Hooded Man Ritual Novels & Stories

The air in the sacred grove of the Black Ridge was so cold it bit at my lungs, but the heat radiating from the three men surrounding me made the atmosphere thick and hazy with steam. This was the Blood Moon Ritual, a tradition as old as the mountains, where a female of the pack was publicly consecrated to her fated mates. Tonight, I was the offering.

That place had become a home to a kind of creature, called The NightCrawlers. The man sitting in the middle of the circle, poured blood over himself and bathe in it till the container gets empty. As soon as he bathed, the other cult members started chanting words in a foreign language. It seemed as if they were performing a ritual and the bait was the man in the middle. Suddenly, the lightning in the sky appeared and fell in the middle of the circle, on the man. The impact made the other cult members flee from the spot and they stood far away form the circle. Most of them expected the man to be dead and their ritual incomplete.

A elderly man said, handing the towel over to me. After wearing the towel I took off all my clothes. The ritual started five minutes later, my hair was fully colored in the white dye. “The next ritual is that you bathe in a moon ice, this is done so that your body would be marked with white ink.” My father said before leaving the tent. “But I can't do this in front of everyone.” I replied in a conflicting tone. “That's how it's done my daughter. It's a historical ritual of the wolves that every Luna must be marked with a moon spell.” One of the elders said.

He takes my hand and leads me to the monolith depicting Lycaon. It’s been half a decade, but I know every word of this ritual, which I once dreaded. The Hierophant steps forward. He’s tall and thin, with dark skin and eyes, and his head bears a regal crown. He’s the same man I looked in the eye on that night five years ago, to whom I cited the Right of Accord. He doesn’t begin the ritual right away; maybe to give me a second chance to back out, this time forever. I drop to my knees before him and bow my head.

Dusk washed the sky in golden hues as the sound of an ancient gong echoed throughout the Dark Forest region. After Ailee and Aaron's emotionally charged official wedding in the human world, the pack's atmosphere was now suffused with long-awaited peace. However, tonight was a more sacred night: the night of the Successor Ritual. Loudy, Lowly, and Lucille stood on a stone altar in the center of the sacred circle, wearing white robes that symbolized their mixed blood-human and werewolf. The three looked both nervous and curious, gazing around at the elders and pack members gathered in silence.

She had agreed immediately without question. Her loyalty to him was absolute. There was no better match for him than Lyla. Since it was the costume of the pack to have the eldest member of the pack conduct the mating ceremony, the man stood before them. He was so old that he had to be assisted to the clearing. Reed stared at him. The man represented the old ways but he had to still follow the traditions that didn't affect his throne. As Reed and Lyla stood before him, he raised his arms to the sky. His voice was low, a deep rumble that vibrated through him and pack members as he began the ritual chant.

You know it’s not about the shapes of clouds and the smell of summer rain but my chest ached knowing I might not have many more nights like this. She fell asleep first, her hand still curled around my wrist. I stayed until the moon was high. ~oo~ The ritual clearing was deep in the forest, away from any pack eyes. The Blood Moon hung heavy overhead, its silver light bled into crimson. They blindfolded me before leading me forward. My wrists were bound in stems of wolfbane. The poison burned against my skin and another set of hands gripped mine briefly before the officiant’s voice began chanting in the Old Tongue.

The man recoiled as far as the chains allowed, and Alexei returned to the table, his eyes still violet. “Where was that being going to be taken?” The question came out direct. “To the church.” The answer came faster now. “When?” “This night. The ritual will begin when the moon is high in the sky.” Sasha finally stepped away from the wall. “And what exactly do you plan to do in that ritual?” The man looked at him, and the contempt was still there, but now it was mixed with fear. “The ritual is to break the bond. Your bond with the woman.”