Lola had the dress on and left the guest room. She had applied just a thin layer of makeup and put her hair half up. It wasn't anything fancy but she felt confident enough to face the entire pack.
It was still baffling to her how everyone here except for Melissa and her were werewolves.
She walked downstairs and heard Ash's voice echoing through the hall.
"Melissa!" He stood in the hallway with something in his hand and flushed cheeks.
"Is everything okay?" Lola asked.
"Melissa got a phone call and bolted somewhere, she dropped this on the way. Can you give it to her when you see her?" His eyes were looking around distractedly and his hand shot out with the necklace towards Lola. The pendant pressed against her arm, and a burning pain shot out over her skin and dug deeper the longer the pendant touched her.
"Shit," Lola hissed and peeled it away with her skin still attached to the metal.
"Oh my god, Lola," Ash said in a raspy tone and stared at her wound.
"It's fine," she said.
She met his gaze and was surprised to find the worry she saw in his eyes. He was attentively watching the wound and pulled her aside away from the people.
Everyone slowly started to walk out into the backyard, the stage had been put up and the ceremony would soon start. The gowns in satin and jewelry in gold were a good indicator of just how important this ceremony was for them.
"It's healing," Ash said and watched as the skin pulled together. His thumb graced over the healed parts of the wound and he didn't stop watching until it was fully healed. Ash's fingers circled her wrist, his thumb graced her skin and he leaned in.
"Why did the necklace hurt you?" He asked.
"I don't know, it's happened before too. There's something with the pendant," Lola said and shook her head and waved her hands, "never mind that where's Melissa?"
"I'm right here," they turned around and saw Melissa standing with bloodshot eyes and stained mascara around her eyes.
"What happened?" Lola asked.
Melissa sniffled and wiped her red nose with a napkin. She ripped at the edge of the napkin and tore off a small shred. "Ed called me, he's leaving," she sobbed.
"Oh no," Lola ran over and hugged her friend.
Everything had been so perfect just a few hours ago. Melissa had never been happier so what happened between last night and now to make him have to leave town?
"He wants to meet up and talk but I can't-" she said through the cries and hugged Lola tighter.
"-I don't want to say goodbye," She cried.
Lola and Ash shared a look, one that said they both hated seeing her like this and it pained them to see her this hurt.
"Lola, darling, it's time!" Mrs. Blackwood said from over by the open doors to the back of the house.
"Darling?" Melissa repeated with a look of pure disgust on her face.
Mrs. Blackwood was being awfully nice and she was good at pretending for the pack members- there were too many witnesses to dare any different. Lola sighed and grabbed Melissa's tear-stained hand.
"Will you be okay? I don't think this will take long,"
Melissa looked at the gathered crowd and Mrs. Blackwood's growing impatience. She nodded her head and stifled a sob as she followed them outside and stood in a corner away from everyone else. Melissa looked as Lola walked up on stage together with Jax and they stood behind Mr. Blackwood.
A blonde girl holding her Champagne glass and gently tapping her nails on the crystal glass turned to her friend.
"I'll never understand how Jax let Lavina go," she whispered. Her perfectly pink-painted lips pressed in a pout.
"She wasn't his mate, what was he supposed to do,"
"Yeah but a human?" She said in a grimace. "Lavina could have been his chosen mate and at least then we wouldn't have to live with a human Luna who knows nothing about our traditions." It was clear that she was bitter, many in the crowd were when they saw Lola standing next to Jax. Lavina was on the ground next to Mrs. Blackwood- being the center of many people's attention. They watched her subtle movements and precious smile as she looked at the stage.
"She should be our Luna," the girl said.
Ash walked around the back of the crowd, he grabbed a glass of scotch from a server and joined Melissa.
His musky cologne filled the air around them and the gold ring clicked against the glass as he brought it up to his lips.
Ash's bushy brows pressed together when the scowl grew on his face.
"Who's that guy next to Lavina?" Melissa asked.
He looked at Nash stuffing his face with sushi rolls. Ash rolled his eyes.
