Chapter 23

((The song has no words and goes best with the Purge ceremony if you want to listen to it then. Also, the gif on the side is of Will, not Gabriel.

Lastly, shout out to my editor Belle. Saves me the time of painstakingly going over my own work!))

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I sagged against the wall, my relief profound. Even with that single sentence, I felt a lot of the tension leave my body. I placed my hand on the side of the building, letting the coolness of the brick seep into my skin. The feverish sensation was more bearable now but I could only hope I wouldn’t get another dizzy spell like the one a few moments ago.

“How much more healing will he need?” I managed to say, the relief palpable in my voice.

Eva glanced at me out of the corner of her eye but directed her words to Gabriel. “I will need to rest for a few hours but I’ll try again later,” There was an odd note in her voice as she spoke about my father and I couldn’t quite figure it out.

I sighed heavily. Now that I had that small amount of stress off of my shoulders, all I wanted to do was sleep until my dad woke up.

I began to walk towards the entrance of the infirmary, thankful that I could stand. “I think I’ll just stay here tonight. I want to be with him.”

Gabriel opened his mouth to say something but, to my surprise, it was my mother’s voice I heard. She had come to stand in the doorway, and for once there was a glimmer of hope in her blue eyes. “Sweetie, that won’t be necessary. You need to sleep in a comfortable bed; you look exhausted. These infirmary beds are not great to sleep in, I can tell you that.”

I frowned, getting ready to protest, but she cut me off. “Skylar, I won’t take no for an answer. We only live a block away and I can contact you as soon as he wakes up. He wouldn’t want you sleeping here.”

“He wouldn’t want you sleeping here, either,” I retorted.

“He’s my Mate, Skylar. He has needed my soothing touch.” Her delicate brows were furrowed as if she was trying to convince herself that her presence had been helping, somehow.

I looked down at the ground. Hearing the word ‘Mate’ just put me on edge all over again. My mother didn’t seem to notice my expression, but I caught Gabriel examining me out of the corner of his eye.

“Besides, Eva here already told me she needs her space next time. I’ll be waiting outside the infirmary when she goes in to use her Affinity again. There’s no sense in both of us staying up all night out here,” My mother’s tone was ringing with finality. I sighed in defeat. It really would be quite a relief to not be sleeping on one of the infirmary’s rock-hard mattresses.

“Fine,” I muttered. “But I’m going to see him before I go to bed.” Before anyone could argue, I did just that. Striding in the large room, I sat by my father’s side for a few moments as I reassured myself that he did in fact look better. When I felt more secure about leaving him, I kissed his forehead before tiptoeing out of the infirmary as if I was actually at risk of waking him up that very second.

Upon returning outside, I noticed that the wolves Gabriel had brought with him were gathered around. I wondered if they’d been lurking nearby the whole time and heard Gabriel and I’s argument. My cheeks felt warm as the thought crossed my mind.

Gabriel was giving them some sort of muttered instructions and I caught Jack’s and Brett’s names among the hushed words. As my thoughts turned to Brett and the former Luna, I hoped they were okay. I wanted them to receive medical attention from Eva, too, but I knew Gabriel would only get angry at the suggestion. Therefore, I remained silent. I prayed that they would be up and around within the next day or two. Anne deserved a proper funeral. I had not the slightest clue where the blonde’s body was right now, and the image of her corpse disturbed me, so I mentally scrambled for anything that could possibly distract me from the depressing cogitation.

“Where are you all going to sleep?” I blurted out. It was customary for guests to stay in the Alpha’s house, as he had numerous extra bedrooms, but at this rate I knew that wasn’t happening. I glanced up at the sky, realizing just how late it was. It was practically early morning by now. I wondered if the others would even sleep at all. We’d left Gabriel’s pack when it was evening and it was a very long run. My sleep schedule was definitely going to be messed up.

Gabriel turned and examined me, looking preoccupied. I realized he probably hadn’t had time to think about it.

“We have a guest bedroom. And a couple of couches downstairs. You all could…er….stay at my place,” I muttered, glancing at my mother out of the corner of my eye. She didn’t look overly pleased at the idea but she also didn’t argue. No doubt she realized the Black Mountains Pack members couldn’t stay at Brett’s.

