Caleb stood in the doorway of his parents' bathroom, watching his father adjust his tie in the mirror. Dad spied him in the reflection and flashed Caleb a wan smile. "I know I'm making us late. Tell your mother I'll be down soon."

"She didn't send me. I just came up here to see you."

Dad turned around. "Before I become the almighty alpha?" he asked wryly.

Caleb grinned and ducked his head, chuckling. "Maybe."

Ryan Stillwater gave up on his tie and walked out of the bathroom. "Listen, Caleb, I know that we haven't talked about this much, especially since you've been occupied with Sawyer and all ..." He sat down on a corner of his bed and patted the space next to him.

Ah, shit, Caleb thought. But his father was right—he spent every non-working, non-sleeping hour thinking about her. "I'm sorry, Dad," he replied automatically, sitting beside his father. "I should have been there for you, too. I didn't realize—"

Dad waved away all of that away. "It was never your burden to bear, Caleb." He sighed and rocked slightly on the bed. "All I wanted to say is that nothing is going to change—between us, as a family, that is." Laughing quietly, Dad shook his head. "There are going to be a hell of a lot of changes to this city, however."

"Good," Caleb replied, relieved.

"Ryan!" Caleb's mother's shout carried upstairs. "We're going to be late!"

Dad glanced at Caleb. "I'm blaming you," he said with a wink.

Caleb grinned. "Go right ahead." They both knew that if Helen Stillwater was truly pissed, the ceiling fan would be swinging with the force of her voice.

His father stood up, paused, then turned around. Puzzled, Caleb stood as well. "I'm proud of you, son," Dad said, clapping a hand on Caleb's shoulder. "You've been a great kid, now you're an upstanding young man with a promising career and you just got engaged. Your mom and I couldn't be happier."

Caleb stared at his father, speechless. His parents had always told him and Naomi that they were proud of them, but for some reason, this time it hit differently. He flushed, suddenly emotional. "Thanks, Dad," he replied, maneuvering around a small lump that formed in his throat.

"RYAN LEON STILLWATER!"

Both men looked up; sure enough, the ceiling fan was swinging slightly.

"Let's go before she brings down the house," Dad said, laughing.

------------

The Hecate City Fairgrounds were located on the west side of town. The land was several acres in size and hosted everything from craft fairs to concerts, car shows to equestrian competitions.

All for werewolves, that is.

The fair had been setting up for weeks leading up to the ceremony and ran the whole weekend. There were dozens of food and craft vendors, rides and games—basically, anything that could be found at a non-supernatural event was here. The parking lots were usually full by 10 AM with overflow parking in a nearby field.

For years, Caleb had wanted to bring Sawyer here on a date. It was silly, but what he wanted to do most was win her an outrageous, overpriced stuffed animal at one of the carnival games. He'd seen his other friends do it for their girlfriends throughout high school and it upset him greatly that Sawyer couldn't be there to enjoy the weekend too.

Well, he had a couple hundred dollars in his pocket and with Hecate as his witness, Sawyer would be going home with a plushie tonight.

With Dad sitting in the passenger seat, Mom drove her SUV up to the VIP entrance of the fairgrounds. Caleb and Naomi sat in the back, the latter twisting the hem of her flower-print dress between her fingers. Caleb glanced over at his sister, noting how she chewed her lower lip nervously. Naomi was generally gregarious and unflappable, but tonight that tough exterior had more than a few cracks in it. Caleb suspected that part of it had to do with her girlfriend of two years suddenly cutting and running in the week leading up to the festival. He sympathized and even tried to cheer his sister up, but Naomi brushed it off brusquely.

Caleb didn't push it further. He understood.

As they drove through the gate, Caleb noticed a small crowd of people with brightly-colored hair waiting outside the fence. Faeries and merpeople often hung around outside the fairgrounds, trying to get a look at what they were being denied. But tonight, for the first time in nearly fifty years, they'd finally be allowed inside.

A security guard driving a 4x4 with flashing lights led them to the back of the fairgrounds, where a massive stage normally reserved for concerts stood. Mom pulled around the back and parked next to the alpha's Range Rover.

The soon-to-be-former-alpha, Caleb thought with a grim smile.

There were at least a dozen other cars, all expensive models, all black. These had to belong to his half-aunts and two great-aunts. Caleb had heard that his great-grandmother, the widow of Leon Stillwater, was supposed to attend. He'd never met her but knew she lived in a well-to-do community in Key West, Florida.

Although his grandfather was a misogynist, at least he saw to it that his own mother was taken care of.

