Mated To An Enemy

In Winter, there were many celebrations and festive events. Most were held within the smaller communities rather than the whole of Winter. Some were small, some large. More often, these kinds of things were celebrated in the south. The northern territory always had a stricter adherence to tradition and order.

Things like Christmas and Thanksgiving were human holidays that had been widely accepted within the southern half of the pack. When the idea was first broached, Wyatt’s father, who had been Alpha then, had not liked it. But in the end, he agreed to allow the human holidays to be celebrated. So long as there was no actual human involvement.

There were also older, more commonly celebrated holidays amongst the pack members, like Yule. But there was only one event that the entire Winter pack joined in the celebration.

The Wild Hunt.

The Hunt was a commemoration of the final battle that saw the end of Loki and his fae that threatened humanity and the wolves alike.

Every year the wolves of Winter gathered in pockets across the north and south, eating and drinking, playing games, and dancing by the bonfires.

A drama depicted the events leading up to and including the final battle. It was coordinated across thirty different locations throughout Winter. And it ran at the exact same time, synced up by fireworks in the night sky.

Ashleigh and Caleb had arrived late in Winter. The party was well underway when they pulled in and made their way to the celebration fields.

At least twenty bonfires were spread over the land, and men and women danced and laughed around them. Everywhere they looked, barrels of mead and tables filled with fish, both boiled and roasted vegetables, and a variety of meats.

Caleb found himself smiling as he looked around, all the faces filled with joy and laughter.

The celebrations in Summer were so much more formal and organized. People enjoyed the time they shared, but not like this. Not with such enthusiasm and freedom.

Ashleigh looked around for Axel. She was quite annoyed that they had arrived so late. She was hoping to get a chance to speak with him before the start of the festivities.

Suddenly Caleb grabbed her hand, and Ashleigh found herself dragged from where she stood toward the bonfire.

“What are you doing?” she questioned as he pulled her along.

Caleb turned with a smile she had never seen on his face before.

“Dancing with my wife!” he laughed.

And with those words and that laugh, Ashleigh forgot what she had even been looking for.

They danced, laughing and hollering along with the others in their bonfire circle. They swung in and out, traded partners, and danced hand in hand with wolves they didn’t recognize.

The whole while, they laughed and smiled and enjoyed every moment.

Caleb’s attention was drawn immediately to the loud squeal through the air before an explosion of green and white lit up the sky. Then, in the distance in either direction, he saw the same green and white explosion.

“What is it?” Caleb asked.

“The fireworks?” Ashleigh laughed.

“No,” Caleb laughed. “I know what fireworks are. But, why are they going off, and why are they spread out like that?”

“Come,” Ashleigh smiled as she pulled him along the field.

Many others joined them in moving away from the bonfires and heading towards a stage. Ashleigh explained to Caleb about the show and how it was presented all across Winter simultaneously.

As more people moved closer and closer, crowding in to see the show, Caleb wrapped his arms around Ashleigh’s waist. He held her in front of him so she could see but kept her close so they wouldn’t be separated.

Ashleigh laid her hands over his and rested her head against his chest. The people around them settled in for the show to begin.

A few minutes passed, and another squeal through the air, and a burst of pure green lit up the sky.

“It’s starting,” Ashleigh whispered.

The play began with a narrator summarizing the conflict between the fae and wolves. He explained how the fae had once nourished and maintained the world for the humans and other inhabitants to prosper and grow. But one day, the fae got restless and greedy.

A beautiful backdrop of trees and flowers on the stage was suddenly covered in a dark red glow. A man walked onto the scene, flamboyantly dressed in gold, with painted brown and green leaves all over his skin.

“We the fae are more powerful than any other creature, and we should be worshipped and adored!” the man roared. “Follow me! For I, Loki will lead us to glory!!”

“Booo!!!” the crowd laughed back at him.

Caleb laughed, and Ashleigh glanced up at him as the show continued. The look on his face of such joy and merriment. She hadn’t realized how much such a simple pleasure like watching a silly show could mean to him.

The show continued, telling of how the Goddess had uplifted these mortal beings into her champions to defeat the fae and restore peace to the world. But Ashleigh’s attention was entirely on Caleb.

Or at least, it was until she heard a name that drew her attention back to the stage.

“Lily, my love!” the man on stage dressed as a strong and mighty warrior wearing a pauldron with a fur lining. He walked toward a woman. She was dressed in leather vestments with a Valkyrie helm.

“Geri!” the woman called out to him.

The narrator announced the bonding of the first Alpha and Luna of Winter, the first mated pair of wolves.

“I don’t know how they can say they were first,” Caleb whispered. “All historical accounts seem to agree that the original Alphas and Lunas were already mated when the packs were established.”

Ashleigh smiled.

“Yes, but you are in Winter on a Winter holiday. So, of course, ours came first,” she laughed.

“Excuse me,” Caleb said with a playful growl, leaning forward to kiss her throat. “You are a Summer wolf now, the Luna of Summer, to be exact.”

Ashleigh smiled and exposed more of her throat to him. “I am both.”

Caleb smiled as he kissed her once more.

“My child! My child! Has anyone seen him?!” the actress called out into the audience.

“What’s this?” Caleb asked.

“Though the strength and power of our Luna had kept her from meeting the same fate as all the other Lunas. Her heart betrayed her….” The Narrator announced dramatically as if he were answering Caleb’s question.

“My son!” the Lily on stage called out. “Where is my son?!”

Children in the audience cried out. They told her to go home, to watch out. They told her that her son was safe in their home and that she was being tricked.

“What did he mean when he said the same fate as all the other Lunas?” Caleb whispered.

“About how they had all died in various battles. Lily was the last of the original Lunas,” Ashleigh replied.

“Why do they think that?”

“What do you mean?” Ashleigh asked, looking up at Caleb.

The Lily on the stage moved toward a small bundle on the ground. A blanket was laid over a body that was the size of a small child.

“My boy… is that you….”

“No!! Don’t do it!” a child in the audience called out.

“I mean, why do you think the other Lunas died?” Caleb asked.

The woman on stage moved forward. She reached out as the children called for her to stop, the parents letting out small chuckles here and there. She pulled back the blanket, and the flamboyant man popped up, stabbing her as he laughed.

“Oh no!” he said dramatically as the actress playing Lily fell to her knees, holding red ribbons along with the dagger he had stabbed her with.

Soft sobbing came from the audience, likely from the children who had tried to warn her.

“Oh boo hoo….” Loki said to the audience, crossing his arms and tapping his foot comedically.

“Noo!!!” Came a scream from the edge of the stage. There stood the actor playing Geri. Grabbing at his side, he reached his hand out to Lily as they both fell forward and closed their eyes.

Another man jumped on stage, also wearing fur line armor.

“Loki! We will stop you!” he called out.

“Got to go!” Loki smiled at the audience and ran off stage.

The lights dimmed, and a squeal went through the air, bursting in a cascade of white glitter.

“What does that one mean?” Caleb asked.

“Intermission,” Ashleigh said.

“Oh, good,” he said, pulling away from her.

“Where are you going?” Ashleigh said as his warmth slipped away from her.

“Nature calls,” he grinned.

Ashleigh laughed. She looked back at the stage. It was dark, but a single prop had been left behind at the center, a single lily of the valley.

“That wasn’t what happened…” a voice whispered softly.

Ashleigh looked around, but no one was close enough for her to have heard them as clearly as she did. She furrowed her brows, and then a thought occurred to her.

“Lily?” she whispered.

There was no response. But the strange feelings of sorrow that rolled over her and then just as quickly slipped away told her she was right.