Truthfully, I didn’t want Eva anywhere near my house, and I didn’t feel comfortable with the others either. However, they were technically my pack now. Also, Eva was helping my dad. Whether it was against her will or not, that didn’t matter to me. Despite my strong dislike for her, I certainly owed her one.

Although admittedly, the thought of Eva and Gabriel sleeping in the same house threatened to make my blood boil.

Gabriel’s packmates, especially Eva, looked acutely uncomfortable but Gabriel nodded stiffly. “Thanks,” was his gruff reply. I was faintly surprised he was thanking me at all. My Wolf was stirring as she pondered the concept of her Mate sleeping in our house but I brushed her aside before her thoughts took a turn for the inappropriate. I honestly didn’t need that right now.

Or maybe I did need that. But I sure as hell wasn’t going to admit it.

Catching my mother’s stern look, I waited for a break in Gabriel’s words before I spoke again. “Do you um…need me for anything else? I’m exhausted,” I prayed Gabriel would say no even though some part of me wanted to spend time with him. I also fervently hoped he wouldn’t pursue my whole ‘fever’ thing.

However, judging by the intensity of his stare I knew Gabriel was inspecting me for more symptoms. I probably couldn’t get away from him for long. As soon as he’d taken care of all of his duties, I was sure he’d bring it back up. After a long moment, he shook his head. “No, but I will need to talk with you when you wake up.”

I tried to keep my face blank as I nodded. I wasn’t surprised that Gabriel suspected something was up. Sooner or later I’d have to tell him about the sick feeling I’d had for the last couple of days.

“I’ll get some pillows and blankets out,” I said quietly, ignoring all of their stares as I hugged my mother goodbye and headed home.

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I took a long, hot shower before I even considered crawling into bed. The scalding liquid felt nice on my exhausted and weary body. I let it run down my back as I sat down, trying to rein in my emotions.  I felt like I’d been battered left and right, although the only visible bruise was a faint welt on my cheek from Brett’s punch. My symptoms had abated but I could still feel the overwhelming heat lingering under the surface of my skin. Once my father woke up, I would ask him what the hell was wrong with me.

By the time I dried myself and threw on the baggiest t-shirt I could find, I knew dawn was approaching fast. I could sleep a day if I wanted to but, instead, I set the alarm near my bed for afternoon. If something important happened, someone would wake me up.

Sometime later, an annoying and persistent sound began to leak into my peaceful haven of sleep. I turned over, burying myself deeper into the warmth of my comforter, but still the noise continued. After a few more minutes of slowly-building aggravation, I opened my eyes and blinked blearily at the clock. 10:00 am. Who was at the door? I’d figured Gabriel and his packmates would just come in. He’d been to my house before, after all.

Sighing, I slowly dragged myself out of bed. I felt slightly better but I honestly could have used a lot more sleep. Throwing on the nearest pair of shorts and switching out my over-sized t-shirt for a tank top, I headed downstairs as the urgent knocking continued. As I glanced around the living room, I realized with a frown that my mound of blankets was still untouched. They hadn’t come to sleep here. I felt a stab of disappointment before realizing Gabriel probably had a lot more things to do. He rarely slept as it was.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I grumbled. I was sure I looked like a zombie but, since I couldn’t catch Gabriel’s scent, I knew it wasn’t him at the door so I honestly didn’t care what I looked like.

Throwing it open, I could only stare with my mouth gaping in shock.

Will stood there looking worse than I’d ever seen him. He was panting and there were deep, baggy circles under his eyes. His irises were bloodshot and there were twigs in his sandy brown hair. It was immediately obvious to me that he’d gone for a long run and hadn’t slept for a while.

“…Will?” I asked him, almost timidly, thoughts of our argument the other night flying out the window. “Are you okay?”

He shook his head slowly, fixing his miserable blue eyes on mine. “Can we talk?” He asked, voice hoarse. It honestly looked like he’d been crying. I hadn’t seen Will cry in years. I figured he was grieving about Anne, after all he’d been friends with her too. All the unmated wolves tended to hang out together, and Will and Maria were now some of the only wolves over eighteen that hadn’t found their other half. Anne would never find hers.

I swallowed hard before nodding. “Come in,” I said softly and gestured for him to enter my house. He mumbled a thank you before limping in.

Will had always tended to his appearance well, so seeing him so haggard was frightening. “Can I get you anything? Water? Juice? Wine?” I tacked the last part on, hoping to ease the tension a bit, but Will just shook his head.

