MasukCaya POV“Caya!”Remi’s voice reached me before I had even made it halfway through the crowd. I turned and found her coming toward me with Nero beside her, both of them still looking like they had walked straight out of a war. Her hair was a mess, her clothes were torn in several places, and there was blood along her arm and the side of her face, but she was smiling. There was something different in the way the wolves looked at her now too. They were looking at their Luna.Nero looked almost as battered as she did, but there was pride in his eyes as he watched her.For a moment, I almost smiled.Remi had won.“That was one hell of a distraction,” Nero said when they reached me.I lifted an eyebrow. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”Remi laughed, still trying to catch her breath. “Don't even try it. You walked into the arena, called her name, and she completely forgot I was standing in front of her.”“Maybe she just missed me.”Nero gave me a suspicious look. “You two know
Remi Pov The next attack was nothing like the ones before it.Anatoria moved with such speed that I barely registered her until she was already beside me. I threw myself backward, but her claws caught my side and ripped through the fabric of my clothe Pain flashed across my ribs. I stumbled, and she followed immediately, driving her shoulder into me and sending us both crashing across the stone. I tried to roll away, but she grabbed my ankle and dragged me back. My claws scraped against the ground as I fought for leverage, and when I finally twisted free, she was already standing over me. The crowd had become almost completely silent. They were no longer cheering. They were watching the way wolves watched a hunt, waiting to see which animal would stop moving first.I pushed myself up. For the first time, I wasn't simply reacting to Anatoria.I was anticipating her. Every movement felt strangely familiar.Her shoulders shifted before she attacked. Her weight moved to one leg before
Remi POV“Still time to surrender.”Anatoria's voice carried across the arena.I stopped a few feet from her and glanced at the crowd surrounding us. Hundreds of wolves had gathered around the stone fighting ground, packed behind the barriers and spilling onto the palace steps. Even the council had come out to watch.I looked back at her.“You've been saying that since I walked in.”“And you're still standing here.”“I'm beginning to think you're nervous.”A few laughs broke out from the crowd.Anatoria's mouth tightened.Good.At least I could still annoy her.She took a slow step toward me. “You think this is a game?”“No.” I glanced at her claws. “But you keep talking, so I assumed you wanted conversation.”Someone near the front snorted.Anatoria's eyes flicked toward the sound before returning to me.“You're very confident for someone who has no idea what she's about to face.”“I know exactly what I'm facing.”“Oh?”“You.”Her smile returned.“Then you're more foolish than I thou
Alpha Manuel Pov Continued I stared at him.He pointed toward the restraint around my left wrist. “There is a crack near the buckle.”I glanced down.He was right. That was exactly why I needed him there.Mitch noticed things other people ignored.Chimera entered the room. The temperature seemed to drop with him.He walked toward the table slowly, his eyes moving from me to Mitch. “You still insist on staying?”Mitch nodded.“I told you to leave. And yet you're here.” Chimera stared at him for a moment before smiling faintly. “Loyal.”Mitch didn't respond.Chimera turned toward me. “You know why you're here.”I stared back at him. “Because you enjoy hurting people.”“No.” He stopped beside the table. “Because you're useful.”My stomach tightened.He picked up a small glass container filled with dark liquid. “This will change you.”I looked at the liquid. “What is it?”“You'll find out.”Mitch stepped forward. “Will it kill him?”Chimera glanced at him. “No.”Mitch's fingers stopped
Alpha Manuel POVThe next morning, they came for me.I knew it before anyone knocked.I had barely slept. I had spent most of the night sitting on the edge of the narrow bed, staring at the roof while Mitch slept across the room. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the same things again—the Chimera standing over Olandria's portrait, the way he had spoken about Remi, the certainty in his voice when he told me that Moonstone would fall, and the promise that I would stand beside him when it happened.None of it made sense together.Yet somehow, it all connected.The Moonstone. Remi. Olandria. The army. And now me.Mitch had barely spoken that morning. He had been awake for almost an hour, sitting on the floor beside the window and arranging the small objects he had collected since we were brought into the den. He always did that when he was anxious. He placed them in a precise order, then rearranged them whenever something disturbed the pattern.A piece of stone A metal cup. A broken lea
Nero POV“You shouldn't have accepted the challenge.”Remi looked up from where she was sitting on the edge of the bed, slowly untying the straps around her boots. “You already said that.”“And I'm saying it again.”She pulled one boot off and dropped it onto the floor. “You're worried.”“I'm not worried.”She gave me a look.I sighed. “Fine. I'm worried.”A small smile touched her lips, but it disappeared almost immediately. “Nero, I'm doing this because I need to.”I walked toward the window and stared out at the palace grounds. Moonstone was quieter than it had been earlier, but it wasn't peaceful. Guards moved along the walls. Torches burned beside the paths. Every now and then, I heard voices in the distance, followed by the low growl of wolves arguing somewhere below.Tomorrow, those same wolves would stand around an arena and watch my wife face my mother.The thought alone made my wolf restless. “My mother isn't like the people you've fought before,” I said.“I think you know.”







