Chapter 5 Ceremony Of Lies

The morning of the ceremony arrived like a slow-creeping frost. I dressed mechanically, my fingers fumbling over the laces of my gray tunic-plain, unadorned, meant to blend into the shadows. My skin felt foreign, as if the potion had hollowed me out, leaving only a shell where warmth and scent once lived. When I lifted my wrist to my nose, I smelled nothing but stale herbs and regret.

Lila's laughter echoed from the square, bright and unburdened.

I lingered at the edge of the gathering, where the pack's excitement buzzed like wasps. Bonfires roared, their flames licking at the dawn-chilled air. Garlands of ivy and wolfsbane draped the Alpha's lodge, and the scent of roasted meat made my empty stomach twist. No one glanced my way. Without my lavender mark, I was invisible.

Elder Taryn raised her gnarled hands, silencing the crowd. "The Moon Goddess smiles upon us today! Let the bond be forged!"

Drums thrummed, low and primal. Kieran emerged from his lodge, clad in black furs, his storm-gray eyes scanning the pack. My breath caught. For a heartbeat, his gaze lingered near my hiding spot, and my wolf stirred, desperate and foolish. *He'll know*, she insisted. *He'll smell the lie.*

But his eyes slid past me, unseeing.

A hush fell as the eligible she-wolves stepped forward, lined up like jewels on a crown. Lila stood at the center, her auburn hair braided with crimson ribbons, her borrowed lavender scent swirling around her like a cloak. It hit me then-sharp, familiar, *mine*-and I swayed, gripping a post to stay upright.

Kieran stiffened, his head snapping toward her.

"Alpha," Lila purred, dipping into a flawless bow. "The Goddess's blessings upon you."

He stepped closer, nostrils flaring, drawn to the stolen fragrance. His hand hovered near her cheek, then curled into a fist. "Your scent..."

Lila smiled, all innocence. "A gift from the Moon, I'm told."

The lie slithered through me, venomous. I opened my mouth to scream, to accuse, but no sound came. What proof did I have? Only the memory of bitter tea and colder betrayal.

Kieran's shoulders relaxed. "It's... strong."

"As fate intended," Elder Taryn intoned, her milky eyes narrowed at Lila.

The drums quickened. Kieran circled the women, his steps heavy, but his gaze kept returning to Lila. To *my* scent. Each pass felt like a claw raking my ribs.

*Stop him*, my wolf begged. *Run. Bite. Claim what's yours.*

But I stood paralyzed, a ghost in my own skin.

When Kieran halted before Lila, the world stopped.

"You," he growled, low and final.

Lila's breath hitched-a perfect mimic of surprise. "Alpha, I-"

He seized her wrist, pulling her against him. "My mate."

The pack erupted. Howls of joy shook the earth. Lila's triumphant glance sliced toward me as Kieran lifted her hand, their fingers entwined. Crimson ribbons fluttered like victory flags.

I stumbled back, bile rising in my throat. The bonfire's heat vanished, replaced by a cold that gnawed bone-deep. My legs moved without command, carrying me away from the cheers, the drums, the *lie*.

I didn't stop until I reached the forest's edge, where the trees swallowed the noise and my knees gave out. Dry heaves wracked me, though I'd eaten nothing. Above, the moon watched, silent and complicit.

*Stupid. Naive. Weak.*

Lila's words from the infirmary hissed in my skull. *You didn't even want him!* But I had-gods, I had-in secret, starved breaths and stolen glances. And now he was hers.

A twig snapped behind me.

"Elara?"

Kieran's voice.

I froze, pressing into the shadows. He stood at the tree line, backlit by distant firelight, Lila's scent still clinging to him. My wolf howled, a soundless ache.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

I held my breath.

He inhaled deeply, then frowned. "No one."

The word carved through me. *No one.*

He turned, disappearing into the celebration.

I crumpled, fingers digging into the soil. The earth didn't answer. The moon didn't care. My tears fell, scentless and unseen.

The pack didn't wait until dawn to decide I was cursed.

By sunrise, my cabin door bore claw marks-jagged lines scored deep into the wood. A warning. I traced them with trembling fingers, the splinters biting my skin. *Outsider. Traitor.* The words hummed in the air, unspoken but everywhere.

I walked to the infirmary with my hood up, eyes on the ground. My hands still worked. My herbs still healed. That had to matter.

It didn't.

Mara blocked the doorway, arms crossed. "We're fine without you."

"The fever tinctures need refilling," I said, clutching my basket.

