Untouchable by Marii Solaria

Chapter 64 – The Ritual “You win some, you lose some. Nothing wrong with that at all.“– Stefan Edberg Two Days Later–Zircon Moon Pack Third Person POV The flaming sun settled below the vivid orange horizon to allow the silver moon to take its reign as ruler of the night. Twinkling diamonds bedazzled the cobalt cloak as it enhanced the shine of the waning gibbous. It was a night unlike any other. While the many humans and supernaturals of Nevada tucked away in their beds, the moonlight shone over a vast and vacant field surrounded by dense oak trees. A solitary tree with a wide bark stood in the center of the obscured greenery. In the distance, a waterfall plays its soothing song for the creatures taking shelter for the evening. Perched in the birches was little Diana, with her golden orbs glued to the magic cradled within the moon. Gentle commotion echoed through the breeze, carrying worries and curiosity from the wolves awake to see this monumental occasion. Two women decked out in orchid–purple garbs tossed glittering white dust in the air, whispering as the particles scattered across the land. Calm and collected, they worked to insure the area is free from impurities that could disrupt the soul–separation ritual. One woman dusted off her hands and marched toward Neron, her ginger pixie cut fluttering with the near- unnoticeable wind. Her approach captured the Alpha’s attention, his sapphires drawn to her freckles highlighted by the moonlight. “How many people do we expect to be in attendance, Alpha Neron?” “More will arrive soon, Elder Marjorie. That should be it. The man answered, ignoring the rising goosebumps on his exposed arms. “If I may ask, what was that dust you and Elder Estella were tossing?” “Crystalline dust from selenite. It purifies the area from negative energy lingering in the area. Any disturbances can harm both the mortal and the wolf.” “But wouldn’t the ritual itself hurt them both?” “I cannot say for certain because those who partook in soul separations each yield different results and experiences. For some, it is painless. For others, it is excruciating.” Elder Marjorie adjusted her amethyst necklace, enclosing the gem with her palm. “To separate a wolf from their human means severing a bond untouched since birth. Invoking Selene is the only solution. However, if one party refuses to release the other, it adds to the pain.” Neron bit his lip as the thought of Ariel in pain. Despite the immediate threat of agony, the wolf’s inflexible resolve is praiseworthy. She held immense strength for enduring endless days of her human’s greed and gave out endless chances for her to repent. How often did she suffer every time he and Odessa laid in bed together? Odessa’s truth squashed any remaining feelings he had for her, along with her guiltlessness with tormenting Kiya. His heart didn’t beat for her as it used to before. Was this the effects of falling out of love with a woman who cared about the power he gave her? His nostrils flared with his inhale, his chest settling after expelling an unsteady sigh. “Has anyone ever died Chapter 64 – The Ritual during these rituals?” The icy mask of Elder Marjorie melted, disclosing the sorrow glittering in her emeralds. Her shoulders tensed as if her body is recalling what her mind didn’t want to. “There were a couple of occasions. If you don’t mind, I don’t wish to delve into that.” Neron nodded. “I apologize for my overstep.” “No need for apologies. Not every ritual is successful. For whatever happens tonight, brace yourself for all outcomes.” Ten minutes later, Neron’s ears perked at multiple footsteps nearing the field. With his Betas and Gammas behind him, Darien and his friends marched in. While his friends held curious expressions, Darien adorned a frigid, impassive mask. But even Neron can identify the cracks within the stone. “Has the ritual started?” Darien asked, his body rigid. Neron answered with a headshake. “Looks like we’ve arrived on time. I brought my friends…for…” “Moral support!” Galen chirped, his infamous smile settling on his face. “We can’t let you go through this alone, dude. It’s…intense.” “I know.” Darien muttered, refusing to talk further. Emotional conflict raged a lethal war in his stomach, chest, and heart as his eyes watched the preparations. He spotted a youthful woman about the same age as him in a floral print dress, settling out white candles in their holders with Elder Estella. Both adults made eye contact, but Darien darted his eyes elsewhere, avoiding further attention. Sirius trotted and pranced around in his mind, adding to the pooling anxiety he