Page 2 of Finding Embers and Stars (Twin Flames Duet #1)
Chapter two
T he display my father puts on makes me sick. Instead of honoring the Moon Goddess and the mate bonds she creates between us, he's turned the shifter world into a boy’s club.
There has been speculation among the women of the pack that our declining population is the result of my father flaunting his disregard for our teachings.
This year there are only five of us receiving our animals. Sage and I plus three boys we grew up with. Doug, Jerry, and Matt.
Or the three stooges, as Sage calls them.
All three of them are arrogant assholes. Constantly competing against each other. They live to earn the Supreme Alpha's approval.
It’s expected that one of them will be my mate at the end of the night.
Not because the Goddess matched one of them with me, but because the Alpha has promised that the strongest of the newly shifted wolves will be my mate.
My thoughts and feelings on the subject are irrelevant.
"Tonight is the ceremony of The New Moon!"
The pack roars their approval, or at least the men do. The few women who were allowed to attend are hiding in the shadows. Cowering behind the men that claimed them against their will.
Under father’s leadership, shifter culture has evolved into a terrifying rape culture.
That I'm the next in line to be offered up like a lamb for the slaughter makes me sick. What daddy dearest doesn't know is that my wolf is strong enough to best everyone here. Maybe even him.
I've been waiting for the day I receive my shifted form since the first time he backhanded me for crying too loudly. I was nine years old. My mother had just been found murdered. To this day, I still believe he's the one that killed her.
"Are you sure I can't talk you out of this?" Looking at Sage I see my best friend. My sister. The one person in this world I know without a doubt will always have my back.
"Just try and stop me, chica." Linking her fingers with mine, she drags me toward the central fire.
I watch father closely as we approach, he’s not even trying to hide his Distaste when he looks at Sage.
The only reason Sage’s family is allowed to live with the pack is because of Mama Rose's visions.
Father shifts into his wolf form as the Pack Elders gather the five of us around the central fire. His wolf is huge, with bright green eyes and blonde fur.
Every five years a ceremony is held so would-be challengers can come forward. After four deaths at the first ceremony, no one has challenged him since. Leaving my father as the uncontested alpha for the last fifteen years.
The elders begin to chant the sacred words of the Blessing to the Moon Goddess that will activate the magic that allows us to shift.
It makes me roll my eyes every year to hear the blessing that demands we honor the Moon Goddess, yet watch my father move further and further away from her teachings.
Last year he tried the ceremony without the ritual, and no one was able to shift. As much as he pushed with his alpha powers, he couldn’t force their wolves to come out without the words spoken. All he did was put our newest shifters through immense pain and torment for several hours.
It’s not surprising that the twin boys from that night left our pack soon after.
One by one, Doug, Jerry, and Matt drop to the ground. The first shift is the hardest, sometimes taking hours to complete, depending on how strong the individual shifter is. Those that have a strong connection with their animal side before the ceremony usually make it through with a bit more ease.
Sage’s hand grips mine tightly, and she slowly sinks to her knees. Given that her father is a raven shifter and her mother is a witch, we weren’t completely sure if she would have a shifted form. Hybrids are considered abominations in some circles. Especially my father’s.
A stirring in my chest finally catches my attention. Tingles in my fingers and toes like my limbs have fallen asleep. Reaching up with my free hand, I grip my new crystal necklace for comfort.
Mama Rose and Papa Rhett have always treated me like I was their daughter, just as much as Sage. Without their influence, I fear I would have bent under father's torture. He’s tried so hard to make me as sick and twisted as he is. All the while blaming and berating me for killing his son.
You see, I was a twin.
Yet somehow during mother’s pregnancy, my twin brother’s fetus was absorbed. Vanishing Twin Syndrome is what the doctors call it. This happens in about one third of all twin pregnancies. A sad affair, but most parents would be thrilled to have a healthy baby after something like that.
Not my father.
Since I was a toddler, all I’ve heard is that I killed my brother. That I should have been the one who died. Because I lived, I robbed my father of having a son to carry on his name and legacy.
He abuses me as punishment for something that happened before I was even born.
“No more.” The deep, rumbling voice comes from within my own mind. I’ve always known that after the ceremony I would be able to talk to my animal side as well as shift. I just didn’t think the voice of my animal would be so different from my own.
Heat is rushing through my body, it’s as if the blood in my veins is on fire. I force my eyes open in time to see Sage start to shrink, a feather pattern forming on her skin moments before she seems to melt into the ground. Reforming as a beautiful raven.
“Mine!” This voice in my head is confusing the hell out of me.
Yes, Sage is my bestie, and I would do anything for her, but that felt like a mate claim, not a bestie claim.
A growl from across the fire catches my attention. The large silver wolf has his eyes glued to Sage, and he’s stalking around the fire to claim her.
“Relax, trust that I will protect you and her. Let me out, Piper.” My wolf’s voice has a distinct masculine cadence to it. Nothing like what I thought my animal would sound like.
The silver wolf leaps towards Sage, and I throw caution to the wind. All I care about is saving my best friend.
Wolfie take the fucking wheel.