No, really, I wasn't overwhelmed at all.
“You did it, Zara,” he whispered, his breath feathering against my lips. I wasn't about to say anything just now, but he kind of looked like a pirate with all that kohl smeared around his eyes. Oh, and he wasn't wearing a shirt, just a thick heavy military coat with gold buttons and epaulettes. It was probably a hundred years old, maybe older. The stitching was bloodred, the color combination signifying that the person wearing it was an Ebon Red Alpha Male (or in this case, a hopeful future Ebon Red Alpha Male). In the back of my mind, I knew I'd never get away with actually choosing Nic, but that was a problem for another day.
“I bet you're just excited for that calculus test on Tuesday,” I whispered, feeling the beat of his heart against my own.
“Oh yeah, that's the reason I'm excited right now: I have a hard-on for finding the radiance of convergence.”
I smiled, teasing the hair on the back of Nic's head with my fingers. We weren't supposed to see each other until later this afternoon, at the Bonding. Until then, I'd be subjected to a bunch of other silly rituals, and so would the guys. Gender was irrelevant when it came to deciding who did what in the Pairing; what mattered was who the higher ranking wolf was. I was considered the alpha-heir in this ceremony and everyone else—even the alpha-sons—were simply my potential mates.
“You have a hard-on right now?” I whispered, slanting my lips to his, hovering just a hair's breadth above them. The way he was looking at me right now, I knew we were both still daydreaming about last night, about the hard thickness of his body sliding into mine.
Someone coughed near the back door and we jumped, separating so rapidly that we both stumbled and I ended up losing a slipper.
Thankfully, it was just Lana.
“Nicoli,” she said with tears in her eyes, clasping her hands together in front of her chest. She was wearing a coat similar to Nic's, but without any of the embellishments—the formal attire for a guard during the ceremony. If Nic hadn't been a part of the pairing, he'd be wearing the same outfit as his mother and acting as a sentry in her place.
I was beyond relieved that things had turned out this way.
At the same time, I needed to remember that this one, small victory was not the be-all, end-all. As soon as this weekend was over, we'd be right back to working on the Contribution—Nic, me, and the six alpha-sons. I also would not forget how four of them had come through for us last night in a big way … or how the magic Nic and I had summoned had flared to life when I'd touched Anubis.
“Mom, please don't,” Nic said as he lifted his hands up and started to back away toward the door. I don't think either his mother or I missed the smile stealing across his lips. “I'm almost nineteen, not nine years old, okay?”
“Oh, baby,” she said, and then he really was making a run for it, sending me one last scorching look before he backed out of the room completely and let the old wood swing shut with the creak of rusty hinges. Lana glanced over at me and raised her dark red brows. “I won't say a word,” she promised and then pointed to the rack of clothing, “but you'd better hurry up and get dressed. You don't want to keep Majka waiting.”
After the severe punishment she'd cooked up for the simple act of checking my phone for texts, I really didn't want to see what would happen if I screwed the Pairing up.
No way in hell I was going to let that happen.
The dress I wore for the first part of the ceremony was made of this heavy black brocade that trailed on the floor behind me, leather accents sewn into the hem and used as ties up the front of the bodice. I knew for a fact that all of the leather in this piece—as well as the brown fur collar at the neckline—had come from my grandmother's Pairing ceremony, during the Hunt that took place two days after the full moon.
If I was lucky enough to have pups who had pups who survived a possible vampire-witch war, then one day my own grandchild might be wearing this outfit during their Pairing Ceremony. If that happened, I'd make sure their potential mate or mates were people they'd picked, that no wolf that came after me would have to fight so hard for a person they loved to be included.
This dress was just like the one I'd worn the other day to greet Crimson Dusk in—a deep slit that went all the way to my hip, loose leather ties across the front that could be pulled open in an instant to shift. Underneath it, I wore nothing but my own skin.
Beneath my bare feet, an emerald carpet of grass stretched across the length of the decrepit old dining room, my dress shifting as I moved, flashing the pale creamy curve of my hip. I lifted a hand up and pressed the fur of my collar—I think it was elk—into the side of my cheek. It didn't much smell like the animal it had once belonged to, but more like Ebon Red. Pine and honeysuckle.
In the center of the room, I paused at a crumbling stone fountain filled with blood. I had no idea where the fountain had been dragged from—or if it really had been in the middle of the restaurant to begin with—but I knew whose blood sat reflecting the hole in the ceiling like a glossy red mirror.
The Alpha's.
The smell brought to mind that piece of flesh, sliding cold and awful down my throat, and I almost gagged. But standing near the door that led to the lobby were the Ebon Red Betas. I wouldn't show any weaknesses in front of them.
Dropping my thumb to the still warm liquid, I dipped my finger into the copper scented pool and then lifted it to my face, drawing a line across each cheek, down the bridge of my nose, and over my lips. And then I knelt low and pulled my hair over my left shoulder, letting the strands coil in the viscous red before tossing them back with a wet slap.
Blood dripped down the back of my dress, sneaking droplets beneath the fabric to ease along my spine. It trailed behind me as I walked around the fountain and between Merliah and Charlene, both of whom were dressed in gowns almost as glorious as my own.
