Lucy's POV-

I stood in front of the mirror just staring. There were no words...

My hair was much shorter after the much needed cut that Evanna had given to it. It looked healthy, no longer so limp and frizzy. Grandmama had braided some beautiful moon flowers into my hair. Incredibly, instead of looking like they were beginning to die since they had been picked from their life source; the moment that they were braided into my hair, they began to bloom even more vibrantly.

My attention turned from me to my outfit that I was supposed to be getting dressed in. Nat had picked out a short very pretty white dress for me to wear. It was simple and soft while also being fit for the occasion.

Still, even though the dress was beautiful, I was scared. I was scared to put it on, I was scared that my own pack would reject me, and I was scared that I was not going to live up to everyone's expectations. I was an Oracle, Luna, and Alpha- but I felt like an imposter. I felt like it was not supposed to be me that was to be doing all of this. I felt like I stole a place that was supposed to be someone else's- someone better. I mean, how could it be me that was supposed to be doing all this? I was just... me.

"Luce..." I heard Kale's voice come through the door of our now shared room. "Are you okay?"

I sighed audibly. Was I okay?

Kale came through the door and swept me in a hug immediately. "I could feel your self-doubt," he answered my unspoken question of what he was doing. We were not supposed to see each other until the ritual, according to Nat. "Rules be dammed... I couldn't let you be up here alone to let you worry yourself silly."

"Thank you," I whispered softly.

"Besides, I'm pretty sure that Cory and Nat are in their room getting ready together," he said with an eyeroll. "I know that they've been official mates for a while, but they are just now doing their ritual tonight along side us. So, that's a bit hypocritical of her wouldn't you say?"

I snorted with a nod as I buried my face into his shoulder, feeling much calmer with him next to me.

"Love, it is you that I choose. It is you that is supposed to be here showing us all the way," Kale reassured gently and tucked some hair behind my ear. "It is you, my beautiful Luce, that the Moon Goddess made for us."

"It can't be me... I'm just me," I replied with a headshake.

"It is you, Luce. We are just asking you to be you. You are all that we want," he said softly and kissed my forehead. "Please just be you. No one else can do that..."

I breathed deeply as I let his words and calmness sooth me. I nodded as I connected myself to the divine love that was being offered to me through the Moon Goddess. I was divine. The Moon Goddess chose me. I had to believe it.

"There we go, love. There's my Luce," Kale said with a bright smile as I looked up to him. He kissed my lips softly and hugged me again. "Let me help you, my mate, get ready for the binding ritual."

I had no arguments as he helped me out of my clothes and into my pretty dress.

The dress was short and showed off a lot of my legs. It stopped above my knees and showed off my many scars that ran up and down my bared legs. The spaghetti straps showed off my mate's mark perfectly. However, it also showed off my many other scars harshly along with the angry red marks on my shoulder that Renee had given me the night before. As if it couldn't be any worse, the backless dress framed my whole back that was full of too many claw marks, whip lashes, and bite marks from too many times before in my past at The North.

I began to panic once again while looking at how ugly my scarred-up body made the pretty dress look. I couldn't even fathom why Nat and Evanna had decided on this particular dress for me. They both knew that I had many scars to cover up, and they had picked a dress that covered very little of the marks.

"Luce, calm down, my mate," Kale whispered into my ear but also through the mind-link.

I let his soft voice wash over me like a security blanket inside and out. "Why did they pick this dress? It shows too many of my marks from The North," I vocalized my worries.

"That is exactly why they chose this dress," Kale answered. "You are an incredibly strong she-wolf, Luce. Showing off one's scars is a sign of strength in our community. It shows how much you've fought through, my sweet Alpha. You are the strongest one here. Scar-wise, love-wise, and power-wise... You are the strongest. They chose this dress to show everyone the truth about that."

I stared at myself in the mirror once again. The flowers on my head were blooming in full, my eyes were wide and swirling even though I had not had a vision in a few hours, and my smile was very real.

My eyes found Kale through the mirror who was standing behind me admiring me. "I'll always be with you, my mate. I'll always back you up, raise you up, and speak up for you when you can't... You are mine and I am yours," Kale said quickly.

I smiled even wider.

"Now we just have to speak those words in front of our pack," he said.

I turned around and kissed his lips gently.

"You just have to be you, Luce. Remember that... you are what we need," Kale told me.

"And you... all of you, my pack, is what I need," I answered.

----

It was really beautiful. Just as the sun was setting and the moon was rising, we all stood just before the forest. The trees were swaying gently in the cool breeze as the barely-color-changing leaves were beginning to rain down on the warm southern Autumn evening. It was really creating an exceptionally beautiful back drop for our rituals.

I listened to Cory and Nat speak their pieces. They were short, sweet, and right to the point. It was really just a formality; they had both accepted each other, seemingly the first night that the two of them met. Plus, Cory's pack absolutely adored Nat. She was a good Luna.

However, after their pack had all drank from their goblet and all howled in unison... it was our turn.

"Luce..." Kale whispered.

"I..." I squeaked.

"I'll go first," he assured me with a smile and kissed my forehead.

