Moon Touched (Zodiac Wolves: The Lost Pack #1)(14)
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.