They fell into line behind me as I continued walking, through a hallway slept clean by my younger sisters and decorated with flowers and branches, and into the lobby. The banquet tables were full, lined with the alphas and their mates, their parents, and their Betas, all of whom were as dressed up as I was—although none of them were covered in blood.
I approached the table at the head of the room, placed perpendicular to all the others, and bowed my head in submission to Nikolina, the only naked 'were' in the room, her silver necklace bleeding bright red lines of color down her breasts and belly.
“Zara of Ebon Red,” I announced in the sudden silence, wolves draped on the half-crumbled remains of decorative pillars, across the decaying stone wall, lounging on the steps. In human or wolf form, they watched me, studied me with eyes of ebon and frost, gold and crimson, violet and ash. There were far less emerald eyes than there should have been and that scared me, really and truly scared me.
“Zara Wolf,” Nikolina said, Majka on her right, an empty seat on her left where my father would've sat had he still been alive. “Please, take a seat.”
As soon as I'd folded my dress beneath me and settled into the high-backed velvet chair with the honeysuckle blossoms curled around the arms, the room got loud again. The unranked wolves moved to the tables pressed against the walls, their polished wooden surfaces heaped with food—roasted pheasant, hearty slices of venison, savory garlic mushroom sauce slathered over elk meat, apricots glazed with honey and brown sugar, and apples that were baked, sliced, and arranged with pastry dough to look like roses. Most—if not all—of the food had been hunted, butchered, or harvested from the pack lands.
Today, we feasted like humans.
After the Hunt, mouths red and steaming with freshly spilled blood, we'd eat like wolves.
Because we were neither human nor wolf.
We were werewolves; we were Pack.
And I was going to be the leader of us all.
After breakfast, there were several more mysterious rituals that were followed simply because they'd been passed down and not because anyone was particularly certain what they were for anym
ore—like the smearing of the Alpha's blood all over my face and hair. It was just what was done, what had always been done.
Now, I stood in the middle of the lobby with beams of afternoon sunshine slanting across my face and over the stone floor beneath my feet. The blood I'd covered myself with was now dry and flaking, drifting like red snowflakes in the lazy light as I waited to be officially introduced—and bonded—to the alpha-sons (and Nic).
Already today, I'd led a march through the forest and collected wildflowers, sat on the front porch steps and woven a wreath that was now hanging from colored ribbons from the old rafters, and bathed naked in a stream (everything but my face and hair, of course).
I wouldn't say I was bored, more like I was anxious to get this part of the Pairing over with. As soon as I was bonded to the boys, I could do whatever I wanted with them—like kiss Nic without fear of retribution—although I'd have to be careful not to show any favoritism. I'd always promised myself that I would give each guy a fair chance at being alpha and I intended to hold true to that. I kept promises, even ones that I made to myself.
Although werewolves were big on ritual, they weren't much for speeches so at least I knew I wouldn't have to sit through my mother or grandmother standing at the top of those stairs and talking our collective ears off.
Beneath my skirt, I felt my cell buzz—I'd strapped it to my thigh even though I wasn't supposed to—and had to work really hard not to grit my teeth. I didn't have many social connections outside the pack, so if I was getting a text it was probably from Faith.
I lifted my chin as the Jeweler moved into the room, dressed in a silver colored gown that trailed a good ten feet behind her. She looked beautiful in it, ethereal really, with the soft silver fabric draped across her brown-gold skin, a crown of white flowers in her dark red hair.
The sight of her terrified me.
Fuck.
Now I had to pick eight pieces of jewelry to wear, eight pieces of burning silver to make me hurt and bleed and scar. I'd be required to wear them to all official meetings between now and the end of the Pairing. A whole year of guaranteed pain.
Squaring my shoulders, I took a deep breath and made the choice to embrace the moment. Fighting against it would get me nowhere. An alpha and her silver were ubiquitous amongst the world's packs. There wasn't a single pack I'd ever heard of that didn't wear silver—werewolves in Europe, Africa, South America, Australia, and Asia all wore silver. Even the infamous ice wolves of Antarctica (sorry Homo sapiens, there really is an indigenous humanoid species on the frostbitten continent) adorned themselves with silver jewelry gifted by packs from other continents.
This was one tradition that I was not going to attempt to break—at least not until I'd figured out why it had been started in the first place. For all I knew, there really could be a good reason behind it.
“Zara Wolf, Alpha-Daughter of Pack Ebon Red,” Nikolina began, still naked, standing at the top of the steps with her mother by her side, “are you ready for the Bonding?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Do accept responsibility for the males that we will present to you?”
I took another deep breath to try and still the frantic beating of my heart.
“Yes, Alpha.”
“And are you and your males willing to give back to the packs?”
“Yes, Alpha. We'd like to make a Contribution.”
The words were scripted, but in my heart, I knew I meant that. I would solve this nightmare of the missing pack members—and I'd work not only my ass off, but the collective asses of the guys, too. I hadn't even been able to eat any meat at breakfast; I couldn't stop thinking about that piece of Ebon Red flesh tucked in Faith's backyard shed.
