Page 24 of Marked By Moonlight
There’s a tingle in my chest, and my breath catches once again.
“Do you, Baelor, accept Adaluna as your mate?” Isolde asks.
Baelor nods and then barks his acceptance.
“And do you, Adaluna, accept Baelor as your mate?”
She howls.
Isolde nods. “Then, mark each other as such.” Her hands outstretch as if magic is needed for the next part.
Silence stretches once again, and Baelor looks Adaluna in the eye.
I hold my breath, not sure what’s about to happen. But I hope it changes everything. I hope the curse is about to be broken.
Suddenly, Baelor sinks his teeth into Adaluna’s neck.
The howl that leaves her body is like none I’ve ever heard. It’s the sound of agony spreading through her body, not joy at finding her other half.
“No,” I whisper.
There are cries all around me. Howls, growls, and chaos as the pain reaches every one of us present, witnessing the scene unfold but unable to do anything to stop it.
Baelor’s eyes widen, but it doesn’t seem even he can stop. His teeth are sunk into her fur, unrelenting. Together, they sink to the ground until the life leaves Adaluna’s eyes, and her body flops the remaining inches to the ground.
Baelor stands over her limp body. My hands fly to my mouth, holding back a cry. He howls—long and loud through the silence of the night. The howl is prolonged until his voice trembles.
The other alphas echo him before the entirety of the packs sitting on the hillside join in.
Baelor doesn’t drop dead, and no one seems to expect him to. It must only be the females risking their lives in this ceremony.
Isolde waves her hand, and the howls instantly stop, even from the alphas circling her. Emeric and another man break through the circle and lift Adaluna’s wolf body, carrying her to an altar near the woods.
I swallow hard when I notice two other altars, as if they are expecting more deaths tonight. “Alphas, return to your positions. Stormburst is next,” Isolde orders with an unrelenting voice composed of zero compassion for the death that just happened.
My breath is hard and swift. Everything happened so fast. Isolde is trying to pretend like we didn’t all witness a woman die right in front of our eyes simply because she thought an alpha was her mate.
But the alphas obey, shifting back into their human forms, now naked. Even Baelor returns to his place in the circle. His puffy eyes are the only sign of the pain he just endured.
I can’t keep the tears from streaking my cheeks, mourning this young life, this woman. Even though I never knew her, the theft of the beautiful love she could have shared with the alpha is a crime.
I look up and see Rowena on the edge of the forest, staring at me with intensity in her wolf form.All you have to do is say none of them are your mate; that’s how you survive.Her words from earlier repeat in my head before new words seem to be sent my way.
Survive, don’t try to break the curse. Live.
I nod through my tears. When it’s my turn, I will have no chance of breaking the curse. I can’t even shift. I would never survive being marked like that. I just hope I’m not killed for being considered a traitor to our kind when they realize I’m from the Wintermoon pack. My pack is the reason the curse exists, the reason the offering is required, the reason Adaluna is dead.
Chapter 10
Lumi
“The Bloodmoon offering,” Isolde says, staring at me like just saying the name of the pack is going to cause her to break out in hives.
There are murmurs and whispers all around the hillside amphitheater. I know the Bloodmoon wolves aren’t popular, but I don’t know why. It’s clear they are at least tolerated, unlike my own pack.Maybe everyone is intimidated by them?
I stand up, my legs shaking as I feel the intense stare of the entire crowd on me. I’m the last to go, the last chance at this offering to break the curse. I can feel a swell of hope from everyone here all concentrated on me.
I’m not going to break the curse. It would be impossible, based on what I know of the ceremony. All I can do is survive.