“Water’s enough, thanks.”

I indicated he sit down and he slowly made his way over to the couch, sinking down onto the middle cushion. I quickly poured him a glass of water and made my way over to join him. He took the glass of water and sipped, keeping his eyes averted from me, not saying a word. I wanted to come right out and ask what was wrong but something held me back. I could tell Will was bracing himself and I didn’t want to push. After a moment or two, he finally cleared his throat.

“I’m so sorry, Skylar,” were the next words out of his mouth. I blinked, expecting him to say something about Anne.

“Why are you-“

“It’s all my fucking fault.” Will began to run both hands through his twig-infested hair in agitation.

“Your fault?” I almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity.

“After you and I argued, Maria tried to calm me down. I was horrible to her and I hurt her feelings. She ran off into the woods. Anne, as usual, told me off and went to comfort her.” Will finally turned to face me, and I was struck at the massive amount of guilt pooling in the depths of his eyes. “If it weren’t for me, they never would have been in the woods that night.” His voice broke and he turned away quickly.

I was shaking my head as he spoke. “No, Will, you can’t blame yourself. If anything, it’s my fault. I went to confront Cain and he was angry at me, and he killed Anne as revenge,” I felt the lump rising in my throat again, but I couldn’t cry now. I had to act strong because Will was falling apart. Gently, I reached a hand out and rested it on his back.

Will scarcely seemed to absorb my words. “I was horrible to you and to Maria. Maria liked me, Skylar. She’s liked me all along. How could I never have seen it?”

I remained mute. I had been suspicious of Maria’s feelings for Will for a while but she’d never said them outright. I’d never understood why she wouldn’t share them with me but perhaps she just didn’t want to make things awkward in the friend group. “She never told me, either,” I replied softly. “That’s just her own business. You couldn’t have known.” I smiled slightly, again trying to lighten the situation. “Guys are oblivious, remember?”

Will’s mouth quirked ever-so-slightly but the expression quickly vanished. He focused his eyes on me again. “I’ve been running almost nonstop the last couple of days. I figured if I ran enough, the feeling of guilt would go away. I was trying to forget about all the crap that I have to deal with every day since you came back from the Black Mountains Pack. Then I heard about what happened to Brett, and how we have a new Alpha now, and how he was coming here. I couldn’t stand it, Sky. I know I was supposed to be at that meeting last night but I couldn’t face anyone again. And I couldn’t stand seeing him here.”

I knew that by ‘him’, he meant Gabriel. I sighed, almost sadly. “You really hate him that much?” I asked softly.

Will looked away, jaw working. “We’ve hated him for so long. I don’t know how else to feel. I know we have bigger problems now but I just can’t get over the fact that he’s your Mate.”

“I know. But there’s more to him. As much as I’ve been around him, there are a couple times I’ve seen past the surface. Gabriel’s a lot deeper than anyone else realizes,”

Will looked like he wanted to argue but he resisted the impulse. “I don’t think I can ever agree with you on that, Sky, but there’s one thing I can do.”

“What’s that?”

“Apologize.” He shifted his body to face me full-on. “Again, I want to say I’m sorry. I know I don’t like him but he’s our Alpha now and I never should have said those things about your Mate,”

I nodded, smiling slightly at his heartfelt words. I had enough going on right now; I didn’t want to fight with one of my best friends. I could only hope he would warm up to Gabriel one day. “I forgive you Will; of course I do. What are friends for?”

Will tried to smile but it looked more like a grimace. He suddenly looked away again, twiddling his fingers. “There’s something else I wanted to tell you, too. I’m not sure it’s the right time. But I don’t think I’ll ever really get another chance to say it.”

My eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement. “What’s that?”

He took a deep breath. “A lot of the reason I acted like such a dick is because of the way I feel about you.” The words practically came out in a rushed mutter and I had to strain to hear them.

“The way you feel about me…?” I echoed, confused. I felt my Wolf pacing in agitation as if she didn’t want to hear what Will was saying.

“I like you Skylar. As more than a friend. I have for a long time.”

I felt my mouth open as I stared at him in confusion. Will had romantic feelings for me? Since when? I remembered the way Gabriel had acted around him. Perhaps Gabriel had been able to tell all along….was I that blind? “But….you…” I began to stammer, completely unsure how to respond. I mean, we’d kissed once, and I’d liked him back in the day, but that had been a few years ago!

