"What are you doing outside here, Sterling?" Quietly leaving to evade the ceremony? Like a razor, Luca's voice sliced over the quiet, piercing and accusing.
Startled, my heart thumping against my ribs, I swung around. Just a few feet away, his broad shoulders glowed with the silver of the rising moon. As like it knew he was close, the mark on my wrist glowed weakly under my sleeve.
I snarled, placing my hands behind my back to mask the slight shimmer of the crescent mark: "I don't need a lecture from you." Not tonight.
He moved nearer, his eyes narrowing. Your behaviour has been strange all day. Aria, what's happening on? —
I put my hands tightly together. "Why do you give a damn?''
"I don't." His sneer came back, sharp and icy. But if you mess up at the ceremony, it speaks to the pack. Also on me.
I stiffened, the familiar burning of resentment building in my chest. " Not everything is about you, Luca."
As the pack assembled in the clearing, the full moon hung majestically above the earth. The ceremony was a historic custom meant to respect the Moon Goddess and ask her direction. Most of them spent that evening celebrating and uniting. It served as a reminder of my relative smallness and insignificancy inside the pack.
Avoiding eye contact and attempting to ignore the weight of my father's disapproving glare from across the clearing, I stood close to the circle's edge. Luca stood in the middle, his usually imposing presence attracting attention with every motion.
His father, The Alpha started the custom with his powerful voice echoing across the assembly.
"We meet under the full moon to pay respect to the Goddess guiding us. We ask her for her blessings tonight on the direction our pack will take.
The pack lifted their heads, a chorus of howls ringing into the darkness. I participated, albeit my voice seemed empty in comparison to the others. My mark tingled, the faint brightness buried under my sleeve.
I felt an odd pull—an unseen thread dragging me toward the middle of the clearing—as the Alpha carried on the ceremony. My heart flew and I clinched my teeth, battling the feeling.
The mark, meantime, had other ideas.
The crescent on my wrist flared to life without notice, its silvery light cutting over the fabric of my sleeve. Gasps rippled throughout the assembly as everyone turned to see me. As I ripped my sleeve down, my pulse thundered in my ears but it was too late.
Someone murmured, "The Mate's Mark...," and the words suggested both awe and terror.
I stopped, my brain wriggling for a justification. The Mate's Mark That was unfeasible. It was a mythology, a representation of the selected pair of the Moon Goddess. But why, me?
The Alpha fixed me squarely and his expression was incomprehensible. "Practice forward, Aria."
Though my legs moved on their own and carried me to the centre of the circle, every instinct shouted at me to flee. The symbol kept shining, its light throbbing in sync with my accelerating heart.
Luca's eyes grew wide as he fixed my wrist, the typical haughtiness replaced with something I couldn't identify. Shock here. Enthusiasm? Afar?
The Alpha had a consistent voice, yet it had an edge. "This mark points to a link, a connection set by the Moon Goddess herself. Luca: forward.
Luca's mouth clenched, but he followed, his motions stiff and slow. As he stood next to me, the air between us buzzed with conflict; the glow from my mark created weak shadows on his face.
Under his breath, he mumbled, "This is impossible," his voice low enough only I could hear.
Hissed back, my own irritation boiling up, "Trust me, I don't want this any more than you do."
The Alpha focused on the mark, disregarded our conversation. "The Mate's Mark is an uncommon gift. It represents a link that will help the pack to get stronger. Tonight, we respect the will of the Goddess.
The audience broke into whispers with sounds ranging from joy to inquiry to incredulity. Though the look on my father's face was unreadable, the small wrinkle of his forehead indicated he was as uncomfortable as I was.
Quiet! The Alpha ordered, his voice piercing the cacony. He turned back toward us, his eyes keen. "Luca, Aria, the link will take time to cement. You owe it to one another respect and protection till then.
Luca closed her lips to form a sour smile. " Respect?" Guard? Together with her?"
Though my stomach dropped, I would not let him see the impact of his words. "Don't panic, Luca." Like I usually do, I will keep out of your path.
The Alpha's eyes grew firm. "Enough. The Goddess spoke and her will is obvious. You are meant mates. You will overcome any variations you have for the sake of the pack.
Luca's face grew gloomy, and for a second I considered he may argue. But he said nothing, his quiet weightier than any words.
Head whirling, I disappeared from the assembly as the ritual came to an end. Though its trace on my wrist had faded, it stayed with me always reminding me of the link I never desired.
I turned as I heard footsteps behind me, not expecting to see Luca.
"What do you wish for? My voice sharper than I wanted, I asked.
His mouth clinched as he stopped a few yards away. "This doesn't change anything; I'm not sure what game the Moon Goddess is playing." You and I specifically? Not meant for us is this.
I crossed my arms to match his glare with one of mine. "Wonderful we agree on this."
We just stared at one other for a time, the weight of the evening crushing down on us. Then, without further word, he turned and left me alone under the full moon.
The low hum of the mark on Aria's wrist gets stronger as she sees Luca vanish into the shadows: "This is only the beginning" whispers in her head.