Chapter 13

Keira's POV 

The hall was colder than usual that morning. The windows were open, and the damp breeze of dawn drifted in, carrying with it the faint scent of pinewood and morning fog. 

I stood with my arms wrapped tightly around my chest, trying to calm the wild beating of my heart. 

My fingers dug into the rough fabric of my dress, and I wondered if anyone else could hear the way my chest felt like it was rattling, like my ribs were trying to escape from under my skin.

Girls shuffled into the hall in groups, whispering to each other, their voices low and tense with anticipation. Some of them had spent the entire night preparing, fixing their hair, practising their curtsies, and thinking of what they would say if they were chosen. 

I hadn’t done any of that. I hadn’t even slept. I had spent the entire night staring at the ceiling above my thin mattress, counting the cracks, wondering what freedom would taste like if I ever got to taste it.

Beside me, Alia was silent. Her hair fell in soft waves down her back, her dress a pale yellow that made her dark skin glow. 

She was beautiful. She was always beautiful. I saw the way the other girls looked at her with envy burning in their eyes, and for a fleeting moment, I wished I could hate her the way they did. 

But hatred required energy I no longer had.

The principal walked in through the side doors, and the hall fell silent instantly. His shoes tapped sharply against the tiles, each step echoing around the hall like the crack of a whip. His face twisted into a sneer as he looked at us lined up, like goods waiting to be bought and sold.

He held up a rolled parchment and flicked it open with a dramatic flourish that made my stomach turn. “Listen carefully,” he said, his voice cutting through the silence like a knife. “I will be calling out the names of those who have been selected for the Luna Trials. You will step forward when called. Do not waste my time.”

He started reading out names, his voice bored and uninterested, as if he were reading a grocery list. With each name called, a girl stepped forward, her hands shaking with excitement or fear or both, her friends squealing quietly behind her. 

I saw their eyes glisten with tears, their lips trembling with whispered prayers of gratitude. My chest felt heavy watching them. I knew I should be praying not to be chosen, but my mind felt too tired to form prayers anymore.

I heard him call out Alia’s name, and her shoulders stiffened. She stepped forward gracefully, lowering her head in a show of respect, but I saw the flicker of annoyance in her eyes. She had wanted this so much, enough to want to get rid of me like a piece of trash. 

She turned slightly to look at me, and for a moment, our eyes met. Hers were cold and hard, and mine were empty. She turned away first.

The principal continued calling names, the parchment slowly unrolling further down. My heart began to pound faster, my palms damp with sweat. Each second felt like an hour, the air in the hall growing thicker with every breath I took. 

Then suddenly, I heard him pause. His eyes flickered to me briefly before he spoke, and something about that look made my stomach twist with dread.

“Keira,” he called out, his voice dripping with disdain. For a second, the entire hall went silent. Then, as if someone had flicked a switch, laughter erupted. Mocking, harsh, cruel laughter that scraped against my ears and dug into my chest like tiny knives.

I felt my knees wobble. My vision blurred for a moment as tears burned at the back of my eyes. I blinked them away, refusing to let them fall. I would not cry. Not in front of them. 

I forced my feet to move, each step feeling like I was dragging chains behind me. My head was spinning, my chest tight with shame and confusion. Why? Why me?

“She probably seduced someone for this,” a girl whispered loudly to her friend. Her friend giggled, covering her mouth with her hand as her eyes sparkled with vicious glee.

“Maybe she’s finally giving it up to the guards,” another girl snorted. “Or maybe the principal himself. Ou, or maybe one of the Alpha princes.”

I saw Alia visibly clench her jaw. 

I kept walking, refusing to look at any of them. My ears burned with humiliation, and my fingers dug into my palms so hard I felt blood prick beneath my nails. My entire body felt cold, like I had been plunged into freezing water. 

Alia was still standing at the front, her face blank, but I saw the way her jaw tightened. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t defend me. She just stood there, silent, like she always did when I needed her most.

The guards walked forward, their faces emotionless behind their metal masks. They formed a line around us, herding us together like sheep about to be slaughtered. 

One of them grabbed my arm roughly, yanking me into place. I stumbled forward, almost falling, but I caught myself just in time. My heart hammered painfully against my ribs, my breaths coming out in short, panicked gasps.

The principal rolled up the parchment and looked at us with narrowed eyes, his lips curling into a mocking smile. “Congratulations to the chosen,” he said, his voice thick with sarcasm. “May the Moon Goddess show mercy on your pathetic souls.”

He turned and walked away, his coat billowing behind him like dark wings. The guards began marching us out of the hall, their heavy boots echoing against the tiles. I kept my head down, staring at the floor as tears blurred my vision. 

I didn’t wipe them away. There was no point pretending anymore.

As we stepped out into the cold morning air, I felt something inside me crack. The breeze kissed my wet cheeks, and I realised that the tears falling down my face were warm despite the chill in the air. 

The courtyard was silent except for the quiet sobs of a few girls behind me. I didn’t join them. My chest felt empty, like there was nothing left to cry out.

I saw students watching from the windows above, their eyes wide with curiosity and thinly veiled excitement at the drama unfolding before them. Their whispers drifted down to us like poisoned rain.

“She probably spread her legs for it.”

“I bet she begged for it on her knees.”

“Pathetic.”

I closed my eyes, shutting out their words, their faces, their laughter. I focused on the feeling of my feet against the rough gravel, the sting of the cold air against my skin, the thud of my heart in my chest. 

I focused on staying upright, on putting one foot in front of the other, on not collapsing into a sobbing, screaming mess before them.

Because that was what they wanted. That was what they were waiting for. For the weak, broken little Omega to fall apart so they could feast on her humiliation like starving wolves.

No.

I would not give them that. I would not give them anything. I would not break.