Will held a hand up, stopping me mid-stutter. He was avoiding my gaze. “It’s okay. You’ve been oblivious to it, I know that. And I understand you don’t reciprocate my feelings.” He sighed heavily. “I just wanted you to know. If I ever acted weird or overprotective…well…that’s why.”

“I…um….why didn’t you say something sooner?” Although it wasn’t like the outcome would be different.

“I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. But now, I figured since I practically have already ruined it…”

“No you haven’t,” I shook my head vehemently. Will huffed out a shaky chuckle.

“Honestly, Skylar, I don’t expect anything from you. You have a Mate now. And I’m hoping once I find one of my own, it’ll be that much easier to get over you.”

I’d had my fingers interlaced and I stared down at them. My Wolf was not enjoying this.

“Hey,” he said softly, throwing his arm around my shoulders. It felt comforting, as he’d always been touchy with me. Now I wondered if his touchiness had stemmed from more than friendly feelings. “Don’t feel bad.” He glanced down at his arm. “And this is NOT me hitting on you, I promise.”

I couldn’t help it; I giggled at bit at that.

“I just don’t want our friendship to change,” I said softly after a moment.

“It won’t. I don’t expect anything to come out of it anymore. You won’t have to feel awkward,” he replied firmly. I nodded. My Wolf and I still felt a bit uneasy at his confession, but I couldn’t lose him as a friend. I would deal with it, and hopefully he’d find a Mate who could love him the way I never could.

I shifted position and he removed his arm from my shoulders. I turned to the side, resting my back against the arm of the couch, and laid my legs over his lap. It was our customary position when watching movies and not as intimate as the arm-over-the-shoulder.

“I am curious though,” I blurted out before I could help myself. “Did this have anything to do with our kiss sophomore year?”

Will smiled wryly. I was glad I had at least momentarily distracted him from his grief and guilt. “Yeah. I’d wanted to kiss you for a while, but after we kissed, I realized how much I was into you.” A flash of worry suddenly crossed his expression. “Please don’t tell our new Alpha about that.”

I chewed on my bottom lip, pondering how I should reply.

That was the worst possible moment for the front door to be shoved open. It was also the worst possible moment for Gabriel to walk in.

I ignored the way my body heated up as I saw him and my Wolf yipped in happiness, because the look on his face was downright furious. He took one glance at Will and I, his dark eyes burning, before he snarled loud and clear. I felt Will flinch next to me and quickly scramble to his feet, backing away as fast as he possibly could.

“Get. The. Hell. Out.” Gabriel snarled furiously, the words distorted through his anger.

Will did not hesitate. I saw the way Gabriel’s fists were clenched – the way he looked like he was poised for attack. Quicker than lightning, Will darted towards the back door of the house, not wanting to go anywhere near my enraged Mate.

I stood up slowly, heart pounding as I took him in. “How long have-“

“Long enough,” he snapped, beginning to pace. I could tell he desperately wanted to go after Will and tear him to shreds.

“Gabriel, it isn’t what it looks like,” I tried to reason with him. It wasn’t like I’d done anything wrong. I knew how it must’ve looked but if anything, Will had been completely ‘friendzoned’ today.

“He had his fucking hands on you!” Gabriel practically roared. “I thought I made it pretty clear that nobody is to touch what’s mine!”

I felt my Wolf purring, deep in my chest, and I couldn’t help the way my cheeks reddened. “He is my friend. I was consoling him. He was upset about Anne and Maria,”

“Don’t bullshit me, Skylar. I heard enough to know your conversation was drastically different,”

Go to him, my Wolf was practically begging. Calm him down. It’s your duty.

Won’t that only make things worse?

Can’t you see how close he is to Shifting and going after Will? She retorted, urging me onward. Hesitantly, I took a few steps closer to Gabriel. I didn’t want to make the already distracting Mating bond worse, but he was practically in a frenzy. We couldn’t afford any altercations in the pack right now. My fellow pack members didn’t need to see this side to Gabriel right now. I bit my lip, eyeing Gabriel as I approached. He had frozen and was staring at the ground, fists clenching and unclenching, breathing heavily.

I felt the electricity sparking between us as I stopped a mere twelve inches from him, staring up at him nervously. Slowly, he raised his head, and those mesmerizing eyes met mine. What I saw there made my heart throb: pain. He was clearly hurting from what he’d heard. Intermingled with the hurt was jealousy and rage, but I saw it nonetheless.

