Page 54 of Pack Captive

I gaped up at the moons cut out of the stone in the roof. The sun hit them and cast enormous shapes on the floor, which was a dark blue stone that glittered like it was full of stars.

The young, dark-haired Caller I'd seen at the celebration feast was there, sweeping the floor carefully. She looked up, showing brilliant amber eyes.

"Caller Yasemin, my cleaning duties are nearly done," she announced, then she fell silent, taking me in suspiciously.

I was walking on the Elder Caller's heels, still gawking at the glorious temple, and wondered if I'd made a bad impression yet again.

She held the broom in front of her like a shield, her lips pressed flat. If she were in wolf form, her ears would've been pasted flat against her skull.

I raised a hand in a tentative greeting.

She was no more than a child, but with Caller Yasemin—it was odd putting a name to the terrifying old woman—she would've had a far more extensive education than me.

For some reason, her tight expression relaxed as soon as I made the gesture.

"I was worried we had another Tyra on our hands," the little girl said bluntly.

Caller Yasemin shushed her. "We don't speak ill of the fallen here. Since you’re done with cleaning, you can fetch the torches for tonight's ceremony, then practice your meditation." She cast me a quick look. "If this one isn't entirely hopeless, tonight's ritual will require all three of us."

"How exciting," the girl said. She was staring at me frankly now. "I'm Caller Kadin. You're probably going to have to practice meditation with me if you don't already know how to do it."

"I'm Caller Ayla," I said, offering her a smile now. Moon forbid I was anything like Tyra for her; I hated everything I'd heard about the previous Caller.

"Kadin, go," Yasemin snapped, but she somehow managed to make it sound both tolerant and kindly. She flapped a hand at the girl, who took off, skipping with her broom.

As soon as she was out of sight and earshot, Yasemin fixed me with another look that pinned me in place.

"Tyra taught us a hard lesson. You'll have to forgive me for my harsh ways, but I won't risk bringing another of her kind into this temple. If you’d treated Kadin poorly, I would have Ryden drag you out to the wastelands right now."

What had Tyradoneto these wolves? She seemed to have left nothing but a wake of enmity everywhere she'd gone.

And so much for not speaking ill of the dead here. Kadin had looked so suspicious when I first arrived, like I would reach out and slap her for no reason.

I wondered if Tyra had done something like that.

Yasemin looked up at the illuminated moons on the ceiling. "Because we're so short on time, we're going to skip the basics. I need to know what you're capable of, and we'll have to learn to work together, all three of us."

I knew from when my mother was alive that Callers who worked together could produce far more power. "There won't be much to show at this particular phase, but I can try."

I would be lucky if I managed to produce so much as a flicker of light. Touching Merikh had sucked the last of it out of me.

As soon as I thought of him, I had the disquieting sensation of eyes on my back. I glanced over my shoulder, my skin crawling, but Yasemin was already striding off, and there was no one behind me anyways.

I hurried to catch up, following her to the back of the temple.

"I'd like to see what your mother taught you," Yasemin said, leading me to another, smaller courtyard. This one was cozy, without the expensive decorations and columns. "While you seem to be lacking in education on our basic tenets, you know some rituals. You must, otherwise you wouldn't have survived this long. However, these rituals can vary according to pack, so we must learn yours and find a way to integrate them with ours."

"By tonight," I said, feeling like I was out of my depth but determined to tread water anyways.

"By tonight," she agreed. "Because the dark moon is tomorrow, and the Alpha will be patrolling outside Lykos. I'm too old to run with them, and Kadin is too young, so it'll fall to you."

I took a deep breath. So, not much pressure, then.

"You'll be sent to physical training after this," she added. "It's a lot to take in, but we don't have the luxury of time."

"I'm ready." I went to the circle carved in the middle of the courtyard, which she was indicating with her walking stick.

"Don't draw on the power," Yasemin advised. "Save that for tonight. I would like to run you through the steps first."

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