The Moon Ceremony
1813 Words
Chapter 2: The Moon Ceremony
The silence that followed the Elder's words was deafening.
"Selene Ashbourne."
"Step forward."
For a heartbeat, I thought I had imagined it.
My name...
After eighteen years of being overlooked, whispered about, pitied, and mocked...
The Moon Ceremony had spoken my name.
Hundreds of eyes settled on me at once.
The joyous atmosphere that had filled the Sacred Clearing only moments before dissolved into uneasy murmurs.
"Did he say Selene?"
"The Moon-Cursed girl?"
"That can't be right."
"There must be some mistake."
I remained frozen where I stood.
The Elder looked up from the scroll, his weathered face unreadable.
"Selene Ashbourne," he repeated, his voice carrying effortlessly across the clearing. "Approach the Moon Stone."
A gentle nudge against my shoulder startled me.
Mara.
Her kind brown eyes shimmered with encouragement despite the uncertainty etched across her face.
"Go," she whispered.
My feet finally obeyed.
Every step toward the center of the clearing felt heavier than the last.
The crowd instinctively parted for me, creating a narrow path lined with curious faces.
Some looked confused.
Some looked amused.
Others wore expressions of outright disgust.
Children peeked from behind their parents' legs, whispering questions they were too young to understand.
I kept my eyes fixed ahead.
One step.
Then another.
The Moon Stone stood at the center of the clearing, glowing faintly beneath the silver light of the full moon.
It was taller than any man, carved from a smooth white crystal unlike anything found within Bloodfang territory. Ancient symbols spiraled around its surface, pulsing softly as if they possessed a heartbeat of their own.
Every awakened wolf had placed a hand upon it tonight.
Every one of them had left smiling.
I wondered if I would be the first to leave with nothing.
Again.
The Head Elder stepped aside as I approached.
For the first time since my parents died, someone looked directly into my eyes instead of through me.
He searched my face for something I couldn't understand.
Finally, he spoke.
"Do you know what happens during the Moon Ceremony, child?"
I nodded.
"The Moon Stone awakens a wolf."
"And?"
"It reveals the path chosen by the Moon Goddess."
A flicker crossed his face.
"So you have listened."
"I always hoped..." I swallowed quietly. "...that one day it would be my turn."
The Elder studied me for another long moment before gesturing toward the stone.
"Place your hand upon it."
Behind me, someone laughed.
Loudly.
Rowan.
"What a waste of time."
Several young wolves snickered.
"I'll bet nothing happens."
"Maybe the Moon Stone will reject her."
"Or shatter from disappointment."
Laughter rippled through the crowd.
Heat crept into my cheeks.
Not because of the insults.
I had heard worse.
But because every laugh reminded me how desperately I wanted them to be wrong.
I slowly lifted my trembling hand.
The surface of the Moon Stone was surprisingly warm.
The instant my fingertips touched the crystal...
Nothing happened.
The clearing remained silent.
The symbols stayed dim.
The silver glow never changed.
I closed my eyes anyway.
Please...
If I've done something wrong...
If I've somehow angered you...
Tell me.
Don't leave me wondering anymore.
A full minute passed.
Nothing.
Someone sighed dramatically.
"I knew it."
More laughter followed.
"I guess even the Moon Goddess doesn't want her."
The words struck harder than I expected.
I lowered my hand.
Of course.
Why had I expected anything different?
The Head Elder frowned at the scroll before looking back at the Moon Stone.
Confusion clouded his features.
He quietly placed his own hand against the crystal.
Still...
Nothing.
The other Elders exchanged uncertain glances.
One stepped closer.
"This has never happened before."
Another shook his head.
"Her name should never have appeared."
"I copied the records myself."
"So did I."
Their hushed conversation drifted through the stillness.
Around us, the pack grew restless.
Alpha Magnus rose from his carved stone seat overlooking the ceremony.
"What is the delay?"
The Head Elder bowed respectfully.
"My Alpha..."
He hesitated.
"...the Moon Stone is not responding."
Murmurs spread through the crowd once more.
Even Alpha Magnus frowned.
"Impossible."
"It has awakened every wolf for over five hundred years."
"I know."
The Elder's voice was barely above a whisper.
"Which is why I don't understand."
For the first time that evening...
Kael Draven stepped forward.
His black ceremonial cloak swayed behind him as he descended the stone steps leading from the Alpha family's platform.
The crowd instinctively moved aside for their future Alpha.
Unlike everyone else, he wasn't staring at the Moon Stone.
He was staring at me.
There was no mockery in his expression.
Only quiet curiosity.
As though he were trying to remember something long forgotten.
I looked away at first.
A strange ache settled deep within my chest.
I had seen Kael many times while working at the manor.
He rarely spoke.
Rarely smiled.
Yet every servant respected him.
Even feared him.
Unlike Rowan, he never insulted me.
But he never defended me either.
To him...
I was simply another servant.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
Kael stopped beside the Head Elder.
"What happened?"
The Elder drew a slow breath.
"The Moon Stone accepted every participant tonight."
He looked toward me again.
"Except her."
Before Kael could answer...
A sharp sound echoed through the clearing.
Crack.
It was so soft that at first I thought I'd imagined it.
Then...
Another.
Crack.
The entire clearing fell silent.
