A/N my first book. Feel free to comment and/or vote (I really won't mind)
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I waited with baited breath as the girl before me ascended the stairs leading to the stage. The girl knelt before the audience and faced the alpha and his mate. The girls watched for the signal of her continuance. The alpha inclined his head in a barely distinguishable nod.i watched as the girl grabbed the ceremonial blade used at these processions and proceeded to slice her palm wide open so that blood dripped down from her hand into the gold chalice below. i watched as the girl bled for one breath, one heartbeat, and then did not. The girl was healed, one of the perks of being a werewolf.
The man before the girl, the alpha, finally moved. The alpha, he drew back his broad chest, widened his muscular shoulders, he breathed, his breath fogging in the chilled air. He bellowed.
" ......Do you swear to remain loyal to the wolf nation, to uphold the integrity of the species and to accept the blessings of our Goddess?"
"I do" the girl responded
"Then drink"
With that the audience erupted in applause and the girl raised the ceremonial chalice and drank the mixture which would connect her to her fellow pack members. The mate of the alpha, the Luna, leaned down to the kneeling girl and placed a beaded necklace around her. A single moonstone gleamed as the girl stood, curtsied and graciously descended the steps to take her place among the alphabetized ranks of newly accepted pack mates. The girl was beautiful and graceful a key characteristic of all werewolves.
Now it was my turn to awkwardly fumble through the ceremony.
"Kade Grace Woods"
I barely noticed my name being called. I was too nervous, it was almost as bad as my first date at Jo'anne's Joint where I puked all over the table and my date, Jonathan Hanson. He was terribly understanding and tried to insist it wasn't my fault, I just couldn't stop seeing the replay of my projectile vomiting across the table and him, after barely sitting down.
I was just glad he went to a different school two towns over and we met via Internet.
It was my turn. Struggling to remember the steps of the ceremony I stumbled up the steps. I knelt clumsily in front of the alpha; my alpha, my head bowed under a thousand heavy eyes of the other pack members. I missed the alpha's nod. He cleared his throat. Quickly my eyes darted to him. Panic set in, I missed my Cue..My hand floundered on the table like the dead eyed fish pulled from the depth of the lake, and my fingers grasped the heavy knife. I raised it and brought it down upon the tender flesh of my palm. Pain jolted up my arm, flashing my brain with warnings, but the damage was done. One drop of blood followed by its twin sailed through the air, one landing on the edge of the chalice the other exploding on black planks where I knelt. Dozens more followed the first and a small stream of blood ran down my arm as I clasped my hand over the cut. One breath and then another, twenty frantic heartbeats. It did not heal. I knew what some of the audience members were thinking. I knew they now knew me to be human. There were gasps a long moment of noise in the chilled air. The sound shattered on the ground unable to remain suspended on nothing. I knelt there collapsing further into myself with my bleeding hand at the center. The alpha raised his hand to quiet the silent crowd.
He spoke the lines.
" Do you swear to remain loyal to the wolf nation, to uphold the integrity of the species and to accept the blessings of our Goddess?"
For a moment I hesitated thinking of the implications that came with my membership. I would no longer be alone, no longer have the same privacy or the same freedoms. Was it worth it? Yes. Despite my doubts it was worth it.
"I do" I said echoing the confidence held in the previous initiates.
Another infinitely loud gasp resounded.
"Then drink"
And I did. The chalice was metallic on my tongue and a single drop filled my mouth with the copper taste of blood and something more. The taste lingered awfully. I began to stand only to remember the necklace had yet to be placed around my neck. I stopped rising but crouched in a painful squat. I watched from my lashes as the Luna lowered a necklace around me. It was heavy and perfect. Now I stood on my shaky legs, then I swayed and tripped. My foot twisted painfully and then I was stumbling across the steps to my new seat among the other pack mates that joined that day. No one said a word because the silence said it all. I was not wanted among the pack members, not even the initiates. Not really. My fathers were wrong.
I sat there my ankle throbbing to the tone of the alpha's voice. He called the next person and the next until I squirmed uncomfortably. My ankle swelled. My palm bled. I was not like the other calm statue like pack members. But I was one.
The ceremony ended with a prayer to the Goddess and burning incense that choked my lungs; my asthma was simply another divider, a reminder of my fragile condition known as human.
I stood on my wobbly ankle with the other newly joined members and bowed my head before the alpha. Then one row after another we were led out into our new lives.
The double doors shut behind us closing the previous chapter of our lives with a click. The chatter rose as the leading man turned us loose, though we were still expected to attend the bonfire but not required.
I wasted no time limping to the restroom to clean my bloody palm. The bathroom drawer slid open with ease as I pulled out the mini first aid kit and the tennis shoes I had stashed this morning for this reason. I washed my hands, then poured peroxide over the cut. With my good hand I placed the gauze over my sliced palm. I fumbled with the tape to secure the gauze . I sighed. My ankle still hurt but I didn't have enough material to wrap it, it would have to wait. I changed shoes and hoped the structure of the sneakers would help or at least be better than the sparkly strappy sandals my papa had made me wear. I did have pain killers in the kit, I swallowed the two ibuprofen. I drank from the faucet to wash away the taste of blood and medicine. The water sprayed across my neck, dripping onto the plain white dress I had been required to wear.
"Shit" my dress was now partially see through in addition to being stained with drying blood.I turned the faucet off using my good hand.
Waiting in the restroom for my dress to dry was not fun, no one had thought to put napkins or towels in the bathroom, or if they had they hid them well. I sat there in the bathroom on the countertop wiping at the wet fabric and the blood stains with Kleenex hoping it would speed up the dry time and get rid of the blood. It didn't. It smeared the red across the front in a more noticeable fashion.
