I borrowed Meredith’s computer to show her the latest clip of Finding Bigfoot. We were laughing when I realized that maybe I was the dumb one. Could they really be onto something?
“Wait. Is there a bigfoot?”
Meredith snorted. “No. Not that I’ve ever heard of.”
“Thank God. If those morons were right, I was going to freak out.”
“Even if they were real, I doubt leaving a half-eaten donut in the middle of the forest is going to attract one. And what is with that crazy screaming bigfoot noise that guy makes? Does he really think that it’s going to attract a bigfoot? I mean, how does he know that’s what a bigfoot even sounds like?”
I laughed. “I know! Right? Because they’re not real. It’s horrible.”
Meredith stepped away from me. “Okay. Done.”
“Really?”
“Yup.”
I got up to look in the mirror. My hair had gotten pretty long—the dark brown wavy-curls reached halfway down my back. Meredith had shaped the mess into lots of little braids that twisted together and formed a crown. “Wow. This is amazing.”
“Thanks.”
“How did you learn to do this?”
“The same way anyone learns anything these days—the Internet.”
I picked up a compact mirror so I could see it from all angles. “Seriously. I’m impressed.”
“Happy to be of service. So, makeup?”
I gave myself an honest once-over. Ever since I became a werewolf, I hadn’t used much. My complexion was pretty perfect—which it had never been before. I put on a little shadow, some eyeliner, and mascara.
My hands were sweating as I slipped the robe on over my towel.
This was it. Today was the day that I was going to do this whole werewolf ceremony thingy.
You okay? Dastien’s voice rumbled through the bond.
I tied the robe and ran a hand over my trembling stomach. Fine.
I’ll see you soon, okay?
I closed my eyes as his love and support washed over me. Okay.
The nerves were still there, but lessened. I still had the nagging feeling like something bad was going to happen, but I hoped that was just me being a pessimistic worrier. I was ignoring my gut and trusting my heart.
What could possibly go wrong?
Chapter Four
The pack was supposed to meet up in the quad. The whole area was grassy, and on nice days people lay out doing their homework. Besides the cafeteria, it was probably the biggest gathering spot on campus.
I wasn’t sure how many people went to a typical ceremony. I assumed everyone in the school pack, but since we had so many visitors, I wasn’t sure. Maybe everyone would come.
I’d avoided the ceremony during the last full moon. I was still a little weak from the vampire bite and not at all comfortable with the idea of shifting, so I’d let Dr. Gonzales at me with one of her needles. I’d slept through the whole thing. Meredith and Dastien had explained that everyone got together as a pack, shifted, and ran. I had an idea of what was going to happen, but knowing about it and actually doing it were two totally different things.
As soon as I stepped outside the dorm, I stopped walking. “Oh my God.” In the hour or so I’d been inside, campus had become a zoo. People streamed into the quad from the path to the parking lot. Already, a crowd of at least a few hundred filled the square plot of grass.
How had everyone even found parking?
Meredith bumped her shoulder against mine. “Bonding ceremonies don’t happen very often, and people really like to see them.”
“I thought all the girls got paired up.” Even if I thought it was odd that girls got matched before they turned eighteen, that was the norm among the Weres. That meant my ceremony was nothing special—or at least it definitely shouldn’t have been such a big draw.
“Lots of people are mated, but only True Mates do this exact ceremony. It’s been a long time since the last formal bonding. Plus, people are already in town for the Tribunal and you made a lot of people interested… So…”
“This blows. And I totally blame you.” Only the students had really heard about me before Meredith’s curse fiasco.
“Me? No. You should be blaming Dastien. Breaking the spell was one thing, but he bit you and that was a huge freaking deal. Word’s gotten around about the True Mate thing.”
True Mates were extremely rare, but that was what Dastien and I were. Nothing could’ve kept us apart. We were two halves. And apparently ‘True Mate’ was Were for ‘freak show.’ I wiped my sweaty palms down my robe. I wished I wasn’t totally nakey under the damned thing. It must’ve been wishful thinking that the ceremony was only a big deal to Dastien and me. Crowds weren’t my thing, but since I showed up at St. Ailbe’s, I’d found myself in the center of a few of them. It never got any easier.