Black Blood

The man in white picks up a knife from the bowl of the stand. He holds the silver knife in his hand above his head.

‘Blood will fall, blood will mix and blood will make.’ The man’s voice echoes through the silent forest. I get goose bumps from the way the man says it. His voice is heavy, loud. My eyes are fixed on the scene before me as if I am being forced to look at it.

The man lowers the knife and turns to Troy, the current Alpha. Troy holds out his hand to the man. As Troy holds his hand above the bowl, the man gently grabs his wrist and brings the knife towards his palm. A slight discomfort spreads over my skin. The sharp blade cuts into the skin of Troy’s palm, letting his red blood spill out. Troy doesn’t flinch as the blood falls past his hand into the bowl.

After a few drops of blood have fallen into the bowl, the man in white releases Troy’s wrist.

The man in white again takes something from the stand. He holds up a bag of purple flowers.

‘May the wisdom of the former Alpha help the new one in difficult times. That the Aster may increase the wisdom.’ The man opens the bag and drops the flowers into the bowl. The purple flowers whirl in the air before they hit the blood and are sucked into the red mass.

The man turns to Alex. From the distance I’m sitting, I can see Alex’s tense posture. His shoulders are tight, he is fumbling with his nails and wobbling on his legs. He’s clearly not into knives and blood. In doubt, Alex extends his hand to the man. Slowly, he guides Alex’s hand towards the bowl. His red blood slides via his palm into the bowl. As soon as the man lets go of his hand, Alex grabs his bleeding skin with his other hand. The man takes a bag of yellow flowers from the stand.

‘That the Beta will help the Alpha in adversity. That they will rule and fight together as brothers. Let the yellow rose seal and strengthen this bond.’ He opens the bag and drops the yellow flowers into the bowl. I expect that the Luna’s will now be called in to donate their blood, but that turns out not to be the case. Both Luna take a step forward with a bag in their hands. The current Luna holds a bag in her hand with pink petals, Sira one with red petals.

‘May the peony give you the courage to rule, fight and stand up for your people in difficult times. May the red rose give you love for your people and your Luna,’ says the man. The Luna opens the bags and drops the petals into the bowl. The red and pink mix with the blood.

The man in the white robe holds out his hand to Asa. His face is drawn into a frown, his other hand clenched into a fist. Asa takes a step forward until he is standing behind the bowl with his eyes fixed on the audience. The man raises his hand and then spins his peace fingers in the bowl. He spins several times through the mixture of blood and plants before removing his blood-stained fingers from the bowl. He places his fingers on Asa’s forehead.

Meanwhile, the forest is dead silent. The only sound is made by the birds. Everyone is focused on Asa and the man. With only an inch between the two fingers, he draws two lines on Asa’s forehead up to just above his eyebrows. The man removes his hand and takes something from the bowl.

In his hand, the man holds a necklace. The necklace appears to be made of black leather and at the bottom hangs a blue stone. The stone is attached to the black leather in a curly fashion. The black leather is decorated with little signs printed in the material, signs that I do not know. Asa bends his knees slightly to allow the man in the white robe to put the necklace around Asa’s neck.

The moment the chain is around Asa’s neck and he rises from the ground, the guests stand up from their chairs and benches. They start to clap and shout. For a few seconds, I sit dead still, nailed to the wood. Because I’m still not allowed to stand out, I get up from the wood and start clapping along with the crowd.

‘Your new Alpha!’ the man in the white robe shouts through the forest. The cheering turns into shouting. Asa stands straight on the altar and accepts his welcome as the king he has become. There is a smile on his face and a slight blush on his cheeks. There seems to be no end to the shouting through the forest.

I can say with complete conviction that this is many times more festive than a coronation in the castle. I have seen my father’s assistants appointed, my father decorated and so-called wars won, but nothing has been as festive as this. The longer I am outside those walls, the more I realise the prison I have spent my years in.

The former Alpha is the first to take Asa in his arms and give him a loving pat on the back. At that moment, the guests walk away from their seats and line up at the altar. I quickly add myself to the queue. My tactic is to go with the flow. Those who go with the group hardly stand out. I have still lost sight of Novak and, for the moment, I am not doing my best to find him again.

I don’t feel entirely at ease standing in a line full of werewolves who are busy talking to each other. I silently stare at the ground, hoping that as few wolves as possible will notice me. I am listening to the conversation between the two women in front of me. The women are talking about a shop in the village, at least that is what I assume after the words.

‘At Navite you can get the best camomile, the cheapest in the village.’ I have always been interested in medicinal herbs, something that is connected in my nature and magic. In the castle, it was strictly forbidden to practice that kind of magic.

‘No you must buy the blue herb for the tea, is good for intestinal cramps,’ insists the other woman as we take another step closer to the altar. I would like to ask the women which shop they are talking about, but my submission stops me, plus the fear of revealing my secret.

‘I’ll go tomorrow,’ the other woman closes the conversation as we stand almost in front of the new Alfa and Luna by now. I shove off the conversation I’ve just overheard and look at the queue in front of me.

A man and a woman are standing at the front of the altar. They bow to the new Alpha and Luna and then walk away. I cannot hear what the two say. Then the two women are next in line. They bow, mumble something that I again do not understand and then walk away. That is when I come face to face with Asa. I do the first and only thing that comes to mind, I take a bow.

‘Congratulations,’ I say, hoping I’m not the first to say that. Judging by Asa’s reaction, I am the first. He starts laughing softly and nods his head.

‘Thanks Maria,’ is his only response, which doesn’t make the situation any less awkward. I quickly stand up again, smile small and don’t know how quickly to make my way away from the altar.