It was just as Ty had said, the sky was perfectly clear. The stars shown bright, but they were nothing compared to the moon.

The full moon saw all ceremonies from every pack. There was no doubt that out there somewhere, another pack was performing their own. But the one tonight seemed exceptionally special. Each deep crevice, the brightness and the size of it. The energy was in the air. I wished more than ever to have Kali back. It was a moon that we would have loved to run under.

Beating of drums began, and I could hear the crackling as a fire began to roar. It was nearly time.

Another sharp pain went through my stomach, and I grabbed onto the pole next to me, biting down on my lip to keep from screaming out loud. There had been pains every once in a while for the past month, but never had I had four of them in the same day.

I breathed through it and as the pain subsided, I stepped away from the pole and made my way toward the gardens.

The fire burned hot and the drums loud continuous beat drowned out everything else. The entire pack was already seated, everyone free of clothing except for Rafe, the official and me. It was a primal experience.

My nerves flared, tightening my chest. I knew I was ready to bind my life to Rafe, that wasn't what worried me. My fear was wrapped up in what the rest of the pack thought about having a wolf-less Luna. And it wouldn't be long before I found out if they were supportive or not.

I walked down the aisle, and Rafe looked up. His eyes were large, the pupil taking up most of the space. There was no chance at hiding the expression as he took in the delicate lace and tulle, the hair and the makeup. The look of awe said it all.

I turned to face him, the drum beat halting as soon as my feet stopped.

"You look absolutely beautiful," he whispered.

I blushed and looked down at the ground. "You don't look too bad yourself."

"We are here on this night, standing beneath the full moon to entwine two souls for eternity," the official began. "With the Moon Goddess as our witness we wish to bring together Katarina Reynolds and Alpha Rafe Granger. Katarina and Alpha Granger, please face me and kneel."

We both turned to face the older man, kneeling down on the cushion in front of him. He knelt down too.

"Do you pledge to be faithful to this pack?"

"I do."

The man reached down, grabbing a handful of soil. "Do you pledge to forever be faithful to this land, to defend it at all cost?"

"I do."

"Do you pledge to be true to the man kneeling beside you, to support him through hardships, to defend him at all costs, and to be faithful to him for the rest of your life?"

I turned to look at Rafe, his eyes burning into mine.

"I do."

"Alpha Granger, do you pledge to be true to the woman kneeling beside you, to support her through hardships, to defend her at all costs, and to be faithful to her for the rest of your life?"

"Without question, I do."

"Please stand with me." All three of us rose to our feet, facing the official. "Free your mortal bodies from the bindings of your human half."

A woman from the front row came up to me, unzipping the back of the dress and sitting down. I held the front of the dress for a moment, taking a deep breath before sliding my arms out and letting it drop to the floor in a pool of white around me.

Rafe and I faced each other, the moon shining on our bare skin.

The official stood between us, a bowl in hand.

"With this blood, I give Alpha Granger the markings of the Warrior Alpha." The man dipped his fingers into the bowl and began to draw lines onto Rafe's face. Straight lines, and sharp angles, not a single drop running to ruin the rune.

"And with this blood, I give Luna Granger the markings of the Defending Luna." He dipped his fingers into the bowl again, bringing his finger to my forehead. The blood was still warm, no doubt it had been a fresh kill. He swirled his fingers around my temple, drawing down my cheek. First one side and then the other. Before drawing the pack crest over my heart.

My chest tightened again. It was nearly over. It was time for the truth, would they support me as their Luna, or would they reject me? I didn't dare think of what Rafe would do if his entire pack showed a lack of support. Would he go on a Blood Alpha rampage? Or would it just tear him apart? It seemed unlikely that he wouldn't care at all.

"With the moon as witness I bind the souls of Katarina and Rafe Granger."

Rafe and I tipped our heads back, looking up to the moon and let out a howl.

It seemed like eternity before the pack answered our howl with their own, sealing the deal with their approval. A wave of energy radiated through the pack, strong enough for even me to feel its power.

We were married, and I was their Luna. It felt like an enormous weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

Rafe pulled me close and kissed me, his hands cupping my face. We separated, and he grabbed my hand as we made our way back down the aisle as a truly mated pair.

We went back inside, and Rafe pulled me to him kissing me again before we were barely through the threshold.

"They love you almost as much as I do," he said.

It was the first indication that he had been just as nervous as I'd been on whether or not they would accept me as their Luna.

"Apparently they trust every decision their Alpha makes," I said, nearly out of breath.

"I rarely make wrong ones."

We waited for Ty to bring our clothes in to us so we could put them back on before the party.

"Now that everything is over, Ty and I were going to be back on the hunt for those rogues. We seem to have a potential trail on them. We're close."

"Rafe, can't we just leave it alone?"

"Leave it alone? After what they did? After what that fucking Nolan did? I will not leave that alone. We're still dealing with the side effects from their actions." There was rage in his eyes.

"Please, Rafe. A wedding present to me. Just leave it alone. They're hiding, and they're probably never going to come back again. They know who they're dealing with."

"And they knew who they were dealing with before they did what they did too. That's not going to stop them."

"But the fact that we know who they are will. Please. It's over. I'm trying my best to move forward, and I want you to promise me, no matter what happens, please just let it go."

I could still see the anger in his eyes, but it started to subside. Thank goodness.

There was another sharp pain in my stomach. I grabbed Rafe's arm, trying to breathe through it.

"Are you okay?" He placed a hand on my back.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's okay." I stood back up.

The look on Rafe's face said he didn't believe me one bit.

"I swear. Everything is okay." I didn't want to worry him. If he knew it had happened five times today then we would be grabbing Mrs. Green and having her look me over again right that second. It was supposed to be a celebration, and nothing was going to ruin that.

Ty came through the door, suit and dress in hand. He looked between the two of us, "Is everything alright?"

"Fine, thank you." I took the dress out of his hands and started to put it back on. "We were just having a discussion. Everything is okay, isn't that right?"

I looked back up at Rafe, his eyes locked on mine. He nodded slightly. "Yeah, right."

"Okay. Then we should probably pick things up. Everyone is out there waiting."

I motioned for Rafe to put his suit back on and thanked Ty, letting him go on ahead.

"Are you ready?" I asked Rafe.

"Are you?"

"Always." I grabbed his hand and pulled him back outside before he could say anything else.