Only one other person had ever tried to protect me like that.
I used to think Ryan was a good person because he was the only one who had supported me when the others in my pack would bully me. But Ryan had known about how brutally my father treated me.
He had seen the damage Zara had done, and he had still mated with her. His loyalty had never lasted when things truly got tough.
If Zara had attacked me like that, Ryan wouldn’t have lifted a finger to stop her. I reflected, watching numbly as Nightwolf warriors swiftly dragged the body of the rogue wolf away.
“How much longer are you going to cling to me?” Gideon’s voice rumbled under my chest. Startled, I pushed myself away from him. He sounded so cold and unaffected, like a little light murder was just part of his normal day.
Without another word, Gideon began the ceremony. I tried to focus on the formal speech, but I was rattled by what had happened.
When it came time for me to say the traditional greeting, I messed it up.
“We welcome you into our heart… hearths… and promise to offer protection and selfles -… safety, for so long as you pledge your loyalty to our pack.” I stammered and winced.
I had never had to do public speaking before. My voice sounded high-pitched and shaky.
I found it hard to breathe in a full breath, my nerves were shaking so hard.
Back in Silvermoon, even minor mistakes were often severely punished.
I had been beaten for saying the wrong thing in situations far less formal than this. Even after I had started dating Ryan, standard I was held to had only relaxed slightly.
I hate that I’ve become someone who is so fearful of making mistakes. I thought, stumbling my way through the next set of lines. It doesn’t help that I have to do all this next to a cold-blooded killer.
I could see Gideon out of the corner of my eye, and every time I messed up I fought the urge to turn to him and see his reaction.
Would he smack me here, in front of everyone?
The thought made my knees shake as I finished my words and waited for a blow to fall.
“For so long as the moon rises above Nightwolf, I prepar-… promise to be your Lady, providing letterin-… leadership and lenience for so long as our pack runs together.” I finished in a breathless rush.
To my surprise, Gideon said nothing.
He merely turned to the table of ceremonial objects and began the next part of the ceremony, giving token gifts to the new pack members.
The vise of anxiety clamped around my torso loosened somewhat.
When the ceremony was finished and the new members were being embraced by their pack, I climbed down from the stage and slunk towards a nearby dark corner.
“Being in the spotlight is hard, but you did well.” a girl sitting at a nearby table gestured me over. Gratefully, I sank into a chair at her table with a few other young pack members. They appeared to be a group of friends, and I felt briefly jealous for a pack life I never had.
“Thank you.” I laughed nervously, “I was worried I would make a huge mistake and Gideon would kill me.”
The young pack members exchanged glances and smiles.
“Oh no, that would never happen!” a young he wolf reassured me. “Gideon only kills those who deserve it, like that rogue assassin.”
“Yeah, he’s basically a hero to the pack. He saved my family from a rabid wolf years ago.” the girl said with sincerity. I could see from the glowing look of pride on her face that she truly thought highly of him.
The others chimed in around the table with kind and just things he had done for them and their families.
There wasn’t a single wolf there who didn’t have something good to say about Gideon.
That perspective did not mesh with what I had heard about Alpha Gideon before I came to Nightwolf.
Ipondered over the differences in the stories and my own experiences.
What kind of person is he, really? I frowned. The firm but fair leader, or the vicious warlord?
Looking back at our interactions, had they really happened the way I had perceived?
I returned to my bedroom that night replaying the events of the day over and over.
No matter what else had happened, I had done something that had terrified me, and I had lived through it. That was something at least.
I am growing as a person. I thought.
I stared at myself in my mirror, trying to make sense of who I was becoming.
Moon Goddess, I prayed fervently, eyes closed. Help me survive this place and rescue my mom.
When I opened my eyes, the bright light of the moon streamed onto my bed from the skylight.
That’s wrong. It’s the waning phase right now.
I sat up, confused.
There was someone next to my bed, I sensed. Moonlight reflected off of them so brightly it was hard to look at them directly.
The person leaned closer, and I realized that they weren’t reflecting moonlight; they were made of moonlight.
The beautiful woman gave me a benevolent smile. Her long hair floated dreamily through the air as though we were underwater. A crown of stars ringed her brow.
Moon Goddess!
I was stunned. It could only be her. She drifted closer, leaning over me as I stared in awe.
Her fingers brushed across the mark on my neck and it pulsed once, then faded. I looked down and saw only my skin, clear and unblemished beneath her translucent, ethereal hand.
I tried to leap out of bed but when I stretched out my legs over the side of the bed they landed in a puddle of sunlight.
It was daytime, the morning sun streamed through my windows and there was no one in my room with me. I rubbed my eyes groggily, disoriented.
A dream?
Shock flooded through my veins. It was the Moon Goddess who had erased the mark from my skin. How could the Goddess, so awe-inspiring to the world, help me?
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