Chapter 23

Five days. In five days, a full moon will shine over the forest and it will be time to preform the ritual.

I rolled over in bed and looked at Percy. He was sound asleep next to me with his arm wrapped around my waist and the other behind my head, acting as another pillow. A smile spread across my face when I remembered how I had wanted to sleep in my room, without him.

He had just finished brushing his teeth and I had been in my bed reading a book. He walked in through the door separating our two rooms and saw me in bed.

"Well," he said. "Are you going to scoot over and make some room for me?"

I looked up and shook my head. "Nope. You, sir, are sleeping in your own bed in that room." I jabbed my thumb behind me, towards his room.

He feigned shock. "You really think that I'm just going to say ok and slouch back to my room? I thought you knew me better by now, Crystal."

"I do know you, Percy. It's just that I need the entire bed because I move around in my sleep. One minute , I could be lying peacefully on my side and bam! I roll over and kick my leg, shoving you off of the side of the bed and onto the cold hard floor. Now, I truly think the both of us will sleep much better in separate beds-"

Before I could get another word out, Percy grabbed me from the middle of the bed and pulled me over to the right side of the bed. He then ran around to the other side and got under the sheets before I had a chance to protest. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me toward him until I had my face smushed against his chest.

"There, now you can't move and kick me during your sleep." He sounded so sure and confident with his plan that I had to laugh.

"Seriously, Percy. I can't make you any promises about you not waking up with a black eye or a bruise."

He released his hold on me just enough so that I could pull back and look at his face. "I won't ever let you go, Luna. Not now, not ever, and certainly not because you think you're going to become a ninja in your sleep."

I smiled at his little joke and laid my head back down on the pillows, knowing that there wasn't anything I could say or do to make him change his mind. After a few minutes of staring up at the ceiling lost in thought, I turned on my side, and saw that Percy was sound asleep.

Now, a few hours later, I'm awake again but not just lost in thought. No, my mind was up and running, thinking about what I would have to do in five days.

Personally, I didn't know what I expected. Maybe I was thinking more along the lines of doing a backwards rain dance around a bonfire and saying a specific code or incantation. In five days, there is going to be a full moon and Peri, Percy, and I would walk out into the forest clearing surrounding the mansion. I would then undress, so as to not ruin any clothes once I phased, and Percy would pour a passion vine-infused water all over my body, while Peri did some Fae magic. Supposedly, under the light of the full moon, with my mate standing by my side, a Faeire casting awaking spells, and the water , my wolf would resurface, allowing me to phase at will.

But those aren't what I was concerned about. My mind was worrying about another thing I would have to do. I would have to take Percy's blood. Once the water was poured on me, I would have to bite Percy's neck and drink some of his blood. When I had found out, I had said something along the lines of, "What, are you kidding me? I thought we were werewolves, not vampires!" And Jen had replied, "Oh come on, Crystal. We all love a good bite every now and again from our mates." I had wanted to die right then. I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me whole, but it didn't. I was mortified after hearing her comment with Percy still in the room. Jen was smiling wickedly, of course. Percy had just laughed.

I sat up and slowly climbed out of the bed. I turned to see if Percy was still asleep, but he was wide awake. 

"Where are you going, Luna?" He asked.

"I just needed to use the bathroom," I said as I pointed across the room toward the door. "And how did you know that I left? I was super quiet and stealthy."

He chuckled as he laid his head back down in the pillows. "Stealthy? You? Not possible. I heard you a mile away, snapping twigs and cursing when a branch hit you, while you were walking to the pond."

"Man, I didn't think I cursed that loud." I shook my head and headed towards the bathroom. 

Just before I could open the door, however, Percy asked, "What's bothering you, Crystal?"

I halted in my tracks and turned to face him. I sighed. "How did you know?"

"Our mental connection may be blocked, but I know how you're feeling based on your expressions. I was one of the lucky few that got to meet his mate before they even knew they were." He pushed off the covers and came to stand in front of me. "What's wrong?"

I looked down at the floor, not sure what to say. I mean, how do you tell a guy that you do not want to drink his blood in order to phase into a wolf? Seriously, these wolves are weird! 

It became so quiet in the room that you could hear a pin drop. I needed to tell him something but for some reason I couldn't tell him the truth. I was afraid I would hurt him, because, of course, he must not be nervous at all. Well, say something, you boob! I shouted at myself. Say anything. Anything!

"I'm just worried about breakfast tomorrow, that's all." Really?! That's the best you could come up with? Stupid, stupid! I mentally chastised myself and waited for him to call me on my lie.

He tilted his head to the side. "Why are you worried about that?"

I racked my brain for something that sounded somewhat plausible. "I want to run on the trails tomorrow in the morning and don't want to be late. I'm debating on when to get up." Ok, that's good. Decent. It would totally work, except for the fact that you hate running! And you know the one person who knows that? Well, two people actually. Riley and Percy. Dang it.

He looked at me for a moment longer before he let out a relieved sigh and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Oh, thank goodness that that's what you were worried about. I thought you were worried about the ritual, because you know I'm worried about it and I didn't want to add more stress to you. So, I'm glad you're cool with it and all." 

My eyes widened at his words. I sat down next to him and "You're worried about it too?"

Percy cocked a smile and looked over at me. "I knew that's what you were stressing about."

I sat back and stared at him, confused. "So, that was a lie?"

"Well," he said. "The stuff about you telling me that you wanted to run in the morning was. Really, Crystal? We all know you hate running. Now the stuff I said about me being nervous about the ritual wasn't a lie. You're not the only one who worries about things."

I looked at him, shocked by what he was saying. "You? You're stressing over the ritual? What do you have to be worried about?" He knew exactly what it was and how it was to be preformed because his parents had done it. I was so caught off guard by him being nervous, that I had no clue what he was going to say next.

"Well, I...uh," He looked down at the floor, smiling,  before he met my eyes and continued. "I'm nervous about something I want to do before the phasing ritual. I wanted to ask you something before we preform the ritual because I want you to know that even if by some chance, it doesn't work and you can't phase, I still want to spend the rest of my life with you." He stopped and shook his head at the ceiling, still smiling. "I wanted to ask you in a most big and romantic gesture, but I guess now is as good as any."

I had stopped breathing. I bet my face was blue from the lack of oxygen, but I couldn't move. Percy took both of my hands and held them in his own and asked, "Crystal, my Luna, I have been wanting to ask you this question since the day I first saw you in the forest. I love you so much more than you could ever know and I don't know how I survived 21 years without you. Every day I'm with you, is another day in which you bring so much happiness into my life. Now, all I want to do is to spend the rest of it trying to bring as much joy to you as you do to me. Crystal, would you do me the honor of becoming my Luna forever? Will you marry me?"

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him towards me. "Yes," I whispered, my breath shaky from the surprise of it all. 

Percy swooped me up in his arms and kissed me. Once he set me back down on my feet, he said, "Now I know that you want a grand wedding, but I was thinking that for the moment we could do my people's marriage, the bonding ceremony and blood rites, before the phasing ritual?"

I looked up into his green eyes and smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."