Read The Lunam Ceremony (Book One) for Free Online

says, “It all worked out for the better. Kyle was the love of my life. I wouldn’t give up the four years we had together for the leader of the pack.”
    “We have no control in who we match with?” I question. “I mean, what if he’s shorter than me or has really bad teeth?”
    “ We don’t have a choice.” Bonnie emphasizes the we in her statement, and I feel my blood boil.
    “By we, you mean females?” I catch on. Bonnie nods. “So, the males choose us, and it has nothing to do with nature?” Bonnie sort of shrugs and nods her head. I want to murder Layla for allowing me to believe I had a destiny, when really my destiny is in the hands of some horny alpha male.
    I find Layla in the kitchen, peeling potatoes. When she sees the look on my face, she puts down the peeler and leads me out the back door. “What’s up?”
    “Bonnie said the males choose their mates.” I get right to the point. “It has nothing to do with my destiny, my feelings. It’s all about the males.”
    Layla puts her hands on my shoulders; they are cool and feel good on my warm skin. Without wanting to, I start to calm down. “Kalysia, do you really think I would bring you back here if I thought you didn’t have a choice?”
    “I don’t know, maybe.” I don’t know what to believe anymore.
    “Bonnie is not a pureblood. She didn’t have a choice in her match, but I did. I knew I wanted your father from the moment I saw him. When we phased, the pull was even stronger. For Bonnie, it was different. She told me she felt lost and confused after she phased. When she made the connection with her mate, it felt desperate. I told you, only purebloods have a destiny. Tonight you will match with a pureblood. You will be a leader, and so will your children.”
    I’ve never heard Layla sound surer of anything in my entire life. If all of that is true, then why didn’t she lead? “Why did you leave your pack?”
    Layla steps back, as if my question pushed her away.
    “Where is my father? Will he be here tonight?”
    “Yes, your father will be here,” she says, as she strains to keep her cheeks from flaring up. It doesn’t work.
    “You want to see him?” I gesture to her outfit. “Do you still care about him?”
    Layla fidgets with the string on her apron and looks away.
    “How can you tell me to believe in my destiny when you turned your back on yours?” This is the last day I will share with my mother, and we’re fighting.
    In the distance I hear car horns honking. More people are arriving. Jessie said there will be close to two hundred people here tonight. Layla and I turn in the direction of the voices growing louder and closer. “We can talk later,” she says. “I promise I will explain everything.” She pulls me in for a hug then hurries back to the kitchen.
    I stay in the woods. I’m not ready to face anyone, especially a father I’ve never met. I close my eyes and listen to the birds rustling in the trees. Wind flows through my hair, tinted with the smell of frying oil from the kitchen. For the first time in my life, the smell of something human feels wrong to me. I move deeper into the woods where the air is cooler and darker. I close my eyes again and feel the world around me. The smell of eucalyptus and moss fills my nose. I’m not scared anymore. In fact, it feels peaceful, quiet. I walk deeper in, until I can’t see the sky, only the hazy rays of light that halo the branches above me. I lean against a large tree, feel its bark scratch my back. Even from here, deep in the woods, I hear voices. There must be a lot more people arriving. I don’t want to go back. Can’t I just stay out here until midnight? I will phase, and if there is a mate for me, he will find me, right?

 
    By the time I walk back to the clearing, poles have been erected, the canopy is up, and lights are being strung throughout the clearing. It’s past noon, and the sun has moved to the west. In a few hours it will set, and the ceremony