Page 57 of Bitten By Bloodmoon
Tonight isn’t a full moon, and I doubt there are any witches here, so I’m curious as to how the initiation will go.
“We have a new member of the Bloodmoon pack who would like to be initiated,” Nyx says to the crowd. He motions for Kael to step forward, while I stay standing next to others on the side of the stage.
I grab Kael’s hand, giving him a gentle squeeze before releasing him and watching him walk toward Nyx. I try to focus on his steps, but a haze washes over my eyes, my skin becomes clammy, and my body trembles where I stand.
“Are you okay?” a voice whispers in my ear, but I can barely hear it, and I definitely can’t make out whose voice it is.
In an instant, I’m taken back to my own initiation into the Moonlight pack. To seeing Ambrose in that tree, unable to speak. To the fear of running. To the spell I was under. To the male pack members surrounding me, each looking at me like they wanted to fuck me.
My eyes fall shut as if it is happening all over again, but this time, I know that I don’t really want them to fuck me. This time,when I’m stripped of my clothes, when I am held and spread bare, when they touch me…
A hand goes around my shoulder, pulling me against his chest. I struggle, trying to fight off the hands. No one can touch me! Not again!
“You’re safe, it’s not really happening. You’re safe, love,”his words push against the haze in my mind, and his cool body touching me instantly brings down the fever burning through my body. I stop struggling in his arms.
“You’re safe, Lumi. It’s not really happening.”
His words break through the nightmare I’m reliving.
“The initiation is over. Everyone went to celebrate.”
“Even Kael?” I ask, shocked that he’d leave me in this state.
“I told him I needed to show you something before we went to the party. No one realized what was happening except me, not even my own pack.”
“Why? How did you notice then if none of them did?”
He runs his hand over my hair, smoothing it down as if making sure I’m really back with him, my mind not still lost to the nightmare.
“Because you were sending me image after image of what your initiation looked like. I’ve never—” he shakes his head, cutting himself off. But I can see the veins popping on his neck and his clenched fist. He’s holding himself back.
“Are you okay now?” he asks, tenderly, his voice soft.
I nod. “I’m fine.”
He looks away for a moment, like he’s trying to say something but unsure. Finally, he says, “Now isn’t the time to make the decision, but you don’t have to stay a Moonlight pack member forever. Their magic is more complicated. It might take more to break the bonds you have and take away the runes on your body, but it can be done. You can always become a Bloodmoon pack member.”
“I’m not sure I’m ready to go through another initiation again anytime soon.”
He frowns. “You didn’t even see what happened with Kael, did you?”
“What happened? Is he okay?”
“Yes, he’s perfectly fine. Ask him yourself.”
“I will.”
“Good. Now, do you want to go celebrate with everyone, or do you want me to take you back to the house?”
I contemplate for a moment. “I want to see Kael.” I need to make sure he’s okay.
“Can I carry you?”
I frown. “No.”
He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. “The party is over a mile away. You can see Kael much faster if I carry you.”
I huff. “Fine.”