wishes to eradicate. “We’re almost ready.” Elder Estella announced to the surrounding constituents. Her modulated voice carried with the wind, gentle but full of authority. Thick braids splayed on her shoulders, contrasting heavily with her purple garb. “Everyone, please come and grab a candle from Mara and form a perimeter around the area, preferably a circle.” Everybody grabbed a white candle adorned with a silver candle holder. Bits and pieces of authentic selenite poked through the waxy body, adding weight to the power it held. Darien’s hands shook as he reached for his candle, but barely when it stumbled out of his hands. “Oop!” Mara caught the candle before it smashed on the forest floor, her smile meeting their amber–tinted eyes. “Gotta be careful with these things! I didn’t spend hours making them for them to kiss the earth.” Darien blinked. “You made these yourself?” “Every single one. It wasn’t easy either.” She scoffed, rubbing her neck under her thick, golden hair. “Do you know how troublesome it is to find selenite in Las Cruces? It is like finding a needle in a haystack!” She hands him the candle. “Logically, it would have been better to use amethyst since we already have a shit ton of it, but beggars can’t be choosers.” Darien eyed Mara from head to toe, eyes unblinking. For a moment, Sirius stopped his shuffling and stared along with his human, curious. The pads of his fingers grazed the body of the candle, feeling the ridges of selenite poke at his flesh. “You’re not a werewolf.” Chapter 64 The Hit “Nope.” Mara shook their head. “I’m a witch. Well, not a full one. My distant ancestor is a witch, and genetics made me one, it seems. Estella and Marjorie are my parents.” “You’d get along with Phoebe, then. She is a witch as well, but she is in California at the moment.” “I’m always up to meeting fellow witches. Send her my way if possible.” Mara’s effervescent personality is infectious, awakening a smile on Darien’s face. A smile he thought he had lost for good. “I don’t mean to interrupt,” Elder Estella poked her head between the two. “But the ritual will begin in a few. minutes.” ‘Right. Sorry, Mom.” Darien watched the woman pull out a portable lighter to light his candle. The flame stretched to the sky, flickering crazily when touched by moonlight. “Looks like you better get back to your friends.” The man nodded in silence, turning on his heels to walk back to his group. His heart hammered hard in his chest. He wasn’t certain if it was from his nerves or speaking with Mara. After the perimeter formed, and all candles were lit, the main attraction arrived. Ariel’s eyes fluttered close as she took a sharp inhale of the night air, her grin glittering under the silvery light. Some members parted ways for her to enter the circle along with a few guards. Her green eyes recounted every individual present; all whom Odessa wronged. Guilt pierced her heart when she spotted Emily’s family; the woman who was wrongly executed for the cyanide poisoning. Her human hurt many. Separating from her guiltlessness is a miracle she treasured. The guilt melted away like ice on fire when her eyes landed on Darien. Her grin grew impossibly wider, breaking away from the guards toward him. Darien’s blues flashed to soft yellow, marking the presence of Sirius. Once the two were close enough, Sirius drew his mate into his arms, pressing his forehead against her own. “You came, Sirius!” Ariel gasped, tears brimming in her eyes. “I’m so happy!” “I needed to see you before…” He sighed, hands rubbing her naked arms. Her cheeks flushed. The colorless dress Ariel failed to provide warmth against the tranquil night. “Are you sure about doing this?” “I’ve never been surer about anything, besides you being my mate.” Gold eyes searched for signs of doubt and conflict, but found none. Ariel’s steadfastness is unbreakable, and she intends on following through with her promise. “Sirius. I’m sorry for not being strong enough to stop my human. This is all my fault.” “No, it’s not! You didn’t ask for this. I should apologize to you–I could have stopped Odessa from poisoning Darien, but I was as weak as a newborn pup. There was nothing I could do.” “We’re going to be going back and forth with whose fault it is, so we might as well stop now.” She chuckled, brushing her palm against Sirius‘ cheeks. Yellow filled with indescribable emotion. Ariel’s face softened. “We won’t have to worry about Odessa anymore. I don’t know what our Moon Goddess‘ plans are for me, but with the utmost confidence, I believe we’ll find our way back together again.” “You make it sound so final…” Sirius whimpered. “I’m