"How could you be stupid enough to leave your mate with only two lycans and her wolf best friend? I wonder how you could intervene in so many conflicts and solve them when I see how foolish you were on this plan," the woman screams as she proceeds toward us.

Before Alec can answer, I step in front of him and bow.

"That was all my fault, your Highness. I did not give him much of a choice," I answer, almost embarrassed by the situation. Almost, because in the end, it worked.

"Liana. You're the future Queen. I already told you that you didn't have to bow or call me by my title," Alec's mother says as she puts her hand under my chin and makes me stare at her. She smiles at me, and there is nothing but kindness in her eyes. Then she turns to her son, and her eyes shift into a shining gray color.

"My son should have changed your plan without letting you know. He is supposed to be old enough to do that," she says in an icy tone as she stares into his eyes before hugging him.

"I am happy to see you too, mother," Alec answers. Jackson giggles, obviously amused by the curious situation that happens in front of me.

"Olivia can be really stubborn, mother. She could detect her hidden guards' scents as soon as she shifted for the first time. She would have noticed." Alec's voice is a little more relaxed, but still, I can perceive he is ready to take a step back if needed. His mother cannot be as dangerous as that.

"Well, that's not an excuse. Don't be stupid like that ever again, or I will kick your ass, Alexander," she finally says, her voice getting more temperate.

Alec finally seems to breathe as she steps away from him before returning to me.

"Come with me, Olivia. Helen, you can join us along with Luna Julie and the excited red-haired lady behind you," she says calmly, pushing my back kindly.

"Let's go to your room. We have to dress you for your mating ceremony," she adds. As we walk, she looks over her shoulder.

"Nice to see you again, Alpha Elijah. You've grown fine since I last saw you," she exclaims. I don't have to look at my brother to know that he is dumbfounded by the encounter.

Good luck, little wolf. I'll see you later. I love you.

Alec's voice warms my heart, and I glance at him, my lips silently forming the words 'I love you' to my wonderful mate.

We go straight to my room, my mother, Julie, and Kate following us. As we enter my bedroom, Alec's mother sits on my bed and shows me the space just beside her. As I sit, I notice for the first time how stunning she is. Her long raven hair falls gracefully around her perfectly oval face, her two beautiful blue-grayish eyes illuminating her look. Power radiates from her, and I finally figure out why she is feared by everyone, her son included.

As she looks at me, some lycans I had never seen before put some large wood boxes in my room before they bow and exit the room, closing the door behind them. Only two women stay with us. One seems to be around sixty and looks at me with a discreet smile, while the second seems actually young, around eighteen, even if I'm not sure if she is not older, as lycans don't age as wolves do.

"As my son's mate, you are destined to become the future Queen. As such, I would like you to wear one of the royale dresses," Liana calmly says, putting her hands on mine.

"If that's okay with you, Helen." She turns to my mother, who nods. Even if I am certain my mother sincerely agrees, I can't imagine that someone would really go against Queen Liana's will. I would definitely not go against her after seeing how she addressed Alec.

"Don't worry about my son. I love him with all my heart. He just deserves a little more to believe Jaci and I are mad at him for his past behavior. But don't worry, now that you're here, we'll let him breathe. Well, after the marking ceremony," she adds, laughing.

"Thank you so much for the offer, Liana. It would be an honor to wear one of these gowns, of course," I answer with a discreet smile.

"Perfect," she answers.

"Let's prepare you. It's almost seven, and that would be great if you could be marked before nine. I'm starving," she answers. The moment she pronounces these words, my stomach growls with hunger.

"And so are you. Lina, could you go with Luna Julie to get some things to eat? That will be our ladies' apéritif before the ceremony," she answers, blinking at the youngest woman.

"Of course, your Highness," the blonde girl answers before following Julie outside.

When Julie and Lina return, Grace, the oldest of the two women, is already brushing my hair to comb it in a very posh bun.

