by River Ramsey
She chose to take the path of least resistance by ignoring the remark and turned to head upstairs. When a strong hand wrapped firmly around her wrist, her entire body went rigid.
Ella turned around in confusion, finding Axel’s eyes boring into her.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded, his voice at once gruff and irresistible. “There are still dishes on the table.”
Ella swallowed hard. She made the mistake of glancing Marissa’s way, but she needn’t have in order to know the other girl was preening in satisfaction.
For a few torturous seconds, Ella held his gaze, uncertain of whether she was incapable of looking away or simply pathetic enough to want to linger in his attention for however long it lasted, regardless of how negative it was. When at last the impulse to look away won out, he released his grip and she cleaned the dishes off the table as quickly as possible.
Beatrice was waiting in the kitchen and she pounced as soon as the door swung open. “What happened?” she demanded in an urgent whisper.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” Ella said, turning away as soon as she’d placed the dishes in the sink. She sniffed, wiping a few tears away with the back of her hand as she turned the hot water on full blast.
“Ella…” Beatrice’s voice softened with pity and she placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. I’ll take care of these, you go upstairs and rest.”
Ella hesitated, afraid to meet her eyes lest her friend see just how full of tears they were. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. Go on,” Beatrice said, pushing her toward the stairs. “There’ll be plenty of dishes to do tomorrow.”
Ella nodded gratefully before heading up to her room. She shut the door and fell back against it, feeling all the air rush from her lungs like a deflating tire. She was used to Axel ignoring her, but he’d never gone so far out of his way to put her in her place in front of company.
The sooner the Unveiling came, the better. Then he and Marissa could run off together, and she’d only ever have to deal with them at colony-wide functions. The few she was invited to, in any case. Her life would be dramatically improved for his absence as well as hers.
Maybe if she told herself that often enough, it would be true.
Chapter 2
Ella
The Unveiling paradoxically seemed to grow further away each day that passed. At least taking care of all the preparations Emily had shouldered off onto Ella and the staff was keeping her distracted.
Axel hadn’t returned since the disastrous dinner party, and even worse than the fear of never seeing him again was the longing to do just that. For years, Ella had tried to douse the embers of the flame that had been burning for him for far too long, but it only ever seemed to smolder hotter as a result.
Until the day of the Unveiling itself, Ella remained uncertain as to whether she was even going to be expected to attend. Given the fact that Emily had sharply announced her participation immediately after returning from a luncheon in which the priestess was in attendance, Ella had to assume her unwanted benefactor was at least somewhat responsible for the decision.
The sooner this was all over, the better. She had dreaded the Unveiling and the inevitable union it would bring between Axel and Marissa ever since she’d been conscious enough to realize that her feelings for him ran deeper than adoration, or a friendship that had never even existed in the first place.
Somehow, it was easier to accept the inevitable now that it had actually arrived. Not that there had even been a sliver of a chance before, but her stubborn heart had still been holding onto the ghost of one despite her best efforts.
After tonight, there would be no wishing or hoping. No more room for disappointment. She could finally move on with her life, whatever that entailed.
Ella hadn’t known she was going to attend the Unveiling for long enough to figure out what to wear, so she reluctantly chose the same dress she’d worn to the dinner party, since it was the nicest one she owned. She was already going to look comically out of place next to Marissa and the other candidates, as distant in the running as they may have been. What was the point in even trying?
She cast a quick glance in the mirror and decided to put on a bit of lip gloss to counteract the unusual paleness of her already fair skin. She hadn’t been feeling well for days, but it was hard to tell what was nerves and what was an illness coming on. After tousling her dark waves and slipping on a pair of short heels, Ella headed downstairs where Emily and two of her adult children had already gathered.
Kyrie and Lyra were both home from the Academy, the former dressed in a sharp black tuxedo and the latter in a flowing white dress that left no room to question that Ella was woefully underdressed.
At least Lyra would attract all the attention with her beautiful blond curls and cherubic looks. Axel was nowhere to be seen, which came as a relief. Ella assumed he had already headed over to the ceremony venue, since he and Marissa were its unofficial guests of honor.
Lyra frowned as Ella came into view, casting a disapproving glance over her dress. “You’re wearing that old thing?”
Ella looked down, checking to make sure she hadn’t missed any stains or wrinkles when she’d had it cleaned. “It’s my only formal dress.”
“This is ridiculous,” Emily muttered, glancing at the time on her phone. “Lyra, don’t you have something halfway decent she could wear?”
“Me?” Lyra scoffed, clearly insulted. “Like I have anything that would fit her.”
Once, Ella might have cringed at such a remark, but they all rolled off as easily as raindrops now. Lyra wasn’t wrong. Ella had a narrow, tapered waist, but it only made her curves more dramatic in comparison. Her “birthing hips” had been a topic of discussion ever since puberty, when more than one queen had taken it upon herself to suggest that she would be a good surrogate for worthier members of the pride. Of course, no one wanted a stray’s genes, but it wasn’t uncommon for more desirable females to outsource their reproductive duties to those more suited to the dangerous task.
