d..、，.. #MY_BLACK_KNIGHT d..、，..
Happen 39
As Produced By Sheriff Squinty
Theme: Turn Up’s
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Several hours later, my father was up and about (thanks to his superb
immune system and the absence of silver from his veins), although he still
moved a bit shakily. We had caught him up to speed on everything that had happened, including Anne’s death and Brett’s rash decision-making. It had definitely been awkward to recount the tale, especially with Gabriel looming in a nearby corner. I could feel his gaze burning into me while I
spoke and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of our little
‘moment’ in my house. I felt a bit pathetic for acting so desperately, but it
had worked to calm him down, right? I could only hope he wasn’t angry at me for being so touchy-feely. Especially since I had yet to make a decision (much to my Wolf’s frustration). I already knew it was difficult for us to be
around each other in our current situation but I just couldn’t resist. My level of physical attraction to my ridiculously attractive Mate was hard to control. Gabriel had left a couple of hours ago, probably to take care of somethings here and there. Now, the Purge ceremony was only a couple hours away
and I was feeling nervous. My feelings of a low fever and the jitters kept
coming and going. I wanted to ask my father about it but I felt like he had been through enough already today. I would mention the symptoms to him tomorrow – that is, unless I had a fainting spell again.
Another thing we had learned was that Anne’s funeral would be the next
morning after the Purge. Maria had come to check up on my father and
delivered the news, along with the news that her father – though, no longer Beta – had been put in a pretty high position of authority by Gabriel. I was grateful; Jack generally made good decisions.
Maria and I were heading over to my house now. She insisted on helping
me pick something to wear for tonight. I hadn’t considered my attire for the Purge; I didn’t even know if it was a formal event. However, Maria was sad and downtrodden, her eyes red-rimmed, and I would be willing to do
anything to help distract her from her torment.
****AT THE PURGE CEREMONY****
My pack members were slowly gathering, forming tiny huddles and
conversing in hushed whispers. Maria and I were some of the later ones
there, and my parents waved me over as soon as I arrived. My father was
leaning his weight against a tree, looking tired. I hugged him gently, standing near him as Maria’s father approached us with a nod.
“What exactly is going to happen?” My mother asked curiously.
Jack shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t know a lot of specifics. It’s a bunch of formalized words and some blood sharing,”
That sounded like most of our ceremonies but I felt my heartbeat increase anyways. Blood sharing? With Gabriel? I wasn’t sure how exactly my body would handle that. After all, my bloodyearned for him but we hadn’t
completed the Mating yet. There was noway of knowing how I would react. I didn’t know why I was surprised. Blood was the commonality of all
werewolves – it held the essence of everything it meant to be a Wolf. All of our ceremonies came down to blood. Well, blood and ancient words.
Nobody really knew the exact origination of the words that made our
ceremonies happen; all I knew was that our rituals were connected to the world around us. It was like the Affinity that the Pack Doctors inherited – It couldn’t be described through modern science, it was something old and powerful that ran through our veins and nobody could describe. All we
knew was that our Rituals worked and that was all that really mattered.
My train of thought was broken as I heard my Mate’s deep voice from the wooden platform. More than sixty pairs of eyes traveled upwards and
fixated on him as he stood, tall and proud, alone from his high vantage
point. I spotted Eva and the other members of the Black Mountains Pack
standing at the bottom of the platform. Glancing around, I locked eyes with Will. He was standing at the back of the group, furthest away from Gabriel. I tried to send him a reassuring smile as Gabriel spoke.
“Tonight we will complete the Purge and you all will be mind-linked with
me permanently. When in Wolf form, you will be able to communicate with both me and the rest of my pack. After this, you will officially be members of the Black Mountains Pack.”
I saw many wolves stiffen, not liking being part of their enemy pack. I
frowned. It definitely was a lot to take in. I supposed we couldn’t have kept
two different pack names forever but it still was going to be strange not identifying myself as “Silver Woods” .
“All of you form a single-file line on this side of the platform. The blood- sharing takes place individually.” There was a scattering of murmurs as
everyone did as they were told, shifting position and relocating to the far side of the clearing. Trying to swallow my nervousness, I followed my
parents as they headed towards the forming line.
My father turned around, stopping me in place. “You should go last, Skylar.” I stared at him blankly. “What? Why?”
He frowned contemplatively. “He’s your Mate. And you haven’t been
marked.” His eyes zeroed in on my neck as he said that and I couldn’t
understand his expression. “The blood sharing for you might be…different. It could be distracting for the Alpha, too. There’s no telling how his Wolf
will react. I’ve never seen a situation like this.”
“Oh…okay,” I said softly, my nervousness increasing tenfold.
