Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Customs

Rose

“My God, I am beat,” I groan as I plop on the couch. “I feel like the last few weeks have flown by. What day is it today?”

“Couldn’t tell you,” Asher answers, joining me on the couch. “Feels like it’s been forever since we’ve had time together, just the two of us.”

“Yeah, we need to call your parents soon to put together another game night. She’s been texting me about it,” I reply.

“She’s been texting you?” Asher asks, smiling. “She hasn’t texted me!”

I blush sheepishly. “’Cause she likes me more.”

“She’s only met you once!”

“That’s all it took!” I exclaim happily, kissing his lips lazily. “Have you checked on the construction, by the way?”

“It’s gonna be months before it’s ready,” he grunts. He decided to tear down the old house he and Genevieve shared, the mansion the Alpha and Luna’s family have stayed in for generations. But, considering all that happened and the horrible memories there, he wanted to start from scratch.

We decided that that’ll be our primary residence since I can zoom over to my Clan in seconds, so it doesn’t matter much where I live since my commute won’t be long, and Victor has my number. I’ll keep my office, of course, since I’ll spend a lot of time with my Clan, but my house there is small and only fit for one person. Asher and I are staying there for now while the other house is being built, then I’ll sell it. It’s a little cramped now that two people live here, but we don’t mind.

We enjoy all the time we spend together, no matter where.

“Have you decided on your Beta and Gamma?” I ask.

We decided that decision would be left for Asher to make since he’s the one who will be interacting with them the most, taking most of the lead on decision-making for the pack-related business. Victor is still my second-in-command, and it’s been nice to see him and Asher working so closely together. Victor has fully come around to supporting him and our relationship. He asks more often when we’re having babies than Asher’s parents do, which is hilarious. He’s excited to be Uncle Vic.

“My Beta is going to be Jeff. It seems only appropriate since he was a huge part of the coup. He’s also older and has a lot of experience, so I think he’ll be a good advisor since I don’t have much experience. So, his mate, Kayla, will be your Beta Luna. For Gamma, I chose Candice’s daughter, Lucille, and her mate, Kyle. They’re smart, young, and hungry, so they’ll be ready to replace Jeff as Beta once he wants to retire. I also get along well with them, so I see us all becoming friends. You’ll like Lucille; she’s just like her mom.”

“I love Candice, she’s an icon,” I reply, giggling. “I’m excited to meet them. We’ll have to arrange a meeting between us and Victor since we will interact for Clan-Pack decisions. The transition has been surprisingly smooth, but I’m sure we’ll face some bumps in the road eventually.”

“Well, appointing a Beta and Gamma is a good first step. It’s been a long time coming. Especially since Marg has been gone, I was hoping she’d have stayed to be my Beta for at least a few weeks while I found others. But I get it. She wanted to be with Evander.”

“Have you talked to her recently?” I ask.

“Yeah, we talk almost every other day. She was a little distant the first week after Gen died, but I think that was just cause she was in mourning and probably wasn’t talking to anyone but Evander,” he replies.

“Do you think she’s angry at me?” I wonder aloud.

“No, she’s not. She asks about you and how you’re doing all the time. She’s also hounding me about when our Induction Ceremony will be so she can put it on the books for her and Evander to attend.”

I giggle, resting my head on his shoulder. “Fuck, we haven’t even had time to catch our breath. Planning a whole ass ceremony feels like a lot.”

“I know,” he replies. “I’m looking forward to it, though. I can’t wait to get creative about melding our cultures together. Are vampire mating ceremonies all the different from wolf ones?”

“Well, we don’t invoke the Moon Goddess. Not that we call on the Night God, it’s just less of a religious ceremony. We also keep our coronation and mating separate. For both ceremonies, the involved parties wear black. For a mating ceremony, we exchange vows, which is the same as your iusiurandum. But we also throw blessed herbs into a flame, which makes it change colors, and the color of the flame is supposed to tell you something about your pairing while also symbolizing lasting passion. Then, a darkened mirror is taken out at the last portion, and the couple is supposed to stare into it, looking at their spouse’s reflection only, not their own, for a minute. It’s about looking into your eternal future. Then, that’s when you kiss, sealing the deal.”

