When Selena imagined fantasy ceremonies, she pictured something mystical—an electric buzz in the air, maybe flickering lights like fairies or ghosts. But her first ceremony felt like a dull, rustic-themed function. People mingled, chatted, ate, and guys occasionally fed the bonfire. The buffet was mostly rare, which she’d usually avoid, but the delicious smell had her piling her plate.
Melissa was eyeing her dubiously by her third plate, but she continued chewing. Damn it, they all tasted good. She hates any rare-cooked meats!
… No, wait, that's not the important part! She needs to plot out where the hell she was in the story!
Selena shook her head. Ok, first off: confirming the similarities of the present events as stated in Chains, Love and Blood . She remembered it being a work-in-progress, so she was a bit uneasy about everything around her, but the author did mention in her last notes that the story was nearing the end, so she could only pray that there weren't any drastic changes. From what she can tell, she should still be around the third or fourth chapter of the novel, where Chase was still to be officially the head alpha of the pack. Which means that her being Chase's fated mate was still to be revealed. She couldn't help but flinch at that. She's not looking forward to that. Maybe she can sneak off before the reveal?
"Hey, Melissa," she poked her friend. "Remind me, which ceremony are we having tonight again?"
Melissa looked at her like she was about to grow horns on her head. "We're having two, the Shifting Ceremony for the pups that are of age, and the Ascension Ceremony for the new head alpha of the pack."
"Right, thanks." Guess that confirmed what Tharen mentioned earlier back at the basement, as well as her earlier conjectures. "I don't think we really held two ceremonies together before. It's making me confused sometimes."
Melissa hummed in agreement. "Yeah, I get what you mean. But the elders were really adamant to hold Chase's ascension as early as possible."
Same as what the novel mentioned. If she remembered correctly… "They said that there's been tension from other werewolf packs recently."
"That's what the other said, too." Melissa wrinkled her nose. "If you ask me, though, I think the elders are being a bit too paranoid. Our pack doesn't actually have the greatest number of members, nor do we have that many abled warriors. What could possibly make the other packs be interested in us?"
Selena only shrugged in reply, pushing down the urge to answer that it did happen in the story, though it won't be until much later in the story. It was also mostly for the romantic tension, really; some unnecessary and lengthy love triangle that sounded like a childish emotional tug-of-war with the heroine as the rope.
Selena is not looking forward to that. She should make some plans about it.
Her eyes moved to where Chase was standing. The man has thankfully ceased his monitoring of her and was now roped in a conversation with Claire, though it looked one-sided on Claire's part.
Selena blinked. Wait, didn't something happen related to Claire during tonight's ceremony—
"Brothers and sisters, if I could have your attention!"
All heads turned towards the elder's table, where a lanky elderly man stood in some sort of elevated dais. Selena catalogued the man's physical looks as she tried to put a name on him: dark, wavy hair with silver streaks, a goatee barely reaching his chest, a thin-looking face that made his large eyes look like they were about to bulge out. "Elder Pierre..?"
Melissa hummed absently. "Guess it's expected. We're having two big ceremonies tonight, after all. Having the head of the elders leading the ceremony will be the most proper decision to have."
She knew she recognized the man well. He'd only start getting more spotlight after the middle part of the story, but even then, Selena always felt him a bit creepy.
"Praise be our Moon Goddess for the boon at our table, as we gather tonight to celebrate the blessings she bestowed upon us, her beloved children." He swept his gaze to the crowd, and for a moment, it was as if the benign smile was on the verge of becoming a smirk. Selena shook her head. Yeah, definitely creepy. "And what a blessed night it is! To not only welcome our young pups as true members of our pack as they undergo their rites of passage, but to welcome the ascension of a new alpha of our pack, chosen by our Goddess to lead our family to greater heights."
All eyes swerved to where Chase was standing, the man remaining as cool as a cucumber. Selena, however, was looking around her for possible exits. She remembered this part of the novel. Once Chase became the alpha officially, the two of them being fated mates would then be broadcast to everyone attending tonight, which would send dear Claire off the walls.
