I was half expecting my Father and brothers to be sitting around the table eating breakfast, but by the smell of breakfast and the clattering coming from the kitchen, I don't think it's even ready yet. Mother was sitting at the table sipping out of her favorite tea cup, and when she finally looked up at me smiled.
"Perfect, you're ready," I watched as she placed her teacup down on the tiny plate that goes with it and slowly stood. She gracefully walked around the table towards me and motioned for me to follow her down the hall and out the backdoor. The cool morning air brushed against my skin, making goosebumps erupt over my exposed flesh, the sky was overcast, like the sun knew that today was going to be stressful for me, and decided not to shine as bright as it usually did. The trees around us swayed in the breeze, and instinctively I covered myself from it, rubbing my arms as I walked behind my mother.
She lead me towards the treeline, once we broke through I could already smell flower peddles, and sweet oils. My nerves began to heighten and my stomach began to churn as I continued to walk across the branches, bark, leaves, and stems that covered the forest floor, occasionally snapping a few twigs that I step on. We remained quiet like we were both stuck in our own minds as we continued on this journey to do a ritual my Dad pulled from nowhere. It was very unsettling because this ritual could be for absolutely anything, could do anything, and I was afraid.
A trickling of water reached my ears before we broke through the treeline around the pond. It was small in size but deep enough to reach my collarbone. Three women dressed in white, thin dresses were already in the pond, the water reaching their waist as they scattered rose petals, and other plants into the water. One of the women holding a vial of oils slowly adds drops to the water. They looked ethereal, straight from a fairytale from some forest. White pillar candles were already burning around the pond, with four torches burning at every four corners of the round pond. The only sound in the forest at the moment was the calming hum of some music tune the three women made as they carefully moved around the water. When they were done they slowly made their way out of the water, placing their bowls and vials down on a wooden table off to the side. The oldest woman picked up a scroll and turned to give my mother a nod, I watched as she nodded back to the old woman.
"It's time," she said as she looked at me, "Step into the water and float on your back in the center. Edna will do the rest of the work."
"Okay," I hesitated for a moment before stepping towards the pond. Before I stepped in I dipped my toes into the water to find it chilly, which isn't a surprise since the pond is shaded from the sky, even on the hottest days this pond remained cold. One step at a time I walked into the pond, the squishy stuff at the bottom enveloping my toes, and then my feet the further I went. I began to shiver, but eventually, I made it to the center, the water stopped at my throat today. I turned to look at my mother who watched me, she gave me a nod and I took that as her telling me to hurry up and lay back so she could go back inside. So I did and waited for Edna to start.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, the only thing I could really hear was the water lapping around my ears. When Edna began reading from the scroll, it was in a language I'd never heard before, but it sounded dark and seductive. Soon my body became warm, and the feeling of bubbles on my skin began to tickle my arms, legs, and stomach, I felt serene as I floated in the murky water. I felt protected, and in some sense like something larger than me was watching my every move. Enda's chants grew louder and louder and as I listened I realized the other two women were chanting also. But it was the whispering that caught my attention, I couldn't make out what they were saying or if it was a male or female voice, but I just had to open my eyes.
When my eyes opened, I was no longer in the pond but laying on a patch of grass with nothing but darkness all around me. The whispering intensified, and an overwhelming amount of loneliness crept into my very being, but also love. There was a presence near me, it was dark and powerful, but I didn't feel threatened even though I probably should have been. The darkened shadow of a man moved closer to me, I couldn't make out any features and for a moment I was afraid. A shadowed hand reached out to me, and without any hesitation, I reached out and took it. The moment we touched my eyes snapped open, I stayed in the same position until I looked over at Edna who was rolling up the scroll.
"The ritual is finished, you may leave the pond now Miss Ana."
I lifted my head and as quick as the water would let me move my body, I stood in the pond. Water fell from my hair and as I walked I used my hands to squeeze the water out. Once I made it to the edge of the pond, I took Edna's frail hand along with my mother's and stepped out of the pond, one of the three women held a white towel up and wrapped it around my shivering body.
