The Silver Guardian Bk. 01 Ch. 06

Victoria was briefly shocked before a very pleased smile spread across her own face, "Then I hope you realize what a special man you have in your mate: not many could hold themselves back when their other half was offering themselves like you were, let alone respect you enough and love you enough to wait for the full moon mating ceremony. He is a very special young man, and you must take care of him, now and always!"

Lily's smile lit up her face, "You have no idea, Mom, although I imagine Dad is pretty special too... no, I'm not asking! I love Dante so much, and Luna has blessed me with the most amazing mate anyone could ever ask for. I'm terribly excited and even a bit nervous for tonight's ceremony. I'm sure Dante is even more nervous than I am, this is all so new to him and he never even knew about his lycan heritage before, let alone being part of a Pack, or the mating laws that go along with my being your and Dad's daughter and Alpha Heir. Since our arrival here he's been under a lot of pressure and scrutiny, and I'm sure today will be no different for him, especially tonight!"

Victoria nodded in sympathy and understanding, "I know sweetie, it's a lot to take in for anyone, but especially for someone who has never before known who he is, like Dante. But your mate is strong, and he will rise to the occasion in every way required, I promise you that!

"I woke you up so you could awaken Dante, and you both could come to breakfast, which will be ready in the dining room very soon. After breakfast we are splitting you up for the remainder of the day, however. You will be with me as we prepare you for your mating tonight, and your Father will take Dante in hand and prepare him for his role in your mating. He will also run him through some training and sparring with the Pack enforcers, to help with the jitters and nerves. It will help him to release some of his energy and give him something to focus on and help keep the nerves at bay. Now go wake up your mate and come downstairs and meet us in the dining room." Victoria hugged her daughter and gave her a kiss on the cheek before turning and heading downstairs.

Lily softly closed the door and went back to wake up Dante, but when she reached the bed, she saw he was awake and sitting on its edge, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

He looked up at Lily and smiled, "Good morning beautiful, I hope you slept well. I dreamt of you all night." He smiled up at her sleepily, "Who was at the door?"

Lily leaned down and sweetly kissed his lips good morning, "Good morning to you too baby; it was my Mother at the door. She wanted to tell us that breakfast will be ready in the dining room soon, so we should put ourselves together and head down. I'll be spending the day with my Mother and some of the other ladies of the Pack getting ready for tonight's ceremony, while you'll be with my Father and some of the Betas today getting ready too. Daddy will take you through some training and sparring to help start getting you integrated into the Pack, as well as test your skill level in relation to the others. And it'll help get some nervous energy out before tonight. He will also talk to you about the plans for tonight and everything you'll need to know for the ceremony. Is that ok?"

At the mention of food as well as some sparring, Dante's ears perked up almost as if he were wearing his wolf ears, and he smiled, "That sounds great Lily, thank you and I'm looking forward to it. Let's hop in the shower and get ready, then we'll head down to breakfast."

Lily led Dante into the bathroom where together they took a rather quick but very enjoyable shower, heating each other up in excitement for tonight as they thoroughly cleaned every inch of each other's bodies. They dressed quickly, she in a bright red long sleeved blouse with a modest neckline and mid-length black pleated skirt and flats, and Dante in his standard black tank and tan cargo pants with military boots, as he finished by strapping his Spartans to the back of his waist. They headed downstairs and into the dining room, which was very lively. Much of the pack was there eating breakfast and talking excitedly about the big ceremony that evening.

The dining room was laid out a bit like a mess hall in the Navy, with long tables and benches running the length of the dining room, with one large table at the head of the room that was clearly where the Alphas ate, along with several Betas and their mates.

Dante's eyes were busy scanning everything and being attentive to the details, a habit he had formed throughout his life, and one he would likely never break. He saw Alpha Odin and Madame Alpha Victoria sitting at the head table along with several of the wolves he had seen lined up on either side of Alpha Odin when he and Lily had pulled up in his Chevelle in front of the Manor House yesterday morning. He realized these were likely the Betas of the Pack who served as the direct support of the Alpha pair. There were two seats open to the immediate left of Odin that were obviously reserved for himself and Lily.

