His Arrogant Human Mate novel Chapter 72

Dominic squeezed my hand tightly, knowing I was biting back a sharp comment and reminding me to keep quiet. What I wanted to say was that she had no business reprimanding people about being salty, seeing that it was only recently I caught her nagging on the phone to her mother about me being a bad fit for Dom's mate.

"We should be the last ones. You may want to get the Elder's to proceed with the speech and dialogue," Jeff explained. "Then you can dramatically retire to your separate bedrooms and ignore each other for the rest of the night."

Dominic took the joke lightheartedly, agreeing with him before pressing a hand on my lower back to guide us to where the Elders were sitting and conversing at a nearby, circular table. Ida smiled up at me and waved me over to her. We hugged gently and she praised me for dressing in such a way that would please the pack and the tradition of the mating ceremony. Dom explained the timing and asked if they would mind moving forward with the festivities, which is when Ida stated she would be speaking, and Dominic and I would stand beside her.

"I can't help but think of the last time I got up there in front of these people," I muttered when I was guided after Ida.

Dominic snickered, pausing at the top of the steps to look down at me. "No one is going to ruin this night for us. No one."

I expected Ida to start talking about Dominic and I, or about the pack, or about the ceremony. Instead, she approached the microphone and burst into a language I had never heard before. Whatever she was saying, it was less of a speech and more of a chant. I gawked at her in confusion for a couple seconds before refining my face to look relaxed and calm, not like she was talking gibberish, which she might as well have been.

"She is reciting the ancient chant to our ancestors, the Shifters. Asking for blessings in health, fertility, mental health, and most importantly happiness. It is an ancient form of the language we call Lupin, a language we have lost most of, save for the ceremonial chants," Dominic said under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear. "As Queen and Luna, you will have to learn the chants someday."

Ida mentioned our names and then turned to us, Dominic smiling proudly as he faced me and cupped my face. "There is no one I would rather have beside me for the rest of my life, and beyond," he recited. Though I could tell it was part of the ceremony, the way his eyes shone in seriousness and his hands touched me, the way my mark pulsed with need, how chills ran down my body, and how my own eyes suddenly watered, I knew it was the truth. Dominic's warm palms pulled my face up to his, our mouths meeting tenderly but fiercely as the pack member's clapped and stomped.

If any of them found out that we held this ceremony with the intention of not doing anything, surely they'd cast me out, if not Dominic as well. It would be a disaster and for once, all of the individuals that said I was going to ruin everything, that I was undeserving of Dom... They'd be right.

"Caroline." I heard him speaking to me, but my mind was otherwise occupied. Guilt filled me as I took in the table of gifts and then heard the memory of Dominic professing his love for me. A love that I was not ready to give back to him. "Give me and my mate a moment, please."

A few moments later, Dominic was cupping my face and forcing me to look up at him, his fingers tapping on my skin. "Caroline, Cara, look at me. Come back to earth, please," he murmured. "You're stressing yourself out. What are you thinking?"

"I'm sorry I can't say it back," I gushed. "And that I'm not ready in time for the ceremony to be real. That I made you lie to these people, your family, and-"