416 Let Us Begin
When Everard arrived at the Great Hall, he was greeted with a respectful bow from a huge crowd.
“Wow!” He raised his brows in surprise when he noticed how the huge hall that could accommodate thousands of people was almost half-full.
“Are all of them from the Crestfire clan? Or are all the clans present here today?” He questioned Jerome curiously.
Although he was previously informed that this was an exclusive ceremony to which only the members of the Crestfire clan were invited, Everard wondered if he heard it right the first time after seeing such a huge crowd of people.
Jerome proudly darted his eyes around the Great Hall. “Yes, they are all from the Crestfire clan.”
All the werewolf members of the Crestfire clan from around the Kingdom had gathered there for the ceremony to witness their new alpha taking the vow. It was a big deal for everyone since the to-be alpha was also the King, just like the last alpha.
They were all cheering for Everard as he walked down the aisle and headed towards the stage that was prepared for him, just below the huge statue of the Moon Goddess.
Everard felt somewhat overwhelmed by all the attention that he was getting. It was no less than his coronation day where a large number of people were cheering for him.
‘I need to get used to this kind of greeting, huh?’ He nervously let out a sigh and tried his best to keep his head held high.
.....
After Everard took his seat at the center of the stage, the crowd was soon addressed by Jerome.
“Thank you, fellow brothers and sisters, for coming all the way here to witness the selection of our new alpha.”
There was a burst of cheering and clapping once more when Jerome said that and looked over his shoulder to take a glance at Everard.
Everard nervously smiled and waved his hand while looking at the cheerful crowd. He could see that a lot of expectations were woven with those cheering from all those people.
‘I should at least try to be half as good an alpha as my father was,’ he thought to himself.
After the cheering calmed down a little, Jerome continued addressing the crowd, “We have prepared some fun activities for all of you. So, until it is time to formally start the ceremony, I urge you all to go around and enjoy yourselves.”
The crowd erupted into loud cheer once more.
Under the leadership of Jerome, the members of the Crestfire clan who were in the capital had come together in advance to prepare a grand feast as well as other fun activities to keep the guests entertained.
And seeing the people scatter around and outside the Great Hall to check out the small stalls around the corners, Everard was amazed to see how the ceremony looked more like a festival than some serious gathering.
When Jerome came to take a seat beside Everard, the latter tilted his head to the side and mumbled, “Jerome, I was thinking…”
“Yes?” Jerome turned to face Everard.
And Everard asked something that was bothering him, “Won’t it be a problem when all these people start to turn into wolves after the full moon rises? What if somebody goes mad and starts to go around the village, terrorizing the sleeping people?”
“Oh!” Jerome shook his head and quickly replied, “You will be formally presented as the next alpha in front of the Moon Goddess way before the full moon rises. So, by the time the full moon will be at its peak, these people will be long gone. Only a few of us will stay behind.”
Everard felt somewhat uncomfortable when he heard that. “Can’t we also return to the castle before the moon rises? What if I start to… behave uncontrollably?”
Jerome could understand Everard’s concern. However, there were some traditions that needed to be followed, “I am afraid we cannot leave, Your Majesty. You need to receive your blessing from the Moon Goddess once you turn into a wolf too. She will grant you the full power that you will receive as an alpha. You need to stay until then.”
“Ah!” Everard took a deep breath and then nodded his head. He thought something for a while and then asked again, “I can call anyone I like here, right? After receiving the blessings and all?”
“Sure.” Jerome gave a nod and also pulled a smile because he didn’t want to discourage Everard before the ceremony even began.
After all, the moon of a person before the transformation could also have a significant effect on the mood of the wolf.
Everard was now looking forward to the ceremony to begin soon. He couldn’t wait to use his new-found powers to summon Ruby to him.
‘I am going to apologize to her as soon as she appears before me.’ He nervously breathed in through his mouth and tightened his fists. He then looked up at the statue of the Moon Goddess and prayed, ‘I hope she will forgive me for all the rude things I said to her.’
He didn’t know if the sire bond was making him this obsessed with finding out the whereabouts of Ruby, but he did know that he wouldn’t feel at ease until he formally apologized to her and tried to make things right with her.
After about half an hour or so, Everard’s anxiety was at the breaking point. He grabbed a hold of Jerome and then asked him, “Can’t we begin the ceremony now? I will get mad if I have to wait for another minute.”
Jerome gave a nervous smile because it really looked like Everard was about to lose his mind. He wanted to let all the people loosen themselves up before taking them through tightly scheduled fights and the boring oath-taking ceremony.
However, seeing Everard’s restlessness, he thought of starting the ceremony a bit earlier than he had planned.
“I will begin the ceremony right away then,” he informed Everard and then disappeared.
After talking with a few people and ordering some others, Jerome finally stood before the crowd and then made an announcement.
“Fellow brothers and sisters, I hope all of you have freshened up by now. I would like to request you all to grab the seats close to you because we are now going to formally start this ceremony.”
The crowd erupted into cheers again.
And when the noise settled, Jerome shouted at the top of his lungs, “Let us begin!”
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