Every eye turned toward the Moon Stone.
A thin silver line had appeared across its flawless white surface.
And it was growing.
The silver c***k spread across the Moon Stone with a sharp, crystalline sound.
Crack...
Crack...
It snaked across the smooth white surface like lightning trapped beneath glass.
Gasps erupted throughout the Sacred Clearing.
"What...?"
"Did you see that?"
"The Moon Stone..."
"It's cracking!"
The Head Elder stumbled backward, his weathered face draining of all color.
"No..."
His voice trembled.
"No... this cannot be happening."
The other Elders rushed forward, staring at the glowing fracture in utter disbelief.
For centuries, the Moon Stone had stood untouched by time.
Storms had battered it.
Wars had raged around it.
Even fire could not leave a mark upon its sacred surface.
Yet now...
A single touch from the girl everyone believed to be cursed had done the impossible.
The c***k pulsed once.
A brilliant silver light burst from within the stone.
The crowd shielded their eyes.
Children screamed.
Several wolves instinctively shifted halfway, their instincts reacting to a power they couldn't understand.
The ground trembled beneath my feet.
Not violently.
Just enough to make the loose stones dance across the earth.
My heart pounded against my ribs.
"I..." I whispered.
"I didn't do anything."
No one answered.
Every face stared at the Moon Stone.
Even Alpha Magnus had risen from his seat, his sharp amber eyes fixed upon the ancient relic.
"This has never happened," one Elder murmured.
"It cannot happen."
"It is happening," another replied weakly.
The silver light intensified until it swallowed everything.
The cheering.
The whispers.
The frightened cries.
All of it faded into silence.
Complete silence.
...
I blinked.
The Sacred Clearing had disappeared.
Cold air brushed against my skin.
The warmth of hundreds of gathered wolves was gone.
I stood alone.
Above me stretched an endless night sky unlike any I had ever seen.
Thousands upon thousands of stars shimmered overhead, brighter than diamonds, surrounding a moon so enormous it filled nearly half the heavens.
Its light washed over everything like liquid silver.
There were no trees.
No mountains.
Only an endless lake as smooth as polished glass, reflecting the moon perfectly.
"...Where am I?"
My voice echoed softly before fading into the stillness.
No answer came.
I turned slowly.
There wasn't a single soul in sight.
Then...
Ripples formed across the mirror-like lake.
One.
Then another.
As though someone unseen had taken a step.
My breath caught.
A gentle breeze carried the scent of jasmine through the air.
Soft.
Familiar.
Comforting.
Without warning...
A woman's voice whispered behind me.
"My child..."
I spun around.
No one.
Only moonlight.
"Who's there?"
Silence.
The voice came again.
Closer this time.
"You have grown."
Every hair on my arms stood on end.
"I've waited..."
"So very long."
Fear tightened around my chest.
"Show yourself!"
Again...
Nothing.
Instead, the lake before me began to glow.
Silver mist rose from its surface, swirling gracefully until it formed the outline of a woman draped in flowing robes.
I couldn't see her face.
It remained hidden beneath a veil of shimmering light.
Yet somehow...
She felt familiar.
Not like a stranger.
Like someone I had once known.
Or perhaps...
Someone who had always known me.
The figure slowly raised one hand toward me.
My feet moved before I realized it.
Step by step...
I walked closer.
"Who are you?" I whispered.
The woman didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she looked at me with a tenderness so profound that tears unexpectedly stung my eyes.
"My poor child..."
Her voice carried both infinite love...
And immeasurable sorrow.
"They stole everything from you."
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Before she could answer...
The moon above us dimmed.
The woman's expression changed instantly.
Her calmness vanished.
She looked beyond me, as though sensing something approaching.
"No..."
There was fear in her voice now.
"They found you too soon."
Confused, I turned around.
Darkness.
It spread across the silver lake like black ink spilling through water.
The stars began disappearing one by one.
The moon trembled.
The air grew unbearably cold.
The woman's gaze snapped back to mine.
"Listen carefully."
Her voice became urgent.
"You must not awaken—"
The darkness surged forward.
She reached toward me.
Our fingertips were inches apart.
Then...
Everything shattered.
The lake.
The stars.
The moon.
The woman.
They exploded into countless fragments of silver light.
I gasped.
The Sacred Clearing rushed back into existence.
The voices.
The moon.
The crowd.
The Elders.
All at once.
I staggered backward, nearly losing my balance.
Someone caught my arm before I could fall.
Strong.
Steady.
Warm.
I looked up.
Kael.
His hand gripped my forearm firmly, keeping me upright.
For a brief moment, neither of us spoke.
His icy blue eyes searched mine with an intensity that stole my breath.
"You..."
His voice was barely beyond a whisper.
"...what did you see?"
My heart skipped.
How...
How did he know I'd seen anything at all?
Before I could answer—
A deafening c***k echoed through the clearing.
The Moon Stone split with a thunderous roar.
And from the glowing fracture...
A single beam of silver light shot into the night sky.
Every wolf in Bloodfang Pack dropped to one knee.
Every wolf...
Except me.
And Kael.
The Head Elder's voice trembled.
"Seal the Sacred Clearing."
"No one leaves."
His terrified gaze remained fixed on the beam of silver light piercing the heavens.
- Writer
