Chapter 1. The Lunar Full Moon Celebration

"Life Can't Ever be All Bad or All Good. You Know, Eventually Things Have to Come Back to The Middle ~ Scott McCall " 

{Aislinn Wilds, Point of View}

The atmosphere of my room drastically changes as the sound of the bells from the local church began to chime, their dreadful song that only gets played once a year. The Lunar Moon Celebration was upon us. By 7:15 tonight the town of Winterfalls, New Hampshire would be decorated to celebrate the Full Lunar Moon. A yearly Celebration that takes place on the last snow fall in March. The air was buzzing with the sound of the orchestra rehearsaing, the smell of the delicious variety of food being cooked and finally a cold nipping breeze that blew in from my slightly cracked window. I sat upon my bed dreading the celebration. 

Yesterday was my 18th birthday and I didn't get the opportunity to celebrate it. My Matháir rushed me to the townhall and registered me for the Lunar Games. The Lunar Games is a sick tradition that the Overseers created as a form of payment. The Games give permission to the local wolf pack who are our protectors free access to our Town and allow the werewolves to pick their mates. Every female from the age of 18 to the age of 25 are all dressed up with black satin blindfolds put over their eyes and than placed in a line. At the stroke of midnight the wolves can pick their destined mate and take them with them forever. 

I looked up to see the smiling faces of My Máthair, Breena and my Maimeó, Grace. They both entered my room holding a dress bag, a jewelry box, a fancy show box, a huge container filled with makeup and hair products and last but not least a black velvet box with a beautifully done engraving on the lid. The engraving and the black velvet could only mean that the blindfold laid within it. 

The Games had a strict dress code that all the females partakers must follow. Each female must wear a fitted floor length gown that must be in the color of white, gold or rose gold. The gowns cannot be any shorter than the ankle, and must show the shoulders and back for some reason. The females all must wear white, gold, silver or rose gold 4 inch heels that can be closed or open toed. All the females hair must be either up in a bridal braid or down and curled. Each females makeup must be a nude color without the use of black. We aren't allowed to wear any sort of shaw or arm covering, we are not allowed to wear big and distracting necklaces, earrings or bracelets. And the cherry on top of the shit set of rules we must follow. We all had to wear a special handcrafted black satin blindfold that is to be worn the entire time of the Lunar Games until either our chosen mates allow us to remove the blindfold or when the bells rang alerting everyone that the Lunar Games were now over. 

There was this entire long set of rules everyone must follow within the Partakers Household. Any females that live under the roof have to help get the Partaker ready as they are not allowed to get ready them selves. The males within in the household must leave the house until the eldest in the family goes and gets them. Once the Eldest has gotten the males and brought them back to the house and the females are done getting the partaker ready. She is than allowed to see what she looks like. Along with the rules each Partaker must behave in a strict manner and obey every command they are giving. Once chosen they must listen to their new mates and obey what their mate tells them. If a Partaker behaves badly or speaks out of line there are harsh punishments that the Overseers or the Mates may give out. 

My Máthair and my Maimeó brought me down into the Parlor where they began my hair and my makeup. I began to drift back into the land of useless and ridiculous thoughts when the feeling of anxiety began to take over. There is only a 1% chance that a female doesn't get chosen and usually it's because they are destined to not be a wolf's mate and gets to live a normal mundane lifestyle, that is what I'm secretly hoping for. 

Time soon flew by as I stood in front of my Muintir all dressed up and ready for the celebration and the games. I was now finally able to look at myself in a full mirror. My Athair gave a countdown and I opened my eyes staring at myself in the mirror. I looked very beautiful that it made me tear up. My caramel hair were curled tightly and flowed over my back, my emerald green eyes had a beautiful nude eyeshadow and a simple but elegant wing. My cheeks had a rose colored kissed to them and my lips were rosy pink. I had a simple but gorgeous diamond pendent necklace and diamond studs. My heels were a cute white heel with some design to then. My gown was a rose gold silk gown that had some white detail on the bodice, the gown had a train but it hugged my body beautifully. My Máthair kissed my cheek and hugged me whispering into my ear about how beautiful I looked and how proud she was of me. 

With hugs from my Muintir we all began to make our way to the town square where the celebration was held. My deartháir Koda wrapped his jacket around my shoulders to keep me warm during the celebration. I would have to remove it before the Games. As we made our way into the town square the atmosphere was filled with excitement and fun. But there was also a bitter sweet taste that each elegant dressed female had on their tongues. If a female were to be chosen this would be the very last time that we would ever see our families. The moment we become chosen we have to obey every word the wolf says or get punished for disrespecting them. 

What a night this would be.