"Rhea's handling it." She didn't move.

Rhea, the omega who'd never stitched a wound. "Let me show her-"

"No." Her gaze flicked to my wrists, where scent glands once pulsed. "You shouldn't be here."

The words were a shove. I stepped back, the basket slipping from my grip. Jars shattered, spilling yarrow and chamomile across the dirt.

Mara shut the door.

***

I ate alone by the well, chewing stale bread, when a pebble struck my shoulder.

"Cursed!" A child's voice.

I turned. A boy, no older than six, bared his tiny fangs. His mother yanked him away, hissing, "Don't touch her. She'll taint you."

The bread turned to ash in my mouth.

***

Lila found me at dusk, gathering firewood at the forest's edge.

"Elara!" Her voice dripped honey. "Let me help."

She wore Kieran's cloak-too large, swallowing her frame-and reeked of my stolen lavender. My stomach heaved.

"Go away," I muttered, stacking kindling.

She crouched, her smile knife-sharp. "You look terrible. Not sleeping?"

I gripped a branch until the bark bit. "What do you want?"

"To *thank* you." She plucked a wildflower, twirling it. "Without your... donation, I'd never be Luna."

The title punched through me. Luna. *His* Luna.

"They'll find out," I whispered.

She laughed. "Who? The elders? They're already planning our mating feast." She leaned in, her breath hot. "Kieran's a quick learner, by the way. So *devoted*."

My vision blurred. I lunged, but she caught my wrist, nails digging.

"Careful," she hissed. "No one believes a scentless wolf."

She shoved me back. I stumbled, roots scraping my palms.

"Oh, and Elara?" She tossed the flower at my feet. "The Alpha needs the infirmary cleared. You'll sleep in the old storeroom now. Less... distraction."

***

The storeroom reeked of mildew and rat droppings. I swept cobwebs with a broken broom, my only light a sliver of moon through a cracked window. My cot was a threadbare sack; my blankets, burlap. I curled up, shivering, and pressed my nose to my wrist.

Nothing.

*Nothing.*

A sob tore loose, raw and guttural. The walls swallowed it.

***

Days blurred.

I scrubbed laundry in the icy river, knuckles bleeding. Hauled water for the feast fires, shoulders burning. Ate scraps tossed outside the kitchen. The pack's eyes followed, wary and cold, while Lila's scent clung to Kieran's lodge-a taunt on the wind.

At night, I heard them.

Lila's laughter, high and bright. Kieran's growl, low and warm. Sounds that once meant safety. Now, they carved me hollow.

***

The worst was the howling.

Each evening, the pack gathered to sing to the moon, voices weaving into a fierce, beautiful chorus. I hid in the storeroom, hands clamped over my ears, but it seeped in anyway. My wolf writhed, desperate to join, to belong.

One night, I broke.

I crept to the edge of the gathering, hidden by shadows. The pack stood united, Lila at Kieran's side, his arm draped around her. Her howl rose first-clear, commanding. His answered, deep and resonant, and the pack followed.

My throat ached. I opened my mouth, but no sound came.

A hand gripped my shoulder.

Garrick. His bandaged arm had healed. "You shouldn't be here."

I jerked free. "Where else would I go?"

He hesitated, nostrils flaring as he tried to catch my scent. Found nothing. "You rejected the bond. This is your doing."

The accusation choked me. "I didn't-"

"Save it." He stepped back, lip curled. "A true mate wouldn't hide."

He melted into the crowd, leaving me colder than before.

***

Lila saved her cruelest blows for the full moon.

She cornered me outside the storeroom, Kieran's mark now a crescent on her neck. "The Alpha wants a private feast. You'll serve us."

"I'm not your servant," I spat.

She smirked. "Aren't you?"

In the lodge, I laid plates before them, hands shaking. Kieran barely glanced up, his focus on Lila's every word. His fingers brushed hers, and I dropped a goblet.

Wine splashed his boots.

"Clumsy," Lila sighed. "Apologize."

I knelt, wiping the stain. "Sorry, Alpha."

He stiffened, finally meeting my eyes. For a heartbeat, something flickered-recognition? Longing?

"Leave," he growled.

I fled, Lila's laughter chasing me into the dark.

***

That night, I found the lavender petal.

It lay crushed near the infirmary door, dried but still fragrant. My scent. My *life*.

I cradled it, tears falling. When I lifted it to my nose, the faintest whisper remained-a ghost of what I'd lost.

But ghosts could haunt.

And I was done hiding.