My Lycan Mate of Suicide Forest

August was thankful for the warm glow of the lights that were strung around the exterior of the area. She didn't get the gasps and swarm of people she imagined would happen when they saw the way her skin luminesced. It must not have been too apparent.

She and Graeme walked through one of many triangular arches set up around the perimeter with Greta and Sam following. The arches looked to be made with stripped tree boughs and branches and adorned with flowers. It reminded her of a wedding arch, but these were meant to be passed through.

"What is the significance of the arches?" she asked Graeme as she looked around.

"They are gateways. Any time we have a large outdoor gathering with the whole pack included, they are used. It used to be that an alyko would put an enchantment on them like the one Maggie placed on the treehouse. With the arches, the enchantment was to keep the pack safe so that no outsiders could enter and ambush during a festival. Now I guess they are more of a… vestige."

"A beautiful vestige," she observed.

"Each one will lead to something else going on over the course of the day. There's a haunted forest that some of the pups came up with this year, and it should be going on that way," he pointed to an arch on the far side of the clearing. "There will also be bobbing for apples and other activities for the younger ones…"

"You don't like bobbing for apples?" she interrupted with a teasing smile.

"I don't think anyone would want to see me bobbing for apples," he chuckled.

"Why is that?"

"It's symbolic now," Greta interrupted, rolling her eyes at him. Why did she seem to be doing that so often?

"Still…" he argued, "the feeling it evokes is the same."

"The same as what?" August asked, looking back and forth between them.

"Well it also once meant fertility and abundance if you caught one, so it's actually quite appropriate, Alpha," Greta grinned.

"I have proof of that standing next to me. I don't need to catch an apple."

"What else did it used to mean?" August tried again.

Greta gave her brother another amused glance. "It used to be something only unmated juveniles engaged in as a fun way of determining who would be next to find their mate."

"And I have found mine," he spoke deeper, something firm in it signaling an end to the banter.

A hush fell over everyone as nine male pups approached the fire churn that was set up in the center of the clearing.

Four lined up on one side of the rectangular looking apparatus and lifted a rope from the ground that was wrapped around a center wooden spindle. The remaining five pups lined up on other side and grabbed a different rope that was similarly wrapped.

"It is time to light the pure fire for the upcoming year," a male sauntered slowly toward the middle of the clearing near the pups. He was smaller than most grown males August had seen in the pack, and he was impeccably dressed—especially for so early in the day.

"As everyone knows, this Samhain is particularly auspicious. Our Alpha has returned," he turned and bowed with an extended hand toward Graeme. "Would you like to say something sire?"

A muscle feathered in Graeme's jaw as he strode forward proudly holding August's hand at his side. He hadn't planned on saying anything, but he supposed it was appropriate.

Once they turned to face everyone, August heard the gasps she had anticipated earlier. All of their eyes were on her, and she saw the shock and awe well large over them. Graeme squeezed her hand in reassurance, but she didn't need it—she felt them. She felt the connection with all of them like plucked strings vibrating in her chest. It was overwhelming and… and so beautiful.

"Calix," Graeme acknowledged the male who had been speaking. "It is with great pride that I rejoin you all," his sonorous voice then spoke, drawing their attention to him.

"This pack, this family, has been through much. The Goddess has provided us with a time now in which to learn truths about our wounds so that we can properly heal. And she has gifted us with a promise." He turned to his mate, unable to contain the huge grin that bloomed on his face as he did.

There were excited whispers around them as Graeme lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. And then someone broke the low whispers with a joyous whoop of celebration for others to join in. Graeme's eyes didn't leave hers as those around them began cheering their approval, and she gave a shy laugh at the intensity of it—of her mate, of his deep adoring eyes that all could clearly witness, of the growing crescendo of happiness she felt among those around them. In this moment, all of it felt right.

"So let's begin this new chapter for our pack with the lighting of the pure fire," Graeme called for another roar of cheers to erupt.

The attention turned to the chosen pups who were still holding onto their ropes, and they began the ritual that was so familiar to all but new to August. She watched in fascination.

The pups on one side of the fire churn pulled, each gripping a portion of the rope, and their combined effort caused the spindle to pivot in a clockwise direction. That team then gave way to the other team of pups pulling the spindle counter clockwise.

It looked like a much larger version of creating fire by rubbing a stick back and forth in your hand. It also reminded August of tug-of-war, except the goal was a shared one and in achieving it both sides would win.

Initially, the spindle started to turn slowly, and she watched as the pups clenched their teeth and squinted their eyes in determination to get it moving. They were all so impressive.

Eventually the spindle started to pivot more smoothly, and the motion of the pups pulling back and forth on either side created a reliable rhythm that sped up. Slices of morning sun came filtering through the trees just as the first evidence of smoke appeared on the hearth log where the friction from the spindle was concentrated. And finally another wave of cheers welcomed the first small flames and the culmination of the pups' hard work.

The pack's pure fire was renewed.

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