Claws of seduction: The Lycan's Little Luna

Harper The month of the ritual finally arrived. No matter how hard I tried to run away from it, it kept coming back. The ritual occurs every four years, girls between the ages of 18 and 20 are taken to the cave on the outskirts of our herd and never return. I am very afraid of this ritual and always prayed that the ritual would pass me by, but no, the blood moon is only a month away and I turned 18 a month ago. My mom seems very excited about this ritual because she said she never experienced it because she wasn't 18 when the ritual happened. The ritual is like a pact between two packs and girls are sacrificed. I really don't feel like this is a fair thing to do, like whose daughter would want to go. Many families were afraid for their daughters, but many were very excited. I never knew what they were really sacrificing us to, maybe some monster or some devil. The elders of our pack had made it mandatory to celebrate the ritual month, it was like a holiday that has been celebrated. Many girls went shopping for this crazy ritual, but I didn't have a single interest, in fact, this disgusted me to no end. I wish I could get sick before this ritual and I won't be able to participate, but hell, every girl that age should participate. I sat by the window and looked out at the busy street. Our park was the quietest in the whole district and everyone loved to come. I watched the girls giggle nervously as they talked and walked down the streets. I knew exactly what they were talking about, the ritual of course. They seemed so excited about it, why do I get this feeling that this ritual has nothing to offer? I raised my head and looked up at the sky as if I were looking for the moon goddess up there, and prayed in my mind. I pray that I never get selected, I want to live a normal life and be a doctor and not be used for some damn abandoned ritual. Looking at my watch, I discovered that it was already 6 pm and the festival was starting at 7 pm. Most girls dodge this ritual and would run away from the herd and instantly go rogue. I wish I could run away, but hell, my father is one of the elders of our pack and there's no way I can escape that and I'm being watched strictly because my father knows I don't like these things Kneeling in my room, I said silent prayers to the moon goddess and wished she would hear me because I'm not attending any abandoned rituals. “Harper what are you doing,” I heard my younger brother Thommy say as I entered my room. “Nothing” I replied getting to my feet immediately. “Don't tell me you're praying to the moon goddess that you won't be chosen in the ritual” he said with a smile on his face. God, this ten year old knows more than I can imagine. “And who told you I'm praying for that, I'm just asking the moon goddess to protect your life?”, I said and he smiled. “Why are you here?”, I asked him with a dry tone. “I just wanted to tell you that daddy said you should come down in 10 minutes to come down for dinner so we can get ready for the festival,” He replied with a smile and left. I groaned as I dressed in a faded black Jean and a t-shirt and walked out of my room. Walking to the dining room I sat down next to my brother and we were both facing my parents. “Harper, are you planning on running away?”, Came my father's gruff voice and I broke down. “Honey, you don't have to be hard on her, she's going through a lot,” my mom said touching my dad's hands. “Harper, you can't bring dishonor to this family, I'm an old man and I've been in this ritual for a long time. You should be happy that you turned 18 and had the opportunity to join this ritual,” my dad said smiling. “Dad, this ritual is really a bad thing and I don't see anything special about it. Why do we have to celebrate it when one of us is going to die in the end,” I said, my voice coming out harshly. “Don't even think about running away, you can't tarnish my image,” my dad said, getting up and walking away from the dining room table angrily. “Harper, go apologize to your dad,” Mom said. “Mom, I didn't do anything wrong, why aren't they seeing what I'm talking about, this is crap!” I said, but instead my mom slammed her hands on the table and I backed away. “Don't even think about not participating, I've always had your back, I'm your mom and I would do what's best for you and nothing would hurt you. You're going to the damn ritual and there's nothing you can do about it.” Mom said and I jumped up trying to hold back the tears as much as possible. “Are you okay?” came Thommy's little voice. “No, I'm crying” I said, wiping the little tears that were coming out of my eyes. Mom already left, I guess she went to talk to dad, they don't care one bit about my feelings. “You guys should be at the festival at 8” my dad said and with the door closing I knew he was out. I looked up and saw my mom standing by the kitchen. “Kids, eat your food and get ready, we'll be leaving soon,” my mom said and walked away. I was already dressed for the festival and was sitting on my bed. The door opened and I knew it was mom. “Harper dear, I'm sorry,” my mom said, sitting down next to me. “Mom, I'm sorry I made you mad at me,” I said, turning to her. “You don't have to apologize, you just have to understand what we are trying to say, it's a tradition and it can't be changed, you shouldn't be afraid of being chosen, it's just one night and you're done” mom said smiling softly at me. “Mom, why am I so afraid” I asked, turning to her. “It's okay sweetie, everything will be fine, you have nothing to worry about, okay?” mom said and I nodded. “Mom, we'll be late,” Thommy said, bursting into my room. “Come on,” my mom said and I nodded.