"First step is finished," my mother mused as she pulled out her phone and began typing as fast as her thumbs would let her, "How are you feeling?"
"Cold, wet, and like we just did something we weren't supposed to."
"We'll be fine, it was just some silly thing your father found that went along to some old mating ritual," she explained with a shrug and a wave of her hand as she turned and walked back towards the house. I walked quickly behind her, and the women took their time as they pointed out the beautiful flowers and mushrooms to each other.
"What's next?"
"We have to get you dressed, and then you have to eat a few things to prepare your body, after that it's the last and final ritual which is mating. We won't be doing everything but the basics with that, which will be the word ceremony and preparing you."
"What will I have to eat?"
"Pomegranate seeds, sunflower seeds, wolfsbane, and maize in milk. After that I don't know, the cooks are making everything now."
We broke the tree line, and my body still shivering I fall back behind my mom as we walk towards the house. When I looked up, Onyx was standing off to the side watching us wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and tan work boots. He was dirty, his hair a mess, and a clear sheen of sweat covered his face, neck, and arms. His brows were furrowed as he watched us like he was wondering what the hell we were doing. I pulled the tighter around me, feeling slightly insecure that everything wasn't covered up by the towel.
Once we were inside I was rushed to my bedroom, "only put the dress on! Don't worry about makeup or your hair, nothing can touch your skin except for the dress," and with that, I was left alone standing naked in my bedroom. I used the towel to dry my skin, apparently, that was okay, but I didn't know since she didn't mention it. This is only the test run anyways. I dropped the towel on the floor and walked to my closet, taking the dress off the hanger inside the garment bag, and pulling it over my head. It was really short, so short that if I wasn't careful everyone would see down there. When I was partially covered, I walked back out into the hallway and made my way toward the dining room where both of my parents sat waiting for me.
I sat down in my regular seat, but before I can say a word a bowl of milk was placed in front of me. Carefully pomegranate seeds, wolfsbane, sunflower seeds, and oats were added to the milk. I allowed it to sit and soak for a moment before I began to eat. The wolfsbane made my tongue tingle, but other than that the experience was good and delicious. Once I was finished, the bowl was taken away, and left in its place was toast, topped with fresh-cut tomatoes, cilantro, and cheese, I cleared my plate in less than three minutes. If this was the food for the ritual, I wasn't complaining at all. Another bowl was brought out with beans, chopped asparagus, and other vegetables, and from their smell, cooked in butter. I was feeling quite confident about all of this until the very last plate arrived. Sitting in the center was a large piece of raw meat, blood pulled underneath it while this wasn't my first time eating raw meat, it was my first time eating it in human form, and my taste buds and digestive system are very different from my wolf forms.
I looked up at my parents and realized they were holding hands as they watched me, I could see the gloom on their faces and the worry in their eyes. This was one of the things they wanted me to practice before the actual ritual, to eat the raw meat so I didn't embarrass them with Aspen once he places the raw meat in front of me. Determination set in, and I looked down at the plate, I used my hands to pick up the meat. It made a suction noise when the center of the meat lifted off the plate, and I watched as the blood quickly covered the only spot on the plate that was almost clean. Blood began to coat my hands and heavily pour onto the plate as my fingers pressed into the meat, it was fresh, just killed this morning and my mind went straight to my brother who said he would bring me a live deer that I could hunt. My father must have taken him up on that offer and made him kill it recently.
Bringing the meat up to my mouth I took a large bite, just wanting to get it over with. I could feel the warm blood run down my chin and arms as I took bite after bite, the iron tang of the blood so overwhelming that it disgusted me. My stomach churned as I ate and once I was at the last bite everything threatened to come back up. My parents waited as they held their breath to see if I would eat every last bite, and finally, I did. I chewed the ball of meat as I hunched over the plate, blood dripping from my lips and onto the plate. When I swallowed, my eyes looked straight up at my parents.
"Now you're ready for the last step," my father said with a smile.