“There’s no time for her to change, anyway,” said Kyrie. He gave Ella a glance that registered as almost sympathetic. “We’re going to be late.”
“He’s right,” Emily sighed, casting one last scolding glance at Ella. “Try not to be seen.”
Ella had to fight back a laugh. As if that was ever a danger.
She followed the others out to the car and retreated into her head for the short drive to the outer reaches of the territory. The meeting hall served many purposes within the pride, but she barely recognized it with all the fairy lights hanging from arbors that certainly hadn’t been there the last time she’d passed by.
Kyrie parked the car and Lyra rushed out, scanning the crowds entering the building. She shouted to one of her friends and ran over. The two squealed and embraced, spinning each other around as if it had been years since they’d seen each other rather than a long weekend.
Ella felt a pang of regret that Beatrice couldn’t be there. Her presence made these things tolerable, but a human would never be allowed to partake in such a sacred ceremony. Ella almost wished she had the same privilege, as staying at home with Beatrice would have been much preferable to the evening ahead of her, but she doubted her foolish heart would believe Axel was permanently out of her reach if she didn’t see it for herself.
“Come along,” Emily scolded, calling the young woman after her. “We don’t want to be the last to be seated.”
Heaven forbid that, though Ella. She followed them into the crowded lobby of the meeting house, swallowed up by the swell of the music the string quartet was playing on the far end of the room. The wide open space was meant to serve as a dance hall, but the guests in attendance were more interested in their drinks and light banter than such indulgences.
Ella refused to give in to the temptation to search the room for Axel. She already knew what he would be wearing: a suit fitted to kill and accessorized with a cruel smirk of apathy.<
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While the main hall was plenty spacious, Ella knew the actual ceremony would be taking place elsewhere. She had never been inside the sacred temple, but she’d heard it described enough times to have some idea of what to expect. There was a pool in the center of the room beneath a specially crafted window in the ceiling, designed to filter the moonlight in at its brightest and purest. When the moon shone on her chosen subject, it would usher in a new era for the entire colony.
Ella knew better than to think anything in her world would change.
“Emily! There you are,” called a pleasant voice. Ella turned around to find Natalia herself walking toward them. Despite the fact that she was about to witness the choosing of her replacement as Empress, the smile on her face was warm and genuine. Ella had only ever seen her from a distance, but she was even more breathtakingly beautiful up close.
With high cheekbones and a perfect Cupid’s bow, Natalia was the epitome of feline beauty. Her once-dark hair had turned white as snow the day of her own Unveiling, as it did with all the chosen. From what Ella had heard, there were also glowing markings that appeared on the candidate’s skin at the moment she was chosen, but they were only visible under the direct light of the moon, an undeniable mark of the bearer’s destiny.
Being moonmarked was something young kits dreamed of from their earliest memories, but not Ella. Her dreams were much simpler than that. A small house in the woods, and work more meaningful than scrubbing dishes and running other people’s errands.
Of course, she harbored one dream far more impractical than any other, but she was determined to take that shameful secret to the grave.
“Natalia. Gorgeous as ever,” Emily crooned, leaning in to kiss the other woman’s cheek. She turned on the charm like a light switch. Ella couldn’t help but envy the ability. It would certainly make her life easier. Maybe then she’d no longer be Marissa’s favorite target.
“And your beautiful daughters,” Natalia said, smiling at both Lyra and Ella.
The disgust on Lyra’s face was immediate. Before Ella had the chance to correct her, Emily was quick to do so.
“That’s Ella, the little stray we took in thirteen years ago,” she clarified. “I’m sure you don’t remember, it’s been so long.”
“Oh,” Natalia said, her eyes widening in recognition as she studied Ella more closely. “Of course, I remember now. And where are your sons?”
Ella hadn’t realized Kyrie has already abandoned them, but it didn’t take long to spot him across the room flirting with a group of girls from another pride.
Emily sighed. “Axel is preparing for the ceremony, I’m sure, and my youngest is over there courting your niece, I’m afraid.”
Natalia chuckled. “Toms will be toms, won’t they?” She turned back to Ella and Lyra with a warm smile. “It was lovely to see you both. Good luck tonight.”
“She won’t be participating,” Lyra muttered under her breath, once Natalia was out of earshot. Ella decided to pretend like she hadn’t heard, either. She wasn’t sure why they all seemed to think she was chomping at the bit to participate when the matter was already settled in everyone’s mind, including hers. Marissa had been acting like the new Empress for as long as anyone could remember, and tonight was just about making it official.
After what felt like an eternity, the guests began to filter through the temple doors. The chatter of the last hour and a half faded to reverent silence. Ella was in no hurry to keep up with the others, so she hung back until she was gradually herded in with the crowd. With a bit of space from Kyrie and Emily, she found herself enjoying the sensation of stepping into another world.
And that was exactly what the temple felt like: the gateway to a hidden world too beautiful to comprehend. The air itself hummed with magic, as if something truly extraordinary was mere seconds away from happening. There were candles on every stone surface, and an altar on the other side of the pond in the center of the room, covered in flowers and other offerings. The heady scent of incense hung heavily in the air, making the moonlight streaming through the crystalline glass above even dreamier.
