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“They wore the faces of their beasts: feathered masks, furred visages, carved and painted with reverence. Beneath those masks, names didn’t matter. Rank didn’t matter. Only instinct.” The animals shifted into their human forms showing masks across their faces.

“It’s said that during the first Bestiare, two strangers met under the canopy of the oldest ash tree, their identities hidden, their souls bared. They danced until their hearts aligned, never speaking a word.” A male shadow and female shadow dance around each other, lost in each other’s orbit.

“But when the morning came, the male vanished—leaving behind only the scent of cedar and fire.” The smoke shifts showing the female waking and searching for the male. All our eyes glow with the image of the female wolf hunting for him. No one dares breathe, or speak a word. The smoke trees move and fade as she continues to walk along the path.

“The woman searched the lands for seasons, haunted by the memory of his touch and whispered words.” The smoke female walks around searching everywhere. You can almost sense the panic and sorrow coming from her as she floats in front of us. She might be nothing but a smoke version of herself, but you feel the connection to our long ago ancestor.

“When they finally found each other again, the mate bond snapped into place—forging our first mated pair. Something their beasts knew long before their minds did.” When the male smoke figure walks towards her this time, you can see the line drawing them together. Something we’ve always felt but could never see.

“Now, the legend says that if you dance long enough beneath the solstice moon…if you listen closely to the soul of the land, the words whispered in the breeze, the call of your blood…you’ll find the one fate made for you. But only when you leave your name and inhibitions behind.” The smoke dissipates above her head as she brings her hands back down to her sides.

“Before the leaders of each pack light the bonfire, we ask that all young children please leave the area. The magic that flows during the bonfire and dancing isn’t safe for young children. Those that choose to stay, be free of the chains that hold you back, let go of the human emotions, let your beast's desires drive you.”

With that, she bows before holding her hand out for her cane, as we all break into applause. The murmurs are growing in volume as the story sinks into each person, and you realize justhow close you are to the dance, how close you are to the magic. Our leaders are swarmed as people pay their respects to them before they leave. While it’s not required, often the leaders won’t participate in this portion of the night. Leaving us to do as our beast sides demand.

The elders walk forward with torches for each leader and their spouse to use to light the bonfire. They move to each side, waiting for the last of the young ones to leave down the path before lowering their torch into the timbers. The fire quickly moves across the wood, before igniting into a large bonfire. The orange and yellows glow across the trees surrounding it as everyone’s faces light with the flames dancing in their eyes.

Like moths to a flame, we are all drawn to the fire, already feeling the pull of the magic. Odes squeezes my hand as we walk together towards the fire. Most people say they don’t remember what happens during the dance. Being so lost in the magic, they feel as though their memory is wiped by the time they wake the next day. Odessa and I have never attended one before. Like the elder said, children aren’t welcome. The only reason we are allowed to stay is because we are so close to turning 18 ourselves.

Several males begin beating the drums. The thump, thump, th-thump already beating into my soul. I can almost feel it vibrating through my body as the magic begins to swirl around the area. People are turning to each other as the music from the drums build slowly. When I look at Odes, I see the fire dancing in her eyes, the irises dilating, as her mouth falls open slightly.

“Can you feel it, Moony?”

“Yesss,” I whisper breathlessly.

As if a person was drawing a finger down my spine, tingles spread down my back, almost making me shiver, as the magic takes hold of me.

The beat of the drums is building. Thump, thump, th-thump, with each strike of the mallet across the stop of the hide, Ican feel myself dropping my human side as Sora takes over.It makes sense, I think, before she pushes forward,why nobody remembers the next day.

With a gasp, my chest pushes out as my head drops back. Gasps move around the bonfire, barely heard above the thumps of the drums. Each person’s beasts takes over. When my head drops back down, Odes eyes are glowing with the amber of her wolf's eyes. She licks her lips slowly, almost savoring the moment.

“The magic is calling me, Selene,”Sora whispers huskily.

“I can feel it, but I want to remember.”

“It’s going to be hard to remember to not push you back. I’ll try, but no promises.”

“I’ll take it.”

Odessa, more like Orla, runs her hand up my arm, slowly moving closer to me. The magic pulls her deeper in as I watch her with rapt attention.

“Dance with me,” Orla says with a slow sway of her hips.

The thumps of the drums are growing louder and faster as I watch her sway back and forth, already lost to the magic. Her arms lift to the air as she slowly moves her hips in a figure eight. I’m so lost in watching her move that I don’t even sense the person walking up behind me.

“Tell me little one, why aren’t you dancing like the others?” the gravelly voice from my dreams whispers next to my ear, causing me to jump and spin around.

A tall, lean man is standing there with an enormous, smokey gray wolf head on. A wolf that looks a lot like my Shadow. My heart races, between his voice and the sight of a wolf like Shadow. I know this has to be my mystery wolf.

My eyes move down his body, hoping I can find anything revealing about him, but Sora has other things in mind and none of them have to do with letting me figure out who it is.

She makes the first move, stepping forward and running her hands up his arms as he wraps them around our lower back. She grips his lightly-muscled shoulders, almost humming in appreciation. How she isn’t making any sounds is beyond me. This is the closest we’ve ever been to a guy who isn’t family.

“You’ve found me, now what are you going to do?” Sora practically purrs at him.

“I’ve got many things in mind, none of them appropriate for the current setting.” His gravelly voice rolls over our skin like a sinful caress.

She hmms, “Is that so?” She steps closer into his embrace. Our hips swaying in tandem with his, with only a breath between us.