Thalia's POV:
A woman could never lead a Pack—at least, that's what I had always heard from grown alpha-born, silver-tongued and stone-hearted men, who paraded their authority.
I never questioned it, never needed to. I'd never aspired to lead anyone or anything, certainly not a Pack. But that was before I found myself standing shoulder to shoulder with daughters of power, each of them armed with the hunger of the overlooked.
One of the girls who'd shoved me into the pool days ago was the firstborn of an Alpha. She had no brothers until last year. For all intents and purposes, she should have been a candidate for Luna—or even Alpha—but she was dismissed the moment her birth revealed no manhood. .
Same story was being told by nearly every other woman here, save for me. Ironically, I was the one from the slum. And somehow, I was the only one still standing between them and the title they had been groomed to crave.
Their only hope of ever leading was to become Luna. No wonder they behaved like cornered beasts.
After the pool incident, I was quietly asked if I wished to withdraw. The bruises on my arms had not yet bloomed purple when the question came. I might have said yes… if I had somewhere else to go.
But since I don't, I declined.
But that made my life even worse. Because everyone couldn't stop talking about Kade having guards rescue me, then publicly evicting the three girls responsible for shoving me into the river.
From that moment, the others avoided me like plague. I wasn't just another contestant anymore, I was a threat.
But I tried hard not to pay attention to them and focus on what I just learnt.
We had thought this contest was to be a combat trial, or a test of etiquette. Turns out, all the history lessons and Luna-like training were nothing more than smoke to obscure the true contest.
They feared cheating, they said. So we were not informed until yesterday that we had two trials to participate in, and this trial would go on for two days.
The first—judgment. We were to watch a case between two women, then deliver a verdict based on Pack law and our own analysis.
The second—murder. We would be presented with a crime scene and suspects. The one who solved it best… would win.
It was a revolutionary idea. No Luna had ever been chosen based on merit or mental prowess.
It had always been the bond. Now, for the first time in our long, rotting history, skill might matter more than scent or soulmark.
Nobles, Alphas, and even merchants had come to witness the trials. This wasn't just a spectacle, it was a legacy in the making.
The night before the first trial, I was locked away in a small room with no way to see the sky. I wondered if the others were somewhere near, in their own little cages with a single bed, a small bath, and one window, far too high to reach.
I sat in silence for hours until a guard came for me and I was led to the arena.
I stepped into the grand arena, and my name, and my Pack was called aloud. A place was made for me beside the High Elder. And I sat, spine straight, trying not to tremble.
Two women were led in. Both cloaked and furious.
The first woman stepped forward. "I am Elira, mate to Daron of the Southern Border Patrol. I am here because my mate fathered a child with this woman beside me."
Gasps rippled through the crowd. The second woman, younger and thinner, raised her chin.
"I am Marelle. I did not seduce him, my Lady. I was forced."
"Liar!" Elira shrieked. "You carried his child! You hid it for moons! Only when the babe was born with his eyes did you come crawling to the Elder's House!"
"I was afraid." Marelle said softly. "No one listens to servant girls."
The Elder turned to me. "What say you, Contestant Five? Judge the matter."
My breath hitched as I leaned forward, with a shaky voice. "I ask for the names of all those who witnessed either woman with the male in question."
A scroll was brought forth. I scanned it. "Three witnesses saw Lady Elira's mate enter Marelle's quarters after nightfall. One recalls hearing weeping. Another, screams. The third… said she saw bruises on Marelle's arms the next day."
The hall went silent.
"In accordance with Law 17-B of the Obsidian Howl Code, if a servant girl is found with child by a mated man and claims assault, the matter must be tried based on character, witness, and wound. The bruises, and witnesses speak loudly, so therefore I find the male, Daron guilty of abuse and Marelle innocent of seduction."
Elira let out a cry of anguish, Marelle burst into tears, and the Elders nodded once.
I was then led back to the small room. So that we couldn't know how others fared or how well we performed
The next morning arrived quickly. And once again, the same bath in the tiny bathroom and the same pale grey dress. .
This time, I was led to a stage that looked like a play. But this was no performance. A murder had taken place—acted out but based on a real report.
The victim: A noblewoman named Sera, was found dead in her chambers. There were two suspects. Her younger sister, Lianne, and her betrothed, Lord Emon.
A guard handed me a scroll of her details, their relationships, and motives. With simple information like the dagger left in her back, and a shattered perfume bottle by the bedside.
I questioned Lianne first.
"She hated me." The girl whispered. "She thought Father favored me more, but I would never kill her. Never."
Then Emon.
"She was leaving me." He said, sniffing back obviously fake tears. "K confronted her, yes, but I did not kill her. Besides, when I left, she was alive."
I paced the scene, noted the shattered glass. A perfume bottle—rare, imported, ones only to gifted nobility. On the floor was a strand of silver hair. Emon's hair was dark. Lianne's… pale as snow.
I turned to the crowd.
"Sera did plan to end her engagement." I began. "And Emon confronted her. But it was not he who stayed behind."
I raised the bottle.
"This scent belonged to Sera alone. But Lianne wears it too—she confessed her sister accused her of stealing everything. Including her father's affection."
Lianne's eyes widened.
"And the hair—silver. Like hers."
I turned to the Elder.
"I declare Lianne guilty of murder. She killed her sister due to jealousy."
Gasps, then silence.
After that, I was led back to the room again, with no answers. But that night—oh, that night—they came for me.
Led me down the corridor, and to the arena where a thousand eyes awaited. As I stepped inside, applause followed.
"The winner of the trial." Someone called. "The Luna of Obsidian Howl."
I froze.
Out of nowhere, Kade approached, stood before me with his unreadable eyes and leaned close. "We are done once I get a child from you."
And I—I could not breathe.