The Betrayal

Chapter Nine

Valerio turned to me and held out his hand. Placing my hand in his, I followed him to the silver chains in the center of the circle. Five thick chains of metal were heavily secured into the dirt. My eyes widened at how large they were and how much silver was actually there. The burn of the silver radiated off of the chains as we walked closer to them. Valerio clenched his jaw, trying to ignore the pain.

My mother appeared out of thin air next to me with her Protector next to her. Everyone in the crowd inhaled sharply. It was rare that the Moon Goddess actually was seen by the wolves. They all believed in her, but she only let certain people get close enough to her.

She smiled sweetly at me and glanced at Valerio. He dropped my hand and my mother cupped my head in her hands. "Be strong. Remember: Betrayal. Love. Loss."

I nodded my head in her direction and she wrapped her fragile arms around me, pulling me into a hug. The powerful aura that once radiated off of her vanished and was replaced with a weakened version of her true self. Grey strands of her hair fell onto her shoulders and more wrinkles laid by her lips.

We pulled away from each other and her Protector led her to a separate set of silver chains. She stripped off her white thin dress, leaving herself completely naked in front of the crowd. Her Protector bent down and clasped a chain around her left ankle. He stripped his clothes and clasped a chain around his right ankle, bounding them both together and to the ground.

They turned to face me, waiting patiently for me to continue. My eyes widened as I glanced at Valerio. "I have to strip?" I asked. He nodded his head and I took a deep breath. Fingering the bottom of my thin dress, I pulled it over my head. I had an urge to wrap my hands around my body to hide my scars from the wolves, but I forced them by my sides.

My eyes fluttered to Damon for a quick moment. For some reason, I ached for his acceptance of my body. His hungry eyes studied my body and I could hear his heart racing. A small smile twitched onto his lips as his eyes connected with mine. I smiled back and turned to Valerio.

Valerio bent down and grasped the chains in his hand, wincing slightly. As he clasped the first two chains on my ankles, the muscles in my legs clenched at the burning sensation.

"Lay down," Valerio ordered. I laid on my back on the dirt and held my hands next to my head. Valerio knelt next to me and brushed his fingers on my cheek. "I'm with you every step of the way." He grimaced and clasped the silver onto my wrists and then one around my neck. I howled in pain as the silver brushed up against the thin skin on my neck.

I didn't know why I needed so much silver to suppress my wolf.

"At midnight you will witness the ascension of a new Moon Goddess," Valerio declared.

As midnight approached, the silver burned warmer and warmer. I desperately tried to pull on the restraints to try to ease the pain on my neck, but it just seemed to rub up against my flesh even more. I could feel it start to burn off.

Suddenly, the edges of my heart began to burn. The burn scorched the insides of my heart. I furrowed my eyebrows together, trying to ignore the pain, but the burns flared out unexpectedly. The boiling sting seeped into my veins and pumped throughout my body.

Desperately I tried to dig my nails into anything I could. I yanked on the chains wildly and dug my nails into my palms causing them to ooze blood. The searing pain continued to spread throughout my body until it reached the edges of my appendages. I tried to find relief in the coolness of my fingertips, but soon even those were burning.

My howls and cries pierced through the deadly silence. I needed to get out of these chains. They just made everything much worse. My eyes filled with agony as I squeezed them shut and reopened them, hoping to get rid of the pain. It felt as if my body was being covered with molten lava. My clammy skin sweat profusely and soon I was panting in a puddle of my own sweat. I needed something to cool me off.