1. Failed Ceremony

It was raining. The woods surrounding me were blurry, as was my vision. The trees blended together every couple of seconds and I tried to not run into one of them, but it was becoming harder with every second that passed to stay focused on keeping my eyes open. The wound on my head was bleeding profusely and my legs were shaking, and despite not wanting to give up, it was hard to walk, let alone run.

And I needed to run.

I was slowing down. I could hear them behind me, could hear their big paws shortening the distance between us, could hear their bloodthirsty growls that promised violence, and I could hear their leader's howling which made my skin crawl with fear.

I was on an unknown territory, and it was my own fault for not thinking with my head when I made the dumb desicion to run when I should have stood my ground and held my head high.

It was all my fault. And if I ended up being killed, it would be on nobody's conscience.

I tried to run in zigzags, but my head wound made that a lot harder than it should have been, and I could now feel my hounds' hot breath on my neck.

They were playing with me. They enjoyed the hunt. They wanted to tire me out, to make me fall on my knees in front of them. And that only made me want to fight more.

But the rain started pelting even harder and now I couldn't see anything that was in front of me. I stopped, knowing that if I kept running I would surely bump into a tree and that way proceed to kill myself, which would just be humiliating.

The same moment that I stopped running, I turned around so I could face them and fight until my last breath. The rain was obvioulsy my enemy, and it didn't let me see how many of them there were, up until one jumped high into the air, and I could see his big, frightening silhouette. The lighning in the sky, accompanied by a lound thunder, brightened the gloomy, dark forest, and so did the beast that was in the process of pouncing on me.

I could see his big jaws opening and getting closer to my face in a matter of seconds.

I screamed, and everything went dark.

2 hours earlier...

"Sapphira! Girl, wake up!" My bed was shaking and I woke up with a gasp of terror. I looked at my surroundings and when I saw that it looked familiar, I glared at my best friend.

"What the hell, Jane? Why the need for such brutality at... At freaking 9 in the morning?!" Obviously, I wasn't an early bird. Jane, my best friend since childhood, obviously, as with everything else, even in this was the total opposite of me.

I loved the crazy girl, I really did. But starting from our looks, the color of our hair(mine was pitch black and hers was Barbie blonde), the color of our eyes (mine were gold and hers silver) and even our heights(she was built like a freaking model while I stayed at measly 5'5), to our personalities(which constantly clashed because while I was always serious and hyper focused on one thing at a time, Jane was bubbly and happy and didn't know what to focus on before), we were so different. Too different, some might even say, especially considering the fact that we were inseparable.

"Get up, get up, get up! Did you forget what day today is?" Her silver eyes sparkled with happines as she looked at me with a big, toothy smile. It was then that I noticed she was completely styled. Her long blonde hair was pulled into an elegant bun, her whole face was covered in perfectly done makeup even though she didn't need it, and she was wearing a flowy, rose colored dress with straps that accentuated her slim shoulders and model-like figure.

"What... Oh, shit!" My eyes widened, and the next second I was up, running towards my bathroom. I could hear Jane following me, and her laugh, as much as it always made me feel better, now only managed to annoy me.

"I knew you would forget it. That is why your mom sent me. She said you promised you'd be at their house at eight." Which was an hour ago.

And the ceremony started in another hour.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

I quickly brushed my teeth and took a quick 5-minute shower, after which I contemplated for another 3 minutes if I should shave my legs. Meanwhile, Jane prepared her makeup kit and took my dress out of the closet.

"Hurry, up, darling. Your mother is probably having a seizure." Jane pulled me away from my overthinking and I decided I didn't really have time for a thorough shaving.

I went back into the bedroom, sat down in front of my vanity table and let Jane do her magic.

She talked without any pause, as she always did. It calmed me. Helped me ease my nerves, which were starting to get the better of me now that I was fully awake and aware of what day it was.

The Bonding Ceremony.

Fuck.

And both Jane and I were of age to participate.

Which I didn't want to. I had to, but I really, really didn't want to.

