Dixon actually laughed, throwing his head back and letting the booming sound free. It echoed across the clearing, not joined by anyone. “What can one little outcast pack do against the might of the twelve Zodiac packs? You’re nothing. Leave this place before we tear you apart.”
Many of the other alphas nodded, and a couple of them added in their own taunts. I’d never seen so many alphas agreeing on something. The only ones who weren't participating were the Sagittarius shifters. They kept silent, watching without participating, some of them with nervous eyes.
Even though so many seemed to agree, I couldn’t shake the sense that there was more that the alpha wasn’t saying. I’d felt the power contained in the alpha’s grip as he’d pinned me to the forest floor. If half of his pack was as strong as he was, we’d be in for a fair fight.
The set of the alpha’s jaw confirmed my feelings. He had a villainous gleam in his eyes that set my teeth on edge. We should listen to him, I thought. We don’t need another war. But no one would hear me, especially after the public humiliation Dad had subjected me to. They’d scoff at me, just as they scoffed at this obviously powerful alpha.
“I see you’ve chosen to be enemies then,” the alpha rumbled, and his voice cut through all of the noise somehow. “Prepare yourselves for war.”
He jerked his head at his pack mates, and they melted back into the crowd. There were a few more jeers thrown their way, and I watched until they’d left the light of the fire and vanished into the darkness.
The moment they’d left the clearing, the mood relaxed and people sat back down. Evanora looked shaken but plastered a serene look over her face once more. As everyone quieted down it almost felt as if it hadn’t happened at all, as if I’d only imagined the lost pack shifters arriving at our ceremony and disrupting things. Evanora called for order, and the wolves around me went back to listening intently as if everything was normal. When I looked around, no one seemed anxious like I was, and I had to bite back a scream. Of course they weren’t taking this seriously. Why would they?
I alone seemed to be on edge, and I tried to stuff down the sense of unease as I waited to see what would happen next.
Chapter Six
Evanora raised her hands and everyone quieted, waiting to see what she would do. “Despite the unfortunate interference, we will continue with the ceremony.”
Wow, they were really going to continue on as if nothing had happened. Surely they should at least talk this over, push the ceremony back a bit. But no one seemed to share my sentiment, all eager to move on from the incident and pretend it never occurred at all.
“All shifters who have come of age since the last solstice, please undress and step forward,” she continued.
My anxiety spiked. I knew getting naked was part of the ceremony, but that didn’t make it any easier. To a shifter, nudity was a way of life. Shifting didn’t allow for us to keep our clothes, and it was said the more one shifted, the more comfortable being naked they were.
It would be different if I had access to Cancer’s powers to protect myself. As I reluctantly slipped out of my clothes and laid them by my seat, I felt like every bruise and scar was glowing, marking me as weak and an outcast. Not one of us, they screamed. No one was paying attention, but I felt like a bug under a microscope anyway.
Mira stepped up to join me, and the panic rising in my throat abated. She was here with me, and we would get through this together. She smiled at me, giving me the strength I was lacking.
One of the witches, the one I’d seen looking at me earlier today with her strange eyes, stepped up and motioned us forward. She passed me a blanket and I took it gratefully, wrapping it around my shoulders. I was glad they offered us this semblance of decency.
Another witch picked up a sconce of incense and began circling the gathered pack members. The smell tickled my nose, heavy and cloying. Three times she circled us, and then she stepped back, blending into the rest of the Sun Witches as they came forward, forming up around us.
Evanora stood inside of the circle with us, and she looked at each of us in turn, her gaze penetrating. I could have sworn I saw contempt in her eyes as she locked her gaze with mine, but the fire was casting strange shadows over everyone. Surely, she wouldn’t hate me too?
“This first shift is going to hurt,” Evanora said, her voice solemn. “It’s going to be the worst one, and you will have to get through it. Survive this, and you will come into your power. Do not disappoint us.”
