Page 25 of Marked By Moonlight
I swallow down my fear, knowing it won’t do me any good, and force my legs to move forward. When I reach Isolde, I say in a soft voice, “Lumi, my name is Lumi.”
She nods and announces, “Lumi—the Bloodmoon offering.”
More gasps echo through the hillside around me, but I don’t dare look up. I’m too focused on what I have to do next and how to survive it.
The two alphas closest to me part, opening a space for me to enter the circle. Staring at my feet, I enter the circle, terrified I’ll trip and embarrass myself further or blush at the sight of the naked men surrounding me.
Finally, hours into this ceremony, it’s me standing in the center of this circle of alphas. My legs have stopped trembling, and I feel a warmth spread through my body.
Strange.
Is it a spell Isolde cast to keep me in place? Or is it being surrounded by the alphas that calms me?
When I look up, I don’t feel afraid. I don’t shake; my pulse has calmed, and my breathing has slowed.
“Remove your gown,” Isolde’s voice whispers into my ear as if she’s standing right next to me. My head whips in her direction. If I don’t do it on my own accord, she’ll use a spell to force me.
Every man here is already naked. The women before me were as well. Nakedness isn’t as sexual among wolf shifters as humans. It’s a normal part of life seeing others naked. And I might as well be naked since this thin gown under the light of the moon is doing nothing to hide my body.
I pull the gown off my shoulders and then slowly lower it down my body, shimmying a little to get it over my hips until it’s a puddle of cloth at my feet.
I don’t allow myself to blush, but I feel the stares of the crowd and the nearby alphas on me. Slowly, I purse my lips and breathe out, remaining calm and confident. Looking at the man across from me with a steady gaze and a soft smile, I’m ready for whatever is about to happen.
Baelor is the alpha across from me, I realize. My smile drops, and my eyes well at the sight of him forced to continue after what happened to Adaluna. I don’t know how any of them expect him to try to mate again after what happened.
To his credit, he doesn’t hesitate. He’s the first to approach me, probably to get this over with.
I stiffen as he gets close. In his state, he might do something reckless. He’ll realize I’m a fraud as soon as he gets close enough to smell me. He’ll notice I don’t belong to the Bloodmoon pack.
He circles me once, barely breathing in my scent. I’m so frozen that I don’t allow myself to sense anything from him. Baelor stops in front of me, his red hair blowing in the breeze and the scar around his eye looking more menacing than before.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
I probably shouldn’t speak, but I can’t help but tell him how I feel.
His narrowed gaze and flared nostrils tell me he doesn’t appreciate my sympathy. It would mean showing weakness to show that the loss of Adaluna affects him beyond what he’s already shown.
I bite down to force myself from saying more but catch my cheek with my teeth and wince as a drop of my own blood spills onto my tongue.
Baelor returns to his place, huffing once in my direction like I disgust him.
I sigh.
I won’t be making that mistake again.
The next alpha approaches, and I hold my head steady and my emotions blank. I don’t look at his naked body. I barely even notice which male is circling me.
But then he stops in front of me and breathes in heavily, his brown eyes locking with mine.
My pulse ticks up, and my skin grows warm and clammy under his gaze. I start to squirm as he continues to gaze at me while breathing in my scent.
The wind changes direction, and I get a whiff of him. He smells like the woods—of earth, dirt, and evergreens. I move, just a millimeter toward him, wanting to breathe in more of him.
For a second, he tries to move closer to me before stopping himself, too. But then he quickly retreats back to his spot in the circle.
Fisting my hands, I clear my emotions as the next alpha approaches. This man is taller than Baelor and at least a decade older, with a few gray strands in his jet-black hair.
He circles me in the same way the others did. I try to hold my breath, but his bold, peppery scent hits me hard. Warm desire floods my system, and my cheeks flush as he stops in front of me.
