can avoid him, the more in sync you are with him and his patterns. If he catches you quickly, the better he is at picking up on your thoughts and instincts."
"But if it ends too quickly, it means you're out of sync with him," one of the omegas clarifies.
"And if it takes too long, he's out of sync with you," another adds.
"Exactly, that’s what makes it such a fun game," Kale exclaims before waggling his eyebrows. "But the true test is how well you can handle him once he's caught you."
"Oh god," I mumble as understanding settles over me.
"When you two return from the woods, you'll be accepted as mates, and the whole pack will feast in celebration." Kale sits on the edge of the bed and grins at me.
"So then...what are we doing in here?" I raise a quizzical brow at the omegas who've unpacked a bunch of snacks and drinks from the boxes they'd been carrying.
"It's tradition to keep the two of you apart until the chase begins." Kale picks up a bottle of water and passes it to me. "We're supposed to be here to make sure you don't sneak off. But really, we're just trying to help distract you from the whole thing so you don't turn into a giant ball of anxiety and nerves."
"Like Sasha did, remember?" One of the other omegas chuckles. "She was so worked up about it that she couldn't keep any food down."