Dad twisted around in his seat. "All right, kids. Ready?"

Caleb's phone beeped and he looked down to see a text from Sawyer: << Saw you pull in. We're hanging outside the venue. >>

Against all odds, Naomi's black wig ruse had worked. It also helped that Sawyer was wearing one of her brother's flannel shirts, once again to mask her scent. Although it was unlikely she was actually going to be sniffed by an enforcer in wolf form, they still went with it.

With them were Lydia and Artem, the latter choosing to wear a grey pageboy cap over his blue hair rather than a wig. Lydia was also wearing a wig and heavy makeup to give her the appearance of being far older than she actually was.

<< See you in a bit. I owe you a plushie. >>

There was a pause, then Sawyer sent a laughing/crying emoji.

Tucking his phone into the back pocket of his dress pants, Caleb exited the car. A small white tent had been set up behind the stage; through the open flaps, he could see at least twenty people milling around inside.

Beyond the fairgrounds, the full moon was just beginning to rise above the tall trees. A shiver skittered over Caleb's skin as he sensed an ancient sort of power rising with the moon. It called to him, whispered visions of moonlit runs and long-ago hunts.

Naomi nudged him. "You felt that too?"

Cutting a glance at his sister, he nodded. "That was weird."

"It's about to get weirder, dear ones."

Caleb and Naomi looked up to see a tall, pale woman in a flowing black gown approach the family. Her heavy, wavy black hair was styled in a half-up, half-down arrangement, threaded through with silver chains. A heavy set of silver keys hung from a wide leather belt around her waist.

"Mother Zara," Caleb's father greeted the woman, bowing. "Thank you for attending."

Zara Seyffert, High Priestess of Hecate in the United States, smiled. In contrast to her pale complexion and dark garb, her lips were painted blood red and her eyes were accentuated with a smoky blue shadow. "It is my deepest pleasure to oversee this transition," she replied. "And not too soon," she added in a low, conspiratorial whisper.

The high priestess shook hands with Caleb's mother and Naomi, whispering something in his sister's ear, before turning to Caleb. "I hear that you have just become engaged," she told him quietly, nodding at his parents. "I should like to give my blessings to you and your fiancee at the end of the ceremony."

Caleb's eyes widened slightly, caught off-guard. "Yes, of course, we'd be honored."

The priestess nodded. "Now, the ceremony itself is quite simple," she explained in a normal tone of voice. "As I explained to Alpha Owen, once the moon has risen, I will have the two of you stand on either side of me. The wanning alpha will be on my left, the waxing alpha on my right. I will call upon the goddess to transfer the Authority from one vessel to the other. At this time, the lesser Authority given to your sisters will then go to your children." She smiled and spread her hands. "I will bless the new alpha and the pack, and that's it."

Simple enough, Caleb thought, but hopefully, it all went according to plan.

Bidding them goodbye for now, High Priestess Zara wandered off to get prepared. That left the Stillwaters to enter the tent with the rest of their extended family.

Alpha Owen sat on a chair at the far end of the tent, glowering like a stormcloud. His second wife, Francesca, stood next to him like a dutiful, submissive wife. The way she waited on him hand and foot turned Caleb's stomach. Also in the tent were his four half-aunts, their beta husbands, and large brood of children—all of them girls except one small boy. Off in one corner was Daniel Redstone, his parents, and Owen's other sister with her husband and children.

The enforcer glanced up when they entered. Was it his imagination, or did the hardened beta flinch when he spied Caleb?

It doesn't matter now, Caleb told himself, staring at his older cousin. There was nothing Dan could do, nor could his grandfather order the enforcer to do anything. To incite violence tonight was a grave insult against the goddess.

In pairs, Caleb's aunts and their husbands came up to his father, each shaking his hand and congratulating him on this momentous occasion. Ryan was polite but cool; clearly, there was no love lost between siblings.

After that, the Stillwaters split into two groups—Caleb's family and the rest. The moon couldn't rise fast enough, he mused, glancing at his watch.

------------

At last, the moon was high. Attendants poked into the tent and announced that it was time. Caleb's mother stood on her tip-toes and kissed her husband on the lips as he went to walk out first with his father. Mom, Naomi, and Caleb followed next, then his aunts and their family, and Owen's sisters' families.

As Caleb climbed the stairs to the stage, he noticed that the risers were already stuffed to the brim with pack members. Even with his better eyesight, there was no way he could pick Sawyer and the rest of the Bloodmoons out of the crowd.

Two groups of chairs were arranged on the stage, fanning out in a lopsided crescent shape. In the center was a black marble altar with a brass basin; an eerie white fire burned within the basin, tossing tiny sparks into the moonlit air.