There were nods all around, and I sucked in a deep breath in preparation. I glanced up at the moon, begging for Selene to give me the strength I was lacking, and then the chanting began. The Sun Witches raised their arms in unison, and the spell settled over me, more oppressive than the blanket.
For a moment I thought that would be the worst of it, but then a bolt of blinding pain went through me. I staggered, and I heard a few in-drawn breaths around me. This was bearable still. I breathed through it, just like I’d been told.
Evanora joined the chanting, and then all I knew was pain. I’d never felt such agony, not in any beating I’d endured, or any fall I’d taken. I’d broken my arm once, and that was the worst pain I’d felt up until now. This was ten times worse than that. My vision went red from the intensity of it. Every single bone was breaking simultaneously, all of my joints popping out of their sockets, before reforming into those of an animal. Even my hair hurt as it retracted back into my skull.
How could anyone breathe through this? That was the only thought that crossed my mind as I fought not to scream. I probably couldn’t, not with the changes happening in my body. I’d never heard a wolf scream, but I was about to test that theory.
It probably only took a couple of minutes, but in my mind, each moment of agony stretched into an eternity. It lifted as quickly as it had come upon me, and then I looked at the world through new eyes. I stood on all fours, lower to the ground, and everything was sharper than it had been mere moments ago. I could make out the distant tree line as if it was lit by daylight, but my sight wasn’t anything compared to smell or sound. Each was enhanced to such an insane level that I swayed. I could smell everything. The incense had seemed bad before, but now it almost overwhelmed me. I sneezed. Underneath that was the smell of the fire, of the wolves surrounding me. I could even smell Mira next to me. Sounds were enhanced, too, and I realized that I’d been spending the last twenty-two years speaking much too loudly. I could hear everyone in the crowd talking, the hushed whispers carrying like Evanora’s voice had earlier.
I looked down, trying to come to terms with everything I was sensing. It was almost too much. What I saw was enough to distract me though. My paws were pure white, and with my enhanced sight, it was almost as if they were glowing. Wait, what? I turned and looked at my body. White. I was pure white. Well, that’s a surprise. I’d thought that with my red hair, I’d be one of the russet-colored wolves. I swished my tail experimentally, and it felt like just another limb, not weird in the slightest.
Something nudged me, and I turned to look at the wolf beside me. Mira had kept her coloring, a comforting dark brown, with eyes that still looked like her own. She smelled of the sea, salt and sand, along with something uniquely her, and I knew how wolves scented each other so easily now.
Mira rammed her head into my side, just hard enough to get my attention. I opened my mouth to laugh, before remembering that I couldn’t do that as a wolf. I nuzzled her head, trying to convey the overwhelming affection I felt toward her. She’d stuck with me this whole time, and now that we both had our wolves, we’d be set. It didn’t matter what life threw at us, we’d be better, and stronger.
Mira growled playfully and bowled me over. I let her, reveling in my ability to respond so easily to the play attacks. My wolf body was stronger than my human body could ever hope to be, and for once I felt like I could keep up with the full-blooded wolves.
We tussled for a few moments before settling, and I took the time to look around at the rest of th
e shifters. The glee was palpable, and I couldn’t help but get caught up in it. I felt as if some part of me had been asleep for my whole life, and it’d just been woken up. Of course, I’d heard that from everyone who had gone through the Convergence, but I’d figured they were romanticizing it.
Now I knew they hadn’t been. This was the best I’d ever felt, the most like me. With my half-human blood, I wasn’t sure what it would be like when I shifted, but there was no difference between me and the other wolves. I was even tempted to howl at the moon.
The witches began chanting again, and I felt the shift coming in my bones. It was an odd sensation, like being yanked by a cord right behind my naval. I scrambled to hold onto my wolf form with a soft whimper. I wanted to stay for a bit longer in this sense of belonging.