“I think it’s safest that way.” He tried to smile at me reassuringly. “Don’t worry.”
I nodded, hanging back as the others continued to join the line. I was
thankful for Maria, who held back next to me. After a moment, I saw Will approaching us although he stopped a safe distance from me. I noticed
Maria’s cheeks reddening and she pointedly looked away from him. Will’s expression looked upset as he sighed, joining the last group of wolves at the back of the line.
Maria went in front of me, leaving me last. My throat feeling incredibly dry, I glanced up at Gabriel as he spoke again.
“Eva, bring it up here,” he ordered, and the redhead complied. I zeroed in on her as she climbed the steps. She held a long wooden bowl in one hand and what looked like a knife in the other. I gulped as she handed the items to Gabriel.
Gabriel placed them on the rail of the wooden platform next to him before turning to face us.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Will was acting strangely. He was shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably and his head was tilted up at an
odd angle. I stared in puzzlement. Was he just frightened of Gabriel or…? My thought process was halted as my Mate commenced speaking.
“Tonight, I join with you as your new Alpha through this ceremony. I claim
the rights to the Alpha position from your former Alpha, as he has
relinquished his position to me and to any heirs I may birth in the future. I promise to protect this pack with my life and make choices regarding the
pack’s best interests. I will lay down my life for this pack if the need arises. The pack’swell-being will always be top priority. In return, this pack will
respect the wishes of my Wolf and will obey my every Command. As our
blood is shared, let your Wolves recognize mine as your new leader, and let
our minds be linked as one. Let this scar be a reminder of what I am undertaking for your pack.”
Again, I recognized some of the words from the first part of the Purge. The whole part about the ‘scar’ surprised me, as werewolves healed completely from almost all wounds and did not retain scars. However, in a ceremony like this, perhaps the ritualistic side of it prevented the scars from ever
fading. I tried to snap to attention as I realized Gabriel had completed whatever else he was saying and had lifted the knife to his chest.
With a smooth jerk, he slashed the knife across his palm, similar to the way he had done with Brett, although this time it was his hand instead of his
chest. I winced slightly as I felt a faint stab of pain across my own hand, and Maria glanced at me with concern.
With a nod of his head, Gabriel indicated the first pack member come up to
the platform. I realized that it was Jack who had made his way to the forefront. It made sense if he was going to be in charge.
Their words were muffled, but to me it sounded like Jack stated his full name and a series of words before Gabriel handed him the knife. Jack brought the knife across his own palm. If it hurt, he did a good job of concealing it as he and Gabriel reached out and clasped hands.
I realized now that their clasped hands were positioned over the bowl that Eva had brought. A few drops of the scarlet liquid fell into the bowl and
intermingled. To an outsider, the process might have looked grotesque, but to me it was entrancing. Combining our essence was one of the most
powerful things we werewolves could do.
The process began to repeat over and over again for each wolf that came
up to the platform. I hoped that Gabriel was okay, because he had to have cut himself pretty deep for the blood to still be flowing, but then I realized I was just being stupid. He was strong enough to survive a small gash on his hand.
As the line moved, I felt my nervousness compounding. To distract myself I focused on Will, who was still behaving strangely. “Will?” I hissed at him. He
turned over his shoulder and I saw that his blue eyes were confused, distracted. “What’s wrong with you?”
*
Hall Of Supernatural Stories
*
He shook his head. “I’m not sure. When I first got here there was this
wonderful smell, but now it’s gone …” he trailed off, looking sad. Hearing about a wonderful smell instantly reminded me of when I first caught
Gabriel’s scent. My eyes widened. But who was here that Will had never smelled before….?
The answer hit me like a freight train. Eva. My eyes frantically scanned the
area for her, but to my shock I saw that she had disappeared from her
position from the platform. There was noway she could be Will’s Mate, that was just too coincidental, but why else would he be catching a magical
scent that he had never encountered before?
As my mind tried to wrap around the concept, I continued to observe Will. After a few more moments, as he neared the front, he appeared to calm
down. I wasn’t letting this go though. I had to see the two of them in close
quarters. I had to know if they were Mates, although I had no clue how to feel about it.
I needed to focus my attention on the Purge again. There were only a few wolves before me now. The others were huddled on the other side of the
clearing, waiting for the rest of us to finish. My heartbeat picked up its pace as my eyes focused on Gabriel. What would it feel like sharing blood with
my Mate before he marked me? I knew the marking actually involved a bit of blood-sharing but this was different. This was so…intimate, at least for me it was going to be.
“You okay?” Maria whispered. I nodded mutely but didn’t respond.
