Chapter 001:
The air smelled strongly of expectation. Every single breath seemed weighty and laden with something I couldn't exactly identify. Under the blood tree, its twisted, gnarled limbs reached out toward the full moon like evil fingers wriggling at the night. Whispers of skepticism and condemnation abound in the Blackridge woodland, the pack staring at me as I stood before them getting ready for the holy Luna ceremony.
The Blood Tree would testify to mine tonight; it had seen centuries of the life of our pack. The whispers surrounding me—the ones that deemed me unworthy and the ones that mentioned my Omega heritage— began to disappear. Tonight, I was scheduled to stand before the pack based more on my relationship with Alistair than on my position. That kinship was more important than anything else I wanted.
Standing tall, my heart thumping in my chest, I sounded louder than the pack murmuring. In the distance, the wolves of Blackridge celebrating the tying ceremony could be heard as the lightest of howls. I couldn't, however, concentrate on them. I turned to look at Alistair.
Like the Alpha he was, he stood next to me, his presence strong and directive. His golden eyes fixed on me, and for a brief instant everything else vanished—our link, our connection, nothing else. My fingers shook, but his hold was firm and comforting when I extended out to grab his hand. In that touch, I could sense his power—a quiet promise. It was a promise that would last forever.
Before us stood the High Seer, his robes flowing like liquid silver and his eyes as old as the very woods encircling us. He lifted his arms toward the heavens, looking nearly surreal as the moonlight caught the silver threads in his hair.
The procession started.
I went back over the vows, my heart overflowing with every syllable, my voice faltering but consistent. I vowed to Alistair, the Blackridge Pack, and the life we would create together. I sensed the energy in the air change as I was finishing, as if the whole forest had taken a long, deep inhale. We had sealed our bond.
Alistair squeezed my fingers, his eyes flickering with something that had my heart racing. "Forever," he hushed, his voice just for me.
As we celebrated the arrival of the new Luna, the new Alpha pair, the pack around us erupted in exuberant howls. Their laughter and jubilation permeated the air, and for a minute everything felt just. Something in the air, though, changed. It started off gently, like a change in the breeze. My skin twitched with the abrupt sense that something was approaching. Something... aberrant.
The High Seer moved closer, his pale face now pulled and his usually calm countenance replaced with one of concern. He raised his palm, calling for silence, and the sounds of the pack vanished into a muted buzz.
"Alpha Alistair," his voice was like a cold whisper, freezing the air around us across the clearing. "You ought to know something."
His tone seemed odd. It was not the gentle, respectful tone he employed for ceremonies. It was dire, harsh, and urgent. As I turned to look at Alistair, my gut knotted up like a mask had dropped over him. His face stayed blank. His mouth hardened, delivering a silent warning that I was unable to comprehend; he then turned to face the Seer. Whatever was arriving was not good.
The High Seer gestured for him to step aside from the ceremonial location. The pack stayed shockingly quiet, their eyes flickering between us and the Seer. The wind appeared to pick up, coldly and unnaturally brushing across my flesh. The planet seemed to be waiting for something horrible, as though it were breathing.
Alistair said a faint whisper, "Wait here." It was nearly a directive, but there was something more there—something I couldn't identify. One is afraid? Question?
He had already headed for the Seer, his back erect, his shoulders tight, before I could reply. With every stride he made, his figure seemed to get farther away, as though he were entering another realm I was unable to follow. My heart thumping in my chest and my mind racing, I stayed fixed to the location. The sense that the ceremony was far from finished persisted with me.
Though I tried to concentrate on the pack, the howling, and the celebrations that ought to have been all around me, I couldn't. With every second that went by, the terror in my gut deepened. Something wasn't quite right. My voice caught in my throat as I wanted to shout out Alistair and demand responses.
I trembled as the wind swept across the trees past my skin. Something ancient and strong woke me up in the depths of Blackridge, causing the ground to tremble. The anxiety kept slinking up my spine.
I heard it then. The sound of the tiniest leaves, delicate and unsuitable for this situation, reached my ears. I whirled fast, my senses on sharp awareness. My eyes looked about the trees but found nothing. Exactly, shadows.
I tried to quiet my racing thoughts by swallowing hard, but the silence felt oppressive. What were you doing? Could you let me know why Alistair hasn't returned yet? My uneasiness developed more while he stayed with the High Seer. Was it some sort of custom I knew nothing about?
The seconds seemed to go on. My breath came faster, my head whirling with possibilities. Was there something so crucial that it required a discreet mention? Was that something I could have done? Could we simply tighten the tie?
Then, without warning, there was the sound of feet.
Alistair came out of the shadows; his face was pallid, his eyes big and full of something I couldn't quite grasp. My stomach hurt. He had changed in some way. The air around us seemed heavier, packed with an energy that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
"Evie," he said, his voice just audible. He muttered my name. "We must depart."
My heart thumping, I stepped forward. "What's right? And what did the Seer say?"
Alistair didn't reply straight away. His gaze flicked to the Seer, who stood at the brink of the clearing; his face was unreadable. The group remained silent, their gaze now fixed on our conversation.
Alistair whispered at last, his voice strained: "The bond." "These days, it's not just us."
My heart missed a beat. "What do you mean?"
With a slow shaking head, his jaw tightened in annoyance. "I have no time to clarify. Not here. not now."
Still, I found it difficult to stop. What's going on, Alistair? You frighten me."
For a minute his eyes softened; his hand reached for mine. But a rumbling growl from the woods sent shivers down my spine before he could talk. The sound seemed quite close. Another followed the growl, then a howl warningly echoed across the woodland.
My pulse pounding, I glanced toward the woods to try to identify whatever had produced the noise. When I watched a shadow travel across the darkness, my breath stopped.
Then it occurred to me. The air moved much differently now. An odd energy charged the air, one I had only experienced in the proximity of peril. There was something approaching.
"Alistair, we have to leave," I said, shaking.
But already it was too late.
Alistair turned to face the trees; his body stiffened and his eyes darkened. "It's already begun," he said, his voice hardly a whisper, as though the very words were a curse.
I couldn't understand. And what had the Seer done? He had placed what into motion? Though my feet froze to the ground, I wanted to scream and run.
The evening had only started, and I felt profound knowledge that nothing would ever be the same once more.
What was coming for us? What had been initiated under the Blood Tree? And when the truth is out, would Alistair still pick me?
