You finally got out of the car and steeled your spine to enter the place where you'd been born and spent the first 18 years of your life. The guard at the door let you in with a respectful bowing of his head. His head bowed lower when he scented exactly who you and Loki were. You were both deserving of respect among the wolves. Loki was an alpha and an extremely powerful alpha at that, moreso now that he was a proper werewolf and had shifted instead of using Asgardian magic to change form. It had boosted his werewolf abilities and strength when he'd given in to the wolf in that moment.

While Loki was a strong alpha who deserved respect for his status, you were a prized omega, and this group of werewolves seemed to have finally learned what that meant. You weren't at the bottom of the pecking order, a submissive who had to be beaten into submissive, but you were out of the pecking order, a law unto yourself. The pack needed you as the heart of the pack, the protector of the pack's emotions, as well as the one person in the pack who could and would stand up to the alpha when he was being particularly stupid.

So you were both well respected for not only your rank, but your deeds as well. You were both Avengers and you had freed this pack from Jareth. They owed you their new more comfortable lives.

You knew things had changed once you got into the compound proper. There was clearly still construction going on, but the whole thing looked less like a jail and more like a community. The walls were still tall to keep outsiders out, but the compound had expanded. There were actual houses now besides the Alpha's house. There were larger community buildings too, a proper school. You knew from Dan's plans and consultations that they were turning the old compound into meeting rooms and a place for diplomacy and business. The inside was going to be more family units and for the pack.

As soon as you entered the inside area of the compound, your brothers came running for you to hug you. Loki stiffened for a moment, an alpha's protective instincts in regards to males who were outside of his pack coming toward you. He relaxed when he recognized who they were and didn't fault your brothers for wanting to hug you. He even stepped back so they could see that they weren't in any danger. Not that they really cared, they were going to hug you regardless.

Dan hugged you first, lifting you and spinning you in a circle, making you laugh at his antics. He was doing just fine now that he was alpha, now that things in the pack were so much better. "I missed you," he told you as he swung you and held you too tightly.

"I've missed you guys too," you said and hugged Ethan next. He'd grown since you last saw him, but you couldn't help ruffling his hair anyway. "How's things been going here?" You asked, genuinely curious as to how they were faring.

"They're great!" Ethan enthused and they babbled at you about the improvements they'd been making together. Ethan had been advising Dan in an unofficial capacity, since he was still a kid. Luckily, your mother was nowhere to be seen yet. You would let her attend the ceremony, but had no interest in actually seeing her.

Your brothers tried to pull you away from Loki to get ready for the ceremony. For some strange reason, Loki took offense at that behavior and growled at them, his fangs flashing. You realized that he was more overprotective than usual here. He didn't trust the wolves with your safety.

Especially on the day of the full moon. You saw the flush in Ethan's cheeks. Dan, as an alpha had more immunity to the moon's pull now. You only weren't affected because of the potion Frigga gave you. The rest of the wolves were going to be pulling through for the sake of your wedding. Usually weddings weren't performed on the day of the full moon, but it was the best you could do with all the ceremonies that needed performed and the order they had to be performed in.

Luckily, Samual and Fenrir both chose that moment to enter the courtyard. Fenrir was the alpha of all the alphas, so they all turned to him, even Loki turned his attention away from Dan and Ethan to look at the other alphas. "Loki, good to see you again!" Fenrir greeted him warmly and moved to hug the god with no qualms or fears of getting stabbed. They knew each other from way back in the Viking days, though, so it was no surprise that Fenrir didn't fear getting stabbed by Loki.

"And you, old friend," Loki replied, though still cast a wary look at Dan and Ethan.

Fenrir laughed and his relaxed tone and laughter eased Loki's anxiety a little. "Your omega is perfectly safe with her brothers. Rachel is waiting up at the house for her to help her get ready for the ceremony. Samual and I will be going over your part with you while the girls pretty up," Fenrir explained to him.

Loki nodded and relaxed at that. He stole a kiss before he let you get dragged off by your brothers to get ready. You chatted with them and caught up with them on the goings on in the pack. "Selena and her daughter still living with you two?" Selena was an omega Dan had let move in with him to make her feel safe with her daughter Tamara. Selena's husband had died and you had a feeling Dan had a crush on her.

