Stop fidgeting.
Ugh!She rolls her eyes.I just want this to beover.
Since we discovered we could read each other’s minds, we useit more than we actually talk.Clara thinks it began at the wedding because,though not magical, it was still a commitment.
It will be, soon.
You’re fidgeting, too.
That’s because of the blue moon.Just wait until wechange.You haven’t seen fidgeting yet.
“Your hands.”
We turn to Clara, positioning our hands above a small bowlcontaining the ritual wine.She pricks both our fingers, squeezing blood intothe bowl.I watch, baffled, as smoke begins to rise from the bowl.That’s neverhappened before.The mixture bubbles and Clara stirs it with the ceremonial spoon.It’s made from the branch of an ancient Great Basin bristlecone pine and isengraved with ancient markings.She hands the bowl to me, and I look at Caseyexpectantly.
What?
We have to drink it.
Huh?
I’ll feed you, and then you feed me.
Okay….
I place the bowl at her lips, and she takes a cautious sip.
It actually doesn’t taste bad.
She takes a bigger sip, and then I hand her the bowl.As Idrink, I notice that her hands are shaking.
Are you okay?
I don’t know.
Clara takes the bowl as Casey begins scratching her upperarm.She pulls up the sleeve of her blouse, and we watch assomethingisbeing magically etched into her skin.I feel the same itching sensation andrealize it’s happening to me also.The crowd moves closer to try to see what’s goingon.
“Oh, my God, Ethan.It’s you!”
Sure enough, my face—or rather Sheriff’s face—is branded onher arm, but it’s just like a regular tattoo.Checking my arm, I find herwolf’s face there.
“And that’s you.”
“We have to hurry,” Clara says.“The sun’s going down.”
We turn our attention back to her as she retrieves a bookfrom her bag.I’ve never seen it before.She flips to a page she’s bookmarkedand turns to the rest of the pack who’ve gathered for the ceremony.
“Since this is an unprecedented situation, I did a littlemore preparation than I normally do.I scoured our library and came across thisbook.I’d never seen it before, and I was intrigued.All I can say is that Iwish I had found it sooner.”
She holds the book up to the crowd and glances at me beforecontinuing.
“As far as I can tell, it’s about two hundred years old.It waswritten by an ancestor of Ethan’s… a seer.In it, she revealed a prophecy.”
Everyone’s ears perk up, and they pay close attention toClara.
“She wrote, ‘A great alpha, from my blood, shall arise inthe midst of turmoil.He shall be stronger, braver, and more determined thanany before or after him.He will be a fair and just leader who will crush allthose who oppose him.He is destined to endure trials of faith in choosing amate but’”—she pauses dramatically, looking out over the crowd—“‘all shall berevealed when he meets the human with hair like fire.’”
There’s an audible gasp from the crowd.I look over at Casey,and she’s listening intently, eyes wide.I take her hand, giving it a lightsqueeze.She moves closer, and I place my arm around her.
