LOGINRONANAs the question lands, I don't react because I don't understand why that question was directed to me. Behind me, Kieran groans, low and strained.he hasn't given in to them, I feel him in my chest like a spine along my own.His heartbeat still beats in tandem to mine.Auriel tilts his head slightly. “You're trembling,” he observes in a curious tone. “That's interesting for someone who claims to be an Alpha.”“I'm not trembling,” I reply evenly, hiding my fear.Elias gives a short, humorless laugh from beside the monitor. “You really don't know, do you?”I don't look at him.Auriel steps closer, close enough that I can see the fine lines at the corners of his eyes, the calculations beneath the calm.“You perfume for him,” he says quietly. “A sprinkle of dominance here and there, but you don't challenge him.”His gaze sharpens. “ You stabilize him too.” I breathe through my mouth to stop myself from hyperventilating.“You're mistaken, Sir.” “No,” he murmurs. “I rarely am.”Behind
RONANThe screen still glows, a little child staring back at us from the monitor, blonde hair, and dead, solemn eyes far too old for his little frame and small face.And the red stamp slashed across his image.Auriel keeps laughing for a man in his frame. His laugh is soft and amused, as my stomach turns to ice.Kieran's heartbeat is locked to my heartbeat, the two lines moving together.Don't check my neck. Don't scan my blood.If they trace the origin of his used mating fangs, they'll find fragments of my DNA in his system. He bit me and marked me since I didn't return the bite. There's no piece of me in him.My wrists burn where the silver cuffs bite into my skin, blood slicks down my hands in thin, and sticky trails.Kieran's fangs are still half descended, and since Fenir had hidden his presence, they can't descend more than they already had.I can imagine how painful that was, my suppressants are thinning and burning out, I feel the little heat creeping along my spine, a tremor
KIERANThe lower chamber doors finish opening with a slow hissing sound. You can hear a pin drop from the silence in the courtyard.Auriel comes outside standing at the threshold, hands folded behind his back, expression almost pleasant like he won a lottery or something.Without hesitation. “Alpha Vale,” he says smoothly, voice carrying across stone and walls alike. “ You will report first for the test, as a gesture of cordial respect, and belief in the structure put in place by the elders.”An evil standard disguised as courtesy.Of course, I get to go first. A guard steps forward to guide me in.Dax shifts instantly. “He doesn't go alone.”Elias's voice rings out from behind Auriel. “Stand down, Dax Rain.” Dax's jaw tightens, but he obeys.I don't resist or fight , just stepping forward into the big bad wolf's lair. If this is what they want, they'll have it, freely given or forcefully taken.The walk down into the chamber is colder than ever. The air thickens with disinfectant an
RHEAThe scent of blood fills the hallway, leading to the lower chamber. That's the first sign that something is wrong, not the fact that people were checking their phones.Students walk past the hallways and face pale. No one speaks above a whisper. Notifications are now coordinated.Mandatory pairs, report with your designated duo.My stomach drops as I remember Ethan saw me using the scent vial, I have to do something about it too.“They killed someone in the chamber.”“No, that's not true.”“I heard the Elder tore someone apart down there.” They continue yapping. “ It's no longer a scent test. It's a mate confirmation.”Mate. The word lodges in the throat like a sharp blade pierced sideways.Some people are shaking and clutching their phone tightly, her knuckles white. “ They're matching similar scent matches. If you spark with someone else, you're paired. What if Max isn't mine? And I'm paired up with someone else, I can't love someone else.”Paired up with someone else.“Someone
RonanThe chamber lights flicker almost eerily as I try to open my eyes, Elias knocked me out when we got to the chamber door.As I tug on the cuffs holding my wrist, it doesn't budge at all.They are reinforced with silver and biting into my wrist. Above me, I hear something hit stone, hard, and I close my eyes.Kieran, his pulse, spiking and straining.Fenir is also awake. I can feel it in the way my heartbeat answers. They didn't soundproof this chamber well enough.“Distracted already?” Auriel’s voice drifts across the open space.I open my eyes, and now he stands at the foot of the reinforced table I'm chained to, hands folded behind his back.Expression composed, looking clinical and curious.“You hear something?” He asks, distracted fishing for information.“No.” I lie. His gaze lingers on my face a moment longer, and he walks off.A technician comes by with gloved hands checking the state of the locks, not my bruised wrists.A needle slides into my vein with efficient precisio
KIERAN my phone buzzes with a school notification, but i don't pay it any attention.All around me, screens light up in the trembling hands of students, faces drain as they become white as sheets.But none of that is what has me riled up, it's the whimpering that's coming from the lower chambers, of all the students that have been carried down there, I'm here listening for Ronan.Fenir surges so violently I have to brace my palm against the wall to stay upright. The stone cracks faintly under my grip.He's hurting. They are hurting him.The thought forms in my mind, with fixed certainty.Across the hall, Rhea stares at her phone , pale and shaken.She isn’t listening to hear the cries coming from the lower chambers.Then, I hear it faint, his heartbeat as every heartbeat around me fades.I move towards the stairwell, not running yet guard steps in front of me. “ Alpha Vale. You are not yet cleared for descent into the chambers.”“I wasn't asking for permission,” I say, my voice is le







