Chapter 4: The first challenge

The bell tolled just before dawn.

A deep, echoing chime that shook the stone walls and stirred Aurora from a restless sleep. She sat up in the massive bed, heart pounding—not from the noise, but from what it meant.

The first summons had come.

She dressed quickly. The ceremonial white robe she’d been given was soft but heavy, embroidered with lunar symbols and the Alpha King’s mark. It clung to her in a way that made her feel bare, exposed. No armor. No weapons. Just skin and silence.

A soft knock echoed at her door.

She opened it to find the same pale-eyed woman from before, standing motionless like a statue.

“This way.”

No explanation. No comfort.

Aurora followed her down winding corridors, lit by lanterns that flickered like dying stars. The silence of the palace gnawed at her, broken only by the occasional distant sound—whispers? Howls? She couldn’t tell.

Finally, they entered a vast chamber that could only be described as a throne hall turned altar.

It was massive.

Vaulted ceilings soared above them, painted with constellations that shifted slowly as if alive. A silver moon hung suspended in the center, pulsing with cold light. The walls were carved with a thousand stories of blood and fate. And at the far end, where a throne should have been, was a circular platform of obsidian surrounded by glowing runes.

Aurora’s steps slowed as she joined the others.

The girls stood in a loose circle around the center of the room. All wore the same ceremonial robes. Some clutched each other’s hands. Others stood alone, pale and wide-eyed. There were 150 in total. All freshly eighteen. All brought here to be chosen… or discarded.

A hush fell as another figure entered the room.

He was not the king.

But he was clearly one of the high-ranking Lycans. Tall, sharp-boned, draped in black leathers with silver buckles and a hood that shadowed most of his face. When he pulled it back, his eyes glowed like twin coals.

“I am Theron, Warden of the Blood Moon Court,” he said, his voice like ice cracking. “You are here because tradition demands it. Because your blood is untainted, your line pure, and your souls unbound. And because our king—though unwilling—still honors the rite.”

He let that last sentence linger in the air like a blade.

Aurora’s stomach twisted.

“He will not meet you today,” Theron continued. “But he watches. Always.”

A ripple of unease passed through the group.

“The first challenge begins now.”

Some of the girls gasped. One cried out, “But we just arrived!”

Theron ignored her. “This is not a pageant. This is not a celebration. The mating ceremony is a hunt masked in silk. The bond, if it exists, must be earned. And not all of you will survive it.”

The room felt colder suddenly.

He turned toward the platform in the center of the room. “Step forward. One at a time. Place your hand on the stone. The Obsidian Heart will judge your strength.”

A heavy silence.

The first girl stepped forward—a blond from the Northern Marshes, trembling but determined. She placed her hand on the black stone, and it pulsed red beneath her palm. A moment later, it faded.

“Next.”

One by one, the girls moved forward. Some stones glowed weakly. Others flickered bright then went dark. A few didn’t glow at all.

Then it was Aurora’s turn.

She stepped forward, ignoring the pounding in her chest, and placed her hand on the cold obsidian. The moment her skin touched it, heat shot through her veins like fire.

The stone flared with brilliant violet light.

A gasp rippled through the room.

The stone did not fade quickly.

It pulsed, once… twice… before dimming into silence.

Aurora stepped back, jaw tight.

She could feel the weight of eyes she couldn’t see. Watching. Calculating. Judging.

Theron’s lips curled slightly—amused, or perhaps intrigued.

When the last girl had stepped back from the stone, he raised his voice.

“The Heart has seen you. Some of you possess strength. Others… do not. The king does not care for beauty alone. He seeks something more. Any of you that did not pass the first test will be sent home, the king has made new rules to the ceremony, usually anybody that did not pass the first would become servants in the palace. In the coming days, you will be tested. Not all of you will remain.”

A murmur of panic spread.

One girl began crying. Another turned and fled toward the door—only to be stopped by a guard with silver eyes and a wolf’s snarl in his throat.

Theron didn’t flinch.

“This palace does not take kindly to cowardice.”

He turned back to the rest of them. “You may return to your chambers. Eat. Rest. The second challenge begins tonight, beneath the full moon. You will not be told what it is until it begins.” Almost a quarter of the girls that had come yesterday have been dragged away by soldiers. Some are relentlessly fighting against the soldiers, hoping to get another chance at becoming the kings queen. others are happy they are being sent home.

The girls hesitated, unsure.

Theron’s voice dropped to a near-growl. “Go back to your quarters now I am not asking, the king does not appreciate defiance. anyone that defies the kings orders or ceremony rules, will be trialed by the king himself and in most cases sent to the dungeon. where they are condemned to their death. I suggest you all keep your head down and follow the rules of this ceremony.”

All of the girls scattered like birds startled from a branch.

Aurora walked slower than the others, her thoughts racing. Her fingers still tingled from the stone. The glow hadn’t been normal—she knew it. And from the way Theron had stared at her, he knew it too.

Whatever this challenge was… whatever game the king was playing…

He knew she had just become a threat.

Or a prize.