Chapter 13 The Bond

• “Stand still,” the old woman said, circling us with a bundle of smoking herbs. “This will not take long if you both stop fidgeting.”
• “Sorry,” I muttered, forcing my hands to stop shaking at my sides.
• We stood in the middle of the Cross family’s massive backyard, a circle of stones laid out beneath our feet, dozens of pack members watching from a respectful distance. Torches lined the edges of the circle, the smoke from them curling up into the dark sky. Selene and Marcus stood front and center, my mother beside them looking like she might faint at any moment.