Despite its cluttered plots (and plotholes), Chains, Love and Blood has been running for over 200k words now, and around half of that were abundant details that often include ropes, chains, and gags, with a healthy (in other words: a lot ) dosage of slaps—and no, they're not used for… recreational purposes. Selena's not masochistic enough to experience them herself.
She felt something cold behind her, and she, full of trepidation, turned to her back to see Chase's eyes on her. She didn't need him to speak to understand what he wanted: stay where I can see you. Damn it!
The sound of clapping made her almost jump. Four young teenagers, probably around fifteen in age, moved to the center of the gathering, a good space away from the giant bonfire, all of them wearing a simple white robe tied to the waist. There was an excited murmur among the crowd, and Selena could feel something stirring in the air; heady and electrifying, it was as if some invisible force was caressing her skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake. She couldn't tell what was happening, but she could tell that she wasn't the only one feeling it, and she couldn't help but get swallowed up in the crowd's anticipation, eyes glued to the four teenagers.
"Oh, Moon Goddess!" Elder Pierre shouted, arms outstretched to the skies. "Please direct Your gaze upon our young and bestow upon them your blessings!"
The sky then started to clear, showing a full moon. It's silver light poured over the heads of the teenagers, and that electrifying feeling increased in its intensity.
The one standing closest to her, a young girl with short, curly hair, gasped, before suddenly folding into herself in a cry of pain. The other three started writhing in pain, as well, and the still air filled with their agony and the sounds of breaking bones that Selena could almost feel it with her teeth. She wanted to look away—she was pretty sure that the girl just had her legs broken—but it was as if her mind got ripped out of her body, leaving her unable to do anything but freeze.
The bodies of the teenagers begin to morph, their sizes shrinking until they're on the ground. The robes they're wearing loosen, covering their form. They stopped moving as the sounds of breaking bones ceased, and the clothes slowly slid to the ground.
The first thing Selena noticed was the ears flicking from side to side, and as more of the cloth fell, tufts of soft-looking fur were being revealed, soft gray and brown, with a wag of a fluffy tail as an added effect.
There was a collective gasp, and even Selena could help but suck a breath as four small wolves replaced the young teenagers from earlier. Despite their size (are wolves supposed to be that big? They're almost at her waist!), she could tell that they're still juvenile, their large eyes and twitching noses surveying their environment as they sat on their hunches.
There was a faint sound of someone sniffing, and Selena couldn't help but feel the same. She knew, objectively, that the people in this world can change into wolves—it being a werewolf story—but she never expected the transformation to be so…
"No matter how many times I attend Shifting Ceremonies, it always makes my hair stand on end," Melissa muttered as she rubbed her arms.
"… Yeah."
"Praise be our benevolent Goddess! With the rites passed and their wolf spirit in harmony, let us all welcome these young ones as proper members of the pack," Elder Pierre announced, followed by an echoing clap and cheers. The four teena—wolves looked around the crowd, their joy and satisfaction obvious with their toothy grins and wagging tails.
"Isn't it such a relief?" Claire drawled at Selena's left, sneer already in place as her gaze moved up and down. A few girls behind her were giggling, as well. "After someone's disastrous Shifting Ceremony, everyone had been sooooo afraid that the Moon Goddess must have cursed this pack, but I guess it just boils down to potential." She tossed her hair over her back. "Not everyone's destined for greatness, you know."
Selena's brows furrowed, confused at the obvious jab, but Melissa quickly replied, "Do you really have to dig it up every Shifting Ceremony?"
Many eyes were already on them as Claire huffed. "What? It's not like I'm lying." Her smirk became sharper as her eyes landed on Selena. "Already twenty, but still unable to shift? Maybe you are the cursed one in the pack. How can we be sure that you won't bring catastrophe right into our doorsteps?"
Ah, that's right. The heroine in the story was unable to shift into her wolf form. Selena remembered it being one of the main reasons for the bullying, and was Claire's favorite taunt.
