Page 23 of Marked By Moonlight
I hope shifting isn’t a requirement of the ceremony. Hopefully, that was a choice Rowena made, and not all the women here can shift.
But as the offering from Blackwater walks forward and repeats the exact same steps as Rowena, shifting into her gray wolf form at the end before walking out into the forest in disappointment, I know my secret is going to be exposed.
Panic rises in my throat. I’m not sure what to do. All I can do is hope that someone finds their mate and breaks the curse before I’m called.
“Ironclaw,” Isolde calls next.
A woman with waist-length, straight black hair walks into the circle. Adaluna is the name she gave Isolde. With striking features, she begins to repeat the same steps as the two before her, but as the fifth alpha—the one with red hair and a scar belowhis left black eye—approaches her, there’s a shift in the air. We all can feel it.
Breathlessly, they both stare at each other with an intense focus. Their gazes seem to lock as if the rest of us no longer exist to them.
When the next alpha tries to approach Adaluna, the red-haired alpha bares his teeth in his direction, preventing him from getting close to her.
A gasp echoes, rippling up the hillside of the amphitheater.
Could this be it? Could they have actually found their mates? Could they be the key to breaking the curse?
“Baelor,” the sixth alpha with the silver hair growls at him before he shifts into his wolf form on the spot. Baelor does the same—turning instantly into his wolf form and shoving Adaluna behind him.
She shifts instantly as the two alphas circle each other, growling and baring their teeth as if preparing to fight.
Adaluna tries to intervene, but Baelor growls low in her direction, warning her to stay out of the impending fight.
All the other alphas shift in a burst of energy flowing from the stage.
I gasp at the sight of the alphas. My father is large in his wolf form, but these alphas put my father to shame. I’ve never seen such large beasts before. Baelor howls, battling the first silver wolf off with ease.
A brown alpha with yellow eyes attacks Baelor, going for the throat. But Baelor leaps in the air, avoiding getting his neck bit, and tackles the brown alpha, easily pinning him to the ground.
The brown alpha yelps and retreats as soon as he is let up.
The pattern repeats again and again, and I realize why the alphas are challenging him. Not because they think Adaluna is their own mate but to ensure that she is Baelor’s.
Nyx puts up a strong fight. His midnight black fur wolf towers over Baelor. Nyx pins Baelor beneath him for a solid minute before he breaks free. Even though it’s clear that Nyx would have won that fight, he doesn’t challenge Baelor again, seemingly satisfied with the effort Baelor put in.
Finally, the largest wolf I’ve ever seen approaches Baelor, his howl louder than any I’ve ever heard. His fur is black with golden spots and streaks and glowing yellow eyes.
Ambrose—this must be Ambrose, the Moonlight’s alpha, and who Nyx was searching for when he carried me here.
He howls again. I instantly want to obey Ambrose’s command, even though I don’t know what he’s saying.
Baelor cowers for a split second at Ambrose’s howl, almost as if he wants to obey whatever command he’s saying, but he fights it. Ambrose doesn’t wait—he attacks. His teeth sink into Baelor’s neck with ease, like a knife through butter.
I squeeze my eyes into slits and look away, afraid I’m about to see Baelor’s death. There’s a yelp and whimper from Baelor, and I force myself to turn back.
Baelor limps, holding one of his paws up, but he doesn’t back down against Ambrose. Baelor continues to bare his teeth at Ambrose, as if he’s willing to die fighting for Adaluna. It’s clear that Baelor will die if Ambrose doesn’t back down.
Ambrose howls one more time, enough that every hair on my arm stands up. His howl is a warning. Then Ambrose retreats, the other alphas already forming a circle and making room for him in it.
Baelor and Adaluna now face each other in the circle of alphas. The tension is thick in the air, and I find myself holding my breath.
Baelor howls and Adaluna matches with her own.
The sound is in perfect harmony as they circle each other and nuzzle their heads together. The embrace is as if they’re finding the other piece of their soul.
A tear rolls down my cheek, and my lips curl up. This—this is how shifters were always meant to be. Finding their other halves. Living with love, not living broken.
The circle parts, and Isolde walks into the circle with them. Her jaw is tense and her eyebrows are furrowed in determination.
