Chapter 2

LUCIUS 

Lucius faintly heard a crackling sound of bonfire amidst the laughter and hooting from his loyal subjects and his closest aides, confidante, and some of the Elder Councils of the Kingdom.

Today was his thirtieth birthday, and following the tradition of the Lafazall Kingdom, the King shall attend a sacred ritual in one of the most sacred forests in this kingdom, The Ariadne Forest.

Today was a mandatory ritual that every King, including his past predecessors from the Lafazall Kingdom who had yet to marry his Luna and appointed his soulmate as his Consort Queen, must have done. 

To beg the divinity Moon Goddess to give her blessing and send Luna to cross the path with the King of Lafazall.

"My King, we need to conclude this Ritual." Azara, one of the Elder Council, tapped his wooden stick onto the ground, and all the laughter slowly disappeared, and finally, the Ariadne Forest fell into a quiet, tranquil land.

Lucius arched his eyebrows, and his gaze bore intently to the row of Elder Councils who had followed this ritual from the start since this evening after the dusk settled. 

Their frail, old figures were covered with white robes, which was such a distracting view for Lucius. 

If only her mother, the Dowager Queen, did not nag him to attend and gave him the talk ‘Respect the Elders’–Lucius would surely ditch this Ritual. For real. 

He hated rituals.

He hated formality.

And most likely, he hated this ritual to get his Luna like this.

Being a King who could not choose his bride was a ridiculous notion to him. He could give orders to anyone in this Empire. He could mobilize military troops to go to the war zone with his words.

With his orders, he basically could do everything to rule this kingdom.

But, when choosing a bride; a whole kingdom, Council of Elders, and A Moon Goddess did not believe in his own choice, apparently.

"Sure, Sir Azara. Do whatever you have to finish this Ritual quickly." Ordered Lucius to the head of the Elders. 

The Ritual comprised of a High Priest casting a spell to the bonfire that Lucius fired by himself, then Sir Azara, as a Head of Elders, led the prayer alongside the High Priest and Lucius, as a King, to the Moon Goddess. One Deity that worshipped in the Lafazall Kingdom. 

A symbolic gesture to ask The Moon Goddess to grant the King his Luna bride. 

Luna was a pre-destined bride with a blessing from the Moon Goddess. Sometimes Luna was blessed with a beautiful face and figure admired by werewolves. Sometimes The Moon Goddess blessed her with wit, smartness, and a sharp mind, but in such rare cases, she was blessed with a magical ability. 

All the blessing was intended to make the Alpha King stronger and make his life easier when he ruled the Kingdom. 

Rakan, the young High Priest, chanted the spell, and the glow of the fire became more intense and bigger. 

All the spectators and participants of this Ritual encircled the bonfire, and Lucius stood in the middle. 

The chant became faster, and Rakan stood like a possessed man. 

All people, except Lucius–submissively lowered their bodies and kneeled before him. 

Like the animals inside them, their human form also acted submissive under the feet and the command of an Alpha King. It was as natural as breathing for werewolves like them. 

The Forest became still and quiet. Even the nocturnal creatures stopped their singing and voices. As if they followed the rhythm of this ritual.  

“O… our Divine Moon Goddess… Bless our Kingdom and our King the guided path into our destined Queen. For us shall grow with prosperity under your great guidance.” Sir Azara recited the prayers and circled Lucius with the golden incense holder. 

The incense smoke rose high to the sky and covered the moonlight momentarily. 

Today was a full moon as well. So it was natural for them to change into their animal form and graze the forest. 

Five minutes after Sir Azara and Rakan finished the ritual. The atmosphere surrounding the Ariadne Forest gradually became less stifling and formal. 

The ritual finished, and all of you could go back to your post and get some rest this evening.

With a hive mind connecting Lucius to his subjects within his affinity, he ordered them to return to the palace and get the rest for the evening. 

Most of the ritual participants were directly back to the palace and their homes as ordered by the King. Some were still following Lucius. 

Eager to let their wolf's instinct come alive. 

Lucius changed his form into an Alpha wolf and howled loudly. Called his best friends and his security team to change and follow his footsteps into the deeper side of Ariadne Forest. 

They ran fast and went into the heart of the Ariadne Forest. They wanted to drink crystal clear water that flew by the river inside the forest. They howled and growled happily. 

But… out of the blue, Lucius felt the strange pull lead him to the exact location inside the forest. 

‘My King, where are you going?’ Shiraz, his Beta wolf, and his second in command asked Lucius in alert inside their hive minds. 

‘I don’t know. I just need to investigate this certain place. Just follow me.’ Ordered Lucius. 

He saw a small figure inside the center of the forest. 

‘A child?’ He tried to scent the stranger. But the smell was unfamiliar; he could not detect nor recognize the stranger. 

Lucius became alert, and all his people were attuned to his mood and alertness and became more vigilant. 

Several feet away from this stranger, Lucius then finally saw the figure clearly. 

She was a woman. 

Their galloping terrified this woman, and when they arrived and encircled the woman, she fainted. 

‘My King, be careful!’ Shouted Shiraz inside their connected mind. He growled in his wolf form. 

When the security came closer to this woman, Lucius abruptly warned them and showed his teeth. 

Warned them to back off and not come any closer. 

‘Move back now!’ Upon hearing the order, all wolves slowly stepped back and lowered their bodies obediently. 

He suddenly felt protective toward this stranger and was not allowing all males to be near her. Only he can do that. 

“She’s mine!” Lucius declared to all the wolves who heard him. 

He instantly shifted his form into the human form and directly embraced the girl. 

Her cold body made his heart beat loudly. At least her pulse was still beating, albeit a little slower than he expected. 

“Let’s go back to the palace. I need to tend her body. And don’t tell anyone about this yet. Let’s keep it down until we know who she is.” After saying that, Lucius chanted a spell that opened a portal that led to his palace room. 

Leaving his security teams and his best friends in the Ariadne Forest. 

He was sure that they knew what they should do after this. 

As Lucius said, he hated protocols. And he left those things to his aides for now. 

He stepped forward, was in his room, strode to his bed, and tucked this woman into his bed. 

The strange possessive feeling came every time Lucius thought about this woman, a feeling he had never known until today. 

A sudden realization hit him. 

A Ritual to Moon Goddess, a hunch feeling that urged him to come and find this woman in the middle of the forest, and now a fiery hot feeling that made himself uncomfortable. 

Luna?

Was she his Luna?

***