This the longest chapter I have ever written! It's also my favorite so read and find out why.
The night had finally arrived. The moon would swell with a bright glow in the sky in a mere few hours. I had made a simple roast chicken and vegetables earlier for dinner knowing we would be leaving soon to head to the clearing. All of a sudden, I heard the doorbell ring shrilly alerting me that someone was here. I stood up straight from loading dishes and jogged to the door curious to who it might be.
"Aunt Persia, what on earth are you doing here? Shouldn't you be preparing for tonight's ritual?" I asked surprised to see her. I had always admired Persia she was always sensible and carried out the ancient laws and rituals as well as healings.
"Oh my darling Cyn how you look like you father." She muttered pulling me to her in a hug.
"You didn't answer my question." I replied pulling away to look at her.
"Oh hush no need to rush to business. Now darling what in the moons name has set that worried look upon your eyes?" Did I mention she knows like everything!
"It's nothing." She raised an eyebrow. "Okay so I had this dream," I started moving towards the couch after shutting the front door, "and in this dream there was this guy-"
"Of course there was." She interrupted.
"Hey do you want to know or not?"
"I will be quiet."
"In my dream this guy was fighting in The Ordeal and he was in the final two but something went wrong he was killed and the thing is I cared a lot, but in reality I hate this guy. So what the hell does it mean?"
"Well dreams can mean many things. It could be that you have been shown a glimpse of what is to come or it could be a sign showing you what matters or maybe just what you desire." She explained.
"Oh man I was afraid you would say that!" I groaned in annoyance.
"Ah Persia do you havethe scrolls I asked for?" Rudy asked walking in from his study.
"So that's why you're here."
"Here you are Rudy I must be going I have things to prepare and you all should be heading off as well." Aunt Persia spoke shifting to a more proper voice before heading out the door.
The trees in Gaskill State Park were festooned with crystal raindrops, and thunder still rumbled in distant skies. The air was thick with mist as the heat of the day steamed from the turf into the pewter light of dusk.
Figures wound through the trees and emerged into the clearing - pairs, singles, and groups. I watched them arrive from the fallen elm where Viv and I perched. Some chattered in hushed, excited tones, others came silently. Most had walked a long distance after the two-hour drive, their cars, vans, or bikes parked along lonely-country roads, in hidden clearings and forgotten lanes - anywhere they would not attract a park ranger's eye.
Lucien Dafoe hobbled between two friends, complaining loudly that he was still too hurt to fight. Even though he knew darn well we healed faster than that.
"I hope someone beats the crap out of him," Lucien said, nodding toward Gabriel, who was laughing with a friend. "Someone not so prissy about where and what he can hunt." Gabriel pulled off his T-shirt and tossed it on the ground. His body was a sculptured, oiled machine straight out of an action movie poster. Damn me for my unquenchable love for abs. I easily caught the smell of his musk on the moist, hot air - the odor of power and excitement mixed with that of cheap strong soap. It made the hairs on the back of my neck bristle.
Over by honeysuckle-strangled bushes stood Willem, Finn, Gregory, and Ulf. Ulf stared beyond his companions, ignoring their cackles and good-humored punches. His thin shoulders were rigid, his fists tight balls at his sides. I followed his gaze and saw two figures entangled in the shadows of a white oak. The female broke away, laughing, and left the male behind, clutching after her. She stepped into the clearing and revealed herself as Astrid. Rafe pursued her, his mouth still open and wet from her tongue. Rafe and Astrid! Vivian glanced back at me before we both turned to Ulf and understood the taut fury on his face. The slut. She did not care who she hurt. Ulf now, Rafe later, if she won the bitches' match after the male Ordeal, and earned the right to claim the new leader as her mate.
"Did you two see that?" Esme sat down on the log beside Vivian and nodded in the direction of Astrid.
"Yeah," Vivian answered for us both.
"She's old enough to be his mother." Esme's lips twitched; then she tried to look serious.
"God, Aunt Esme, you don't approve, do you?" Esme grimaced.
"No. It can only lead to trouble." She paused, the smile returning. "Most of us only fantasize about it."
"Mom!" Vivian did not have a chance to continue. Renata strode up. Her shorts were unzipped and a fluff of tan fur already covered her belly. "Astrid is going to cause blood between those young dogs one day." She wiped the sweat off her upper lip with a hand that tapered into long, long claws. "I'll kill that alley cat if she harms my son."
"Don't worry, Rennie," Esme comforted. "Gregory's the most sensible of those fools."
