LOGINELARA’S POVMy gaze fell on the coiled leather whip in the warrior’s hand.A similar scene had played out in my previous life almost beat for beat. Back then I had also won the strength contest with the silver wolf. The cheers of the crowd had drowned out the wind itself. I had reached up to stroke the silver wolf’s neck thinking that perhaps this time my family would finally look at me with something close to respect. At that exact moment the man who had drawn the lots stepped forward and accused me of bribing him in advance to arrange an opponent of only mediocre ability. He described the meeting in convincing detail even stating the exact time we had supposedly spoken. He produced a medicinal herb and claimed it was the reward I had given him. I stood frozen unable to form a single word. Before I could understand what was happening the verdict had already been announced from the raised platform. My results were canceled and I was sentenced to twenty lashes as a warning to the res
ELARA’S POV“Dodge!” My voice stayed low but the command snapped out the instant the black wolf’s massive body left the ground. Ash slid hard to the left his thin frame skimming so close to the giant’s ribs that the rush of air flattened the fur along his neck. The black wolf’s claws tore through empty space and scored deep gouges in the packed earth. Ash did not glance back. He braced on all four legs and landed clean on the far side of the ring dust rising around his paws. A few people at the edge of the field let out short breaths of relief only to break into laughter a heartbeat later. “It can dodge once but it won’t manage that every time,” one person said. “One solid hit and that skinny thing is finished,” another added. Selene stood in the front row of the crowd. She curled her lips into a faint smile then quickly smoothed it away and put on a worried expression. She sighed just loud enough for the nearest listeners. “The gray wolf is already so weak. I’m afraid it wo
ELARA’S POVBefore dawn had fully broken a crowd of young Pack members had already gathered at the training grounds. The air carried the scents of fresh grass and warm fur while dozens of wolves lay or stood about their low whines rising and falling in restless waves. I stood at the end of the line with Ash close against my leg. He was still a size smaller than most wolves his age. Among the sleek well-groomed coats around us his dull grey fur looked particularly shabby. A few people sneaked glances his way amusement plain in their eyes. “She actually brought that gray wolf here? She’s got some nerve!” “Just wait and watch the show. That thing looks like a gust of wind could knock it over. It’s bound to lose.” Ash seemed oblivious to the taunts and stayed leisurely at my side. I paid no attention to the voices. Instead I reached out and smoothed the tufts of fur that stuck up along the side of his neck. The coarse texture felt familiar under my fingers. I was not unfamiliar with
ELARA’S POVThe crowd parted and the Beta’s daughter, Lauren Gail, stepped forward with her shoulders straight. “I saw what happened,” Lauren said, her voice cut clean through the noise. “The silver wolf lunged first. The moment the other girl loosened her grip it sprang forward. The gray wolf was only defending itself and its master.” Selene’s eyes turned red at once as tears gathered along her lower lashes. “The gray wolf kept staring at it and growling under its breath,” she lied innocently. “You all know that wolves are very sensitive to their owners’ emotions. Sister was upset and the gray wolf probably became agitated too which provoked the silver wolf. It’s my fault for not holding it properly. This has nothing to do with Sister.”She clutched Adrian’s sleeve, her trembling shoulders making her appear even more distressed. Though she claimed to defend me, she still implied that Ash had provoked the Silver Wolf.The girls nearby jumped in before the last sentence finished.“T
ELARA’S POVThe silver wolf came at me with pure hatred. Its body stretched long in the air, muscles bunched under that once-proud coat, fangs open wide enough to take a chunk of flesh from my side. The eyes locked on me held every bit of resentment it had carried since the day I walked past it on the platform and chose the grey wolf instead. High bloodline or not, it had never been ignored so completely, and it had waited for this exact chance to make me pay. Ash moved before I could even raise my arms. I never saw his paws leave the ground. One moment he stood thin and dusty at my side. The next he shot forward so low his belly nearly scraped the pine needles. His shoulder slammed hard into the backs of my knees. Pain flared up both legs. My balance broke. I stumbled backward two full steps and hit the ground on one hand, pine needles stabbing into my palm. The silver wolf’s jaws snapped shut on empty air where my ribs had been. Its momentum carried it past me and it crashed dow
ELARA’S POVAsh recovered faster than I had expected.He was still thinner than the well-fed wolves the other disciples showed off in the training yards, and his grey coat had not yet grown thick and even, but something fierce had started to wake underneath the surface. When he walked beside me his paws no longer dragged. A quiet, coiled strength lived in the way he carried his head.One clear afternoon I led him past the boundary stones of the Vale territory and up the narrow trail that climbed toward the back mountain. The air cooled as the pines closed in around us. Wind pushed through the branches and made his fur lift in uneven waves. Every few steps he glanced over his shoulder at me, his ears half flattened, as if he still expected me to decide he was too much trouble and turn back.I did not rush him.When the path opened into a small sunlit clearing I stopped and crouched low, both arms open. “Come here, Ash,” I called out calmly. Ash hesitated. His golden eyes flicked from







