Chapter 2: The Awakening


    My blood is rushing through my head to the point I have a headache, palms sweaty and adrenaline


    spiking as I follow the path to the top of the cliff on .Jell-O legs. Walking in behind the others, like me,


    who are to go through the ceremony at the highest point of the full moon. lm breathless, fighting the


    nausea and internal shaking of fear, body trembling, as l watch where I step, a little too closely, and


    almost collide with the girl in front of me. Staggering sideways and kicking stones in my path,


    identally, to avoid her.


    “Watch where you are going, reject!” The growl of one of our apanying mentors hits me in the side


    of the face with an open palm as he leans in close and shoves me back in line, harshly. Hard enough to


    send me crashing into the rock face, we are brushing up against and I almost hit the ground with the


    force, coughing out a whimper of pain. I catch myself, right my body quickly, ignoring the burning pain


    of grazes, and skip two steps to catch up and get back in line while rubbing my bruised arm and


    shoulder from the collision. Trying not to look his way, knowing if I do, he will probably smack me in the


    face for showing zero respect to a superior.


    He''s called Raymond, and he''s around twenty-four. One of the Alphas main pack leaders of the subs,


    one of the Santos, and he hates anything to do with us. Another superior wolf from a pure bloodline


    who sees us as an inconvenience and unworthy to breathe his air.


    This is the reality of my life and how little value I have in this hierarchy. Reject is the name for all of us,


    like we don''t have separate identities anymore and I can''t wait to be free of these people and this life.


    “Halt!”" A booming low and gravelly voice ahead of us stops us all in our tracks as wee to the level


    top of the cliff known as “shadow rock.. It''s more of arge teau than a rock but the sun never


    seems toy its light and warmth in this nook of the mountain and yet it gives us a direct and


    uninterrupted view of the moon every night. It''s been the point of this ceremony for hundreds of years


    and we''re finally here.


    I pull myself past the girl in front of me ande to her side to gaze at the familiar scene before us.


    Stomach churning up with the knowledge it''s happening. The ceremonial set up of res and burning


    fires at points near the ledge, are already there and glowing bright, all the way around the curve of this


    large tform. Creating a red and amber glow that illuminates the space in what will soon be wall to


    wall darkness of this still night. The center of the clearing is marked out with symbols in chalk and a


    large set of circles surround them, one for each of those who are to awaken. I shudder inside as reality


    hits home that this is really it and I have nowhere to hide. You can''t outrun it, there''s no way to stop it


    from happening.


    “Clothes off here and put these on” scratchy grey nkets are thrust into our arms by a tall muscr


    Santo, looking down at us with almost ck eyes as he snarls his contempt. Probably annoyed that


    they even allow my kind to go through this like everyone else does. Walking past as he dishes them out


    and ì am aware that many have gathered around the ledges, and above us on the edges of the cliffs


    above to watch this.


    All the packs are here already, and right in the middle stands Juan Santo and his immediates. His


    second inmand, his third, and his son, Colton. The ceremonial Shaman in full dress ?is standing


    with his staff awaiting the start of his duties. Something he could do with his eyes closed l expect, as he


    has been here for so many years.


    I don''t wait to question the order, eyes down, nerves frayed but get to it. I know the drill. I throw it


    around my shoulders to conceal my body as best | can, the same as the others and we quickly strip


    down inside our coverings with haste. Discarding our things into neat piles we will return toter.


    Transforming rips your clothes to shreds, so being naked is the best way to deal with it. Afterwards


    we''lI be able to get dressed again, but for now, this itchy old nket is all I have to cover my modesty.


    Not that anyone cares. Nudity among wolves ismon and not something they actually stare at or


    find abnormail. So many turn at the blink of an eye ande walking back in human form with no


    covering at all. Is another sign of weakness to be body shy and hide if you have toe home without


    your clothes.


    Obviously, the Alpha types walk around in the nude without any worries, being they are physically


    perfect. The only time it''s an issue is if a mate is being ogled by someone who isn''t hers. Males are


    territorial, jealous, and aggressively unpredictable when mated up so ismon for regr


    testosterone fights over looking at each other''s woman.


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    It''s kind of basic and primal and another reason | won''t miss being part of a pack. Were animals by


    nature and humans would be disturbed by what is normal among us. ì mean aggression, physical


    hostility and even beating each other is not viewed in quite the same way that humans would between


    married people. Mates fight, sometimes in wolf form and bites and scratches are usually the best way


    to work out a dispute.