"That's not saying much." Vivian said. Esme and I both dug her with an elbow and Vivian shut up.
"So, will either of you dance the bitches' dance? You're old enough now."
"No," Vivian snapped. She was not about to make an exhibition of herself to win the favor of whichever muscle-bound cretin won.
"Agreed whoever wins this wont be worth such petty fighting over." I added.
"It's not just about the man it's about the power it entitles." Esme explained.
"Well I have plenty of power without any fighting." I told her with a smirk. She merely laughed at me.
A hum of interest buzzed around the clearing. With the first pale glimmer of moonlight over the tops of the trees, Orlando Griffin arrived and Rudy with him. They would act as referees this night, to see that the Law was carried out. The pack drew in and gathered around them to wait for Orlando's word. Vivian, Esme, Renata and me joined the others. I noticed some strange faces. Word of an Ordeal spread, Rudy had said. Some lone wolves always showed up. One was a big, evil-looking blond with a scar on his cheek. I wondered if he was strong enough to take Gabriel.
The blonds' slender male companion seemed more interested in catching Esme's eye than sizing up the competition. He had a cheeky smile and Esme made a warm throaty sound of interest. When she did not turn her back on him, he came over and introduced himself as Tomas. He laughingly told Esme to "get real" when she asked if he was going to join in.
"I'm too fond of my skinny ass to risk it fighting those brutes," he said. "I don't want to lead a pack. I prefer to hunt alone. Exceptions can be made, however," he added, winking at Esme.
"The nerve," Esme said after he left to talk to Orlando about helping referee, but she wriggled with pleasure. Orlando raised his arms and the last whispers died away.
"I will recite the Law," he said. "When a leader dies by the teeth of a wolf, then the challenger leads the pack. When a leader dies by the teeth of fate then Ordeal is called, for only the swift and strong may lead. All willing adults may stand and fight, and fight they will while they stand. However, when the first drop of his blood is shed, a fighter must stand aside. The final pair may fight to the death if neither will yield until he is died. So speaks the Law." "Brothers, pay your respects to the Moon." The males began to separate from the crowd, shrugging off shirts, undoing flies, but their migration was halted by another voice.
"And sisters," Astrid said. She marched up to Orlando.
"You are mistaken," Orlando said politely.
"I am not mistaken," she insisted. "Recite the Law again, old man. All willing adults may stand and fight. Where does it say females are excluded?"
"It is tradition," Orlando growled, and the power of his youth burned in his eyes. "No female will fight. This is not a game, Astrid. First blood can also be life's blood, especially when your opponent is twice your size." Astrid puffed herself up indignantly, preparing to spit out her next argument, but Vivian never found out what it was because Gabriel spoke.
"Let her."
"What?" Vivian gasped, in concert with the murmur of astonishment that rose all around.
"That idiotic women!" I gasped quietly to Viv.
"Did you say something pup?" Astrid snarled towards me.
"Oh I was just telling Vivian how stupid you are, but that for once in Gabriel's god for saken life he's right you should fight. I will be so thrilled when I see your blood shed as the first." I responded confidently and calmly. This tool was not going to make a fool of me, only herself.
"Oh when I'm leader I will put you in your rightful place." She threatened darkly.
"You do that."
Gabriel gazed steadily at Orlando, waiting for his decision.
Orlando finally spoke. "Does anyone object?" People looked at each other, but no one answered.
Orlando shook his head as if with regret. "So be it," he said. There was a disturbance on the other side of the circle from Vivian. Rafe pushed through, the rest of the Five behind him.
"What about us then?" Orlando's expression grew thunderous.
"Will you dispute the word adult now?" he asked.
"Yeah," Rafe answered, sticking his thumbs in his belt. Ulf's eyes flickered around the circle nervously; the other boys glared defiance. "Having a hard-on doesn't make you an adult, boy," Gabriel said, and some of the grown males laughed. Orlando waved them quiet.
"The Law is specific in this matter, Rafael. Bone and flesh, flesh and bone, a man takes time to grow them. Two-five-two number the moons that it takes for a man to know them. Till then he is not the match of a man, and a man is not bound to match him."
"That's twenty-one years for you slow students," Bucky pointed out. Finn gave him the finger.
"How do I know you didn't make that up?" Rafe said to Orlando. A collective growl went up around the circle. Ulf cringed.
"The voice of the Law never lies," someone shouted.
"Give it up," someone else called, and others took up the cry until Orlando raised his arms again.
Sharp, silver light etched the old man's wrinkled face into a craggy landscape as ancient as the moon's itself. "This is the Law," he said in a voice that was the Law. "You will obey or die."
