Chapter 33: Quiet Before the Storm

Marica

Marica woke as her mate got out of bed, but she stayed where she was until he left the room. She knew this trip was important, but the nerves were getting the better of her. As she sat on the bed thinking about her day she promised herself that she would not dwell on Marcus being gone.

All of the preparations for this weekend had been thrown into high gear, and today was no different. After breakfast, she had her last fitting for her Luna gown. After that, she wanted to go with the girls to look at the trial's layout and help make sure the medical tent was fully stocked for the event. While they were taking every precaution to prevent injuries, everyone expected something would happen at some point. Once the battle round started, Marcia expected the medical tent to be a busy place.

Knowing that the day would be a long one, she showered quickly, tossing on leggings and one of Marcus’s T-shirts. The shirt hid her leggings from view, something Marcus had asked her to do until after the ceremony. He hated the idea of others seeing her, and it was even worse because she had chosen not to tell the pack that they had completed the mating and marking process. The tradition was to mark the luna at the ceremony, and it was already too late for that. Not to mention the fact that people would want to see their marks.

Both of them wanted to keep her identity hidden as long as possible, and to do that, both of them needed to keep their marks hidden. Until they figured out why she was attacked at the meeting, they wanted to be as safe as possible. He said after the ceremony he would be less jealous, but Marcia did not really believe him.

When she opened the door to her room, she was shocked to see a small group of guards standing on the wall. “Did Marcus ask you to be here?” She did not mean to allow her irritation to show in her voice, but it came through just the same. Last night, they had fought about his overprotectiveness, and she needed the pack to realize that she could protect herself. She would rather something happen to her than anyone else be injured protecting her.

“No, Luna, we volunteered. After what has already happened, we want to make sure you are protected while Alpha is gone.” The words were spoken by Don, one of the guards who had come to the sanctuary with Marcus initially. He did not speak up often, but when he did, everyone knew there was no point in arguing with him. He might be the only wolf more obstinate than Marcus!

Tears formed in her eyes as she realized she had finally found a home where she was wanted. “In that case, I would love for you all to escort me to breakfast.” She held out her arm to the frozen guard, who did not know what to do. He did not want to deny the Luna but knew that if he touched her, the Alpha would not be understanding.

Refusing to take her arm, all of the guards fell into place around her, but they softened the action with smiles and gestures. Marcia looked at them with a knowing smirk and continued. She thought it was funny that they feared their Alpha, but did not realize that if what Selene said was true, they should really fear her.

After breakfast, the twins escorted Marcia to the library, where the pack seamstress was waiting with the most beautiful gown she had ever seen. Pure white with embroidered moons along the bottom edge of the tulle skirt, a fitted off-the-shoulder bodice, and hints of iridescent threads going throughout. As soon as Marcia saw it, she broke down in tears. It was perfect.

While they were all preparing for the Luna ceremony, Marcia saw it as the human equivalent; it was her wedding dress, and she was marrying the man she loved. When she had married before, she had been looking for an escape and ended up in an even worse situation. This time, she was getting everything she had been afraid to dream of and more.

With tears still in her eyes she stood and started to strip, wanting nothing more than to feel the gown on her body. As it slid on, she knew that this was the sign her life had started again; she was finally whole for the first time in her life. Looking at the dress from every angle, Marcia knew that she did not want a single change; it was perfect. She never wanted to take it off, but slipped out of it, thanking the seamstress and expressing her gratitude and admiration. The seamstress simply smiled and accepted the Luna's words, thrilled to have been of service.

After the fitting, Marcia reluctantly took off the gown, knowing that tomorrow night she would wear it to pledge herself to Marcus and the pack. She left with the twins, who did not seem shocked when other guards met them at the door to the room.

The small group went together towards the area where the trials would be held, and McKenzie started explaining how the next two days would go.“The first challenge is tracking, and why we are all here.” She pointed out a section of the woods that the pack was banned from entering until after the trials.

“We lay various scent trails, trying to hide them along the way and burying a small token at the end. Competitors will be given the choice of easy, medium, or hard trails to follow, and they have two hours to return with their tokens. If they fail to retrieve their token or they bring the incorrect token, they get no points. Hard tokens are worth ten points, the medium tokens are worth five, and the easy ones are worth three. The first tracker back will also get a bonus of ten points.” Marcia followed along as they spoke, smiling when they pointed out a table holding a box filled with scraps of fabric wrapped around medallions.

Each member of the party, including Marcia, grabbed a piece of fabric and rubbed it on themselves before laying it on the table. Next, they took their medallions and were told to run through the woods and hide the medallion. The easy targets intentionally walked where their steps would leave marks, rubbed trees, and placed the medallions where the wind could reach the scent. The medium took more time to leave little sign of their presence and hid the medallions out of sight and from the wind. The hards were the most intense. They climbed trees, backtracked, crossed the water, and did everything they could to confuse the seekers before burying the medallions in the ground.

With this trial prepared, they headed to ensure the arena was ready for the fighting test. Again, Mackenzie explained. “Here, the candidates will fight a series of opponents in human form, then again in wolf form. This is the final stage of the trial. They fight until they lose, and each victory earns them a point. Currently, the highest record is still held by our dad, who got nineteen out of twenty points. He even beat the old Alpha in human form, but not in wolf.” Marcia looked around in wonder at the amazing space before continuing to the last area.

"The alpha competes?" Marcia questioned this. She never imagined that they would be competitors.

"They only fight the winning competitor; that way, they can test themselves. The challenger has never defeated the Alpha in human and wolf form, but it's impressive to see them try." When she saw the worry cross Marcia's face, she was quick to add some additional information. "The fight is never to the death; the competitors typically walk out, slightly battered." She quickly changed the subject, not wanting her Luna to worry.

“Here is the beginning of the race. It travels around the perimeter of the pack grounds in an eight-mile loop. Each candidate will attempt to complete it as quickly as possible, and the winner will be awarded twenty points, with each following competitor getting one point lower. Once the scores are totaled, those with a score above thirty are offered a position as a pack guard. This year, the Luna guards will need to score over thirty-five to be considered.”

Marcia turned surprised at the information. “The women must score higher than the men? Why?”

Makayla smiled next to her sister. “Because Luna, they are not trying to be guards; they want to be part of the elite. Plus, we know they can do it and want to show the Pack why we are making a Luna guard. We want them to blow the men out of the water.” The look on her face was filled with evil glee as she thought of what the trials would bring.

All three women fell into a fit of giggles at the idea, enjoying their time together. None of them realized the changes the next two days would bring.