A jolt shot through me. I missed two? No wonder my name hadn’t appeared on any official list.
“Only those who endure,” Gideon continued, “will earn their place.”
He let the words hang in the air like a threat, his gaze promising ruin to the weak. The challenge, he explained, would be a high-intensity survival course designed to push every limit we possessed.”You’ll pass the first two phases in your human form. And. for the third..” He paused, a slow, cruel smile c黵ling his lips, “you’re free to shift.”
A ripple of tension rolled through the gathered heirs.
Shoulders stiffened. A few exchanged wary glances. No one asked why.
I clenched my fists. I can’t afford to stand out too much But I can’t afford to fail either. Not here. Not when I needed to survive. Not if I wanted to avoid drawing any more of Ronan’s attention.
I would have to walk the line between invisible… and invincible.
The course stretched before us like a battlefield out of some brutal nightmare. Towering walls, jagged pits, spiked swinging logs, and mud thick as blood. It didn’t look like a test, it looked tike a death sentence. The air stank of sweat, earth, and fear. Alphas lined up, some wearing smug grins, others radiating coiled readiness.
I adjusted the straps on my loose uniform, took a steadying breath, and fixed my eyes on the obstacle ahead.
Alpha Gideon’s voice cracked across the field like a whip.
“Begin!”
We surged forward. The uneven ground was slick with mud, threatening to pull every step from beneath us. The first wall loomed ahead, but while most tried to haul themselves over with brute force, I went for speed. I sprinted toward it, using the jagged edges like a ladder, scaling it with quick, ruthless efficiency. Mud clung to my hands and face, but I made it over with a breathless grunt.
Ahead, a gauntlet of low-hanging nets and swinging spiked logs waited. Alphas were already dropping – some too slow, some too cocky. Cassius moved through the obstacles with cold, calculated ease, while Reed grinned like the cocky bastard he was, vaulting ahead.
I ignored him, as usual.
Then came the rope climb, the beast of the course.
The ropes hung like vipers, slick with sweat and grime.The moment my fingers closed around the rough, frayed fiber, my palms burned. I gritted my teeth and hauled myself up, muscles straining and arms trembling. Below, a few Alphas slipped and fell, their cries sharp as they hit the mud.
But then, I looked down.
Wait. Why was the mud… moving?
A sickening realization struck.
“It’s swamp,” Phina whispered in my mind, her voice a cold shiver down my spine.
Swamp. The living death. That’s why the others were so / tense. The obstacles weren’t just tests, they were deadly.
And if you fell here, it wouldn’t be just your pride that got swallowed.
My grip nearly faltered, the slick mix of sweat and grime threatening to betray me, but I wasn’t one to be broken by this. I’d fought through worse.
That’s when I felt it – a heavy, suffocating weight before I even saw him.
Ronan.
Leaning lazily against a post, arms crossed, those violet eyes locked onto me with unnerving intensity. A lazy smirk played on his lips, as if the entire ordeal was beneath him, but I could feel the sharpness in his stare like a brand against my skin.
I took a steadying breath, forced my burning limbs to move, and finished the climb.smirk played on his lips, as if the entire ordeal was beneath him, but I could feel the sharpness in his stare like a brand against my skin.
I took a steadying breath, forced my burning limbs to move, and finished the climb.
No sooner had my feet hit the ground than I was thrown into the next phase: hand-to-hand combat.
Not even a chance to catch my breath.
Alpha Instructor Gideon stood at the center, his gaze sweeping over the assembled group who’d passed the first phase.
“Pairs have been chosen at random,” he announced, his voice cutting through the air like a blade. “Prepare yourselves.”
My jaw clenched the moment my name was called and paired with Jordan.
Random? My gut twisted. That reeked of manipulation. I let my eyes flicker past Jordan until they found Dante. He didn’t bother to pretend.
“Kill or die,” Dante mouthed to Jordan, making sure I saw it.
So this was how they wanted to play.
“Welcome to the death game, pup,” Jordan sneered, towering over me with a sick grin. “Hope you’ve said yourprayers.”
I met his eyes and smiled coldly, “I’ll still stick to the rules and let you live, boy.”
His face twisted in insult.
The fight started in a blur of movement. Jordan lunged, his fist aiming straight for my head.
“The tiny one dies today!” someone laughed in the crowd.
I didn’t spare them a glance.
I ducked his punch, my agility saving me, and countered with swift jabs – ribs, knee, ribs again – quick, surgical strikes. Smirks dropped when Jordan staggered, dropping to his knees and clutching his side.
A deadly hush fell.
Without hesitation, I kicked him hard in the head, sending him sprawling into the dirt.
A furious growl tore from his throat as he glared up at me, disbelief etched across his face. “You little fucker,” he spat, groaning as he dragged himself up. “Some skills for a newbie, huh? I’m going to crush you!”
There it was. I remembered I couldn’t afford to seem too skilled.
This time, as Jordan’s fist swung, I let it connect with my shoulder. The force made me stagger, and I grunted in pain. The crowd gasped, some smirking at what theythought was my weakness.
Jordan laughed darkly, advancing with renewed arrogance: “s that it, tiny bastard?”
“You don’t deserve everything l’ve got,” I replied flatly, meeting his gaze without flinching.
That humiliated him.
His eyes bled red, fury overtaking reason, and as he lunged, I sidestepped, grabbed his arm, and flipped him clean over my shoulder. He hit the ground with a heavy thud, the air rushing from his lungs.
Alphas watching from the sidelines were stunned silent.
Jordan groaned, struggling to rise, but I planted my boot firmly on his chest, pinning him down.
“Yield,” I commanded.
“You motherfucker,” he snarled, his body trembling. “You think you can defeat me?!”
His muscles bulged and bones cracked as he began to shift.
My stomach dropped. Shit.
I tensed, preparing to defend myself, when a dark blur moved between us – fast, lethal.
Ronan.His broad back faced me, muscles shifting under his shirt as he grabbed Jordan’s half-shifted wolf by the scruff and slammed him into the ground with a sickening crack. Not satisfied, Ronan hauled him up again and hurled him against a nearby tree so hard the trunk split.
Jordan didn’t move.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. I stood frozen, pulse pounding.
“No shifting allowed,” Ronan growled, voice like a storm rolling over the training grounds.
I forced myself to breathe, while watching Ronan handled Jordan like a broken doll – and all without shifting himself.
Alpha Instructor Gideon’s voice rang out, sharp and final. ” Alpha Jordan is expelled from the academy for breaking the rules.”
The world seemed to stop. My stomach twisted. Just like that? One mistake and he’s gone?
I Lifted my gaze, and Ronan was already moving toward me – a predator closing in.
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