Chapter sixteen:The test of loyalty

The truth changed everything—but not everyone was ready to accept it.

Alex’s revealed bloodline sent ripples through the pack, shaking ancient assumptions. The council was divided. Some believed the bond between Alex and Brian had divine purpose. Others still saw it as taboo, a defiance of pack law and structure.

So the Elders devised one final trial: The Test of Loyalty.

“The bond is undeniable,” Elder Donovan announced before the full council and pack, “but it must be proven under pressure. Loyalty, trust, and instinct—those are the pillars of any fated pair.”

The test would be held in the old trial grounds—a circular arena deep in the woods. No weapons. No help. Only each other.

Brian and Alex stood shoulder to shoulder as the details were explained.

“You will be separated and hunted by skilled warriors—betas loyal to the council. Your task is to find each other, survive, and make it to the heart of the arena before the full moon rises. If you fail—your bond will be declared unstable, and rejected.”

Rachel tried to speak, but Donovan raised a hand. “They must choose to fight for each other. Or not at all.”

Alex’s hands trembled, but Brian’s fingers found his under the table. Their eyes met. A silent agreement passed between them.

They would not lose each other again.

⸻

The test began at twilight.

Brian was dropped on the west side of the forest, Alex on the east. The rules were brutal: silence, survival, no outside interference. The hunters were real. The threat, real. And the chance of injury—very real.

Alex crouched behind a rock, breath shallow. He could already smell two betas on the wind. Warriors. Fast, strong. Loyal to Silva—who had made it clear she would never approve the bond.

I have to get to Brian, he thought.

Meanwhile, Brian sprinted low through the brush, blood thrumming in his ears. He could smell Alex faintly. Even separated, the pull was still there—distant, warm, calling him home.

He’d never relied on instinct this much in his life. Not even during his first shift.

Back in the eastern woods, Alex moved swiftly, weaving through trees, narrowly avoiding detection. But one of the hunters spotted him and gave chase.

Alex ran, ducking under branches, leaping over roots. He pushed harder, ignoring the sting in his legs. Just when he thought he’d be caught, a flash of movement appeared—Brian, emerging from the shadows like a storm.

Without a word, Brian launched at the hunter, knocking him off course. Alex gasped as he fell to the ground, scraping his arm, but Brian was already there, pulling him up.

“You came,” Alex whispered.

“Always.”

The moment their skin touched, their bond flared. Visible. Palpable.

The forest seemed to pause around them.

A third hunter burst from the trees—but froze mid-step, eyes wide as he looked at the pair. “What… is that?”

The glowing thread of bond-energy wrapped around Alex and Brian like smoke, golden and bright. A sign of true mates—an extremely rare occurrence that couldn’t be faked.

Brian growled low in his chest, baring his teeth protectively.

The hunter stepped back slowly, lowering his weapon.

“This is beyond us,” he muttered, before vanishing into the trees.

Together, Alex and Brian ran the final stretch toward the arena’s center. When they reached the stone platform, the moon rose fully above them.

The test was over.

They had survived.

They had found each other.

And they had proven what no one else could deny.

The bond was not weakness. It was strength. Fate. Truth.

And soon, the entire pack would have to face it.