Chapter 3: The First Survival

Keira's POV

The shadow beast lunged and my body moved before my mind could catch up.

I ran.

A shadow panther. I knew it from descriptions passed around like warnings in the outer crescent. Its fur  was as dark as a moonless night, blending in with the darkness. Built to hunt things that thought they were safe.

I hadn't even heard it coming.

I couldn't fight it. Not even with the dagger in my hand. I knew better than to do that.

So, I ran.

My legs moved with muscle memory, my experience from years of survival taking over completely. I jumped over a thick root, ducked under a low branch, and changed direction twice without slowing.

The beast crashed through the forest behind me, closing the gap every time I lost a step.

My lungs burned. Every breath felt like I was swallowing fire and still not getting enough air.

I cursed under my breath and spotted a narrow gap between two ancient trees. It was too tight for something the size of that beast.

I twisted my body and threw myself through it, the beast following close behind as I felt its large paw swinging towards me.

Its claws caught my side as I flew through the gap, tearing through fabric and skin in one clean strike. The pain came a half second later, searing deep into my skin. I forced a muffled groan and stumbled, but I didn't stop moving. I pressed my free hand against the wound and forced my legs to carry me forward.

Behind me, the beast snarled and thrashed against the trees, its loud roar shaking every fibre of my being.

I didn't look back.

I ran until the trees thinned and the end of the forest appeared ahead of me.

By then, my steps had slowed to a crawl. I dragged myself out of the forest, my hand still supporting my injured side.

Figures appeared at the tree line, approaching me. Kael was at the forefront. Running.

My legs gave out before he reached me. I went down on one knee, then both, and stayed there. My free hand pressed into the dirt for balance. I looked down at myself. My clothes were torn, blood trickling down my side, the wound still hot and open.

And the flower was still in my hand.

I was bleeding for a flower. I had nearly died for something that fit in my palm, because a room full of old men decided I needed to prove I deserved to exist beside my own mate.

I smiled, bitterly.

"Keira."

He stopped in front of me, breathing hard. His eyes swept over my body, seeing the wound, the blood, the state of me. His face shifted with emotion.

He was shaken. Genuinely shaken.

It should have meant something. Maybe it did. I was too tired and angry to let it.

"Like you didn't know I would get injured," I said.

"Wh-what?" He stared at me like he couldn't comprehend my words. 

My wolf stirred, wanting me to close the distance between us. Wanting me to jump into his arms and hold him tight. But I refused. I held still and moved to get on my feet.

"I'm done here."

"No, wait..." He turned around with a raised voice. "Where's the healer?"

Some minutes later, I was being taken to the infirmary, Kael following me with a worried gaze. I avoided looking at him and kept quiet. He noticed my unwillingness to talk and stopped following, his legs moving in another direction.

“Wait.” A voice rang out. Forcing the people leading me to come to a halt. I raised my tired head, looking at the source of the voice. It was one of the elders that I had seen from the council room. He was approaching in a black tunic, a passive expression on his face as he scanned all over me. 

He stopped in front of me and spoke. “Let me see the flower.”

Of course, they had to verify that I had actually gotten the right flower. I raised the flower stained with a little blood and gave it to him. 

“Hmm…” He picked it between his thumb and index fingers, scrutinising it properly before dropping it back in my hand. 

“Alright, you can go. It's yours now.” He turned around and walked away, leaving me gritting my teeth. 

All that suffering I had just gone through in the forest, only for the flower to be appraised so indifferently. I clutched the flower tighter as I swallowed the lump in my throat. The healer and the other person escorting me picked up the pace again and finally got me to the infirmary, the other person leaving immediately. 

"Please lie down here." The healer said. I could hear the pity in her voice. 

I did as I was told, my side stinging from the pain with every movement I made. The healer proceeded to remove my clothes as gently as she could, leaving me with only the piece of clothes wrapped around my breasts.

She cleaned off the injury and placed her hands above the injury, channeling her powers into my body.

It stung. The healing was going to take some time so I tried to distract myself.

But I could only think of Kael. My wolf had been wanting me to stay with him longer after I came out of the forest. But how could I? I didn't know whether to call it ignorance or wickedness, the fact was that he made me fight to prove myself to the entire pack before I could become Luna.

There was nothing more I wanted to talk to him about. And I already decided to do it for myself. I couldn't care less about what he said or promised anymore.

I had to survive, just like I had always done. And at the end of the day, I would be Luna. With or without his protection.

At that moment, the door of the infirmary burst open, drawing my attention to the present. Only for me to see her walk in.

The other Luna candidate—Lyra—was in the room and now staring down at me once again in disdain.

Lyra stepped in like she owned the room and let her gaze move over me with something that almost resembled concern.

"Oh," she said softly. "Look at the state of you."

She turned to the healer with a small frown. "Is this really the best you can do for her?"

The healer blinked, caught off guard. "I-I was in the middle of—"

"Mm." Lyra's eyes moved back to me, and the softness was already gone. "I suppose it doesn't matter much either way."

The warmth in my veins turned cold.

"What are you doing here?"

"Visiting." She tilted her head. "You did survive the first trial. That deserves acknowledgement." The corner of her mouth curved. "Even if the next one will finish what this one started."

"I didn't choose any of this." I said.

Her smile didn't move. "No. But here you are anyway. Bleeding on a cot and already one step in the grave. No different from a dog that bit more than it could chew."

She leered at me and pulled the healer away from the bed where I was, stopping the healing process.

"There's no need to waste the powers of a useful healer like this since you'll be dead by the end of the next trial anyway."

Each word landed somewhere in my body that I couldn't reach with my hands.

She turned away, pushing the healer outside. The healer was unable to resist.

I gnashed my teeth.

"Alpha Kael won't approve of this!"

She paused at the door.

"Oh, him?" She chuckled mockingly with her hand covering her mouth. "I guess you still don't know about it..."

I frowned. "Know what?"

"When you were jumping in the forest with beasts, he was resting by my side in his chambers."

My blood ran cold.

"What?"

She laughed once again.

"Don't worry, I'll help him write the words on your tombstone by the time you're dead. “The woman who could not be queen”." She said dramatically before breaking into another chuckle.

Her eyes pierced me one last time before walking out of the room, taking the healer along with her. The healer threw me one helpless glance before the door closed between us.

And I sat there in shock, not knowing when my face had become moist from the tears flowing from my eyes.

What I just heard... all of it... was hard to swallow.

Before I could even digest it, the door swung open again and a stranger walked in.

"The Elders sent me to you. The next trial begins tonight.

Get ready."

My chest felt like it had been hollowed out and filled with something cold.