The males moved silently through the crowd toward the Five, encircling them. Ulf looked this way and that, his teeth bared in panic. The smirks left the faces of Gregory and Finn. Then I could see no more, for wide backs and shoulders obscured my view.
"Come on, Rafe," she heard Gregory's voice plead. "Another time, okay?"
"Yeah," Willem joined in. "We'll get other chances." There was silence for a minute.
Finally, Vivian heard Rafe speak. "Fuck you." It was a curse of defeat. The tight wall of males relaxed, and the Five slouched through the crowd. Gabriel slapped Bucky on the back and said something that made him laugh. The men turned to leave the circle as if this was a cue. Bucky passed the joke on to another.
As Raul passed his wife, Magda, he grabbed her and kissed her deeply. A squeal caused Vivian to turn to her right and see Rolf and Renata in a similar embrace. Esme¦ stared at the ground, and I knew she longed for someone to kiss for luck.
"Come on," Vivian whispered, tugging at her mother's T-shirt. I followed slightly behind, when they reached the edge of the clearing; Esme pulled her shirt over her head. Vivian took off her own blouse and slid off her shorts. I swiftly followed suit stripping away all layers of clothing. In no time, we were all as naked as the others who gathered in a semicircle facing the clearing.
The combatants lined up in the center of the clearing, their backs to the watching crowd, and their faces to the rising moon. Astrid, standing at the end of the row, looked absurdly small beside the others, like a child mimicking her elders. There were seventeen males in line, and some of them were anonymous from behind. There was no mistaking Gabriel, however. He was half a head taller than the tallest of them, and only the blond newcomer matched the width of his shoulders.
Esme was playing who's who. "That's Jean next to Raul," she said to Renata. I shivered at his name irrevocably. "I'd recognize that tight little butt anywhere."
Renata choked back a laugh. "Shhh!"
For a moment, only the creaking and chirping of insects filled the air. Then a rustling began in the woods across the clearing, beneath the rising moon. Closer and closer it came, and with it groaning. A pale figure took form in the darkness, and out stepped Persia Devereux dressed in silver robes. In her hands she carried a silver bowl, as ripe and as full as the moon. She sang a moaning soft song that throbbed like the heart of a beast. Aunt Persia was far away, but the music thrummed in my ears. Viv swayed to it. The old woman offered each fighter the bowl. "Drink of the Moon," she said. And as she passed down the line, backs furred, limbs twisted, ears sprouted tufts. There was a resounding crunch in m spine - sharp pain, sweet pain - and a warm rush of blood in her veins that swept to her hands and feet, causing her nails to pop and grow. Aunt Persia reached Astrid the last. The lone female was already foxy red and, though she still had fingers to steady it, she lapped from the dish with her muzzle like an Egyptian god feeding. As Astrid lifted her head, a pearl of liquid suspended on her black lip, Aunt Persia cried out a guttural word in an ancient tongue and tossed the bowl over her head. Vivian howled the answering word she had learned as a cub and fell to all fours. She expected the center to burst, but the males stepped back as if they danced to a well-known tune, and Gabriel shot down the line, his legs evolving. He curled out a lengthening arm and swiped once, twice. "First blood," he boomed in hollow tones from the echoing cavity of his changing mouth.
Astrid reeled and her snout, dripping red, curled back to a woman's face with the shock. "Cheat!" she screamed with human lips, then made the full change and went for his throat.
He tossed her aside like a rag. Rudy and the skinny stranger, unchanged, ran to retrieve her and tried to drag her from the field of combat. She escaped their grip, tearing Rudy's side. Another male jumped her and she ripped his throat, sending him yelping back in surprise. I would have helped put the bitch down for attacking Rudy like that but I couldn't. The other males stared as she growled a challenge, unsure of what to do, until Gabriel grabbed her and threw her once more to the ground, and whatever he screamed in her ear as he pinned her made her collapse. He got up and stood over her, showing his canine long teeth, until she rolled onto her back to present her belly, eyes narrow with rage. When he retreated a few paces, she flipped over and slunk to the edge of the clearing several yards down from where the other females stood.
Everyone growled as they watched Astrid go. Astrid knew if she set one paw wrong, they would all be on her. She sank down to lie with her nose on her paws, but a ridge of fur down her spine still bristled.
A howl rose into the night.
I pivoted to see an ancient grizzled wolf-creature keen at the moon, a pile of silver robes at her feet.
