The day for the coronation was set and everyone was looking forward to it. There was no one to challenge the title of Alpha with Gabriel as it happened sometimes.
The title of Alpha was a position,held till death and some other stronger werewolf may get threatened that they may not rule,so in a bid to gain that power,a werewolf was allowed to fight to death for the throne.
In Gabriel's pack,there were strong werewolves and many presumed that Bad'r would challenge Gabriel for the Alpha title but he didn't. Badr was a strong wolf but not as strong as Ethan nor Gabriel,but his figure was a towering fright.
During the final call out of challengers, Bar made it clear that he had utmost respect and his loyalty was for Gabriel and so it would remain. In that case,the council of elders gave approval to continue in the festivities.
It was the coronation morning and the girls were awake, early. They slept with Luna, so they could get her prepared. The morning would see the official joining of Rachel and Gabriel and in the afternoon,he would be crowned Alpha.
At noon,all werewolves would change to their werewolf state as the rites could kill the human form. In the evening,when the official joining and coronation was over,they could return to their human forms and dress in their beautiful costumes, for the party and reception gala.
Rachel sat facing the mirror as Helen styled her hair and applied makeup on her. Accalia had prepared the best moisturizing oils, perfumes and colognes for everyone including the men. While they were getting Rachel into her huge peach-coloured ball gown and a veil to go with it,the men were also getting dressed across the street.
Rachel had beautiful diamond earrings and necklace to go with her gown and a pair of silver shoes. Accalia and Helen wore a purple velvety gown that flowed to the ground and a silver fascinator,pinned to their hair.
Helen and Accalia pinned some white flowers on their wrist,while Rachel held a large bouquet of white roses. They all looked glorious.
"Thank you so much dearies, for being here with me", Rachel said emotionally.
"Of course. We are deeply honored,dear Luna", Helen said, bowing to her and Accalia followed suit.
After hugging themselves, they walked out of the room, towards the hall where Alpha Gabriel and Ethan were already waiting with a host of families,friends,guests and Pack members. Little Adam stood beside Gabriel holding the box of rings and Helen smiled sweetly at him. That meant Alpha Max was here too.
The joining was brief and straightforward. It was a well structured meeting and soon it was over before noon. Rachel and Gabriel said their vows,an oath to be there for each other and at the same time, their priority would be on their pack and its well-being.
At the end of the first ceremony,there were cheers, handshakes,hugs,claps as everyone mingled with each other. Immediately,the first ceremony was over,Adam ran to Helen excitedly,as Alpha Max strolled to her with a smile.
He had come with his pack members and everyone watched their Alpha, impressed that obviously he had found a second-chance mate. There were rumors that he was seeing someone in a neighboring pack but no one knew for sure.
But with the way,he held and looked into the eyes of the mystery lady,they had just seen,they knew. She was the one. Alpha Max was a public and popular werewolf. Known to be the strongest Alpha male in the Northern region and a very handsome beau.
His closeness with the Southern region,which was Alpha Gabriel's pack, was something of a lifetime. Each time,any of the Packs faced a threat that could only be resolved with the help of ally-packs, they'd come through for each other. So, their bond was a strong one.
"Auntie Helen! Take a look at my suit", Adam said pointing to himself.
"Oh my darling. You look good and so does daddy", Helen replied, winking at Alpha Max.
"You look lovely, baby. You almost blinded us with your beauty",Max said, wrapping his hands around her.
"You know, everyone is watching", Helen said looking around.
"Are they? Well then we should give them something more convincing and soft on the eyes",Max said and he lowered and kissed her passionately.
When they disengaged from the kiss, Alpha Max smiled at her and held her hands as they walked out of the hall,with others ready for the coronation rites. Accalia also held onto Ethan tightly as they marched out.
The sun dimmed and the tension was high, alerting everyone on what was taking place next as the rites were termed a serious business. They all moved to the Alpha's chambers and there,they changed form.
Alpha Gabriel's father changed first, followed by Gabriel, Ethan and the rest of the people present. They roared in unison and the Gamma who performed the incantations and rites began. First,the Alpha Gabriel displayed his alpha skills,then he was marked by all the elders and other pack alphas in the room marked his body with the mixture.
Finally,his father walked to him and marked him with blood and water then bowed before him.
Immediately the old Alpha marked Alpha Gabriel and bowed before him, every pack member bowed at him. The other pack-guests wouldn't bow to him because a werewolf would bow only to their Alpha and the Alphas in the room didn't bow as well.
All they did was watch intently at the ceremony. At the end of the coronation rites,they all exited the hall,after congratulating the new Alpha.They were still in their werewolf form and to pay their respects,each werewolf would dip their forearm into the bowl of water, before them and place it on the Alpha's face.
The coronation lasted for several hours and it was filled with blessings on the new Alpha and the chance to connect him with all the past Alphas before him mentally.
With that act,he would be able to discern dreams,see visions and be gifted with the strength of the past Alphas. As the werewolves left, Alpha Gabriel sat in the inner circle still in his werewolf form, waiting for the dark.
It was during this period that he could see the past Alphas in their spiritual form and converse with them on how to rule and see visions too.
While Alpha Gabriel was in the inner chamber, the others would get ready for the party and when the Alpha would emerge from the room,he would bear them the messages he had gotten. It was a once in a lifetime message as it was only on the coronation of a new Alpha,they had such messages.
As the others stepped out of the room,they changed back to their human forms. They congratulated their new Luna and paid their respects to her. They were happy as Luna would begin reproduction for the pack.
Accalia and Helen stayed close to Rachel all through and helped in collecting the gifts from the people. When they were done,they moved to get ready for the emergence of the Alpha from the inner circle and the party.
Helen put finishing touches to the cake and ordered it be placed at the corner of the room. She also asked the young men to commence the barbecue and the ladies to begin setting up the buffet stand,then she rushed back in and got dressed.
It was seven pm and people in their numbers had filled the banquet hall, dressed in their best. Accalia wore a body-hugging red dinner gown and Ethan couldn't stop staring at the way her breasts were carved into the dress. Helen wore a shimmering gold gown and clung to Alpha Max,all through.
Nobody was to eat anything until The Alpha emerged. They all stayed quietly waiting, then they saw a shadow proceed from the dark and it was Alpha Max. He looked different and the side of his neck had a mark of approval. He watched everyone steadily and raised his hands and the people chanted his name victoriously. It was a new era.