The arena was carved from stone and shadow.
Aria stood at its center, the crescent mark beneath her collarbone still faintly glowing. Around her, the Moon Pack formed a circle—silent, watchful. Some curious. Some openly hostile.
Above, the full moon loomed like a judge.
"This is unnecessary," Riven muttered under his breath, though he didn't step forward.
"It is tradition," Lucian replied calmly.
Darius stood at the front of the circle, expression unreadable. "The Trial of Instinct determines whether you can survive among us."
Aria crossed her arms. "And if I fail?"
Kaelen answered evenly, "Then the bond weakens. And so do we."
So this wasn't just about her.
That realization settled heavily in her chest.
"What do I have to do?" she asked.
Darius gestured to the forest entrance behind her. "You will enter the woods alone."
A murmur rippled through the pack.
"You will not be hunted," he continued. "But the forest will test you."
"That sounds worse," Aria muttered.
Riven's lips twitched faintly.
Lucian stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Trust your instincts. Not your fear."
Darius's gaze locked onto hers. "If you cannot endure one night… you cannot stand beside us."
Beside us.
Not beneath.
Not behind.
Something fierce sparked inside her.
"Fine," she said. "Open the gate."
The forest swallowed her almost instantly.
The sounds of the pack faded behind her, replaced by rustling leaves and distant howls. The air felt heavier here, charged with something ancient.
She walked carefully at first.
Then the whispers began.
Soft. Almost seductive.
You do not belong…
She spun.
Nothing.
Her mark burned faintly again.
A branch snapped to her left.
This time, something moved.
A wolf stepped from the darkness—but it was wrong. Its eyes glowed red instead of silver. Its fur looked almost… shadowed.
Not pack.
Rogue.
Her pulse spiked.
It growled low, circling her.
"You don't scare me," she whispered, though her heart was racing.
The wolf lunged.
She dodged just barely, hitting the ground hard. Dirt scraped her palms. She grabbed a fallen branch instinctively, swinging as it came again.
It was faster.
Stronger.
She felt its breath against her neck—
And suddenly, heat exploded through her chest.
The crescent mark flared silver.
The rogue wolf yelped, stumbling backward as if struck.
Aria stared at her own hands.
Energy—silver and faintly glowing—flickered around her fingertips.
"What…?" she breathed.
The wolf lunged again.
This time, she didn't run.
She stood her ground.
The energy surged outward in a burst of light.
The rogue was thrown back violently, crashing into a tree before vanishing into the darkness with a wounded snarl.
Silence fell.
Aria's breathing came hard and uneven.
"You are stronger than you realize."
She froze.
Darius stepped from between the trees.
"You said I'd be alone," she snapped.
"You were," he replied calmly. "Until you awakened it."
She looked down at her hands again. The glow had faded, but the warmth remained.
"That wasn't instinct," she said. "That was… something else."
Darius stepped closer, eyes intense. "The bond does not only tie you to us. It amplifies what already lives inside you."
"And what is that?" she demanded.
He reached out—slowly this time—his fingers brushing just above her glowing mark.
Power rippled between them.
"Alpha energy," he said quietly.
Her breath hitched.
"Impossible," she whispered.
"For a human," he agreed. "Yes."
The air between them thickened.
For the first time, she didn't feel surrounded.
She felt seen.
"You followed me," she said softly.
His jaw tightened. "I ensured you survived."
"That's not the same thing."
Something flickered in his eyes—conflict, maybe even restraint.
From deeper in the forest, a howl echoed.
Not rogue.
Pack.
Kaelen's voice carried through the trees. "Darius."
Darius stepped back slightly.
"The trial is not over," he said.
Aria stiffened. "What do you mean?"
A second presence emerged from the darkness.
Kaelen.
His gaze shifted from Darius… to her.
"You've passed instinct," Kaelen said evenly. "Now comes control."
The forest seemed to grow colder.
Aria's pulse quickened again.
"Control of what?" she asked.
Kaelen's eyes flickered faintly gold.
"Of us."