"My sweet Luce... The moment that I laid eyes on you; I knew that you were meant to be in my life. However, I was too stubborn to believe that I had a mate, so I made excuses. You were only my Oracle. You were only a pack member. You were only someone that I needed to help. As time went on, I realized that you are everything. You are so gracious and loving. You are my Luna. And you are also my Alpha. You are my Luce. You strengthen me in ways that I cannot understand and have already helped our pack so greatly. I love you. And with that love, I accept you. I accept you to lead right beside me and do only the things that you can do. I accept you not because you are powerful, or divinely touched, or because you are so strong- I accept you because you're you. All those other things are just a bonus. You're my Luce, and I love you," with those final words, he leaned forward and kissed his mark on my neck softly.

There was so much love and truth in his eyes as he said his words. I felt genuinely loved, and it felt so magical to be loved and accepted.

"I um... I am not very graceful and articulate, so mine will not be near as lovely as yours- but here goes nothing... Kale, the moment that The Moon Goddess showed me you in a vision, I have been yours. From that moment on, I knew that everything had been leading me to you. Everything that I had been through in The North no longer mattered because I was going to get to you. I had no idea of our future; I knew it was going to be a rough path, but I knew that would do anything for you. I love you. I love our pack. I love the life that you have shown me to be possible. I was ready for death that day that The Moon Goddess showed me who I am, and it was the knowledge that everyone here was going to be there for me one day that made me stop in my tracks. So... everyone here saved me. I love you all so much for that. I accept you, Kale. I love you so much. I accept the role that you all have entrusted me with, and I can tell you that I will love and defend you all until my dying breath," I kissed my mark on Kale's neck and smiled at him.

We took our goblets with full blown giddy laughs. Instead of me just pouring my wine into his glass like a normal mating ceremony, we poured both of our glasses into a new even bigger glass to show that our packs are one. We are a completely new type of pack.

As we poured our wines together, Sam and Wes spoke aloud together, "The first of her kind; born to lead. The purest of hearts with no desire to seek the position that is her birthright. Born with an overwhelming need to defend the weak. Destruction and chaos all around, but compassion and love can cleanse the tainted heart. In need of support and acceptance for strength and hope. Only then, can all be seen. Alpha and Luna. Two packs unite, coming together as one. Only when all is accepted and understood while fighting together as a unit in love can evil be overcome."

Everyone that had not heard it before at the meeting was completely shocked at the ancient prophecy that had been resurrected at our acceptance ritual.

"It is our prophecy," Sam said strongly.

"It is our pack who shall unite," Wes echoed.

"I know that many of you have been leery of Lucine... but she is truly it. She is our Luna. She is our Alpha, just as Kale is the same. It was her who was the prophesied one. The first female Alpha. So... now the prophecy is ours," Sam announced.

"We are the ones that will defeat The North!" They spoke together. "Follow your Alpha and Luna in drinking from the cup. Drink from the one cup to symbolize our unity. We are one pack, and we will prevail!"

Kale held the cup for me as I took a small sip. Kale followed suit and then we both walked to Wes and Sam.

Wes Drank first and bowed his head at us. "I accept!" He announced formally with his fist over his heart. Sam followed suit as we gave the cup to him.

As we both walked the cup to each member of our oversized pack, they all copied Wes' actions and words. They all accepted me.

We made it to the last member, which just so happened to be Renee, and I handed the goblet to her. She stared between us for a moment and then nodded her head. She took the sip and yelled, "I accept!" My heart filled up with light as she spoke, and I hugged her softly in happiness.

Kale and I both walked back up to the front of our pack and he handed the goblet to me. I drank half of the rest of the wine. When I swallowed the drink, I smiled at my pack as I bowed my head and held my fist over my heart to them. "I accept!" I announced. I then handed the goblet back to Kale and he did the same thing as he finished the wine, completing the ritual.

Just when his final words left his mouth, a gasp left mine. My back felt tingly, and I felt a strange sense of relief and love fill me up. I felt almost lightheaded at the lovely sensation.

I turned around to see if something had bitten me or something of the sort. When my back turned towards the crowd, they all gasped in shock. I looked slowly at Kale as I tried not to panic. Luckily, the wonderful love that I felt hadn't left me yet, so I wasn't freaking out too badly yet.

"It's beautiful," I heard someone yell from the crowd.

"Kale?" I whispered in question.

"It's more Goddess markings," he answered me as he traced over the marks.

"Is that a tree?" Someone asked loudly.

"Are those the moon phases?"

"Kale?" I asked once again.

"Yes, that's what they are," he answered. "The moon phases line the trunk of the tree down your spine and then its branches spread over your back very beautifully. It gorgeous."

"Can I see?" I asked softly.

Kale took out his phone and snapped a picture of my back. Sure enough, there was a beautiful tree that was marked across my back in black. It didn't cover the scars completely, but it did draw attention away from them. The new markings were beautiful and filled me up with so much love and light, it made me incredibly happy. I felt amazing.

"It looks as if another Goddess accepts you as we all have, my Luna," Grandmama told me knowingly as she touched my markings.

"Another Goddess?" I asked bewildered.

"Another Goddess," she confirmed with a smile.