It didn’t make a difference. No matter how much I wanted it, I couldn’t hold my wolf when the spell was cast by the Sun Witches. It was just as painful turning back human as it had been to shift. Everything burned—my muscles, my bones, my skin. I knew each shift would get easier, but as I settled back into my human form, I almost vomited from the sheer amount of pain running through every inch of me.
“Apologies,” Evanora said. “We would have more time for you to explore your wolf bodies, but the night grows long, and we must move onto the mating ritual.”
I took a few deep breaths, trying to reconcile my human form. It was strange, how foreign it seemed now. I’d spent maybe ten minutes in my wolf body, but now my human body didn’t really feel like mine. I reached down for the blanket that had fallen off me sometime when I’d been shifting and wrapped it back around my naked shoulders.
“You can return to your packs and dress,” Evanora said, spreading her arms wide. She had a serene look on her face, and I let out a breath. I’d gotten through half of the night. Now at least I knew I could shift, and that my wolf form was just as strong as a full-blooded shifter. There was nothing marking me as half-human when I was a wolf. Thank the gods.
But the knot of anxiety in my stomach didn’t ease. This next ritual was the one that would determine my fate.
I dressed slowly, trying to regain my breath. The two forced shifts had really taken it out of me, and after my hike, my body was ready to call it a day. Something felt different, underneath the bone-deep exhaustion. I flexed my fingers, testing the strength inside me. I’d have to try to pick something up or go for a run to be sure, but I was almost positive that I was stronger.
As my gaze traveled up my arm, I realized something else—my bruises were rapidly fading. Where they’d been vividly angry before, now they were hardly smudges. I tilted my arm so the light would catch it better just to be sure. Yep. As I watched, they faded away completely. The remaining aches and pains from the beating I’d received yesterday from Brad and his friends were also gone. I stretched, reveling in the way my body felt. Now I felt like I belonged, and even Dad’s cruel words couldn’t convince me otherwise. I was a shifter, and I had my wolf to prove it.
“Ayla!” Mira was beside me again, bouncing up and down. She’d also dressed, and had the same gleam in her eye as her wolf had. “Can you believe it? We shifted!” She launched into a detailed retelling of what happened, and I huffed out a breath. Typical Mira.
“I almost didn’t even need to be there,” I said to her as she wound down, ending with us shifting back. I made sure to keep my tone light. Mira rolled her eyes at me.
Wesley trotted up to us, grinning like a loon. “Mira giving you the replay?” he asked, and I didn’t miss the way Mira blushed. He gave me a sympathetic smirk before his face softened and he grabbed me in a tight hug. “Your wolf is beautiful, Ayla.”
“Thank you.” I let out a relieved laugh as some of the tension left me. “I didn’t expect it to be white.”
“A rare color, but one considered lucky by the Cancer pack,” Wesley said.
“I could use all the luck I can get for this next part.” I glanced back at Dad and Jackie, but their faces were hard, and they didn’t even give me a small nod. My heart sank at their lack of acknowledgment. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but couldn’t they have been the tiniest bit proud of me? And how could it still hurt so bad when my parents showed me for the hundredth time they didn't care?
Wesley put a hand on my shoulder. “No matter what happens with the mating ritual, you’ll always be my sister, Ayla. I’ll always love you.”
I blinked back tears and punched him in the arm. “I love you too. But you can’t be getting all sappy on me right now. Do you want me to cry in front of everyone?” My emotions were still running high, and it took me a few breaths to avoid falling apart in front of everyone.
Wesley looked ready to respond, but before he could, Evanora’s voice rang out again. “All unmated shifters, please come to the circle for the mating ritual.” I stepped away from the rest of the Cancer pack, and Mira and Wesley followed me, along with all the other shifters who hadn’t found their mates yet. Most were young like us, but there were a few that were much older.
We’d doubled in ranks with the unmated shifters in the circle now too. A blond head caught my eye and I balked. Jordan, the Leo alpha’s son, was among the unmated. It was unlikely that fate would gift me a powerful mate like that, especially since he was from a rival pack, but I sent another prayer up to the moon goddess anyway. Not him, anyone but him.
