Pack Captive (Moon Called Book 1) by Cate Corvin

Author:Cate Corvin [Corvin, Cate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Vivia Press
Published: 2021-08-12T16:00:00+00:00

18

Ayla

The Lunar Circle, which had looked so big during the day, was packed with wolves by night, feeling tiny and cramped.

My palms were already sweating, and the ritual hadn't even started.

The night sky was the velvet black of a dark moon cycle, and the only light came from the torches that had been mounted on the circle of columns. The light played off the hard faces of the wolves, who were silent and arrayed around the circle by pack affiliation.

The Claws were to the left, stoic and grim. I had no doubt they were wondering if I was even up to the task.

The Warriors were on the right, Eryn at the forefront. He nodded to me, and I wondered if he knew my legs still felt rubbery from the afternoon's work.

Alpha Ryden and Calian were directly across the circle from us Callers. Ryden hadn't removed the shackle, and his eyes were shadowed as he watched me.

I'd been dressed in the ceremonial attire given to mating-age Callers, a golden dress that showed more than it covered, with heavy gold bracelets lacing up my arms.

Yasemin and Kadin were both more modest, lucky wolves.

There was definitely an ulterior motive to how revealing my clothes were—showing off a potential mate. They made no secret about the fact that they needed more Callers being born.

And with Kadin so young, I was the only one who could potentially fulfill that role.

I took a fortifying breath and looked up at the sky. Somewhere behind those wispy clouds and the few stars that winked at us, the moon was hiding its face.

I needed to rip enough power away from it to prove to these wolves that I could be of use to them.

In preparation for the upcoming ritual, Yasemin had filled a stone bowl with moon-blessed water. Now she moved throughout the Lunar Circle, chanting intonations as Kadin followed with the bowl.

Yasemin stopped in front of every wolf, dipping her fingers in the water and painting it over the lunar runes on their foreheads.

She'd told me this was to make them more receptive to the power I was to draw down. Like a conduit, the lingering remnants of the last moon cycle amplifying what came from the dark moon.

Once I'd imbued them with enough power, I was to run with the pack and keep the power flowing.

I tried not to think too hard about the fact that this was my only chance. Failure to draw enough power was simply not an option.

Yasemin finished the water markings with Ryden. I met Calian's dark eyes across the circle, then my gaze slid to Ryden against my will.

The memory of earlier brought a faint flush to my cheeks. I hoped if anyone noticed, they thought it was because I was scared shitless.

Ryden stared back at me as Yasemin painted over the runes on his forehead. The blue tattoos glimmered, dark against his skin.

I took my place at the top of the circle as Yasemin and Kadin brought the bowl back and refilled it with water.

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