Chapter 152 The claim beneath the moon
Chapter 152
RAVENNA
The chanting stopped.
Richard Pike stepped forward into the center of the circle. The moonlight seemed to follow him, highlighting his sharp features and the silver streaks in his dark hair. He raised one hand, and the entire field fell silent.
"Tonight, we honor tradition," he began, his voice carrying across the hall without effort. "Tonight, we welcome new blood into the Moon crest Pack. Those who have recently awakened their wolves and proven themselves worthy of the bond."
He turned slightly, gesturing toward a group of younger students standing nervously at the edge of the circle. There were twenty of them, all from the junior section of the academy. They looked terrified and proud at the same time.
"Step forward," Richard commanded.
They obeyed immediately, moving in unison until they stood directly before him.
Richard looked at each of them in turn, his gaze heavy and assessing. Then he spoke again, louder this time, his words deliberate.
"You have been called. You have answered. Your wolves have risen, and you stand here tonight ready to claim your place among us."
He paused, letting the weight of it settle.
"I ask you now, in front of the moon and your pack: are you ready to serve the Mooncrest with courage and boldness? Are you willing to give up your lives to protect the members of this pack? Will you uphold the customs and traditions of your forefathers? And do you swear your allegiance to me, your Alpha, above all else?"
The twenty students answered together, their voices strong and clear.
"We are ready."
"We are willing."
"We swear."
Richard smiled. It was the kind of smile that did not reach his eyes.
"Then kneel."
They dropped to their knees without hesitation.
Richard began the ceremonial marking. He spoke the oath first, line by line, and the students repeated after him. Their voices echoed through the hall, overlapping and blending until it sounded like a single entity was speaking.
When the oath was finished, Richard reached for a shallow bowl that one of the elders handed him. It was filled with blood. Animal blood, I assumed, though I could not be sure from this distance.
He dipped two fingers into the bowl and stepped toward the first student. He pressed his bloodied fingers to the student's forehead, marking them with a streak of red. The student leaned forward immediately and kissed Richard's feet.
I turned to Samantha, unable to keep the disgust off my face. "That is disgusting."
She nodded, her expression mirroring mine. "We should be grateful we are human. I cannot imagine doing that. Kissing the feet of a man like him."
"Same," I muttered. "My pride would never allow it."
Richard moved down the line, marking each student in turn. They all kissed his feet. Every single one of them.
When it was done, Richard stepped back and raised his arms toward the moon.
"You are now wolves of the Mooncrest Pack. The moon has witnessed your oath. You are bound."
The crowd of wolves erupted into howls, the sound so loud it rattled the walls.
Caleb stepped forward next.
He moved with the kind of confidence that only came from someone who knew they had power, even if it was not fully his yet. He stopped at the edge of the circle and turned to face the crowd.
"My father is currently occupied with urgent pack business," he announced, his voice smooth and unbothered. "I will perform the initiation on behalf of the Nightshade Pack."
I glanced at Samantha. "Can he do that?"
She shrugged. "If the wolves are not objecting, then I suppose it can be done."
I looked back at the field. None of the wolves were objecting. In fact, several of them were nodding in approval.
Caleb gestured for his pack's new members to step forward. There were ten of them, all standing tall with their chins raised.
"Shift," he commanded.
They obeyed immediately. But they did not shift fully. Instead, their bodies changed only partially. Claws extended from their fingertips. Their eyes glowed faintly. Fur rippled across their forearms and necks, but they remained standing on two legs.
Caleb drew a blade from his belt.
He moved down the line quickly, slicing across each student's forearm in one clean motion. Blood dripped to the ground, pooling at their feet.
"Repeat after me," Caleb said, his voice cold and formal. "I pledge my life to the Silverthorn Pack. I will defend it with my blood. I will honor it with my strength. I will serve it until my last breath."
The students repeated the words, their voices steady despite the blood running down their arms.
When they finished, Caleb nodded once.
"You are bound. Welcome to the pack."
That was it. No marking. No kissing feet. Just blood and words.
I leaned toward Samantha. "That was better than the Mooncrest version."
She smirked faintly. "Agreed."
The other Alphas performed their initiations next. I did not pay close attention to the details. They all followed similar patterns: oaths, blood, marking, submission. It blurred together after a while.
But something else was happening to me. My senses were no longer normal.
Every scent in the hall was amplified. I could smell the torches burning along the walls, the earth beneath the field, the sweat and blood of the wolves below. I could even smell the humans sitting around me, their fear and nervousness clinging to them like a second skin.
And the sounds.
Every whisper carried to my ears, clear and distinct. I could hear the wolves breathing on the field. I could hear the rustle of fabric as someone shifted in their seat ten rows behind me. I could hear heartbeats.
My own heartbeat was the loudest of all.
It was pounding now, fast and erratic, like something inside me was trying to break free.
The Alphas came together at the center of the field. All of them. Richard, Caleb, and the others whose names I did not know. They raised their arms toward the moon in unison and began chanting.
The words were ancient. Older than anything I had ever heard. They did not sound human.
And then something inside me snapped awake. It was not gradual.
One moment I was sitting there, gripping Samantha's hand and trying to keep my breathing steady. The next, everything changed.
My vision sharpened.
Not just sharpened. It became unnaturally clear. I could see every detail of the field below. Every blade of grass. Every droplet of blood. The individual hairs on the wolves' backs.
I heard something shifting inside me.
Not physically. It was deeper than that. Something beneath my skin, beneath my bones, moving and stretching like it had been asleep for too long and was finally waking up.
The air around me began to vibrate.
It felt like a pulse. Steady and rhythmic, matching the beat of my heart. The heat I had felt earlier flooded back, stronger this time, filling my veins with something that was not burning but was undeniably power.
It felt ancient.
Like something that had been waiting for me. Something that recognised me.
And then I felt a thread.
Invisible, but present, pulling at me. Not physically, but in instinct and emotion. It tugged at something deep in my chest, drawing me toward someone.
I did not know who. But I felt claimed.
The sensation was overwhelming. It was not fear. It was not panic. It was certainty. Absolute and unshakable. Like something had locked into place inside me that I had not even known was missing.
A presence rose in my chest.
It was not mine. Or maybe it was. I could not tell. But it was there, powerful and undeniable, filling the space where my breath should have been.
I gripped Samantha's hand tighter.
She looked at me, her eyes wide with concern, but I could not speak. I could not move.
Across the field, I notice Darius stiffened.
It was sudden and violent, like someone had struck him. His entire body went rigid mid-ceremony, his shoulders locking, his head jerking up as if pulled by an invisible force.
His breathing changed.
Even from this distance, I could see it. His chest was rising and falling too quickly. His hands clenched into fists at his sides. The entire arena began to notice.
The chanting slowed. Heads turned. Wolves shifted uneasily, their eyes darting toward Darius, waiting for an explanation.
He did not give one. Instead, slowly, deliberately, Darius turned.
He turned toward the human section and he looked directly at me. I could see his eyes were no longer controlled.
They were glowing. Not faintly, not subtly. They were burning gold, bright and feral, filled with raw wolf dominance that I could feel even from here.
The connection between us locked into place. It was like iron snapping shut.
I could not move. I could not breathe. I could not look away. The entire hall had gone silent now. Every wolf, every human, every Alpha on the field was watching, waiting to see what this was all about.
Darius's chest heaved once, twice. And then he growled.
It was low and deep and unmistakable.
And then a single word.
"Mine."