I noticed that it was Will’s turn, and I did not miss the anger and dislike that flashed in Gabriel’s eyes as they fixated on my friend. Will seemed
incredibly nervous as he made his way to the platform. Thankfully, my Mate seemed to be holding it together, although he spoke a bit harsher than
necessary. As Will cut his hand, I noticed him shaking a bit. Gabriel roughly grabbed his hand harder than required and squeezed. I winced as I saw
Will’s face tighten in pain. Looking down on the ground, I felt a wave of guilt. My Mate hated one of my best friends and it was all my fault.
Maria’s turn was uneventful, though I practically couldn’t watch as I realized how close I was to going up there. When she was done, it almost felt like
the world had stopped.
Everyone was on the other side of the clearing, staring at me intently. I
wondered if they suspected that the blood-sharing would be different for me. Their eyes burned into my skin as I took a deep breath and swallowed hard. Gabriel had finally looked over to me and his near-black eyes were unfathomable.
Trying to prevent myself from shaking, I slowly ascended the steps to the
platform. My palms were clammy. My Wolf was growing excited at the
prospect of such interaction with her Mate. My skin was heating up again,
although I wasn’t sure if it was the fever or the proximity to Gabriel that was causing such sensations.
Finally, I stood in front of him, daring to look up and meet his eyes. The
clearing seemed deathly quiet, all attention on us. I tried to straighten up
and seem brave. Why was I so nervous? It was my Mate, for crying out loud! “State your name and heritage.”
“Skylar, daughter of Alexander and Rene’, born on the eighth moon, twenty summers passed.” Werewolves identified ourselves differently than humans; we didn’t tend to use last names, although I technically had one in high
school when we were in interaction with humankind.
“Skylar,” he began, and I tried not to visibly shudder, “Do you recognize me as your new Alpha? Do you promise me your allegiance and loyalty? Do
you accept my blood as commencement of the formation of our mind- link?”
Coming from my Mate, the words seemed so much heavier, more intense
somehow. It didn’t help that his eyes were boring into mine and my Wolf
was frantically chanting Yes Yes Yes! I could almost see a series of questions and emotions lingering in their dark depths. I felt my skin prickling as the
electricity between us crackled. It almost seemed like Gabriel had more to say but he was holding himself back.
“I do,” I said, rather breathily to my embarrassment. Gabriel’s eyes darkened
even further. To my surprise, I thought I detected a note of concern in his expression. My skin was growing hotter by the second and I hoped I
wouldn’t faint again.
“Let your blood be testament to this promise,” he replied, handing me the knife. Our fingers brushed slightly and I jolted as I held the knife.
I held my hand, palm up, taking a deep breath. It was just a cut, no big deal, I tried to reassure myself. Gritting my teeth I slid the knife smoothly across my skin. I prided myself in holding back the flinch of pain as the blood
welled up freshly from the wound. It trickled across my pale flesh, dripping down onto the ground.
And now it was time for the blood-sharing. Tentatively, my eyes crept up Gabriel’s body until we held eye contact again. Slowly, he held out his
already-bloodied palm. His eyes were absolutely burning now and I was
sure my expression mirrored his. My Wolf was feeling incredibly lustful impulses and I was barely able to hold her back as she scratched at the surface.
Sucking in a deep breath, I thrust my hand out and wrapped it around his, hovering above the bowl. I felt our blood intermingle and heat rushed up my arm, all of the hairs on my body standing on end. I felt a burst of desire low in my body and I gasped, feeling my face heat up.
Gabriel was obviously feeling the same thing for he was growling, low in his throat, his eyes lustfully staring into mine before they began to roam my
body. I was pretty sure he liked what he saw for his growl deepened.
But I had no time to react. My levels of lustful desire were skyrocketing, but that wasn’t what I noticed most: it was the burning heat. It exploded out
from under my skin. My mouth opened and closed as I felt the fever searing across my body in a not-so-pleasant manner. Suddenly, I felt incredibly
dizzy again, and my desire for Gabriel was forgotten. I released his hand
abruptly and staggered backwards hoping the sensation would abate but it didn’t. It was like my spell near the infirmary but this time, it was worse and it was not lessening.
I felt my knees give out and I dropped to the platform, gasping. I heard Gabriel call my name in concern but I could scarcely register what he was saying through the blood rushing in my ears. I began to claw at my arms and legs, feeling like I was about to explode in a million pieces from
whatever sickness was tearing around under my skin. My Wolf was howling. I felt like I was about to burn alive. I couldn’t hold it in anymore; I cried out in agony, my voice coming out distorted.
Then there was one last surge of heat and my body and mind couldn’t take it anymore. The world began to spin around me and, with one last gasp of pain, I let the last of my strength escape me.
I felt something warm and strong wrap around my body just as my world went black.
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#Tobecontinued….
_ _-Agboola-_ _