Jupiter bent and picked up a small wooden bowl filled with ash, then lifted his hand for quiet.The pride went reverently silent, the crackling bonfire the only sound in the paddock.
“The ash in this bowl was made from the bark of the annatto tree,” Jupiter said with a loud voice.“It grows where wild jaguars roam, deep in the heart of the rainforest.Jaguars use the ash to mark their soulmates during the mating ceremony, to represent passion and fierce, enduring love.”
Sera smiled sweetly at Caesar.He’d ordered the bark from a local shop after she told him about it.
They each dipped their fingers into the bowl, the red-gray hue of the ash coating their fingertips.She reached up first, her touch reverent as she pressed her fingers to his upper arm, just below the curve of his shoulder, and wiped the ash along his skin.He mimicked her motions, pressing the ash gently into her skin.
Jupiter turned and held the bowl over the bonfire.“As these ashes return to the fire that created them, so may your bond as soulmates burn brightly—untamed and unbroken.”
He tipped the bowl into the fire, causing sparks to fly.
After setting the bowl on the ground, Sera handed Jupiter the bracelets.He said, “The impala lilies come from Africa, the place of our shifter ancestors.It’s important that we hold tight to the traditions of our people so that we never forget what we are or where we come from.The fierce beasts that prowled in the darkest of nights cherished their mates above all else.It’s because of these fierce protective instincts that our beasts must mark our mates, a visible claim that not only permanently imprints the male’s scent on his mate, but also scars the skin.
“Sera, do you accept your place at Caesar’s side as his beloved mate?Do you welcome the marking that his beast will give to you tonight, knowing in your heart that this is the first night of the rest of your mated life?”
As Caesar had told her to do, she lifted her hands toward Jupiter and said, “I accept Caesar, his beast, and his marks.”
Jupiter placed the bracelets on her wrists, and she pushed them up past her elbows, trailing the lilies’ essence on her skin.
Caesar lifted the bowl of sweet prickly pear cut into bite-sized pieces.
“Caesar,” Jupiter said, “do you swear yourself and your lion to Sera?Do you promise to be with only her for as long as your heart beats?Do you promise to make her life as sweet as the prickly pear fruit, as lovely as the lilies, and to protect her with claw and fang as long as you live?”
“I swear,” Caesar said, feeding a bite of prickly pear to Sera.They took turns feeding the fruit to each other until it was gone.The pride drew close and growled as a group, the sound growing louder.
“I welcome you, Sera, to the pride, and I declare this night that when Caesar has marked and mated you, you will be as a lioness in the pride, honored and adored.The pride will stand with you and for you against any who would harm you.”
The lions all roared in approval, and Sera sniffled with a smile.
When the roar had died down, Jupiter continued, “Caesar has chosen his soulmate, and by ancient law, his bonded mate becomes our alpha female.But even with the tradition, there is a choice.If any among you feel she is unworthy to lead beside him, speak now.Growl your dissent, and it will be heard.”
Silence followed.
The whole world seemed to be holding its breath.
As Caesar knew would happen, not a single growl rose from the pride members.
Jupiter nodded once.“Then by the strength of our silence, we accept Sera.Lift your voices with mine and welcome your new alpha female.”
Jupiter roared first.Another lion added his voice, and then another, until the entire pride was roaring, including Caesar and Sera.The air trembled with the sound, a chorus of thunderous approval that echoed into the night.
Caesar took Sera’s hand and pulled her close as the roars echoed like waves on the shore, love for his sweet soulmate blazing in his chest like a furnace.
She was his, and now she was also theirs.
Alpha female.
Soulmate.
Love of his life.
* * *
Sera had never felt so loved in her life.The roars of approval, the sweet male at her side.She was in absolute heaven.
They greeted the pride one by one, accepting their congratulations, and made their way to the buffet—a line of tables filled with food and drinks underneath the trees.Music filled the air from speakers around the space.She and Caesar ate and then danced, bodies pressed tightly and soft whispers of love spoken between them.
“I have an idea,” Caesar said softly as he dipped her low and then raised her, turning them in a circle to the music.