The males, all in their fur, answered - deep and baying. Then the clearing erupted in a seething, snarling mass of fur.
Rudy and Tomas, still only partly changed, dove in to drag a brindle stranger out from under scuffling claws. The stranger lay motionless under the bushes, but he stayed in his fur, so he was still alive.
The remainder wove an intricate Celtic knot. The object was to wound and not be touched. To be wounded was to be disqualified. Jaws snapped, paws danced, bodies lunged, and then rolled aside. I immediately noticed the brothers, Raul and Rolf, on opposite sides of the fray. They would avoid each other if they could. I kept my on Raul though waiting to see if what I had dreamt would come true.
Bucky had no such qualms about the two friends he usually hung with. He feinted at one, then veered and sank his teeth into the others throat. Gabriel took the first one by surprise when he ducked Bucky's feint, and ripped a hole in his shoulder; then Gabriel turned his fangs back to the blond stranger, who retreated quickly. Bucky brought his opponent down. They rolled a growling mass of fur and spume, but Bucky kept his grip, forcing his teeth through the thick pelt. He must have tasted blood, because he released his hold, scrambled to all fours, and raised his muzzle in a brief triumphant howl. I found Viv was howling, too. She choked it off in surprise.
Bucky spun around to protect his back. It wasn't wise to savor victory long. His defeated friend slunk toward the edge of the clearing, his belly close to the ground. In the center, Gabriel and the blond stranger circled each other warily, their hackles spiked and their teeth bared. Rolf edged by them, intent on a gray that stood momentarily disengaged, his sides heaving. That was a mistake. The blond lunged, savaged Rolf's nose, and swung back to Gabriel in a snarling heartbeat. Meanwhile, someone took out Raul allowing me to release a breath I was unknowingly holding. Gabriel and the blond still circled stiff-legged. Their lips were wrinkled into masks of hatred; their sinews trembled with the stress of restraint. Gabriel struck, missed, tumbled, and was back on four feet before the blonde's teeth clicked on air. I began to question whether Gabriel would actually win against the blonde wolf.
Bucky herded two other strangers like sheep. Jean joined him. They made short work of the unknown pair. Then they had only each other to turn on. They faced off, their jaws parted in laughter. Bucky glanced over at Gabriel and the blond, then back at Jean. He cocked his head as if to say, "It's just us, buddy, unless you want to come between them?" Jean deliberately lifted his leg and sent a short stream of urine shooting in their direction. The message was clear: "Piss on that." Viv was smiling at their banter, her mouth wide and toothy I gave a small at the gesture, was anxious to see how their match would play out.
They broke apart, turned, gathered speed; they leaped and met in midair. Bucky knocked Jean askew and landed straddling him. Now for the quick nip and Jean is out.
But Jean went for Bucky's throat. Bucky jerked away. He lost his footing and the laughter left his eyes. Jean tried to wriggle out from beneath while Bucky was off guard, but Bucky found Jean's belly under his chin. He buried his teeth in Jean's stomach. Jean screamed. It was either that sound or the smell of blood, but Bucky went crazy. He ripped and ripped and ripped, while Jean shrieked. Vivian staggered with shock as Jean's entrails splattered the ground and turned away with a gag. I simply looked on surprised at Bucky they were laughing less then a minute ago. I looked around for someone to make Bucky stop, but these were all strangers about her, with froth on their lips and lolling tongues, lost in the kill, urging Bucky on. Their eyes stole the silver moon and turned it red.
Gabriel and the blond circled the pair on the ground with their tails held high. The blond whined and made little nips with his teeth as if he longed to join in, but Gabriel twitched his nose at the smell of carnage and growled. He dragged Bucky off by the scruff of his neck and tossed him aside. The blond lunged. He caught Bucky's throat in his jaws and shook him wildly. Vivian saw surprise in Bucky's eyes. Dammit don't kill him I actually like Bucky. But Gabriel jumped the blond from behind, and the blond let go with a yelp. Bucky fell over the body of Jean and sprawled on the blood-soaked earth.
Jean shuddered into his human form. He twitched once, and then laid still - motionless, ruined meat.
The blond turned on Gabriel, teeth bared. He wouldn't concede. No one had thought he would. There would be another death before the night was through. They clashed in rolling, snarling fur, parted, and then clashed again, the wounds opening wetly in their hides as if they were ripe fruit bursting. Normally I wouldn't have cared who won but I now knew I didn't want either to win. Bucky was who I had been silently cheering on. I didn't want to watch but couldn't stop. Why did they have to make their beauty foul? What kind of people were they that they'd kill their friends? What kind of people invited strangers to a ritual death?