Caleb took his seat on the right side, amazed at how many people were actually there. It was one thing to see a large crowd dispersed over the entirety of the fairgrounds, it was another to see everyone crammed together in one place.

A hush fell over the crowd as a deep drum began to beat somewhere off-stage. It was to this beat that the high priestess emerged, wreathed in grey smoke, trailed by two massive black Newfoundland dogs. She wore a spiked crown of black thorns and a white mask that covered half of her face; two identical faces hung over her ears—the earthly representative of the triple-faced goddess of the crossroads.

High Priestess Zara stepped up to the altar and held up her hands. "Citizens of Hecate City, named after our most high and glorious mother: She Who Turns Away and Protects; She Who Stands Before the Gate; She Who Brings the Light; The Three-Formed Goddess. Welcome to this sacred ceremony." Lowering her hands, the priestess gestured and Caleb's father and grandfather emerged from the smoke: Ryan on the priestess's right, Owen on her left.

"Tonight, it is my sacred duty to oversee the transfer of Authority from Alpha Owen Francis Stillwater to his firstborn son, Ryan Leon Stillwater." With a sweep of her left hand, the priestess seemed to grab something over the top of Owen's head. While Caleb couldn't see his face, he could see his grandfather flinch. "I take from you, Alpha Owen Francis Stillwater, the Authority granted to you by the Triple Goddess." A glowing silver mist lifted off of Owen's head and hung suspended. Owen's shoulders slumped and his head dropped. "I take from your daughters, a piece of that Authority granted to them by the Triple Goddess." With another sweeping gesture, the priestess called forth four identical veils of mist from Caleb's aunts. One of them moaned and slumped in her chair.

"To the children of Ryan Leon Stillwater, Naomi Irene and Caleb Ryan Stillwater, I bestow upon you a sliver of the goddess's Authority. May you use it wisely and in support of your father." The priestess flicked her wrist.

Startled, Caleb looked up and noticed a silver mist hanging over his head. It sparkled like a thousand stars and dropped down over his shoulders, filling him with a beautiful warmth. A brilliant brass bell rang in his head and a woman's voice whispered in his ear: Blessed be, My son.

Shaking his head to clear it, Caleb glanced at Naomi. His sister sat there with a dazed expression on her face.

The priestess continued, moving over to stand behind his father, "Citizens of Hecate City, join me in welcoming your new Alpha! May he lead with kindness, compassion, and wisdom!" She lifted her hands high over her head and brought them together with a clap. The fire on the altar exploded into a brilliant bonfire as the silver mist and a shaft of brilliant moonlight covered Caleb's father.

"Alpha Ryan Stillwater!" the priestess exclaimed, throwing her arms open.

Caleb was on his feet, along with his mother and sister, clapping. The entire pack roared with approval, stomping on the metal risers and cheering.

Turning around, the priestess smiled at them. "And that, my dears, is the ceremony." She bowed her head and gestured to the fire. The white flames puffed out without anyone touching them, leaving only a thin trail of grey smoke rising to the moon. "Go, see your father."

Caleb's mother wasted no time in running to her husband. As Caleb and Naomi went to join her, he noticed his grandfather glaring at them. Ignoring the older man, Caleb hugged Dad and pounded him on the back.

"How do you feel?" he asked Dad, slightly breathless with excitement.

"The same—but a little different," Dad allowed with a small smile. "Thank you, High Priestess," he said to Zara Seyffert.

She smiled. "I'm not done with you just yet." Walking to the end of the stage, the high priestess raised her hands. Almost immediately, the werewolves quieted and sat back down.

"There is one final task I must complete before I release you all. Will Sawyer Bloodmoon rise and join me on the stage for a special blessing?"

Caleb began to smile when he heard a shout behind him: "WHAT THE FUCK!?" He spun around to see his grandfather red in the face, hands clenched at his sides. "No. Fucking. Way," he snarled, panting like a beast.

High Priestess Zara pivoted and leveled an orange glare at the former alpha. "You will behave, Owen Stillwater," she ordered with deadly calm. "Sawyer Bloodmoon?"

There was another shout—this time from the crowd—then Caleb finally saw her. Sawyer ran down the riser stairs, her lavender hair streaming out behind her like a dream. Just as she reached the stage stairs, an unholy roar exploded behind them.

Time seemed to slow as Caleb turned around to see his grandfather's massive black warrior form looming over everyone on the stage. Baring gleaming white fangs, the former alpha howled and leaped at Sawyer.