Ten minutes passed before someone knocked on the door and knocked me out of my wistful musings.
"Hurry up I have to use the God-damn bathroom" someone yelled. Three loud knocks latter
"You know what Fuck it" the door buckled and banged before a drunken woman walked in.
"I gotta go so leave the fucking restroom and find a better place to hoard."
I didn't bother protesting, she was obviously a werewolf' everyone here was. I half hobbled out of the bathroom. No one was inhabiting the hallways thankfully, so luckily no one would see the stained dress yet.
For a girl who cared very little about her appearance I sure was acting like an ashamed ditty about a single stain, albit a large one.
Everyone was partying in front of the flames of the bonfire when I got out outside. They whispered to each other, danced and drank, only falling silent one by one when I came out. They were the unwelcoming waves as they parted like the Red Sea when I walked through the throngs. For one second I thought it was the stain on my dress that was causing this, then I remembered these people were not from around here and were werewolves. It was strange to be ostracized after doing a ceremony to join the ranks of those pushing you out. I circled the fire looking for my fathers.
They stood chattering with their friends, only to fall silent when they saw me. Unlike before this was a welcoming silence.
Then my Papa shouted "There's my baby" his voice loud and excited. I hugged him tightly and he returned my grip.
"We are so proud of you, Kadie-pie" he grinned squeezing me tighter for emphasizes.
"Don't break her, Seth" Dad reprimanded
Papa squeezed me one last time and released ne. I blushed at the stares of their friends and my Papa's hyper antics.
"What happened to your beautiful gold sandals" Papa squealed his voice heightening at the injustice of replacing his fabulous sandals with my worn sneakers.
Then his eyes drifted upward, honing in on the large red smear of blood.
"What happened to your dress?" he was more than flabbergasted at the damage I done to my appearance after leaving the house preened and perfect.
"How have you destroyed my masterpiece? You only went to one place, you haven't even had the opportunity to properly stain it at the dinner table!" Papa shrilly stated referring to my less than cleanly eating habits.
"Let me see your palm." My dad demanded. Changing the subject from my outfit.
"I already took care of it" I said showing off my bandage job. Papa wasn't convinced.
"You put antiseptic on it?" He asked as he fussed with the bandage. I nodded
"Of course" I said unconsciously rolling my eyes. Her dad raised his eyes at my eye roll.
"Okay" Papa said, he was still unconvinced
"go enjoy the party, no boys" Dad said.
As I turned, walking away to find my friends my papa yelled "if there are boys, use protection!"drawing out the statement so it echoed back to him, and all of the highly sensitive ears around them heard. I blushed and speed walked away from them.
I found my friends by the line of the woods. Our group wasn't surrounded by a sea of unknown people but off to sides equal distant from the fire and the snack table.
"Hey guys" I greeted, my hands moving in a signature salute without much thought."Hey girly" Lizzee greeted. "Nice exit in the ceremony" Nate ribbed. I blushed looking down, Nate wasn't really apart of the group but a friend of a friend, who happened to be cute by some standards and annoying by all, not someone to interest me though. Julia walked up next, her arms ladened with food. The attention shifted from me to Julia. Lizzee grabbed for her chips making Julia growl, "Mine" Julia screeched hunching over her food so no one could make another grab.
Everyone chuckled, laughing at her antics. "Did you find your mate?" She questioned to no one in particular. I hoped everyone hadn't, I selfishly wanted to keep all of my friends and I couldn't do that if they were all focused on their mate and the bedroom.
"Oh God no, I am a free pony, no woman will hitch this horse" Nate stated. It seemed like in that moment his eyes saw through me to another standing in the bonfire's glow. For one awful second I thought it was me, though that wouldn't have made since see as he had greeted me earlier. He shoved through, jolting those around him, including me. I was just thankful it wasn't me he was mated to.
"The plague has begun" Lizzee jested loudly, Nate had found his mate in the glowing of the bonfire. "I'm sorry" Lizzee said "I know you liked him" . Julia blushed.
"Did not, I'm just shy around new people" she said, sticking out her tongue at the snickering. She really hadn't, or at least I don't think she had.
Lizzee dropped it.
"Let's go find The Golden Couple" Julia said drawing the conversation away from the topic of embarrassment. I couldn't help but laugh at the nickname for Geo and Eliza.
"We are stopping by the refreshment table first" Lizzee demanded. So we did. We battled the swaying, cheering, laughing people to the drink stand on the outer ring of partygoers. It was a galaxy of coolers circling around the table overloaded with alcohol filled foam cups. People gravitated here.
Julia grabbed a mysterious alcoholic beverage from the table while me and Lizzee stuck to the bottles of water in the ice chests littered around the table.
We were leaving the refreshment table when Julia slammed into a tall skinny guy who was lean more than anything. The foam cup filled with her fizzing purple beverage exploded across her white dress and his red shirt. Her dress was ruined. Neither noticed until a pigheaded teen wolf-whistled at the sight of Julia's transparent now purple dress, exposing her. I turned looking into the eyes of my friend. Lizzee frowned slightly "two within the quarter of an hour" she stated "I think we have an epidemic on our hands" Julia mumbled shut up, her face squished to her new mates sticky shirt."We better hurry or risk infection" Lizzee hastened as she pulled me away by the wrist off my bandaged hand. I hesitated for three blinking moments before following after my friend. Julia was mated, Nate was mated, Geo and Eliza were mated to each other, Lizzee would be mated, only I would remain mate less.