Dan blushed and nodded "Yes, and they're doing well with us. Tamara is adorable," he said. He was too carefully trying to keep to facts.

"You like her," you teased him.

His blush only deepened, creeping up to his ears and down his neck. "I-I never said that," he spluttered. "Besides, her husband just died recently. I don't think she's ready to move on yet,"

You gave him a gentle smile. "I won't tell her," you promised. "Perhaps in time..."

"I won't pressure her. She's a member of my pack and she's safe with me," Dan said firmly. You knew that was how Dan felt, which is why you chose him to be Alpha. He didn't care about the power for himself, but to protect those under him.

"I know you won't," you told him, and vowed to yourself to determine for yourself if she might be interested in your brother. He wouldn't act unless he was sure and you'd be able to tell him one way or the other.

You were hugged by Selena and Rachel as soon as you entered the house. They were both perky despite the blush to their cheeks. You suspected energy drinks were involved. Or just marriage excitement. They dragged you up to Selena's room where Tamara was napping in her crib. You, of course, got distracted by the puppy and couldn't help wonder if you and Loki would ever have puppies someday.

You shook your head to banish that thought from your mind. Today wasn't the day to think about puppies.

Werewolf marriages were different than human ones. They were much less formal for one thing. So while you dressed nicely, you also dressed more simply. You wore a white spaghetti strap sundress with sandals, the dress only went down to your knees. Your hair was braided and flowers woven throughout. Your makeup was done, but simply, just enough to smooth out any blemishes. This wasn't a huge formal event, unlike most human weddings, or the royal wedding on Asgard.

Finally, just before noon, you headed out of the house with the girls and your brothers. The entire pack was waiting for you in the courtyard. Fenrir and Loki were in the middle of the circle of wolves waiting for you. You saw your mother in the crowd, though you had no intentions of speaking with her. You let her be here. That was enough. Of course Fenrir was conducting the ceremony. He was your alpha and the alpha of all the alphas. He had the most authority of any wolf in existence.

Loki gave you a wide smile when he saw you. You knew from the look in his eyes that he thought you were as beautiful as ever. He was dressed simply as well in a green button down shirt and black slacks. He was no less sexy for the simple attire. You made your way to him, the circle parting to let you in before it closed again behind you.

You joined your hands, standing before Fenrir, much as you'd joined your hands before Frigga yesterday. "We come together, under the light of the sun to celebrate the union of two of our wolves. They have expressed their love through a formal wedding and now wish for the pack's and our deities' blessing," Fenrir announced. This would be a much shorter ceremony than yesterday's as well. This was an acknowledgement of your love.

And a bit of werewolf magic.

"Are there any wolves here who would deny this love? Who would deny this Alpha his chosen Omega?" Fenrir asked the crowd. It was formality. No one questioned your love or Loki's, especially since you were already married. You still caught the sharp look he gave your mother to keep her damn mouth shut for once.

And for once she managed to.

"Then we ask the sun blessing on this union under his fullest light of day." The ceremony had to be done at noon for that reason. "And we bear witness to the markings of your love and the pledge of your loyalty,"

Unlike previous times when you'd marked Loki with your bite, with your scent, this time you would be marking each other, and this time the marks would be permanent, etched in magic. Traditionally, the marks were placed on the neck near the shoulder. However, things had changed in modern world and with more interaction with the humans. So now the marks went on your wrists instead, where they would appear as tattoos to the humans, thanks to pack magic.

At Fenrir's nod, you took Loki's left wrist to lift to your mouth as he was doing with yours. Your fangs extended and you sank them into his wrist carefully. You felt his fangs slide into your wrist at the same moment. Razor sharp pain hit a moment before the pack magic washed over you, before the magic of the bond snapped into place, binding you together forever. When you pulled back, the wounds were completely healed. It looked like a tattoo, even to you, a tribal design that hid the teeth marks and one unique to you and Loki as the black mark swirled and settled into its design.

The wolves around you tilted their heads back to howl at the sun. The first part of the ceremony was over.

The next part would be that evening, under the light of the full moon.

The moon goddess needed to witness your union as well.