“For your Contribution, Zara of Ebon Red, you and your mates will be required to find and return the missing wolves to their packs or deliver verifiable information as to their fates. You have the full resources of the North American Convocation and all the packs they govern at your disposal. If, by the end of one year, you have failed to deliver your Contribution, you and your chosen mate will be stripped of your status and cast aside so a new alpha can be found. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
Failure was not an option. I would not fail. It wasn't even something I bothered to consider.
Nikolina gave me a wolfish smile with a flash of teeth and, as usual, Majka simply scowled.
My mother, the Alpha Female of Pack Ebon Red, moved over to the throne at the top of the steps and took her seat, my grandmother sitting beside her.
With a wave of her hand, she signaled for the Bonding to begin.
Normally, this part of the Pairing was quick, but instead of one mate, I had to be Bonded to seven. A thrill of anticipation shot through me, and I ended up biting my lower lip before I could stop myself. Some of the older wolves in the room laughed good-naturedly at my reaction. Now that I knew today was more than just some death knell for my relationship with Nic, I was actually … sort of excited. And then, of course, I felt kind of guilty because if I truly loved Nic, why on earth would I be excited to spend time with the rest of the guys?
I decided not to spend too much time analyzing that one just yet.
As I stood there, heart pounding, pulse thrumming, I waited to see what alpha-son would walk around that corner first. I knew he'd be coming from the direction of the stairwell that led up to the fourth floor and the assembly room, and I knew that the order in which the boys would come was completely random.
Thing was, the first guy that walked down these stone steps would be my 'first kiss' for all intents and purposes within the pack. Not that it really mattered—Silas was my first and Nic my second—but still, I couldn't help the burning sense of curiosity that took over me.
Beneath my dress, my stupid cell buzzed again, and I made a note to go for it as soon as the Bonding was over. After that, the boys and I would be sent to the Pairing House and left until dinner to do … whatever. Most werewolves went into that house virgins and came out … not so virginal. I had no idea what was going to happen with me and my seven mates. Whatever we did would probably be dictated by the text messages continuously buzzing into my phone.
Please let Faith be okay, I begged the universe, howls and yips of excitement breaking out in random intervals around me. The spectators—the highest ranking wolves from all the North American packs, both big and small—were supposed to be quiet, but sometimes they just got so excited they couldn't help themselves. Most everyone that was in wolf form was wagging their tail like one of Faith's dogs.
This Pairing wasn't happening just so I could find a mate, someone to give me guidance and make pups with, this was a gathering of hope, a celebration of unity and togetherness, of Pack.
Instead of a thousand scattered small packs and a handful of large packs, we would be one.
One heart, one soul, one hope.
I let out a sharp breath as a man I didn't recognize came around the corner.
But I didn't need to know him to know which pack he was from. The violet eyes and the dark hair gave him away.
“Che of Violet Shadow,” he said in a voice that sounded like it really was made of shadows, taking a knee in front of Nikolina.
“Che Wolf,” she said, and he rose to his feet again, coming down the steps in a dark purple coat with black buckles that jingled as he walked, like a chorus of bells. When he came to stand in front of me, I realized that he was huge, the tallest of all the boys I'd met so far. I wasn't short by any means—five foot nine to be exact—but Che Nocturne of Pack Violet Shadow was … a beast.
He stood before me in loose black pants that sagged on his muscular hips, smelling like bergamot oil, vanilla, and lavender and staring at me with an expression that came pretty close to being pissed off. I tried to remember how old he was—twenty or maybe even twenty-one, the oldest of the guys—and if I knew anything else about him.
Nothing came to mind.
Before me, stood an enigma.
'I am your Alpha and you are my mate,' Che murmured huskily into my mind, his lips curving in a sardonic smile. And then he gave a dramatic eye roll and flicked his tongue across his lower lip. 'I know; it's fucking stupid. Trust me, I'm not thrilled about these stupid rituals either.'
“I am your Alpha and you are my mate,” I said before Majka could notice my hesitation, my voice clear and sharp and strong, echoing through the crowded lobby and escaping through the hole in the roof. I hoped all the wolves waiting in the woods could hear me, too. 'Thank you,' I added, just for Che's sake. At least he didn't look quite so pissed off now, a sparkle of curiosity making its way into his expression. “Do you accept these terms as they've been given?”
“Yes, Alpha,” Che said, the sound of his voice giving me the chills. It was rich and dark, like the cool dampness of an underground cave, one that was filled with bats. His face was painted with shadows, gray and black makeup above and below his eyes, giving him a ghoulishly sexy look to match.
“To represent our union, we'll each wear a piece of silver.”
This is an awful lot like a human wedding, isn't it? I realized as I thought of Faith trolling engagement ring websites for what she called her 'someday-ring'. I'd never made that connection before. If anything though, the Pairing was far more formal—and permanent—than a white dress, some rings, and a piece of paper filed at the courthouse.
Pack Ebon Red (The Seven Mates of Zara Wolf Book 1) Page 15