    I undress fast and leave my clothes and shoes in a neat pile between my ankles to stand up, pulling my


    nket around me snugly to await the next orders and shield myself from the cool air. Visibly shaking


    with nerves, and I nce around me quickly to see equal fear, pale skin, and solemn faces of the


    others. m not the only one who is terrified. We ve all seen how bad this gets and before the night is out,


    will have felt pain iparable to anything we ve been through in our lives.


    “Move!” Raymond shoves the male to my left to make him lead the way, and we dutifully follow. Silently,


    in a line to the open clearing and head towards the chalk circles awaiting us. l close my eyes for a


    second and try to swallow the wing fear spreading through my veins like ice, my throat dry and itchy


    with the effort. Holding myself together, I quickly move to the first circle l see as the line in front of me


    dissipates. Hundreds of eyes on us as they watch and wait. Silence every on the oing night and I


    look up to the sky to find some sort of eternal calm. Soon it will be dark and dotted with twinkling Stars


    but for now, it''s daylight and we have to begin. The moon will be upon us soon enough.


    After everyone shuffles quickly into ce and settles, the hush is broken with the booming voice of the


    Shaman as he gestures for us all to sit while he raises his staff. I do as I am told, slide down quickly,


    and sit cross legged within my nket on the cold hard, gritty ground beneath me. Trying to get enough


    of the covering underneath me to make it less ufortable. i''m aware of the prating stares from


    all around and I try to blot them all out.


    “Drink” Something hard shunts me in my ribs from behind and I strangle a yelp, sitting upright sharply


    and spin my head around to see a wooden cu?p held out to me. Another Santo shoving it into my hand


    as I unravel it out to take it.


    “What''s it for?” I ask innocently, always wondering when we watched from a distance and stupidly naive


    to think ""I get sense from one of them.


    “Drink it and find out” he smirks, walking away with no real answer. l sigh, internally irritated at his


    attitude, before staring down at the dark amber liquid contained within, its heavy scent of herbs and


    perfumes wafting up into my face. l spot the others drinking it down fast without question and I follow


    suit. It Tastes like thick gloopy honey,ced with all sorts of chemicals that burn my throat as l take it


    down and almost choke on its thicker consistency. ì gag but manage to w myself into staying still


    and swallowing hard with multiple gulps. Closing my eyes as the taste turns bitter, spreading down my


    throat and into my stomach and immediately warms them both. I can feel it disperse into my veins and


    limbs, knocking the cold of the rocks away from anywhere my skin touches and almost immediately l


    start to get a little woozy. The ground around me moving and swaying softly, like the seaing in on


    the tide.


    I shake my head but it''spletely pointless. Hunching forward so l dorr fall over, l now understand


    why every time ? watched this, the newest to awaken would sit the whole ceremony slumped down and


    immobile until they turned.


    Seemingly oblivious to all of the ceremony and its stages as light faded to dark. They have drugged us


    for the pain, and I start to lose track of everything around me as a veil of surreal sweeps up like a warm


    fluffy warm fog and devours me


    whole.


    I don''t know how long we are this way, what''s happening as all I can hear is the chant of the Shaman


    as he dances around, shaking things, singing, and pping. Vision blurry anding in waves, my


    body heavy yet detached and l no longer feel like l am really here or even conscious. Time passes but I


    have no clue how fast or slow, and all I know is it gets dark so quickly around me and I can seem to


    stop myself drifting into space or losing track and fading away. Cocooning me into the little bubble of


    ck space around me where the smell of fire and incense makes me giddy and sleepy. it''s peaceful


    yet somehow, it''s not, and there''s a stirring of awareness and fear almost out of reach.


    There''s warm hands on me, maybe, but i''m not sure, the sudden breeze although it does nothing to


    cool my eternal warmth. Lulling into a weird state of semi sleep and can no longer open my eyes or


    really understand what is going on around me. lts almost pleasant.


    Cold liquid and wrinkled hands, as something is smeared across my forehead, making me flinch with a


    second of reality and l grasp to focus on the dancing form in front of me. Rattling, blowing smoke,


    chanting a song as it runs down the bridge of my nose and I pull from memory that the new turns are


    marked with a fresh blood kill in preparation for our own turn. My face will bear the mark of wolf with an


    animal our Alpha will have ughtered.


    The roughness of something pulling across my skin startles me slightly, and then suddenly I''m levitating


    out t or floating, or maybe just lying down. No clue anymore. l''m too wasted to have any sort of idea


    about what my body is doing, and the heavy, loud tones, of the wolf song echoes across the mountain


    as the packs sing to wee our moon. I''ve never felt anything close to this, not even being drunk for


    the first time a few months ago, when we found some booze in the orphanage storage cupboard.


