WINTER'S MATE: FATED ON ICE

Chapter 78: Rituals

Chapter 67 - Rituals

Rosie

It had been three months since we welcomed little Snow into our family of two, now three, and two and a half months since I’d been discharged from the hospital after what felt like endless medical care and scrutiny from the doctors who kept warning me with serious faces about "little to no stress," and I’d nodded because honestly, I couldn’t wait to get home.

Before we left the hospital, I’d asked the doctor about what had happened to Snow, asked why his hair and eyes were white and his skin was so pale, and the doctor had explained that because of the silver knife that had stabbed me months ago, the poison had changed our child’s constitution.

And Jude had immediately blamed himself when he heard that, his face crumpling with guilt as he said it was his fault for not protecting me better that day. But I nudged him and chided him firmly. "Stop saying that, silly!" I told him. "Our child is still the strongest and most beautiful baby in the entire world."

And it was the truth because I genuinely couldn’t have it any other way, couldn’t imagine Snow looking different than he did.

That first night after giving birth, Elena and Marcus had come to visit, and Elena had cried the moment she saw Snow sleeping in his bassinet, with tears streaming down her face as she told me I did well and congratulated me, while Marcus stood there looking gruff but jumpy; Elena said he was happy and shy for having a grandson.

They’d brought flowers that filled the hospital room with color and smell, and Elena had made homemade porridge for me.

Maya had gushed out, saying Snow was a little angel and that she was going to be the greatest auntie on earth and couldn’t wait to spoil him rotten, and we all laughed at her antics.

Today was the naming ritual ceremony for Snow, and I was both excited and nervous because we couldn’t allow people to start calling him Snow. He needed an official name that would be recognized by the pack, used in all the formal records and ceremonies.

We’d spent weeks searching for names and looking for meanings that would resonate with our baby; we narrowed it down to Zane, Lucius, Finn, Zal, and Roshan. And finally, we’d concluded that Zane was perfect because it meant "God’s gift," and that’s exactly what he was; he was really a gift from God, especially after everything.

Snow was a perfect baby to wish for; he rarely cried, and though he was still so small and young, he already looked inquisitive in a way that fascinated me. The white eyes didn’t mean he was blind because he could definitely see, could follow sounds, and could track movement with his gaze. He was also growing at such a high rate that it had scared me at first because babies weren’t supposed to grow that fast, but Jude had explained it was because of the wolf genetics that werewolf children developed much faster than human children.

Normal wolf children apparently reached adulthood somewhere between their mid-teens. By three months old Snow was supposed to be saying two words already, according to the werewolf development charts, but he was still in the babbling stage.

I’d dressed myself in a beautiful white dress that flowed around my body and made me feel beautiful, and I’d dressed Snow in a matching white outfit that made his silver hair stand out even more beautifully. We walked to the arena together with Elena and Maya flanking me on either side because Jude was already there with his father doing some kind of pre-ceremony preparation.

This was going to be the first time we were officially introducing Snow to the entire pack, all gathered together in one place, because we hadn’t let any pack members see him yet except for family. Jude had actually threatened the doctor not to say anything about Snow until after the naming ceremony. And the pack members had understood our need for privacy, though, and they’d always been so kind, stopping by Winter’s mansion to greet me, congratulate me, and bring gifts.

When we reached the arena, Jude immediately jogged over to meet us, and he pecked my forehead gently before leaning down to drop a kiss on Snow’s head, and Snow giggled at the attention, his white eyes twinkling with happiness as he stretched his little hands up, trying to grab Jude’s face.

Jude smiled down at him, and he asked in that playful voice, "You want Daddy to carry you?" Snow giggled again in response, and Jude tapped his tiny nose affectionately before saying, "After we are done with the ceremony, Daddy will give you unlimited attention, I promise." Then he jogged back to where Marcus and the elders were waiting, and I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nervous excitement.

The naming ceremony started with one of the elders coming forward and gently taking Snow from my arms, and I had to force myself not to grab him back because I hated being separated from my baby even for a moment.

The elders stared down at Snow for a long moment and stared at each other, and then they started murmuring words under their breath in what sounded like an old language I didn’t understand. They made some kind of sign on Snow’s forehead with their fingers, and suddenly a glimmering light started glowing from my baby’s forehead.

I tilted my head, trying to get a better look, and took a step forward. What were they doing to my child? Why was his forehead glowing? Was this normal? But Maya’s hand shot out, stopped me, and she leaned close to whisper in a hushed voice that this was completely normal procedure, that this ritual was about knowing if the chosen name would resonate with the child’s aura and spirit.

