The Lunam Ceremony (Book One) Read Online Free PDF

Layla on the prowl. She’s had a few male friends over the years. There was one guy, Miles. They dated for three years. He was rich and had a boat. He took us to fancy dinners in Las Vegas and even got me tickets to Cirque de Soleil for my birthday. One night I heard them arguing because Miles wanted to take us on a ski trip and mom refused to go. Miles ran a string of casinos and had a business trip in Reno. The argument escalated from her not wanting to go on the trip to problems in their relationship. Miles stopped by one more time to pick up some clothes he had left at the apartment, and I never saw him again. After that her relationships, if you can call them that, were all casual. When I questioned her about finding my soulmate, she always said the same thing. I’m different, stronger than she is, and she had no doubt I would make a match that would last forever. How do you argue with that?
    After a short walk into the woods, we arrive at the ceremony area. The clearing is about half the size of a football field. A few dozen picnic tables and an old farm house are the only signs of human life in the middle of the forest. This farmhouse has been the location of the Lunam Ceremony for the last one hundred years. From the outside it looks like a rundown bed and breakfast. Jessie opens the double doors and Bonnie walks inside ahead of me. The foyer looks like a fancy prep school. Opposite the door is a large staircase leading to the second floor; it’s made of dark wood, with metal ornate hand rails.
    “Down the hall on the right is the girls’ dressing room,” Jessie says. Then she points out the sign on the wall. “Boys are on the left.” Jessie walks to one side of the foyer and opens a set of large double doors. They lead to a huge banquet room. “This is where the ceremony is held when the weather is bad.” The wall on the opposite side of the room is a series of French doors providing a view of the forest. “You won’t have to worry; the weather is clear for tonight.” The weather is the last thing I’m worried about.
    I follow Jessie into the kitchen; it looks like the kitchen of a four-star restaurant, with industrial-size appliances and several work stations. As I unload the groceries, she fires up the stoves and starts cooking. I don’t really know what to do, so I decide to play sous chef. I empty a bag of chopped onions into a bowl and carry them to Jessie. I trip, and the onions fly into the air and land all over the floor. Jessie takes the empty bowl from my hand and pushes me out the door. “Why don’t you go help Bonnie?”
    Layla giggles in the corner as she forms hamburger meat into burgers. “Bonnie is outside.” She motions with her head as I leave the kitchen. Hopefully, cooking won’t be one of the duties I need to fulfill because I suck at it. I don’t really have any skills to bring to the pack, other than my bloodline. From what I’ve learned so far, I think that’s enough.
    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