Two large trays full of food are placed on my bed, and my mother brings me a plate. I must admit that being taken care of while filling my empty stomach is very agreeable. Moreover, I don't have to deal with anything and after the last few years, not bearing the weight of the world on my shoulder is more than welcome.

Alec's mother decided that Grace would deal with my hair while Kate would do my make-up. My mother and Liana were looking at some jewels the Queen brought with her, alongside clothes. Unfortunately, these two evil women decided to let me be utterly unaware of what I would wear until the last moment.

"Is that okay if I feel like I am gonna puke?" I ask Julie, who is now on a chair in front of me.

"Yes, that's completely normal. Even if I knew Elijah would accept me, I felt like crap while my mother and yours helped me prepare," she answers, giggling.

"If it can make you feel better, Elijah was not better. He paced so much in my room that I feared for the floor to be ruined. I had to play video games with him, and you know how much I hate playing video games." I blink at her.

As Julie put her hands on mine, I realize how shaky I am.

"It's going to be fine, Olivia. Prince Alexander loves you so much. Even before he properly introduced himself to you, he promised to fight for you, even if it meant trying to convince you for weeks. He never doubted your bond and loved you the very moment he laid his eyes on you. Believe me, he would give up his current life if it meant being with you," she says.

"Yes. And he will be even more at your feet when he sees you tonight," Kate answers as she finishes applying the lipstick she chose.

"In a royale way, of course," she adds as Liana stares at her. Before Liana returns to her discussion with my mom and as soon as Kate does not look at her anymore, I catch a discreet smile on Alec's mother's lips.

"And there you are, Liv," she says after a few more minutes, clasping her two hands together.

"Now, the dress." My mother and Liana approach us, making me stand.

Alec's mother holds a dress that looks like some Antic Greece clothes. She is white, and as she shows it in its entirety, I realize it is the exact same dress as the one I was wearing the first time I met Moon-Goddess.

"How?" I ask Alec's mother.

"It's been in the Graysons family from the origins of our kind. The legend says it belonged to the wolf who fought for the wolves' freedom during the first war. According to the legend, it was given by the Moon-Goddess herself, who told one of her daughters that one day, the dress would be for a great she-wolf who would be able to end all that started with her," Liana tells us.

"How can you be sure I am supposed to get this dress?" I ask.

"The legend says the chosen one's name would be a sign of peace and life. Also, the legend added that her mother would be a hidden stone that would create the Moon," Liana adds. As I stare at her, she must see that I don't get any of the clues she is giving to me.

"Your human name comes from the Greek word meaning 'olive.' Do you know what olives symbolize?" She asks me.

Let's be clear. I'm not a name specialist, but thanks to the legend, I have a pretty good guess about the answer.

"Peace?" My answer clearly sounds like a question, but Alec's mother only nods at me, not to mention my apparent lack of confidence.

"Exactly. And do you know your mother's wolf's name?" Liana asks me.

"Yes, of course. She is called Theia," I answer Alec's mother. Her reaction is not what I expected as she turns to my mother.

"Theia was a Greek Titaness. She was the mother of the sun, Helios, of the dawn, Eos, and of the Moon, Selene. She was also considered the goddess that made silver, gold, and gems shine. An ancient planet was named after her. This planet supposedly collided with the Earth, and the debris created the Moon," my mother says with a smile. Before I can ask my mother if she knew all along, she smiles at me.

"Queen Liana told me about the legend a few weeks ago. She called me after his son called to tell them about you actually being his mate. Queen Liana made me promise I would not say a word before you were to be marked," my mother answers as an 'O' forms on my lips.

Don't act surprised. Moon-Goddess informed you about being the one. What did you expect? A joke?

Nice to hear from you, Selene. You knew?

As she giggles, I don't need actual spoken words to understand she had this legendary part of my life among one of the things she knows, contrary to me.

Did you learn more?

Not really. I just know we are the one. Don't ask me what we have to do, because Moon-Goddess only answered 'you will figure out when it's time' when I asked. So I decided you'll get the answers when it's time too.

This wolf is killing me. How can someone be so clever and mighty and act like a child at the same time?