The end came suddenly, just when I thought the fight would go on forever while I burned to cinders from shame.
Gabriel grabbed a firm hold on the blonde's thick ruff and leaped over his back, and the blonde's head twisted impossibly. Everyone heard a crack. The same crack from my dream only it had been Gabriel's neck. The blonde's eyes bulged. He went limp. Gabriel let go, and the blond crashed to the ground, his head lolling. A dribble of blood ran from his lips. How easy it was, like killing a chicken for Sunday dinner.
Viv and me stood silently as the howls rose up around us, but I couldn't blot them out - Gabriel's thundering bay; Orlando's cracked, keening bell; the twining tenors of Rolf and Raul. The song was triumphant, hungry, impassioned. Her mother's soprano climbed to outrageous heights, and the young ones mimicked her, their reedy piping's swiftly turning hoarse. Even the Five were back, their voices lewd and raucous. The pack drew in close for the feel of fur on fur. The smell of sex was all around. Cubs would be fathered tonight. Vivian and I tucked our tails between our legs disgusted.
Then Esme screamed and my eyes shot open. I let out a loud snarling growl at the sight before me.
Esme twisted in circles like a puppy chasing her tail. She snapped at her back where Astrid straddled her, muzzle buried in Esme's mane. Vivian found her voice and yowled a complaint, searching face after face for a sign of help, but the others backed off and formed a ring. Rage surged through her. The fur stood on end down her spine and the backs of her legs. This was the female who'd mated their leader, had been a queen, and they let her be ambushed by that cheating red bitch. Astrid rode her like a rodeo bull and they didn't raise tooth or claw to help her.
Astrid shifted her grip and Esme yelped. In midair, Vivian went to defend Esme. I jolted forward standing in front of her shaking my hard forcefully. This was a bitch's dance for Viv to enter would mean she gave up her freedom. As I looked at her sad tearful eyes hurting and begging, I made a snap decision.
I leaped hitting Astrid hard and causing her to loose her grip and she plummeted off Esme. I rolled on top of her as she lay on her back straddling her. When she lunged for my neck, I swiped her down with my paw slamming her muzzle against the ground. Astrid kicked outward striking my stomach, but I held my ground applying pressure to the gash I had formed on her muzzle. I heard Vivian whimper behind me I turned to see her nudging Esme with her muzzle with Rudy beside her both staring at me wide eyed. But I had made a mistake turning Astrid lunged at me again I had to roll to the side to miss her teeth. I had planned to roll over and give up after Esme was safe, but now looking at her, I knew Astrid wasn't going to accept that she wanted blood so I gave her blood.
She leaped at me but I moved away striking her side sending her away. I didn't allow her any recovery time though I lunged forward sinking my teeth in to her side tasting warm coppery blood. I released my grip choking on the liquid. When I pulled away Astrid stayed were I left her. She wasn't dead though but certainly unconscious. I choked out the red fluid standing up on all fours.
Around me, one by one, the pack took up a howl. It grew louder, and louder, until it crescendoed to the stars. Vivian shook her head at me sadly. I wished they'd stop. Why did they have to make that racket now? But it wasn't just racket it was a howl of victors and queens. I howl I didn't want, yet I still received it.
Then they were still.
Aunt Persia came to the center of the circle of wolves that surrounded me and with a sorrowful expression, she crouched on the ground, her ears laid flat. She rolled on her back and presented her belly.
Then one by one the other females followed Persia's example, presenting their bellies, exposing their throats, paying tribute. I growled at them in annoyance. This wasn't supposed to happen. I wasn't supposed to get involved. But here I stood being hailed as a queen. I tear rolled down my face. I looked to Esme and Viv who lay in shock and dismay.
Then in a rush of movement the circle opened up to Gabriel paced his sleek muscles rippling, his dark fur tipped by stars. I had unintentionally deemed my self his mate. His queen. I leaped in into the woods running as fast as I could heading for my explorer. But behind her, she heard the thunder of Gabriel's pursuit.
GABRIEL'S POV
How had this happened? Yes I wanted Cynthia to be mine, but not like this not because she wanted to protect her family. I wanted her to want to be with me. That's why I didn't chase out of a need to have her prove my dominance, but because comfort her. I wanted to hold her like I used and make her feel safe. As the chase persisted, it became obvious there was no way to catch up with the fleeing wolf.
Well TaDa. This is probably the only Gabriel POV of this story unless you guys really want more of his POV
Review!
~Love Toxic
