Luna of Two Lifetimes

You look beautiful tonight, Luna." Halfway up the stone steps, I froze, gripping the dew-slick railing with my palm. I turned because the voice was deep and warm, familiar enough to keep my pulse steady for half a heartbeat. He wasn't the one. A young Redfang patrol warrior bowed gently, his gaze running across my scarlet garment. My heart still aching for another voice, I faked a kind grin and walked on toward the ceremonial grounds. His tone. The smoke from the firepits that surrounded the ritual area and the scent of pine filled the air. Under the swollen Blood Moon, wolves from all the allied packs were congregating, their features painted in hues of desire and danger by the red light of the moon. This evening was meant to fortify ties and bless partnerships. My partnership. I saw my friend Kaelen on the other side of the circle. His dark hair brushed the corner of his jaw as he stood in shadow close to the elder's dais, his big shoulders covered by his ceremonial robe. I could sense the pull, the unseen link connecting my soul to his, even from this distance. I accelerated my pace. Then I noticed how he leaned closer to her. A thin, unfamiliar she-wolf with hair that gleamed in the moonlight like spun silver. She put a gentle hand on his chest. Even as my stomach churned, I pushed through the mob to get closer. My heartbeat was matched by the drumming that reverberated in my ribs. I went unnoticed by Kaelen. Or perhaps he did, and the fact that he continued made it worse. She touched his ear with her lips. He grinned. Not the alpha-to-ally, courteous smile. When no one else was around, he used to smile at me. The elder was chanting as I arrived, his voice rising to the moon. All the wolves in the circle looked up respectfully. All the wolves except me. "Kaelen," I said in a whisper. At last, he turned, but his eyes swept over me and fell on the stranger with the silver hair as if I hadn't been there. "What is this?" I hissed, but my voice was muffled by the drums. With the blessing of the Blood Moon, the elder's chant became louder as he called partners forward to renew their vows. My chest constricted. This moment had been prepared for weeks. Kaelen moved in the direction of the dais. The woman went after him. I took hold of his arm. Like always, I was hit by his scent of pine smoke and something harsh underneath but this time, it was different. There's something alien holding on to him. He regarded my hand as though it were filth on his sleeve. "Luna, let me go. You have no business being here. Cold and final, the words crashed into me. I gave a headshake. "I am your partner." The crowd echoed with a murmur. The drums became slower. Everybody looked at us. The woman with silver hair tilted her head and gave a small smile. "No longer." I gasped. Moving away from me, Kaelen extended his hand to her and led her to the elder. I was unable to move as my inner wolf howled and snarled. unable to breathe. The elder paused, his face displaying a moment of bewilderment, but Kaelen's voice was unmistakable. "I reject Luna of the Shadowfang Pack, my mate, under the Blood Moon." Around the circle, gasps sprang out. The rejection tore through the link like a physical blow. A sharp pain tore from the very center of me, shooting down my spine and into my bones. I dropped to my knees and buried my hands in the chilly ground. The drums ceased. I heard her voice, quiet but carrying, through the fog. "I agree to your bond, Shadowfang Pack member Kaelen." Between them, a new link shimmered in the air, thin but throbbing with inhuman strength. My wolf let forth a painful whimper. Even though the elder's voice faltered, he carried on with the ceremony. Except for the crackle of the fire, the throng was quiet. There was a problem. More than treachery. Beyond heartache. The smell of blood old, metallic, and wrong was carried by the shifting wind. Despite my blurry vision, I managed to make out a black, faint mark snaking along the stranger's wrist. Not ink. Not a birthmark. I have only ever seen this insignia in the Highlands' prohibited scrolls. She was more than a mere acquaintance. She was a completely different person. The Blood Moon flared brighter, blazing crimson, and a roar split the night before I could get up and say anything. Not from a wolf. from the actual mountain. The earth underneath us trembled. Wolves staggered and screamed in fear. As fissures ripped through the ground in the middle of the circle, Kaelen seized the silver-haired woman and drew her near. Heat shot up. And something old started to emerge from the c***k. Long fingers with curved black claws dug into the stone as its hand or what I believed to be a hand gripped the edge of the fissure. Its weight made the ground groan. It was followed by a low, unrelenting sound like grinding bone, as though the earth itself were crumbling to make room for it. The air was heavy with sulfur and something older, something rotten, and the heat burned my cheeks. Instinctively, wolves moved, their fur twitching and their teeth exposed. However, nobody took any action. Nobody ventured. My body felt heavy, pinned by the same strange pull emanating from the creature below, even if my own wolf raged inside me, a tempest of snarls and claws. I felt like my ribs may break from the force of my heartbeat. Two eyes glowed like molten gold as the creature's head appeared, cloaked in shadow despite the firelight. Once, they looked around the audience. and halted me. I held my breath. Sound faded and the world around me became blurry, leaving just the slow, purposeful tug of its gaze across my soul. Kaelen moved away from the c***k, protecting the woman with the silver hair. or even protecting her from it. With a strong, frantic voice, the elder yelled something in the ancient dialect, but the heat ate up what he had to say. Wolves had to jump back or risk being sucked whole when the ground splintered further. Another hand came up, clutching the rim. Sparks were scraped from the stone by the claws. Then I detected the scent of my blood. I couldn't tell how, and I didn't feel any wounds, but there was a distinct metallic tang. The eyes narrowed, scorching. The ancient creature did not simply ascend in the direction of the world. For me, it climbed.