The Lunam Ceremony (Book One) (5 page)

I find Bonnie laying out pieces of white cloth on one of the picnic tables. She shakes out each one before placing it on top of the growing stack. “Are those shorts?” I point to one of the piles.

“Yep, those are for the boys,” she says. “These are for the girls.” Bonnie holds up a plain cotton dress that barely reaches my knees. The fabric is cut like a long t-shirt, with capped sleeves and a wide neck.

“Kind of short, don’t you think?”

Bonnie laughs and places it back on the pile. “They aren’t a fashion statement, honey. You put these on when it’s time to phase. When you phase, whatever clothes you’re wearing will be ripped to shreds. We can’t have you kids running around here naked like they did in the old days.”

“Oh yeah,” I say quietly.

“All of this must be overwhelming for you. I told Layla she should have brought you back two years ago and given you time to adjust. You’ve never even met any of the boys.” Bonnie shakes her head. “You know your mom, she’s so damn stubborn.”

I love the fact that she knows my mother in a way that I don’t. Layla had boyfriends, but she never had any female friends. She said it was because women were intimidated by her. “There’s no way I would’ve let her bring me back while I was still in school.” Not when I was told I had until eighteen before fulfilling my destiny. “Maybe if I was raised in the pack, like Krystal and Sophie Ann, I would feel differently.”

“Krystal is boy crazy; she could care less about Lunam. She just wants to fall in love. Sophie Ann is a purest. She believes in all the old ideals, like being naked at Lunam and reverting back to old traditions.”

I think of what Sophie Ann said about raising cattle, and it makes more sense now, although, I can’t imagine her wanting to hunt cows. “How much have we moved away from tradition?”

Bonnie hesitates a bit before she answers. “Over the years there are certain things we had to adapt to. I think our core values have remained intact. Family and prosperity in the sense of living rich and fulfilling lives have always been our main focus. Nobody expected our businesses to be so successful. As the pack grew, so did our business. We had to make sure everyone is taken care of. It might seem like money is what drives us, but really it is the wellbeing of our kind.” She reaches down and opens another bin. She pulls out another pile of dresses. I fold them while she talks. “Some see the success as a curse. They think the elder council, the pack bank, the selection of leaders, is all about power. It isn’t. We have to make sure our legacy is protected. In this world it’s through money. Three hundred years ago we hunted game; the one with the largest kill was revered. It’s the same core value.”

“Who is on the council? What do they do?”

“The elder council rotates members every eighteen years. This year, the parents of the Lunam children will join the council. The members that no longer have blood ties to the new Lunam leaders will retire.”

“So, my mother will join this year,” I clarify.

“Yes. We will finally have a voice on the council.” Bonnie goes to collect another bin from the SUV while I wait at the table, wondering if my mother is using me.

Layla doesn’t give a shit about money, but power is another thing. She loves being in control. Mom says she brought me back so I can fulfill my destiny. I’m starting to think I’m here to fulfill hers. She wants on the council, and the only way is through me. I sigh at the thought and catch Bonnie’s attention as she returns to the table. “Are you sure you’re ok?” She pulls a pair of shorts from my grip. “Why don’t you go for a walk or something?”

I want to ask Bonnie what kind of power the council has. Do they control the pack leaders? Money? My destiny? I want to ask her if Layla is the kind of woman that would use her daughter to gain power. I already know the answer to that. My mother wants the best for me. I have to believe that. If I don’t, then my entire life has been a lie.

“No, I’m fine. Just taking it all in.” I grab a pair of shorts from the bin and lay them on the stack. I think about the boy that will wear these. Will he be my soulmate? The man I’ll be with for the rest of my life? The father of my children? I think I’m going to vomit. “Were you nervous the day of your Lunam?” I ask Bonnie.

“Oh God, yes, and I was prepared. I can’t imagine what you’re going through.” Bonnie pats my hand. “But, you’ll be fine,” she adds quickly.

“Did you know the boy that became your mate, I mean before Lunam?”

“I did know him. But, he wasn’t the boy I thought I would match with. There was another one that I sort of had a crush on. We grew up together and I always thought he would be the one, but nature had another plan for me.” She looks across the clearing like she is seeing her Lunam played out before her. She finally looks back at me and 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 area will be illuminated by the moon. A moon that will determine my fate.

Layla is surrounded by people; her old pack I assume. She is glowing in her black and white sundress. I look at the older men and wonder which one is my father. Will I know him when I see him? Will he know me?

“Kalysia?” says a voice from behind me. “Are you Layla’s daughter?”

I turn around and find a girl in a blue strapless maxi dress. “Yes,” I say and hold out my hand.

“I’m Cassie, from Dunsmuir, I mean, Shasta,” she corrects and shakes my hand. “I think we’re sort of cousins.” She laughs shyly.

I wonder why she thinks we’re cousins. I don’t have time to ask because I am bombarded with faces I’ve never seen before. They all know my name. They give me hugs and say we’re related in some way or another. I try to be polite to everyone, but it’s so overwhelming.

“Kalysia, do you think you can help me in the bathroom really quick?” Cassie grabs my hand and pulls me through the crowd. “Girl stuff, you know.” Her warm smile softens the hard looks she’s getting as we ease out of the circle of strangers.

“Thank you,” I say and loop my arm with hers. “I have no idea who any of those people are.”

“They are mostly cousins and aunts on your mom’s side.” Cassie seems pretty knowledgeable of my family tree. I wonder if she knows my father?

A group of girls shoot dirty looks our way as we walk into the bathroom. It’s really more like a locker room with a line of shower stalls and open cubbies in addition to the bathroom stalls and sinks. It’s only slightly cooler in here, but at least we’re out of the sun.

“Nice shorts. Is that what human girls are sporting these days?” one of them says, and the others fall over themselves laughing. I am slightly underdressed. Most of the girls are in sundresses while I’m in ripped jean shorts and a white tank. I practically lived in this outfit back home. I already feel out of place, I at least want to be comfortable in my own clothes.

Cassie says the girls are jealous because I was raised out of the pack.

“How do they know where I was raised?”

“Everyone knows who you are, Kalysia. You’re famous.”

I tell her my life wasn’t as glamorous as they all think.

“Well, at least you got to go to school. Most of us were homeschooled, and the only socializing we get to do is with each other. Everyone is so freaked out we’ll get knocked up by a human we barely leave our compound.”

Hearing words like homeschool and compound make me wince. “Ever heard of birth control?”

“What do you mean?” Cassie asks while she splashes cold water on her arms and neck.

“You know, condoms, the pill? Layla put me on it after—”

“What!” Cassie shrieks. She pulls me into a shower stall for privacy. “You were on the pill?” She whispers like it’s top secret information. Pack life must be a lot more sheltered than I even thought. No wonder Layla took me away. This is what she meant by me being stronger, smarter than she was.

“Cassie, chillax. A lot of girls take it.”

“Human girls, not us,” she says.

“Maybe if more of us took it, we could solve the teen pregnancy issue.”

Cassie doesn’t find my offhanded comment funny. “Kalysia, never tell anyone, not even your match, that you were on the pill.”

“What difference does it make now? I stopped taking it last month.” Apparently, I won’t need it after Lunam since I can only get knocked up during mating season, and only by a pureblood.

“Some believe the pill makes us sterile. There have been instances where females that took it were unable to conceive, ever.” Cassie’s tone is serious. She really believes this, even though modern science says otherwise. Even if modern science doesn’t apply to us, I know Layla would never jeopardize my ability to have children. It’s basically the reason for my existence.