Chapter 4 THE RITUAL

Aria

It's dark in here, and it smells like rotten corpse.

I don't know how I'm sure of this, but I'm sure somebody died in here, I just hope I don't end up like they did.

My eyes are bound by a dark clothe, and my hands and feet are tied behind me.

I contemplate calling for help, but I can't find my voice.

"I'm scared, mother. I don't think we should do this. What if it's all a lie?" A small voice sounds very close to me, and I release an exhale.

Someone that can help me.

"Everyone must play their part, child." A dry voice responds.

My skin prickles when I hear the voice. There's something dark, and sinister about it.

"You have already been sentenced to death, mother. How do you think the Alpha would react if he discovers this?" The voice persists.

Alpha? Are they talking about Cassius?

If Cassius is here, maybe he can help me. Unbridled tears sting at the corners of my eyes.

Where am I? Where is Piper?

Oh, Goddesses! Piper!

I hope she's alive. I won't be able to live with myself if something happened to her.

Danger.

My wolf whispers in my mind.

"The King doesn't know what needs to be done. That is why I am doing it. One day, he will thank me." The dry voice replies.

"Or kill you." The child mutters back, and if not for my wolf senses, I won't have been able to pick that up.

"H-help," I surprisingly manage to let out a weak cry.

I immediately feel eyes on me, peering, and I shiver. "Please, help me. I beg you, don't hurt me."

The tears begin to flow down more freely. I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere, with people who sound like they want to hurt me.

And I don't even know if Piper is alive or not.

"Oh, dear child. We don't want to hurt you. I see in your path great pain, but it is not I who shall inflict such pain upon you."

What is she talking about?

I feel her inching closer to me, and I involuntarily shuffle backward.

"Now, don't be afraid. I am Akira, and once a time I knew your parents. A time before the prophecy. I only want to help you." I begin to feel her hands on me.

Her skin feels even drier than her voice, and the closer she gets to me, the dizzier I feel.

"Please, no!"

"Please, I beg you. Don't touch me. Please!" I cry desperately.

The door to the room I'm in closes shut, and I assume the younger person has left.

And, I'm all alone with this crazy woman.

"Shush! I'll make this quick and as painless as possible. The real pain will come after the ritual, so hold still."

Ritual?

I feel her hands wrap around my ankles, and neck as she carries me. I'm lifted in the air, and placed on a flat surface.

"Please, what are you doing?" I ask frantically. Before I can repeat the question, I feel a sharp pain in my neck.

"Arghhh!" It's agonizing and hot, and suddenly I begin to feel hot all over.

It's like she's stabbed me, but at the same time the wound feels hotter than anything I've ever felt before.

My skin feels like it's being peeled off my body, and I writhe and yell in agony, begging and pleading with her for it to stop.

"Please, I'll do anything you want. Please spare me." But she doesn't stop.

She begins to pour some kind of liquid over the place I'd been stabbed, and the pain triples.

Her hand holds me still while she continues pouring the liquid over me.

In the scuffle, my blindfold is accidentally ripped off, and the first thing my eye falls on causes my brain to freeze.

A girl, not more than 16 years, is nailed to the wall. Different weapons protruding from her body, and her blood is pure black.

The sight is so frightening, that I let out a violent yell, and slump again.

***

The next time I wake up, I'm not sure I'm even awake.

I'm convinced I've been killed, and I'm with the moon goddess, but the pain radiating up my arm keeps me conscious.

My clothes are now like rags around me, and my heart feels like it's beating too slow.

"Don't move!"

The voice is so loud and deafening, that I hug myself tightly, and let out a piercing scream.

Not again, please.

I can't do this anymore. I don't want to be hurt again. I wish everything would stop.

The voice is followed by quick steps that appear right beside me.

I can't see the person clearly, but I can see shadows around them. They wear it like a cloak.

If I wasn't at the brink of passing out, I'd have been curious about them.

"I'm sorry if I scared you. I thought you were-" The man stops speaking when he really takes me in.

I struggle to raise my eyes up, and I meet the most beautiful grey eyes I've ever seen.

Who is this man? And how did he find me?

He doesn't look like one of the guards at the pack house. In fact, he doesn't look like any man I've ever seen before.

For one, his hair is darker than midnight, and his skin is paler than the moon on a dark night.

"Who are you? And why do you smell like that?" This time he peers at me closer.

Smell like what?

Instinctively, I sniff myself and realize what he means.

I don't smell like anything.

Because it's like I don't have a scent at all. And worst of all, I can't feel my wolf.