Vane POVThis is a fucking disaster.Would she really let them kill Maddox? Would she stand there and watch while the rogues tore him apart?One of the wolves pinning him snarls low, teeth flashing, muscles taut with tension."It's about time omegas got the respect they deserve," Veyra snaps, her voice sharp and ringing across the room. "If they fall to their knees, weak, and beg for you four to notice them, they’re not omegas. They’re nothing more than cattle, and they deserve to die."Maddox grunts from the floor, breath tight. "Veyra, stop this," he whispers."Stop this?" she echoes, taking another step toward him. "Wait. Didn't you want to throw me to the rogues?""No!" he snarls, the word coming out more like a growl. But it's too late. One of the rogues sinks its teeth into his arm, not enough to tear, but enough to punish the lie.He hisses through clenched teeth but doesn’t fight back."Liar," she breathes. "I should let them tear you apart. You threw me out there like I was n
Rael POVWe knew she was coming. The guards ran in just moments ago, breathless and pale, stammering over themselves as they tried to explain what they had seen. But there was no time to react. The trial had already begun, the cameras were live, and every movement was being watched.We couldn't stop her, not without making it worse.And then she walks in.Fuck!She moves like she owns the ground beneath her feet, and for a moment, I forget to breathe. The power in her is visible, pulsing just beneath her skin. There's fire in the way she carries herself, fury in every step. I just sit there, staring, unable to do anything else as the others rise.She looks at us like we’re filth, and it burns. I know she’s not here for peace. And I know she isn’t going to be gentle about any of it.But this wasn’t my plan. I didn’t send her to the rogues. That was Maddox, or at least, it was mostly caused by him, he didn't warn us of the deal he made with Lyra, he just hoped she would stop.Around the
Veyra POVThe trees fall away, the sky opens, and there it is, the trial grounds, where the alphas, my mates live. Stone gates rise like a warning, carved by hand, old as the bloodlines that cling to them. A shimmering barrier pulses faintly in the air, stretched across the entrance like a silken web. It hums with magic, not mine, but the kind that was built to keep people like me out. Only it can't.I slow, my paws striking the dirt with a final beat, and then I stop just outside the gate. My breath curls in the early air, steady despite the heat twisting inside my core.One by one, the rogues still behind me come to a halt.I shift back, the change rolls through me, tearing flur into flesh, claws into hands until I'm kneeling the earth, naked under the sky. I stand slowly, my muscles tight and alive with magic. I reach for the clothes I left strapped to Caelan's pack before we ran.I dress quickly, not caring that the guards beyond the gates are already shouting, and pointing.When
Veyra POVI'm done with all of it, the silence and the excuses. The way everyone looks away when omegas are mistreated, as if turning their heads somehow makes it less real.Being here with the rogues has been strange, and at times deeply uncomfortable, but it’s also opened my eyes to things I hadn’t wanted to see. Things I’d buried under duty, fear, and the weight of tradition. There’s something about the raw honesty here, the lack of polish and hierarchy, that makes it impossible to keep lying to myself. Things need to change.I might not have the same influence over the structured packs as I do here, but that doesn't mean I should stay silent. I can’t stand by anymore and watch the way omegas are treated. Like they're nothing. Like their pain is part of some divine order we were never meant to question.No one else is going to speak up. No one else is going to stand against the alphas. They're all too afraid, or too used to the way things have always been. But I’m not. I don’t care
Dagen POVMaddox needs to learn how to communicate more. It's hilarious how he, after years of doing these trials, still doesn’t know how to speak to people without threatening them. The Omegas have barely said anything since his little outburst, and who can blame them?Maddox isn’t the sort to consider his actions, he’s more kill and then consider it after. Rubbing my face, I stand to grab the Omega’s attention.“The next trial will include all four alphabets,” I say.The Omegas turn to stare at me.“We’re going to induce your heat, it won’t kill you as it isn’t real.”“Unfortunately,” Maddox scoffs, and I glare at him.“The idea is, while in heat, you have to be able to continue your daily life. This trial will test your restraint and how well you handle tasks while in heat,” Vane says.“You will all be in a room with us, each will have her own tasks, and you will need to seek advice from each Alpha. During that time, you have to ignore your heart; the more you struggle, the lower y
Maddox POVWe’re not finding her. It’s been three days, we’re down to under twenty Omegas, which is our fault. Many of them were in heat, but we were so focused on finding Veyra that they died from it because no one was allowed to touch them without our permission.To be fair, none of us is in the place where we would know them, despite it being meant to be the rule. When they go into heat, we’re meant to make them beg us, and work for it. Only we’re not interested in them, their scents don’t turn us on, and make us crave them.If anything, their scents disgust us.“Right, we need to change the rules,” Dagen says, and I nod in agreement.“Just tell the Betas if an Omega is in heat, one of them is allowed to knot them. Nothing more, just knot them so they survive.”“People are going to ask why, actually, people already are,” Rael says. “There have been questions from packs asking why we’re offline so much, or not on camera. We’ve had questions about why so many Omegas are dying from he