    Memory of witnessing this many times reminds me that they take them and pull the nkets free for


    the turning;ying them down to be blessed by the full moon and logically a part of my brain is telling


    me this is what is happening. It''s almost like l''m no longer attached to my limbs and as a warm


    sensation trails firmly across my cheek, a raspy voicees through the fog at me.


    ”It''s going to hurt... | can''t wait to watch it, reject. Or maybe | might take advantage of you like this.


    Finally get my way.” | barely recognise the voice, but gut instinct tells me its Damon, a boy from the


    Conran pack who tried to kiss me a year ago. He cornered me in the school corridor, pushed me


    against the wall and tried to force me to kiss him while shoving his hand up my dress. | fought him off,


    left him with a nice scratch down his smarmy face and he has been gunning for me ever since. Not that


    I marked him badly, we heal fast, but I obviously left a dent on his pride and his ego.


    | can react and as a hot invasive sensation moves down my shoulder | can only squirm, wanting so


    badly to get his hands off me. Hes not that dumb though and with all eyes on us, he leaves me alone to


    my fate as l try to fight toe back to a sense of now. Suddenly afraid that after this is done, he will


    be the one to tend to me like this. Responsible for ushering me back to my clothes and the concealed


    shadow of the cliff edge. Who knows what he will do? I don''t recall if the turning takes you out of the


    drug induced stupor when it''s done, or not.


    | can''t dwell on it any longer, as soon as l do, a burning light hits me hard over the entire surface of my


    body, almost like a blow torch was turned on and l spasm instinctively into an arched position on the


    floor. Every inch of my skin bubbling and blistering to searing levels of torture as though I have been


    set alight and I strain and w the ground beneath me, gasping with effort. Breaking nails on rough


    terrain as I scramble for relief and yet can do nothing but scream.


    Crying out in pain, writhing in agony, as an intense sensation rips my skin from my bones and engulfs


    me entirely. My voice deepens, scraping and running hoarse like l''m swallowing splinters and cries


    be growls, my throat almost bursting into mes with the effort. For a second, it''s like [mm being


    strangled. [mm under attack, my body is being ravaged, wisted, snapped and in, but this isn''t


    another wolf... this is the turning. lts so mu?ch worse than | ever imagined it could be.


    Cracking, convulsing, and devastating agony, rip through me hellishly. Sending me rolling around in a


    bid to relieve the pain as grime, rocks and dust scrape at my flesh and burn as | graze across them. |


    whimper and moan, but it alleviates nothing of the torture of my body crunching, shredding, itself apart.


    | cry out, beg for my mother to save me, wail for the fates to stop this, and w at the rocks, breaking


    fingers with the sheer force of my fight and gouging what''s left of my skin on sharp edges underneath


    me.


    No one could prepare me for what this feels like and I''m being turned inside out while slow roasted


    over an open bed of hot coals. | can''t breathe, l can scream anymore and silently l writhe and jerk and


    twist and turn as i am consumed by hell.


    Our noises are drowned out by the stamping, chanting, and pping of the packs, thundering through


    the ground and reverberating through my broken, smashed body... giving way to howls as the moon


    reaches its peak and they encourage us to make the final transition to be like them. Combining to


    howl, under strict orders that none other are to transform tonight and break the ceremony. Only the new


    shall change tonight, only our blood will spill as our human form is destroyed to build something better.


    | want to die.


    The pain is unbearable, driving me to the brink of insanity and it truly feels like my human self is being


    tortured to nonexistence. Every bone in my body snaps and reforms as though it''s being done


    manually, one at a time, my flesh tears free and pulls away from muscle. i''m wet, a hot pouring out as


    blood drains from the hellish self-inflicted wounds that seem tost forever, covering me in sticky warm


    heat, smothering me and leaving a vile metallic scent all around. l can tell what''s sweat, what is blood,


    what is maybe other kinds of fluid. Barely holding on, reaching a pinnacle where my mind is on the


    verge of copse and the dregs of sanity teeter on a cliff edge. I howl and I strain with all my might, so i


    extend my face up into the air and gasp with relief as my lungs inhale and I finally take a breath.


    And then ... everything is still.


    I just stops. Like having a cold drink poured over scorched sunburn and instant soothing hits hard and


    intensely as my noise bes silence, my burns be cool and my breaks be one.