sorry.” Rising on the tips of her toes, Ariel plants a tender kiss on her mate’s lips. “Forgive me making Chapter 64 The Ritual you sad.” Without hesitation, Sirius drew the she–wolf into another kiss. Smoldering. Desperate. Silently conveying his prayers for her to emerge unscathed after the ritual, his fears, and his hopes. Ariel drunk it all like fine wine, relishing in the touch of her other half that Odessa deprived her of The moment ended quickly because of the urgency to start the ritual. Both mates gazed into each other’s eyes once more, emeralds and citrines full of love and pain from their impending separation. “I love you, Sirius. You and Darien.” “And we love you too, Ariel.” Time was no longer an ally. It was time to start the treacherous, yet imperative ritual that might cost two lives. Lit candles bathed the circle in a rich amber light, highlighting all the faces of the surrounding constituents. Ariel stood strong and tall, wrists handcuffed behind her as she stood against the lone tree, blindfolded. The elimination of her eyesight only enhanced her other senses, her hearing sharp enough to hear the burrowing cicadas in the trees. Mara, veiled with her hair hidden from the world, traced a large crescent moon around Ariel with selenite dust. After she finished, she took her place next to her parents, holding her own candle. “Under the waning gibbous, we all stand here today to bear witness to the departure from Ariel, one of Selene’s many children from Odessa, her mortal.” Elder Estella’s voice boomed across the field, dripping with authority and respect. “May Goddess Selene hear our pleas and prayers to heal the heartache and grant a second–chance to Ariel for a better human host.” A great energy shift sparked the lit candles to glow brighter and dance wildly with the wind. All the wolves felt an abrupt drop in temperature, breaths held at the base of their throats. An authoritative, divine presence hovered above and around the ritual space, and the moon shone impossibly brighter. It is as if Selene is right there with them. Ariel took in a sharp breath, bracing herself for incoming pain. Odessa won’t let her go without a fight, and she knew that. As the presence of the goddess vibrated through the air, Neron took a step forward. His hands clutched the base of his candle holder, half of his face bathed in amber and the other in silver. It was now or never. As acting Alpha, he has the power to sever bonds. This differed from severing pack bonds from wolves who wished to leave Zircon Moon or his unfortunate decision to sever his mate bond; this could cause death. But he couldn’t back out. Ariel deserves better. “Goddess Selene.” He declared, his thunderous voice reverberating. “I call upon you, as Alpha of the Zircon Moon Pack, to sever the bond between the wolf, Ariel, and the human, Odessa. Grant the wishes of happiness and freedom for Ariel as she is an innocent soul caught in a sea of madness. Cradle her in your mercy as she and Odessa depart from one another for eternity.” Silence. No one dared to move or breathe. Until a powerful scream tore from Ariel’s throat. The crowd watched the she–wolf writhe and convulse against the tree bark, chest heaving from agony. Ariel Chapter 64: The Roul and Odessa fought within the vessel–one desiring autonomy and the other desiring the opposite. The woman’s soul glowed a luminous silver, palpitating forward as an outline of a wolf emerged from her chest. Silver quickly shifted to red as the light pulled itself forward away, one scream becoming two. Two screams becoming one and a mighty howl. Odessa refused to let Ariel go, but Ariel remained determined to leave her human behind for good. It was a never–ending tug–o–war with the weakening bond as the rope. Ariel burst out of Odessa’s chest as a translucent wolf spirit with a golden bond protruding out of her chest, connected to Odessa. Plopping onto the ground in a breathless heap, Ariel was free. Free from the misery and ignorance. Everybody heard her tiny howls through her parted jaw as she struggled to rise on her paws. Odessa’s knees buckled in her sudden surge of frailty, slumping onto her legs as she panted with perspiration dripping down her temples. In a blink of an eye, an invisible force lifted the bond and snapped into two with a silvery flash of light. A mysterious gust of wind blew through the area, extinguishing all the candles. A shot of pain sizzled on Odessa’s right shoulder blade, her pack mark vanishing from her apricot flesh. “It is done.” Elder Marjorie announced. “Ariel and Odessa are separated for eternity.” Chapter Comments POST COMMENT NOW SHARE