Chapter 527: Midsummer’s Eve 2
"Is it bad that I just want to sleep?" August laughed when they arrived at Maggie’s old cottage.
As soon as the days had gotten warmer in the spring, everyone had come together to renovate the destruction caused by the fire. Now it was back to its original condition with the addition of six small tree houses scattered around the back woods that were used for classrooms for the pups.
Maggie’s cottage and classrooms were the new favorite places for the pups to be. The treehouses looked like little artist studios, but the plan was to use them for any subject that they grew interested in and wanted more instruction on.
The cottage had also become a second gathering place for Sylvia and Charlotte’s sacred circle, which had now grown in number. Nedra, Neoma, Selah, and the returned alyko Elsie and Camilla were also now part of the frequent gatherings.
Tonight, the back woods behind the cottage were illuminated with strings of white lights and a small bonfire. It was the eve of Midsummer, and tonight was the shortest night of the year.
A larger Midsummer celebration was taking place at the pack house, much like Samhain. May poles that had been erected on the first of May and wrapped in ribbon were decorated now with flowers and ivy. Beautiful flower wreaths had been made for everyone to wear in celebration of the summer solstice, and there was dancing and music and food. So much food!
But the real celebration was going to be the following day. Tonight was just the beginning of all the festivities that were in store.
In addition to celebrating the bountifulness of summer, Midsummer was the day when most handfasting rituals between mates took place. Newly mated couples from the previous year often chose this beautiful day to symbolically bind themselves to each other in front of the whole pack and to receive the pack’s blessings for their lives together. It was comparable to a wedding ceremony in many ways, but it was shared by any mated couples who wished to join.
This year’s Midsummer was particularly special, because the Alpha and Luna were participating in the ritual. This had the effect of making all of the usual ways of celebrating that much grander. There were more flowers and more food, and more excitement seemed to be coursing through the warm summer night’s air than was usual for this celebration.
"You can sleep, don’t worry," Greta said, squeezing her shoulder. "You just can’t do it with Graeme."
August sighed and tried to smile. It was going to be uncomfortable being away from her mate and her bed, but all of the shining faces she saw when she rounded the corner of Maggie’s cottage and into the back woods took her mind off of it.
"You look so beautiful," Maggie said warmly, hugging her around the shoulders and walking with her the rest of the way. "Our little Thelonious will be joining us soon I think."
"I hope so. His due date is only a week away," August laughed and placed a hand on her stomach, feeling the pup kick again. He always got active at night as if his mother’s movements during the day lulled him to sleep and then when she slowed down, he would awake.
"Oh, I think it will be before that even," Maggie smiled and patted her arm. "Our little prince is eager to meet everyone."
August smiled in response, but her heart sped up. Would Theo truly be arriving early? She thought she was ready—she was certainly ready to have her body back to herself and no longer be waddling around uncomfortably from one place to the other—but the thought of the birth itself was terrifying.
"Don’t worry, Luna. It will go smoothly. And you have all of us to help you," Maggie assured her. "As for tonight, there is no pressure to participate. If you want to go right up to bed, you can at any time."
"Thanks, Maggie," she replied, and then everyone else caught sight of her.
"There she is!" Agnes clapped her hands and approached with a big smile and her arms outstretched, along with everyone else in the sacred circle.
One after another, each of the females gave their Luna a hug and giggled in excitement about the slumber party that they all got to have. They spent many nights together, but never like this—never camped out all night under the summer stars. Usually the mated females were eager to get back to their males, but tonight they were not allowed. Tonight Neoma, Nedra, and August were all required to spend the night away from their partners until the handfasting the following day.
August could see the stress of the separation already in Nedra and Neoma’s faces, and she couldn’t help but giggle to herself. She must look the same way—wary of this forced time apart and secretly desperate to get back to her mate.
And who knew what the males were up to tonight? Graeme wouldn’t tell her, which she couldn’t understand. She trusted him with every fiber of her being, but it still made her uncomfortable not to know what traditions the males had for this night.
"Are you hungry?" Charlotte asked once she was able to greet August as well.
"No, I’m okay. Thank you, Charlotte," she said, wincing with another strong kick from the pup.
"He is not taking it easy on his mom, is he?" She chuckled.
"He is strong, but I can’t complain. I can’t imagine what Greta went through with two of them taking turns kicking her," she laughed.
"Honestly, I think they were so crowded, they didn’t have much room to really kick like they would have. But it was Gia who was always pressing against my bladder," Greta chuckled, settling at one of the tables that was adorned with a charcuterie all the way down the center.
"Are you worried about being away from them tonight?" Liv asked as she sat next to Greta and fixed herself a plate of cheese and fruit.
Greta’s smile fell a little. "They are in good hands," she said simply and focused on the food she was arranging in front of her. A few smirks passed around the crowd of those gathered, and August wondered if Graeme wasn’t right about her leaving early.
"How long have you not been hungry?" Nedra asked quietly at August’s side.
"I’m not sure," August shrugged with a frown. She hadn’t really taken note of it. "I guess I didn’t eat much today. It’s just all the excitement, I think."
Selah walked up with a large grin and gave both her mother and August beautiful wreaths of white gypsophila and dried forest herbs that were larger than the other more colorful wreaths that were being passed around to wear. Neoma joined them, already wearing hers. She looked like a young bride, and suddenly August was overcome with emotion for her and Lucas.
They were such a lovely couple. Having witnessed the transformation from the caged, mad scientist Zosime to the liberated alyko that Neoma was today was a blessing in itself. But knowing the friendship and support that Lucas had offered her that whole time—before she was even ’acceptable’ to the pack—and knowing a little bit about Lucas’ history made the story of their mate bond so much more powerful.
"Have you been nauseous?" Nedra asked as she put the wreath on. "Diarrhea?"
August screwed up her face and then laughed. "Uhh..."
"She was dilated to a three already this morning," Greta announced to everyone.
Small gasps went around the females gathered along with cheers of excitement. "Any day now!" Someone said. August’s stomach twisted with nerves as everyone started to press in closer to get a look at her as if they could discern just from her appearance when Theo would arrive.
"Give her some space, dears," Charlotte said. "No one nine months pregnant wants a crowd pressing in around her. We have all night to enjoy our Luna."
