CHAPTER 9

Aria POV

"Competitors, enter the arena!"

My stomach twisted so hard I almost doubled over. This was it. The Trial of Strength. My first real test.

And I was about to walk in there with a wolf that nobody had seen for three hundred years.

No pressure. No pressure at all.

I walked through the gates with the other competitors. The arena was massive. A huge circle of dirt surrounded by seats that went up and up into the sky. Hundreds of people filled those seats. Maybe thousands. All of them here to watch us fight.

And at the very top, in the best seats of all, two thrones. Two kings.

I could feel their eyes on me even from far away. The bond hummed in my chest like a living thing.

Not now. Focus. Just focus on the fight.

"First round matches will now be announced!" Blake stood in the center of the arena, holding a long list. He started calling out names in pairs.

My name was called with a tall woman I didn't know. Brown hair. Mean eyes. From some pack in the south.

At least it's not Vivian. Not yet.

"All competitors, shift!"

This is it. The moment everyone will see what I am.

I closed my eyes. Reached for my wolf. She came to me fast this time. Eager. Happy to finally be free after hiding for so long.

The shift flowed through my body. When I opened my eyes, I was on four legs.

The arena went completely silent.

Not a whisper. Not a breath. Nothing.

Everyone was staring at me. Hundreds of eyes. Thousands of eyes. All fixed on my white fur that shone like snow in the sunlight. On my silver eyes that seemed to glow.

Then the whispers exploded. All at once. Like a wave.

"A white wolf..."

"That's not possible..."

"Is she blessed by the Moon Goddess?"

"The First Luna's bloodline... could it be true?"

"She can't be real..."

I found Vivian in the crowd of competitors. Her confident smile was gone. Completely gone. She looked like she'd seen a ghost. A ghost that was about to ruin all her plans.

Good. Let her be scared for once.

"Begin!"

My first opponent charged at me. She was bigger than me. A lot bigger. Brown fur, powerful legs, teeth that looked like they could tear through bone.

She thought she would win easy. Just because of her size.

She was very, very wrong.

I was faster. So much faster than I ever thought I could be. I dodged her first attack. Slipped around behind her. Before she could even turn, my teeth were at her throat.

She tried to shake me off. Couldn't.

"Yield!" Blake shouted. "First match goes to Aria Blackwood!"

The crowd erupted. Cheers and gasps and excited voices all mixed together.

One down.

My second match was harder. A gray wolf who really knew how to fight. She'd been trained for this her whole life. She knew tricks I didn't. Moves I'd never seen.

But my wolf showed me things too. Openings to attack. Weaknesses to exploit. Instincts I didn't know I had.

I won. Just barely. But I won.

Third match. A red wolf who fought dirty from the very first second. She went for my legs, trying to cripple me early. I got hit bad. My shoulder burned with pain.

But I kept going. Kept fighting. And finally I pinned her.

Three matches. Three wins. I was moving to the next round.

And my next opponent was Vivian.

She stood across the arena from me. Her golden wolf form was beautiful. Perfect. Like everything about her.

But her eyes... her eyes burned with pure hate.

"Begin!"

She didn't just attack. She exploded toward me like a golden missile. Fast. Vicious. Her claws raked across my side before I could even react.

Pain. Burning pain. Blood ran down my white fur.

I tried to fight back. But I was tired from three fights. She was fresh. Strong.

She caught my leg. Her teeth sank deep into the muscle. I cried out in pain.

Then her claws went for my eyes. A forbidden move. A move that could blind me forever.

Nobody stopped her. The judges pretended not to see.

I jerked back just in time. Her claws caught my ear instead. Tore through it. Blood poured down my face.

She's cheating. She's trying to kill me. And no one cares.

Vivian came at me again. Going for my throat this time. A killing blow.

And something inside me snapped.

Not anger. Not fear. Something else. Something deeper. Something that had been sleeping inside me my whole life. Waiting for exactly this moment.

Power.

It rushed through me like lightning. White and blinding and so strong it scared me. I didn't think. Didn't plan. I just... let it go.

A blast of pure energy exploded from my body.

Vivian flew backward. She hit the arena wall with a horrible cracking sound. And she didn't get up.

The crowd screamed.

I stood in the center of the arena. My white fur was actually glowing. Light poured off me like I was made of moonlight.

What did I just do? What was that?

I didn't know. I didn't understand. I just knew that for one second, I had felt more powerful than anything in the world.

Then the power drained away. All at once. Gone.

My legs couldn't hold me anymore. The world started spinning. Tilting.

"Aria!"

Voices. Yelling. Running footsteps on the dirt floor.

Through my fading vision, I saw them. Two figures jumping down from the royal stands. Running toward me across the arena floor.

Green eyes full of panic.

Storm-blue eyes full of fear.

Both kings. Running to me. In front of everyone. In front of the whole kingdom.

Throwing away all their secrets. All their careful pretending.

For me.

Then everything went black.