I loved my freedom. And I don't think it was fair that at only 19 years old, my soul should be chained to someone I don't even know. Someone whom I would spend the rest of my life with. My very long life, because werewolves lived too long for my liking. Up to 5000 years.

"Okay, you're all set. Now put on the dress so we can go. The Ceremony is going to start in... 25 minutes."

The dress which my mother had had tailored especially for me and my small figure was the color of my favorite stone. Opal. It was long-sleeved, as that was the only acceptable length of sleeves for me, and it went to my knees. It was modest, nothing fancy like Jane's was, but it suited me.

Jane quickly plaited my hair, and then we quickly left my hut, which was at the end of the Grand Forest, the forest of our pack.

Oh, how I loved our forest. The peacefulness, the nature, the animals that inhabited it, everything brought me strengh, which is why I lived so far away from the rest. I loved solidarity, and the feeling of not-belonging disappeared whenever I was among trees and bushes and wild animals that whispered to me in their own languages, giving me the strength I needed.

The sun shined brightly, and there wasn't a sincle cloud in the sky. The day was perfect, would be perfect, if it wasn't for the fucking Ceremony.

Jane couldn't turn into her wolf because that would mean she would have to rip her dress, and I couldn't because... I simply couldn't.

Yeah, it was kind of ironic. The daughter of Alpha and Luna didn't have her own wolf. That was actually the only reason why having a mate would be a good option.

So we ran.

"Hurry!" I yelled when I noticed Jane was a couple of feet behind me.

My defect of not having a wolf which we usually got around 16 years old made me always slower than the rest. Which then forced me to always try to catch up, and that was why I was the fastest in the pack in human form. All of them relied on their wolves.

It took Jane and me around 15 minutes of constant running to get to our pack's center, which was in the middle of the Grand Forest.

Yeah, I lived pretty isolated.

I turned around and looked at my poor friend. Jane looked like she was about to have a seizure. I smiled and threw my hand across her shoulders.

"We made it, Jane darling. I didn't know you had it in you."

"Go... To... Hell..." She somehow managed to utter between gasps. I laughed and looked in the direction of the Fountain, where already, our whole pack was gathered there.

"Come on. The Ceremony is about to start. I don't want my mom to rip my head off my shoulders." I pulled Jane after me and in a matter of minutes, we were pushing through pur pack, trying to get to the front line, where the other Initiates were.

Despite being the Alpha and Luna's daughter, nobody moved out of their way to let me through. Which just was another reason why I preferred to live at the edge of the woods.

To these weres, I was an anomaly. An abomination. They couldn't imagine their lives without their inner beast pumping purple blood instead of red through their veins. The fact that I was supposed to be my brother's Beta made them hate me even more, because they thought someone as weak as me shouldn't even live, let alone rule.

When I pushed to the front line, the first thing I noticed was my father and my mother standing in front of the fountain. My mother's eyes quickly scanned me, checking angrily if I at least wore what she told me, and then she continued with her already started speech.

"Today is one of our most celebrated days in the year. Next to the Day of the Moon Goddess, it is the most important one, too. Today, one generation of our young ones will find their mates, will bond, and will not be called the young ones anymore." She smiled softly. "They will then either leave their pack..." Which were usually girls. "Or they will stay and get their position as an honored member of the White Moon pack. So, with that being said, I now would like the ceremony to start." My father, a mountain of a man and the scariest werewolf I've ever known, looked at my mom like a little puppy. He was the Alpha, which in most packs meant that Lunas were there just to reproduce. But here, at White Moon pack, Jack Oslow loved Lana too much and she was his biggest weakness. He saw potential for a leader in her, and he has let her use it fully. They ruled side by side, and made every single desicion, no matter how small or big it was, together.

"Okay, let's start with Parah. Parah, darling, come here." It was once again my mother. The girl standing a couple of feet away from me went to stand in front of the Fountain. The Fountain of tears was something akin to a temple. It was a place where the weres of our pack went to pray for their loved ones or where they drank water when they had some sort of ailment. The Fountain was a statue of the Moon Goddess, and the water leaked from her fingers.

