Dominic Silvermane's Arc

Chapter 4 of 9

Three days after his mate took the pendant, the two wolves still would not meet Dominic's eyes. They stood apart at meals. They whispered by the woodpile. Dominic felt their doubt like a splinter under his skin. His luna wore his colors, but to these two she was a stranger who had cost them nothing. He needed to change that before their whispers became a challenge. So he took her to the stone clearing where his pack marked its lunas. Pale pillars ringed a floor of carved moonstone. The light off the stones was cold and blue. The whole pack came to watch. The two doubters stood at the front, arms folded, waiting for her to fail. An old woman waited at the center stone. Purple and gray ears rose from her white hair. She was the last blood of the first luna, and the pack fell silent when she lifted her head. She had judged lunas for longer than any of them had lived. "A pendant is metal," the old woman said. "A luna is proven. Bare your throat, girl." Dominic's hand twitched toward his mate. This was the danger. If the old woman rejected her, the doubters would have their opening in front of everyone. His luna glanced at him. He gave a small nod. She stepped onto the moonstone alone. The old woman circled her once. She pressed a thumb to the white-haired woman's brow. The stones under their feet brightened. A low hum rose through the clearing, and the moonstones along the pillars lit one by one, blue climbing all the way around the ring. The pack drew a sharp breath. Even the two doubters uncrossed their arms. "The first luna's line answers her," the old woman said. "I have not seen the stones wake like this in forty years." She turned to face the pack. "This one is no stranger. The moon named her before your alpha did." The white-haired woman's eyes filled. She looked at Dominic, and for the first time she did not look afraid. The first doubter stepped forward. Dominic braced for the challenge. But the wolf dropped to one knee on the cold stone. "Luna," he said. The second wolf followed. One by one the pack knelt, until the whole ring bowed to her. Dominic let out the breath he had held for months. The crack in his house had closed. His two rivals knelt now, and they could not un-kneel. Later, in the small cabin they had given her, his luna sat by the window with the pendant in her hand. "Dominic," she said. It was the first time she had spoken his name. He crossed to her. Before he could answer, a young wolf pounded on the door. "Alpha. Scarlett's been seen at the border." The boy swallowed. "She isn't alone. She's talking to the rival pack."