"I guess so," Selena muttered with a small shrug. This made both Claire and Melissa look at her in confusion. Selena shrugged again. In truth, the heroine being unable to shift was one of Chains, Love and Blood' s main plot points; she was, what was called, a "Child of the Moon." Characterized by silver-white fur and ice-blue eyes, they were believed to be favored by the Moon Goddess and are greatly revered by the werewolf kind due to their natural affinity to the supernaturals. Or, what was equivalent of supernaturals in this world, as the book never really gave a clear explanation about it.
It's pretty much just another "Chosen One" trope, and truth be told, Selena believed that it was just an unnecessary addition to the story. It's not like the heroine did anything grand or had world-changing adventures or war-fighting like in Harry Potter or Dune; it was more of a slap back to her tormentors and making them cower once they realized just how special the heroine really was. While it might be cool to be able to shift into such a unique werewolf in the future (maybe she could consider it as a silver lining?), she needs to plan as much leverage as she can get if she needs to survive in this world.
The murmurs of the crowd rose in volume, and the girls turned to look back to the center. It seemed like they had missed Elder Pierre's words earlier, as Chase was already standing in front of the raised podium, his straight posture giving an aura of power and grace. Then, like some sort of model on a runway, he grabbed his shirt off of him (how did he do that?), made almost every young lady—and a few lads—into a blushing mess and squeals, and kneeled on one knee in front of Elder Pierre, his gaze directed at the older man.
Shit, she shouldn't dally around any longer! She needs to get as far away before the "destined mates" bit gets announced! However, when she looked behind her, Claire and her gaggle pretty much blocked any escape route.
"What—hey! What are you doing?!" Claire cried when Selena started pushing them to the side. It got the attention of almost half of the attendees, including Tharen, who was now giving them a narrowed look.
Elder Pierre's brows furrowed for a bit, but he quickly shook his head. He looked at his side, where someone quickly handed him a small wooden bowl. His finger turned ash-gray as he swiped his thumb on the contents of the bowl. He then drew some sort of characters in Chase's forehead that made Selena think of runes, as he murmured, "May the Moon Goddess bless you with the strength to fight against the threats that come to the pack, the wisdom to lead your people to the future, and the will to shoulder the responsibilities and expectations of our kind." He then took a step back. "Do you swear?"
Chase stood back up. "I swear."
Selena only managed to get half her body from the crowd when the crowd gasped again. She couldn't help but look back at the center as the air shifted again, this time making her ears ring on top of the static-y feeling. A silver beam of moonlight shone on Chase, much like a spotlight, making him turn to look up at the moon. It made his eyes, which turned gold, seem to glow like molten gold. A second later, it was as if something clicked at the back of her mind, followed by an echo that sounded as if it was whispered by the wind: a new alpha of the pack was recognized.
Huh, she'd wondered before how the hierarchy in packs works in the story. The author did mention that members in the same pack have some form of mental connection, but she wasn't expecting any words echoing inside her head. But then, she supposed having mental connections is not really that far off the realm of possibilities, seeing as people shifting into wolves exists here.
Everyone started bowing right away, the entire gathering, including the elders, falling into silence as they welcomed the new leader of the pack.
Selena panicked for a second, her mind blanking at the worst moment on what she should do, which grabbed Chase's attention. The new alpha of the pack turned to look at her, the intensity of those golden eyes making Selena freeze on her legs. She then felt another mental click in her mind, the echoing word making her breath stutter, and not in the good way: mates.
She knew that Chase felt it, too, by how his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. Despite feeling dread creeping up her throat, she couldn't help but be amused to watch the ever-cold man gaping.
The feeling was short-lived, however, as heads swerved to her direction, all of them just as wide-eyed and shocked. Selena flinched. Guess that made every member of the pack know.
For almost a minute, the silence was so suffocating that Selena thought that the sound of a twig snapping would cause an explosion. Selena took a small step back, swallowing the awkward chuckle that was on the verge of escaping her mouth, but Claire, who was still standing close to her, decided right then to make a piercing, shrilling scream. Selena quickly covered her sensitive ear, as the now purple-faced girl cried, "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!"