The trial begins

They didn’t warn me.

That should have been my first clue that this wasn’t about safety.

I woke up before dawn to the sound of the door unlocking. Not bursting open. Not kicked in. Just a quiet click that told me someone with authority had decided my sleep was over.

I sat up slowly, heart already beating faster.

Two guards stood in the doorway.

“Get dressed,” one of them said. “You’re needed.”

“Needed where?” I asked.

Neither of them answered.

I swung my legs off the bed, suddenly very aware that Lucian wasn’t here. That whatever this was, it was happening without him present to interrupt or argue.

That, more than anything, made my stomach twist.

They led me through corridors I hadn’t seen before. Deeper. Older. The air grew colder the farther we went, and the hum beneath my feet returned—stronger this time, almost like a pulse.

We stopped in front of a wide stone opening.

Voices echoed from inside.

A lot of voices.

The guards stepped aside.

“Go in,” one of them said.

I took a breath and did.

The space beyond was open and circular, carved directly into the bedrock. Unlike the council chamber, this place had no seats, no torches lining the walls. Just stone and an opening above where pale morning light filtered down.

The floor was scarred.

Deep gouges. Cracks. Dark stains that didn’t look like dirt.

My chest tightened.

This wasn’t a room.

It was a ring.

Wolves stood around the edges, dozens of them, forming a loose circle. Some were fully human. Others weren’t hiding it at all—eyes glowing faintly, teeth just a little too sharp, muscles tense like they were ready for a fight.

Lucian stood on the opposite side.

The moment our eyes met, his expression hardened.

“What is this?” he demanded.

The silver-haired elder stepped forward from the shadows.

“A trial,” she said calmly.

Lucian’s body went rigid. “You said she would be observed.”

“And she is,” the elder replied. “Closely.”

I stepped forward before Lucian could stop me.

“A trial for what?” I asked.

The elder looked at me like she’d been waiting for the question.

“To see what you are,” she said. “And what you can survive.”

Lucian growled. The sound echoed through the ring, low and dangerous.

“You don’t test unclaimed women,” he snapped.

“She is not unclaimed,” another elder said. “She is *unresolved*.”

That didn’t sound better.

I glanced at Lucian. “Is this normal?”

“No,” he said flatly.

“Is it legal?”

His jaw clenched. “Barely.”

I exhaled slowly and turned back to the elders.

“What happens if I fail?” I asked.

The silver-haired elder tilted her head. “Then the pack will know you were never meant to stand beside an Alpha.”

“And if I succeed?”

A pause.

Then, “Then we reconsider.”

Reconsider.

Not accept.

Not welcome.

Just… reconsider.

Lucian moved toward me. “Belle, you don’t have to do this.”

I met his gaze. “You don’t get to decide that anymore.”

Something conflicted flickered across his face, but he nodded once.

“Fine,” he said. “Then I stay.”

The elder’s eyes narrowed. “You observe only.”

“Try to stop me,” Lucian replied.

The tension in the ring sharpened instantly.

Two wolves stepped forward.

They weren’t fully shifted, but they weren’t fully human either. Their eyes glowed brighter as they assessed me, like predators sizing up prey.

My hands curled into fists at my sides.

“What’s the rule?” I asked.

The elder lifted her hand.

“You remain standing until the bell sounds,” she said. “You may defend yourself. You may not kill.”

I swallowed. “And them?”

“They will not kill you,” she said. “Unless you give them reason.”

That didn’t reassure me.

The bell rang.

The wolves moved immediately.

One came straight at me, fast enough that my brain barely processed it. I jumped back just in time, my heart slamming into my ribs as his claws sliced through the air where my face had been.

The crowd murmured.

I stumbled but stayed upright.

*Stay standing.*

That was the rule.

The second wolf circled, waiting.

The first lunged again.

I raised my arms instinctively, bracing for impact.

Something slammed outward instead.

The wolf was thrown back like he’d hit a wall, crashing into the stone with a snarl.

The ring went quiet.

I stared at my hands.

Lucian stiffened.

The second wolf hesitated, then snarled and rushed me from the side.

This time I didn’t wait.

I turned toward him, fear giving way to anger, frustration, and something deeper—something that felt old and familiar, like I’d done this before in another life.

I pushed.

The ground beneath my feet cracked.

Light burst outward, not blinding but powerful, slamming into both wolves and sending them skidding across the stone floor.

They didn’t get back up.

Silence slammed down hard.

Every eye in the ring turned to me.

Lucian was already moving, crossing the space in seconds and catching me as my legs finally gave out.

“I didn’t mean to—” I started.

“I know,” he said quickly. “Breathe. Just breathe.”

I did, my whole body shaking.

The elder descended into the ring, her calm cracked for the first time.

“The First Luna’s blood does not awaken without cause,” she said quietly.

I laughed weakly. “You caused it.”

She didn’t deny it.

Lucian straightened slowly, positioning himself in front of me.

“Touch her again,” he said coldly, “and I won’t wait for council approval.”

The threat was real.

The elder studied him, then me.

“The trial is complete,” she said finally.

“What did I pass?” I asked.

Her gaze lingered on me longer than before.

“You didn’t fall,” she said. “And you didn’t beg.”

Lucian helped me to my feet, his grip steady.

As we walked out of the ring, the whispers followed.

“She pushed them back.”

“She stood.”

“She’s dangerous.”

I caught Lucian’s arm before we reached the corridor.

“They did this on purpose,” I said.

“Yes,” he replied.

“They wanted to see if I’d break.”

“Yes.”

I met his gaze, my resolve settling.

“They should have tried harder.”

For the first time since the rejection, something like a smile tugged at his mouth.

“That,” he said quietly, “is exactly what scares them.”

And as the doors closed behind us, I knew one thing for sure:

The pack didn’t test me to decide if I belonged.

They tested me to see if I was a threat.

And they’d just gotten their answer.