Love you too. Enjoy the ceremony. I'll see you for the run.

I love you too, silver wolf.

I answer her. Damn it. I love this crazy wolf.

"Well, enough beautiful stories. It's 8 pm. Get into this dress. You'll be perfect in it," Kate says, clapping her hands again with excitement.

I go into my closet. I change in there as all the other women in the room refuse to let me enter the bathroom, so I can't take a look at my reflection. Thankfully, I emptied my bladder before they transformed me into a magic about-to-be-marked she-wolf.

I did not inform them that I had already seen my reflection during my encounter with Moon-Goddess, as they seemed to truly enjoy the idea of the full surprise thing.

As I get out, my mother's eyes glitter with tears, and she comes to me to hug me.

"You look gorgeous, sweetheart. I'm so proud of you. I love you so much, my baby girl," she says, sobbing.

"I love you too, mom," I answer.

After some words with everybody else, Alec's mother stated that they had to get dressed so the ceremony could start.

As I am now all alone in the room that seems extremely large as nervousness rises back in me, I start to pace. Then my brother's scent fills my nostrils as he opens the door. I race to him, and his arms embrace me.

"You're beautiful, Liv. It's like this dress was made for you," Eli comments. If only he knew she actually was.

"Even your small baby bump looks fine in it." His eyes stop on my stomach, and he sighs.

"Promise me you'll be careful. I don't like you being away even if I trust Alexander," he says, tightening his grip.

"Why do you all hug me like I'm a dying old lady you'll never see ever again? You won't get rid of me easily," I say with a smile.

He slowly puts his forehead on mine, and I close my eyes as I know he does the same.

I'll be there whenever you need me. No matter which mess you put yourself into, I'll come and take you out of it, Liv.

I don't need to answer out loud or through our mind-link. The waves of emotions that pass from my body to his are enough to express all that words could not. We stay like that for minutes, and we only leave our small bubble when someone knocks on my door. As the door opens, my father enters the room.

"I'm coming to take you to your mate," he says, his pride-filled voice filling the silent room. Then, as Elijah is about to leave the room, my father stops him.

"I think you can take your sister's other hand. No one will mind, Elijah," my father adds, with a smile and a tap on my brother's shoulder. Relief eases my brother's stiffened body.

As my father takes my left hand, Elijah takes my right hand. Both of the first two men of my life walk me down the packhouse right to the clearing. As we enter the dining room, I realize the same gray and blue decorations have been put back.

I remember the first night I met Alexander as I enter the room. Memories of his intoxicating smell that seemed to follow me no matter where I went. As we reach the terrace next to the room to make our way outside, echoes of the past ring in my head. Memories of his powerful and breath-taking husky voice when he came to stop Nick from hurting me for the first time.

We keep walking to the massive crowd gathered around the large stage outside the building.

A long blue carpet shows the way to the stage, silver glowing candles illuminating the path. There is no other light but a vibrant silver Moon over our heads. The full Moon is not supposed to happen today. We still have two days until the next full Moon. The Blood Moon.

As I look in front of me, I catch powerful green eyes staring at me. His burning gaze sends shivers through my whole body, and memories of this first day, on the same platform but inside our packhouse, come back to life. The deep stares I needed to land on him, as well as the pull that already existed between us, even if I did not identify it as our mate bond at that precise moment. But now, I feel it, more than ever.

Every time I'm stuck in the dark, he is here. My flashlight to face whatever shadows life will bring us.

My brother and my father let go of my hands and kiss my forehead one after the other. Then I climb up the stairs that lead me to my mate.

On the stage lays an altar with a silver cup on it. Alec's father stands in front of it, and I notice the seven seats with seven people staring at me oddly. As Alec's mother is the one in the middle, I know that the six other people must be the Council's members.

All the members are looking at me with curious but benevolent eyes. All of them except for one; I don't have to think a lot to figure out who this man is.

Amber's father.

I gulp as his assassin's eyes don't leave me.

Come on, Moon-Goddess. I just ask for one day without a psycho by my side.