I was pretty sure I was in over my head, but being this close to him, I couldn't resist the pull. Besides, I was probably the only one that had any chance of calming him before he did something rash. Tentatively, I reached my hand and slowly slipped it into one of his. Heat immediately spread through my hand and up my arm, my nerve endings coming alive. Gabriel’s expression had morphed to one of complete surprise. I gave his hand a soft squeeze and I felt his grip tighten on mine. Closing my eyes, I tried to gather every ounce of reassurance I had, sending it to him through our connection. After a moment, he relaxed, if only slightly. I opened my eyes.

He looked confused now, torn, and surprisingly vulnerable. My hand was still encased in his and I was struck by just how perfect it felt. My body was tingling pleasantly and I inhaled his masculine scent. Without giving it any thought, I stood up on my tiptoes, leaning forward and wrapping my other arm securely around his muscular frame. I knew I was being impulsive and not thinking things through, but I desperately craved the comfort of his embrace, even if it was only for a few seconds. I would probably berate myself for this later, but right now, I wanted this.

After a moment of hesitation, I felt Gabriel’s free arm slowly come up and around me, his hand splayed out across the center of my back. I buried my face in his shirt, not caring if he noticed that I was inhaling his scent like an addict. Our hands were intertwined and for once, it felt like we were a real Mated couple – as if we were acting like a normal Mated couple would.

His hand moved upwards to the top of my tank top, and then his fingers brushed against my bare flesh near my shoulders. Tingles immediately burst from his touch and spread across my skin, and I stiffened noticeably. My Wolf whimpered with pleasure at his touch. I felt goosebumps rise on my arms. I was sure he’d noticed my reaction but his hand continued to wander across the exposed skin that my tank top did not cover.

Slowly, I let my hand fist into the back of his shirt, gathering the thin fabric. Gabriel’s hand abruptly moved downwards along my side, and I belatedly realized my tank top had ridden up slightly when I had reached upwards to hug him. Now a thin strip of skin was exposed just around my midriff. Gabriel’s fingers slowly, leisurely trickled along my side until they brushed that section of skin just above the line of my shorts. My Wolf purred and I shuddered despite myself, immediately pressing my body even closer to his. I felt Gabriel growl huskily, low in his throat. The heat between our bodies was incredible.

Just when I thought Gabriel was going to act on his hormones, his hand abruptly dropped mine and he released me from the hug, stepping away from me. I suddenly felt cold with the absence of my Mate’s touch. He put a distance between us and looked away, jaw clenching. It appeared as if he were trying to get ahold of himself. I knew it was the right thing to do before one of us made a hasty decision, but I still felt a pang of hurt.

How was it so easy for him to resist me? I could barely keep myself under control around him! Surely that meant there was something about me that he found undesirable. My own Mate was not supposed to be able to just step away from me like that. I looked down at the ground, feeling somewhat ashamed that I had acted like a hormone-ridden idiot. I should have just held Gabriel’s hand and let that be the end of it.

I wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing that my mother chose to rudely intrude in my mind in just that moment, her loud and chipper voice causing me to jump in surprise.

Your father is awake! She practically screamed with excitement and I gasped, my mouth curving upwards.

Gabriel was staring at me and I refocused on him. Whatever emotion had been on his face, he quickly masked. Before he could ask me what was going on I cut him off.

“My father is awake!” My voice was breathless, although some of that could have been due to my encounter with my Mate.

He nodded, once, the odd expression still on his face. “Let’s go to him, then,” he said, and I was slightly disappointed that his cold and detached voice was back. My Wolf was sad we hadn’t continued our little moment, but thinking about it now made me blush profusely. As the embarrassment at my rash actions started to kick in, I tried to brush it aside. My father was now my top priority.

I practically sprinted to the infirmary, brushing by Eva, who was standing outside looking tired. I knew I’d have to forget my animosity and thank her sometime. She had practically saved his life, after all. I bursted into the large room to see a very welcoming sight: my father, sitting upright in bed, looking pale but okay. My mother had his hand in a death grip and was smiling ear to ear.

“Dad!” I cried excitedly, and as he turned to face me, his eyes lit up. I barreled over to him and tried not to crush him when I hugged him. In just that moment – caught in an enveloping embrace with my family – everything felt right in the world.