The elders did some other things before Jude went closer, and I watched as one of the elders used a small knife to cut the tip of Jude’s finger just enough to draw blood. They held a silver bowl under his hand and let drops of his blood fall into it, and they came over to me and did the same thing, pricking my finger and letting my blood drip into the same bowl.

Then they went back to Snow and pricked his tiny finger; he whined instead of crying from pain.

The blood from all three of us mixed together in the bowl, and the most amazing thing happened because the bowl actually changed color, shifting from silver to gold and glowing softly. freewёbnoνel.com

A smile bloomed across the faces of the elders, and I saw Marcus and Elena both smiling too. The elders raised Snow up high above their heads so that everyone in the entire arena could see him clearly. "His name shall be Zane Snow Winter," the head elder announced in a voice that carried across the entire arena, "the son of Jude Winter and Rosie Elsa Winter, the fifty-fourth young alpha of Winter’s pack!"

The moment those words left the elder’s mouth, everyone erupted in cheers while I felt tears gathering in the corner of my eyes because my baby had been accepted by the pack and given his official name. Snow must have felt the energy in the air because he giggled, his little legs flailing excitedly in the air while he was still being held up by the elders for everyone to see.

Snow was given back to me, and I held him close against my chest as Jude immediately knelt down before the elders. Marcus came forward and stood directly in front of his son, looking down at him.

"Now Jude Winter, who has already become a father and proven himself worthy, is now able to take over his father’s duty as the alpha of Winter’s pack," Marcus announced, and his voice was thick with emotion even though he was trying to keep it steady.

Two pack members came forward and grabbed the edges of Jude’s shirt and just tore it right off his body without any warning, leaving his entire upper body naked and exposed to everyone watching.

I blinked in surprise because I hadn’t been expecting that, but apparently it was part of the ritual. Marcus placed his hand on Jude’s bare shoulder, and one of the elders stepped forward holding a ring that I recognized because I’d seen Marcus wearing it for as long as I’d known him, though I’d always just thought it was a fashion choice.

"Now I am handing this over to you, son," Marcus said, and his voice was getting rougher with emotion, "as a symbol of trust and responsibility, so protect the pack; protect the old and the young, the women and the men, and I trust that you will treat everyone with equality and fairness and be compassionate to every member of this pack."

The elder took the same knife they’d used on us earlier and pricked Marcus’s finger, letting drops of his blood fall onto the ring, which immediately started glowing. Then the elder handed the ring to Jude, who slipped it onto his finger.

Everyone erupted in cheers again, and people were shouting congratulations and celebrations, and then the elder turned and pointed directly at me and said, "Now to the young Luna," and I stared like a deer caught in headlights because I hadn’t realized I would have my own ceremony too. I actually touched my chest nervously, thinking that they were going to strip me naked like they’d done to Jude, and everyone in the arena burst out laughing at my obvious panic.

Elena came forward instead of Marcus, and she was smiling at me with pride, and she did similar movements to what Marcus had done but instead of holding a ring, she was holding a beautiful necklace.

"As the Luna, you are the heart of this pack," Elena said clearly, and her voice rang out, "You are required to manage the internal pack harmony, to act as a mother figure to all members, ensuring the well-being of everyone who lives here, to serve as an adviser to the alpha. You are the queen of this pack, and you must protect your people."

The moment she finished speaking and placed the necklace around my neck, I felt a power surge through my body, felt millions of feelings washing over me all at once, feelings that definitely weren’t mine. It nearly made me delirious; it was all so overwhelming I didn’t know how to process it all. I stepped back instinctively as Jude was immediately there, catching me and holding me steady; he smiled at me gently.

"You are feeling the pack members’ happiness," he said softly so only I could hear him over the noise of the crowd.

I smiled back at him because I didn’t know what to say, and I was completely overwhelmed by everything. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

Apparently it was traditional that after the ceremonies the new alpha and luna would change into their wolf forms and run through the pack territory together, but since I was human and couldn’t shift into a wolf, Jude would have to change alone. I watched as he stepped back and shifted.

I was always marveled by how majestic his wolf was, how massive, powerful, and beautiful. Then he nudged his large head against my side and gestured with his body language toward his back while I held Snow securely in my arms.

"Go alpha!" people started cheering from all around us, and I felt my face flush with heat because I knew that riding on a wolf’s back was considered an intimate gesture.

Jude’s wolf jumped a little in place, and his wolf eyes twinkled at me mischievously. Before I could choose him to behave, he took off running through the pack territory with me on his back, holding Snow tight against my chest.

I couldn’t help but scream a little bit from the exhilaration and the speed of the wind rushing past us, while Snow giggled the entire time.

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#Vote# import ant announcement on discord check it. BTW Just epilogue to go, I’ll miss Jude x Rosie