"That's Nash, Jax's Beta. He just returned from the disciplinarian academy,"
Melissa scanned Nash's movements and something was off. He seemed more interested in the food rather than the Alpha ceremony. His arm brushed up against Lavina's and not even then did he blink, he continued eating like his life depended on it and barely cast a bored look on the stage.
"He looks fun," she said gristly.
"He sure gave Lola a first impression she won't soon forget," Ash smirked and looked toward the stage where Lola and Jax were standing side by side.
Alpha Michael Blackwood talked to the massive amount of people that had gathered around the stage. They stretched around and down the hill, using every inch of space as they eagerly awaited the moment they received a new Alpha.
Mr. Blackwood thanked the pack for the privilege of leading them through blood and war and also the rise of an empire in which they had all played a part.
It was clear the impact he'd had on the generations of this pack, old and young were all watching him with glittering eyes and a worrisome admiration.
Melissa studied the behaviors of the pack members and the reaction they had towards their Alpha, she saw how it was almost an obsession- a fully devoted connection with their leader. Mr. Blackwood grabbed the knife from the sapphire-embedded steel stand on the podium. He removed the silver cover and the sound brushed over the hill as the blade graced the silver shaft.
"Your hand," Mr. Blackwood grabbed Jax's palm and turned it. The blade sliced into his skin until a wound opened up without any hesitation or regret. Jax turned his hand over the chalice and let his blood trickle down while looking disturbingly unbothered. Even as the blade sliced into Lola, his mate, Jax did not attempt to show a reaction or wince from the pain he saw on her face. Lola didn't heal as fast nor was her threshold for pain as high as werewolves. Her muscles tensed and her nose wrinkled as the knife cut deeper and deeper- much more so than necessary for the amount of blood needed. Mrs. Blackwood stood on the ground and smiled softly, nobody paid attention to her and therefore didn't notice the gruesome smile of pride or the twinge in her eye- and the turn of her lip gave that away the twisted pleasure she got from seeing her daughter-in-law suffer.
Lola turned her hand and the blood blended with Jax's.
"Very well, now for the Luna, Lola Blackwood, as she leaves her mark and takes us into this pack's new era of leadership." Mr. Blackwood said and stepped back.
Everyone was watching the stage in anticipation. The hill fell silent from any chatter and gleaming squeals as they pierced their focus on Lola.
"Where is it?" She asked Jax.
He furrowed his brows and leaned in closer.
"Where is what?"
"The scripture that I'm supposed to read from, where is it?"
Jax looked around over the pack.
"Lola, there is no scripture. There hasn't been for years, the Luna is just supposed to make a speech and make the pack believe in the leadership, that it will take them onwards."
She choked on the air in her throat and gulped.
"There's no script for me to read from?" Jax shook his head and scanned at her frightened face with more diligent eyes.
"I don't have a speech," she whispered.
The whispers began. Chit-chat about Lola's recklessness and disrespectful behavior towards the authority and the pack.
She saw the nasty glares that were being shot her way and as she pulled her lip between her teeth and started nervously chewing, the taste of blood filled her mouth.
They heard heels clicking fast against the stairs leading up to the stage. Lavina ran up with her fingers pinching the dress to keep it from dragging against the ground.
"Here you go. I'm so sorry, I forgot that they stopped with the scripture but here's your speech," She said and eyed Lola knowingly.
Lavina pushed the piece of paper into Lola's hands and smiled as she gracefully walked back down.
The scent of strawberries lingered on the paper, the pink discoloring in the corner was visible under the light of the fire and Lola looked at the words that had been beautifully written down by someone who had a good grasp on leadership. She cast a quick look on Lavina who was smiling supportively from the ground. Lola bowed her head and walked to the center of the stage. Jax smiled, looked at Lavina, and mimed 'thank you'. His eyes lingered on hers, the good gesture warming his heart and Jax felt gratitude over his wife not making a fool of either of them in front of the pack. The lingering gaze was cut short when Ash appeared behind Lavina, his eyes catching Jax's and boring into him with a distasteful glare.