Ella’s eyes fluttered shut as the splendor around her seemed to seep into her pores and rush through her veins. The remaining noise in the room fell away, and for one moment, she felt as if she was alone in this sacred space, treading on the precipice of another world.
A better world.
“Careful now.” An unfamiliar male voice drew her from her reverie and grabbed her arm, pulling her back from the edge of the pond.
Ella gasped, realizing only then how close she’d come to falling in. When she turned to look at her rescuer, her head spun. She’d only ever seen Bishop Meyer from a distance, but if she’d thought he was intimidating then, she was woefully unprepared for what it would be like to stand face to face with him.
Bishop’s pale skin seemed to glow in the moonlight, but the sheen of his blue eyes was even more resplendent. He’d cut his dark hair shorter than it had been years ago, the last time she’d seen him from a distance, but it complimented his masculine beauty well. He was Axel’s height, though not quite as solidly built. There was something far more elegant and catlike about him, while Axel had always reminded her more of a wolf than the tiger he was.
If he was this captivating as a human, she could only imagine what Bishop was like in his jaguar form.
“I’m so sorry,” she stammered.
He cocked his head, a glimmer of confusion in his eyes. “I’m just glad you’re alright. Wouldn’t want to take a dip before the ceremony begins,” he said with a wink that made it damn near impossible to breathe.
“Oh,” she murmured, trying hard to fight the trance-like urge to stare at him like an idiot. “I’m not one of the candidates.”
Bishop raised an eyebrow. “You’re of age, aren’t you?”
She hesitated. “I’m eighteen, but…”
Before she could explain further, the priestess took her place at the head of the altar and lifted her jeweled hands high. “Welcome, my kin,” she called in a voice that filled the room. Everyone else fell silent, but Ella could hardly hear over the sound of her rushing heart with Bishop standing close enough to brush her arm, his hands slipped casually into the pockets of his designer suit.
If there was anyone who could claim to be competition for Axel, it was certainly him. Ella knew there were just as many in the Meyer pride holding out hope that Bishop would secure the throne for their ranks for another cycle. It was just a matter of which one of them Marissa would choose, but it wasn’t unheard of for an Empress to pick more than one suitor. Ella just knew Marissa and Axel well enough to know that he would never tolerate being tied with another male, let alone in second place.
“Tonight, we continue this most sacred tradition over which I was privileged to preside twenty years ago,” Tessa continued, her tone much warmer than it had been at dinner as she looked out over the colony she had shepherded faithfully for decades. Any sore feelings Ella might have harbored toward her for the punishment she’d been receiving on Tessa’s behalf ever since that night soon faded. It was clear she loved what she did, and if more people in the Hill pride were like her, maybe things could be different, after all.
It was the first time Ella had actually felt like she belonged to the colony rather than existing on its perimeter. As she listened to the priestess recite the ancient texts that had been commemorated to their goddess by her earliest predecessor, she fell under the spell of the beautiful words. About half of them were said in the old language, and while Ella had never learned to speak it in more than bits and pieces, her heart understood every breathy cadence.
“Impressive, isn’t she?” Bishop asked knowingly.
Ella managed a nervous smile. “She’s very eloquent.”
“I will now ask the candidates to come forward,” Tessa continued. “Gather in a circle around the water and we shall introduce you to our Lady one by one.”
Ella stepped back as the other young queens
took their places with surprisingly little vying for the best spot, considering what was at stake. Then again, maybe they all just knew there was no point in trying when the pact was as good as sealed.
“You’d better go up there,” Bishop said, giving Ella a gentle nudge.
She stumbled forward, too paralyzed by awkwardness to explain now. She settled for moving as close as she could without being obviously part of the circle, and it seemed to work. She received a few strange looks from the other candidates, but Marissa didn’t seem to notice and Ella assumed that if she couldn’t see Emily in the crowd, the Matriarch couldn’t see her either.
“Let us begin,” said the priestess, motioning for the first candidate to come forward. Ella recognized her as Mya, one of Kyrie’s classmates at the Academy. She’d sneaked up to his room one weekend and mumbled a bashful apology when they’d crossed paths in the hallway.
Mya took her place at the edge of the pool and seemed only a tad embarrassed as she slipped her loose shift dress off her shoulders and let it pool at her feet. Nudity was somewhat commonplace, considering that they couldn’t shift with clothing, but Ella imagined it was still an uncomfortable position to be in under these circumstances. At least there was one benefit to not being a real part of the pride.
As Mya stepped down the first steps leading into the shimmering silver water, Ella couldn’t help but notice hardly anyone was watching. Instead, most of them were looking in Marissa’s direction. For her part, Marissa was doing a good job pretending that she had no idea what was about to happen.
As Mya stood illuminated in the moonlight, the water barely clothing her chest, she breathed a visible sigh of relief. Her skin, while pleasantly aglow with moonlight, was not moonmarked, and her auburn tresses were still the same rich shade.
“May the moon shine upon you, dear one,” Tessa said warmly, touching Mya’s forehead with sacred ash as she climbed out of the pool and pulled on the pristine white robe another priestess had waiting for her.