The room quieted a bit as Dante and Lily walked in and headed for the main table, but conversation soon picked back up. When Lily indicated that Dante would be sitting next to her Father, he pulled the other chair out for her and helped seat her before taking his assigned seat. A plate piled high with eggs and cheese and bacon and toast and hash browns was awaiting him and he dug in heartily.

Odin, who of course was sitting to Dante's right, chuckled at seeing him eating with so much gusto. He smirked and said jokingly, "I'm not sure we should be rebuilding so much of your strength with my poor fragile daughter sleeping next to you; you're going to have to have mercy on the poor girl now and then."

Dante's face heated up visibly as he choked on a bite of eggs.

"Dadddddyyyyy!" shrilled Lily as everyone within earshot laughed out loud.

Odin slapped Dante's back, laughing heartily, and said, "Don't worry Dante, I'm just giving my future son in law a hard time; you'll find we're all very close in the Pack, and there are few if any secrets between us. It's one big family, and one we're all very much looking forward to you becoming a part of. After we're done eating, you'll be coming with me and some of the other men for some training and sparring. We'll also talk about Pack life and some of our Pack history as well as prepare you for tonight."

Dante nodded in agreement as he kept eating and at the mention of tonight's festivities Lily's hand rubbed tantalizingly along his leg under the table as Alpha Odin continued speaking.

"The ceremony will start just as the moon rises tonight; the Pack will gather in the altar grounds about a mile back in the woods, where all ceremonies and full moon celebrations occur. You will be standing at the altar with me as I call the Pack to order, then Lily's Mother will lead her to you, whereupon you will claim her on the altar and mate with her to completion as both a human and a wolf. At that point you will officially be part of the Pack and a member of our family.

"After you have completed your mating, the Pack will greet their new Alpha Heir pair either one at a time or in mated pairs, so they can learn your scent and you can learn theirs. Afterwards you will not only have formed not only your mating bond, but also your Pack bonds as well. Victoria and I, being the Alphas of the Pack, will be able to converse with you through this bond even in human form, but you and the rest of the Pack can communicate only when you are in wolf form. You will also be a part of the Family bond between Lily, her Mother and me, and when Lily's younger brother Michael returns from the East Coast when he is done with school, you will be able to use the Family Bond to speak with him as well in any form. Don't worry about memorizing all this however, once these bonds are formed they will quickly feel become to you."

Dante had been listening intently, trying to absorb everything as he continued to wolf down his meal, nodding acceptance and agreement at the appropriate times. He swallowed his most recent bite then asked Alpha Odin, "Since by mating with Lily I am becoming Alpha Heir, is there anything I need to know about that, or anything I need to prepare for?" Odin glanced at his mate and smiled then looked back at Dante before responding. "Oh yes, the next few months are going to be jam-packed for you; you will be working closely with myself, my right hand and top Beta Ben, and my assistant Marco who is a junior wolf in the pack.

A large blonde man a few seats down, nearly the same height and build as Alpha Odin, waved at Dante as he was mentioned. This was Ben, and Alpha Odin told Dante he was in charge of pack security and training.

"I will introduce you to my assistant Marco later, he is normally up early most mornings, getting everything ready for me at the start of each day. Being Alpha is not only a tremendous responsibility, but it also keeps you busier than you could imagine. That's why it takes an entire pack to support the Alpha pair as we take care of, lead and support the Pack. It's a symbiotic relationship, and it takes all of us working together to keep the Pack strong and healthy, not to mention growing."

By this time almost everyone had finished eating and Alpha Odin motioned for Dante to come with him.

Dante turned and gave Lily a light kiss and a suggestive promissory lick on her cheek and whispered a mention of tonight in her ear, causing her to blush and giggle as her Mother, sitting next to her with uncanny hearing, grinned.

Lily kissed Dante's lips and her outstretched fingers trailed wistfully across his trailing arm as he turned and followed Odin and Ben and a few of the other men and women out of the room.

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