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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 some things 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.

“What are you wearing?” I asked, breaking the silence as I threw my closet door open and began to rummage through everything.

She shrugged daintily. “My father said we should dress nicer. It is a pretty formal ceremony, after all. I guess I’ll wear a dress or skirt,”

“Does it involve Shifting?” I didn’t want to get my clothes dirty.

“Well, my father didn’t know at first. He had to call some of the guys he knows from other packs to find out exactly what a Purge ceremony entailed since we’ve never had one. I’m assuming Alpha Gabriel had to do his own research as well,”

I tried not to stiffen at the term ‘Alpha Gabriel’. It still sounded foreign to my ears.

“Anyways, his friend said that a Shift does happen but it’s at the very end. The whole pack is supposed to go on a run together. Not sure that’ll happen, though, with everything that’s going on...” Maria trailed off, dark eyes clouding with sadness.

I leaned forward, pulling my friend in a tight embrace. We stayed like that for a moment as she clutched me tightly. There was nothing left to be discussed. We had already cried our eyes out together, and I was sure we would again tomorrow at the funeral.

After a bit, Maria pulled away and attempted a smile. “Enough of that,” she said, voice coming out a bit shaky. “Let’s get you something to wear.” As she had done so many times before, Maria made her way into my closet, ruffling through my (admittedly modest) collection of outfits. I sat on the edge of the bed, hoping she would pick something-half decent. My best friend was muttering to herself as she examined my dresses in skirts, and after a few minutes she finally decided on something.

“Aha! Oh, the irony of this dress.” She pulled out the dress in question, turning around with a grin on her face.

“It’s perfect.”

----

I definitely disagreed with Maria’s statement. I had never been a huge fan of dresses – and I felt oddly formal in this one, even though the dress wasn’t exactly ‘fancy’. It was a pure white color. I had not wanted to wear it because it reminded me of the human wedding I had been to once, but Maria insisted that it was perfect for the ceremony. We were getting a new Alpha and trying to start anew, hence white was the perfect color. She wouldn’t take no for an answer.

It was a halter-style and fell a few inches above my knees. It was gathered in just the right places to make my small chest look slightly larger. I had worn it once or twice when we went to town in the middle of the summer. It was still summery weather but I could tell by the slight chill in the air that fall was not far away. Thankfully, my werewolf nature made me practically impervious to cold.

Maria was in a dressy red top and a black skirt that emphasized her curves. Both of us were barefoot, which was customary for werewolf dress. I was sure it looked weird to have a nice sundress without any sort of foot attire.

I felt odd, strolling through the pack village in such formal getup, but glancing around, I saw that most of the other pack members were dressed in similar fashion. I supposed it made sense; our formal ceremonies were rare but important, and I couldn’t think of anything more important than this. I would just have to suck it up.

We made our way to the large clearing near the village where our pack meetings were held. The path was well worn down from hundreds of paws and feet trampling it. The clearing contained a cluster of rocks, where the Alpha had used to stand, but several years ago some of the pack members had built a large, flat wooden platform with steps leading up to it on either side. This made the Alpha address the pack from a much higher vantage point. It gave him an aura of power, not that Gabriel had ever lacked that.

I was surprised that the remainder of the ceremony was occurring here. Then again, I supposed the rest of the Black Mountains Pack didn’t have to be present for the ceremony to occur. It would be difficult to get everyone in one place since our territories were so spread out. I wondered how Gabriel would address that.

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 blood yearned for him but we hadn’t completed the Mating yet. There was no way 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’s well-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?”

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 no way 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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A/N: Sorry this chapter is a bit late. I hoped you like the ceremonial aspect to it as much as I did. This chapter had quite a bit of drama, so let me know what you thought!

A big thanks to my editor, ItsOnlyGabriella

So many people are recommending actors for Gabriel, and it's cracking me up! I really enjoy looking through your suggestions so keep them coming (as long as they fit his description - please don't send me any blonde haired/blue eyed actors)

I know a lot of you are sending me covers. Don’t worry, I will be putting them in the oncoming chapters. Don’t think you all are being ignored. :)

MULTIMEDIA:

Gif of Will – look, he’s saying one of his lines from the chapter!

Song from Avatar, “Becoming One of the People”. Goes well with the Purge.