Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Zara Fen POV

They woke me before dawn.

A sharp knock hit the door once. Then again, harder. Emily was already moving, her body tense as she crossed the small room.

“It’s time,” a voice said from outside.

No greeting. No courtesy.

Emily looked at me. “Whatever happens,” she said quietly, “don’t bow your head.”

I nodded, though my stomach twisted painfully.

We stepped outside into the cold morning air. The sky was still dark, streaked faintly with gray. Fires burned low across the settlement, casting long shadows over the stone clearing at the center of Dawnridge.

Wolves were already gathering.

Not quietly. Not respectfully.

They formed a wide circle around the clearing, talking openly, eyes sharp with curiosity. This was not a ceremony. There was no reverence here.

This was judgment.

I felt it immediately. The weight of being watched. Measured.

Emily walked beside me until a guard stepped into her path. “Only the one on trial,” he said.

Emily stopped. Her jaw tightened, but she didn’t argue.

I kept walking.

The Alpha stood near the center of the clearing, his posture relaxed, his presence absolute. He did not announce me. He did not acknowledge me until I stood where he wanted me to stand.

Alone.

“Zara Fen,” he said, his voice carrying easily. “Step forward.”

I did.

“You crossed Dawnridge territory without permission,” he said. “You bring a curse, an unbroken bond, and the attention of another Alpha with you.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

“I did not invite you,” he continued. “And I will not shelter you out of sympathy.”

He turned to the pack. “This is not a vote of kindness.”

Good.

Because kindness had never saved me.

“This is a decision of risk,” the Alpha said. “If she stays, Dawnridge bears the consequences. If she leaves, she bears them alone.”

He looked back at me. “You will be tested.”

My chest tightened.

“Not in private,” he added. “Not gently.”

A low sound of approval moved through the pack.

“You will prove,” he said, “that you are worth the cost of keeping.”

A guard stepped forward and dropped something at my feet.

A blade.

Short. Heavy. Worn smooth by use.

I stared at it.

“This is not a duel,” the Alpha said calmly. “You will not be fighting another wolf.”

Relief flared for half a second.

Then he continued.

“You will enter the boundary woods.”

The murmurs sharpened.

Emily’s voice broke from the edge of the crowd. “Those woods aren’t cleared.”

The Alpha did not look at her. “Exactly.”

My pulse spiked.

“The boundary woods are unstable,” he said. “Rogue activity. Feral creatures. No patrols.”

He met my gaze. “If you cannot survive there, you cannot survive among us.”

My hands curled into fists.

“What do I have to do?” I asked.

“Retrieve this,” he said.

A guard lifted a bloodstained token. Bone carved with Dawnridge markings.

“It was taken during a skirmish two nights ago,” the Alpha continued. “Left behind when our patrol was forced to retreat.”

Silence fell.

“You will bring it back before sunrise tomorrow,” he said. “Alive.”

My breath caught.

“And if I don’t?” I asked.

The Alpha’s expression did not change. “Then you leave Dawnridge immediately.”

No escort.

No protection.

No second chances.

A wolf in the crowd laughed. “She won’t last an hour.”

Another voice followed. “Silvercrest rejected her for a reason.”

Heat crawled up my spine, but I stayed where I was.

“Do I get help?” I asked.

“No,” the Alpha replied.

“Do I get weapons?” I pressed.

He gestured to the blade at my feet. “That is all you are given.”

The bond burned under my skin, reacting to the danger, screaming warnings I couldn’t silence.

The Alpha leaned forward slightly. “One more thing.”

I looked at him.

“This trial is public,” he said. “If you fail, Dawnridge will make it known.”

My chest tightened sharply.

“No pack will shelter you after that,” he continued. “You will be marked as a danger to pack stability.”

Marked.

That word landed hard.

Permanent.

Emily pushed forward despite the guards. “You’re sending her to die.”

The Alpha finally looked at her. “No,” he said evenly. “I’m giving her a chance to prove she won’t.”

He turned back to me. “You may leave now.”

The guards stepped aside.

The path into the woods lay open beyond the clearing. Dark. Silent. Waiting.

Every instinct screamed at me to hesitate.

I didn’t.

I bent down, picked up the blade, and closed my fingers around its handle. The weight grounded me, cold and real.

I looked once at the gathered wolves.

At their doubt.

At their expectation of failure.

Then I stepped toward the trees.

The forest swallowed sound quickly. Shadows thickened as I crossed the boundary. The smell of damp earth and old blood filled the air.

Behind me, the Alpha’s voice carried one final time.

“If she does not return by sunrise,” he said, “she will not return at all.”

The words followed me into the dark.

The trees closed behind me.