Chapter 5: The Stage

The cathedral on the top floor of the Mackay Tower held two thousand wolves.

Every one of them turned to watch me walk in.

Pack leaders from across the continent sat in the first rows, in black and grey.

Cameras on tall tripods lined the side aisles.

The stage stood at the far end under a ring of white candles.

A small table in the middle held a single glass.

Eamon waited beside the table in his formal black coat.

He did not look at me.

Lydia sat in the first row below him in a white dress, her hands folded.

The whole room kept glancing at her and then away.

My parents sat three rows behind her, and Calvin sat next to them with his head down.

My mother wore her pearls.

I climbed the steps and stopped in front of the officiant.

He was an old man with a ledger and a deep, rough voice.

"Hazel Brennan," he said. "You stand here to end a bond the Moon Goddess made. Is this your wish?"

My heart was beating slow and heavy, and the bitter taste of the herbalist's bark was still on my tongue.

I looked down at the glass.

The dark liquid inside was perfectly still.

I could say yes, drink, and fall quietly, as I had been told to.

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