My mind turned back to the alpha from the lost pack and the way my body had responded to him. No. That was even more impossible than Jordan.
Wesley parted ways with us to join the other males, after giving me one more squeeze to the shoulder and a tight smile. We stood, males and females facing each other, and Mira gripped my hand tight, before letting it go and stepping away. I wondered if her heart was racing as fast as mine.
I glanced over at her, and she smiled at me as well. It looked almost as strained as Wesley’s had been. Fingers crossed, she mouthed, looking so innocent at that moment that my heart went out to her.
Fingers crossed, indeed. I straightened my back and prepared to meet my mate.
Chapter Seven
Evanora called out the name of a female shifter to come forward, and I watched with bated breath as the Sun Witches cast the mating spell. The other witches stood around the female shifter, chanting words I didn't recognize. Something like gold dust seemed to float from the sky down onto the shifter, and then the Sun Witches stepped back and quieted. At first, nothing happened, but then the female shifter locked eyes with a male from a different pack. I watched as both stepped toward each other, their movements jerky as if they weren’t fully in control of their bodies. They met halfway, staring intently at the other, their expressions hungry. No one dared to try to distract them, and I doubted they’d be able to anyway. They only had eyes for each other.
Two alphas stepped into the circle to join the pair of shifters. The Capricorn alpha put his hand on the female shifter’s shoulder with a nod, while the Aquarius alpha joined the male. The two alphas exchanged a few words, too quiet for anyone outside of the small group of people to hear, and then both alphas stepped back to allow Evanora to tie a ribbon around the two mated shifters’ hands. The Sun Witches raised their arms and began chanting again. Bright light surrounded the couple and something in the air changed, like energy flowing around us that we couldn't see. I gasped as the Capricorn pack mark on the female shifter’s arm shimmered, melted, and reformed into the Aquarius symbol. I’d never seen one change like that, but it made sense. Since her mate was an Aquarius, she would be an Aquarius now too and would gain all of their pack powers and lose her own. Only Virgo women stayed with their packs forever—their male mates joined them instead.
When I was a kid I once asked my Dad why the gods had so many of us change packs this way. He said it fostered peace between the different packs since shifters would have family ties in both their new and old packs, and it also prevented inbreeding. Then he told me not to question the gods and smacked me upside the head. That was around the time
I learned to stop asking questions.
The newly mated shifters walked out of the circle to join the Aquarius pack, who parted ways to let them through while patting the male shifter on the back or greeting their new female member. Evanora watched them for a few moments, the barest hint of a smile on her face, before calling forward the next female shifter.
I had a feeling I’d be last, a knowing in my gut that didn’t really make any logical sense, but one I felt all the same. Something unpleasant settled over me as I watched Evanora perform the ritual again. It would be just my luck to never get a mate, and thus never escape my current life or gain the powers of another pack.
The shifters paired off as Evanora drew them forward and cast the spell over them. Some even found mates within their own packs, while others didn’t find a mate at all and would have to try again at the next solstice. I didn’t feel quite so alone knowing that even if I didn’t get my mate tonight, I wouldn’t be the only one. I just hoped I wouldn’t have to spend every Convergence standing in the circle, holding my breath and waiting for a mate to be chosen, only to be disappointed time and time again. That would be humiliating, and I’d feel like even more of an outcast.
My mind drifted back to the Ophiuchus pack as I waited. Everyone had seemingly put the encounter out of mind, not threatened in the least by the mysterious alpha or the other shifters, but I still wasn’t convinced. I'd looked the lost pack's alpha in the eyes and seen more determination and strength there than in most of the other alphas here combined. If a single person would listen to me, I’d tell them they weren’t taking that threat seriously enough. No one would, though. Even Wesley would just ruffle my hair and tell me I was being paranoid.
Moon Touched (Zodiac Wolves: The Lost Pack Book 1) Page 5