Parah was the girl from my class. She was quiet but lovable. I never had much contact with her simply because she was always in the popular group which shunned me. She never stood up for me when I was mistreated, but she also never took part in whatever jokes the other weres came up with on my account.

Parah slowly walked over to my mother, looking a bit frightened but at the same time excited. She was all soft, beginning from her long chestnut brown wavy hair, her light silver, almost white eyes, to her slender and feminine figure. She wore a long forest green dress that fit her perfectly.

"Parah, my dear girl, this year's Ceremony starts with you. It is my honor to be a part of your bonding, and I hope your mate will be as lovely, as soft-spoken and at least as half-beautiful as you are." Yeah, Parah was also one of the most beautiful girls around here. My mother continued. "Now, we shall begin."

Parah stood next to a small table where a knife, a small cup and a vial of holy water from the Fountain were placed.

My mother took the cup and the knife, and I noticed her claws came out. Shit, I forgot tonight was Full moon.

Parah took the knife gently, placing the sharp end to her wrist. She cut herself. The purple blood began to flow steadily, and the wound was already healing. My mother placed the cup under Parah's arm, and the girl pressed her wrist so the blood would flow faster. I watched in fascination, as I always did. It was disgusting yet mesmerizing at the same time.

Then Parah took the small vial and uncorked the top. She poured the Holy water into the cup, and the the purplish mist lifted from the cup the moment water and blood mixed together.

Parah's eyes glowed and her mouth was open in wonder, looking somewhere where we couldn't see. She was communicating with her mate. She smiled softly, and the tears of happiness started to flow down her cheeks.

They accepted each other.

The moment Parah's eyes stopped glowing, we all clapped, happy and excited for her.

The next was Poppy, another girl from my class. She wasn't one of my tormentors either, but she also never went nowhere close to me.

Five more of them went before it was finally my turn. My mother looked lovingly at me when she announced my name, and I knew she put all her hopes in my mating. She wanted me to hopefully get someone who would protect and love me so I wouldn't be alone anymore.

I uncertainly walked over to the table. The hush fell over the crowd and I could feel their judgy eyes glaring at my back. I tried to hold my head high but it was very hard because I always tried my best to stay out of everyone's path.

"My dear daughter." I could see tears in her golden eyes which were just like mine. She cupped my cheeks for a moment and looked at me with all the love and zero judgement to which I was so used from the others.

My father stood proudly behind her looking at me like it was really hard for him to let me go, and he stood so straight I thought for a moment his back would break.

My parents were (besides my brother, who was sent on a mission a month ago) the only ones who wholly supported me and accepted me the way I was. I loved them and prayed to God every day they wouldn't turn against me. Which they would if they found out my long kept secret.

Then, even to them, I would be an abomination.

"Come on. Do it, baby girl." My father's deep voice encouraged me, and with a nod of my head, I turned and took the knife. My mother held her cup and also her breath. The moment I cut myself, red blood flowed into the cup, and the wound didn't start to heal immediately.

I could feel their judgement. Could hear the whispers. I tried to ignore them but my cheeks were flaming hot and my hands started to shake.

"Easy." I heard my mom, but it barely registered.

I took a deep breath and then took the vial. I poured the water into the cup and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

But nothing happened.

The whispers started to get louder.

Started to sound like insults.

"A shame to our pack!"

"She doesn't deserve to be among us!"

"An embarrasment to the pack!"

"Just a poor, weak human!"

The voices started to blend together in one ugly thought. I could feel tears well up in my eyes and I didn't even look at my parents, already knowing there must be disappointment etched on their faces.

"Baby..." I could hear my mom, but I pushed away and stumbled away from the Fountain. I pushed through the crowd, and they let me.

A small mercy.

I could feel my breathing starting to get harder, could feel my blood rushing through my ears and could sense their hatred on my skin.

I just wanted to dissappear.

As soon as I was away from the people, I started to run.

I ran and ran and ran.

I don't know for how long, but I knew I wasn't on the White Moon pack territory. I felt when the barrier that engulfed our land crakled after I had gone through it.

But I didn't know just how much farther I actually went.

Or that I didn't just pass through the barrier.

But through a portal.