“That sounds amazing,” Asher says, smiling. “I think that’ll be easy to incorporate into the wolf mating ceremony. Maybe we’ll wear black and gold clothes to combine the two. The biggest part of the wolf mating ceremony is the prayer to the Moon Goddess, the iusiarandum, then facing each other while holding hands and kissing. That’s when the bond is officially consummate by the Goddess.”

“We can keep the Luna Induction Ceremony separate from your Sire Coronation. We’ll do it on the same day, but rather than trying to combine the two, we should have me do the iusiurandum to the pack, as normal, after I give my vows to you in the mating ceremony.”

“What does a Sire Coronation entail?” Asher asks.

“Draining you of all your blood.”

He slaps my shoulder as I giggle, kissing his cheek lightly. “I’m just kidding. The Clan Elders conduct it, and, I will say, it does suck a bit.”

“How so?” He asks.

“Well, if you are inheriting the leadership position from a leader that is stepping down, then the way you become the next leader is by having them inject you with almost all of their pain venom. You have to survive this pain while standing for a minute to be worthy of the position. That’s what I had to do to earn my title after I had been voted in.”

“So, you’ll have to inject me with it?”

“No, no, no,” I answer, shaking my head. “For a leader being mated into the leadership role, it would be distasteful to make their mate hurt them. So, the eldest Elder does it.”

“Goody,” he grunts. “If that’s the thing, then I’ll do it. As long as I don’t have to drink blood.”

“You don’t have to,” I reply with a giggle. “The ritual after that, though, once the minute is up, is you dip your face into water with a tiny bit of each Clan member’s good venom injected into it. Take a sip of it while underwater; then, when you emerge, you are one with the Clan. Plus, all that venom makes the pain of the other venom go away. Then you make a speech.”

“Is the speech an iusiurandum?”

“In essence, yes. You’re just promising to be a good leader, blah, blah, blah.”

“Perfect. Can we do that ritual before we’re officially mated?” He asks. “Since I’m only taking the position since I’m your mate?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t matter. As long as you have my mark, we’re considered mates, even if we haven’t gone through the official ceremony yet.” I smile, brushing my fingers through his hair gently. “Guess we haven’t gotten around to that, either.”

“Marking?” He asks, resting his hand on my thigh. “Yeah, I guess we haven’t.”

“Do you know what a vampire’s mark is like?” I ask.

“I’m guessing you just bite me,” he replies, chuckling.

“Yes, but I’ll drink a small sip of your blood and deliver almost all of my good venom,” I reply, licking my lips. “I’ll have to make sure I don’t accidentally drain you.”

“I doubt my blood will be that tasty,” he teases. “I eat a lot of veggies.”

“What do you think deer and elk eat?” I joke, nudging him.

“Oh, boy, well, if I’ve gotta go somehow, that’s a good way to go,” he replies, kissing my neck gently. “I think I’ll put your mark right there. Towards the front so everyone can see it.”

“Oh, yeah?” I ask as he continues kissing the spot, his lips warm and wet as he sucks on my skin gently.

“Yeah,” he answers, his voice a little heavy as he teases the skin with his teeth. “What do you say we mark each other tonight?”

“Tonight?” I ask as he pulls back to meet my eyes, stroking my face lovingly.

“Yes,” he replies. “I don’t want to wait any longer, my love. I want to belong to you and you to me. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I know I want to build a family with you. There’s not a doubt in my mind that you’re my true mate, who my soul is destined for.”

“Ash,” I sigh, kissing him sweetly. “I don’t want to wait anymore, either.”

I straddle his waist, looping my arms around his neck, my chest pressed against his, my heart thumping a few beats alongside his.

“Let’s mark each other.”