Chapter 12-Dangerous Trial

The sound of drums started before morning. Loud and heavy, like thunder rolling in the sky. Everyone in the pack house woke up. Some were excited, some were afraid. The drums meant only one thing—another trial.  

Elara sat up from her bed, her heart beating fast. Her stomach was empty, but she felt sick. She remembered the first trial. It almost killed her. She knew this one would be worse.  

“Moon, help me,” she whispered, holding her hands together.  

The door opened with force. A soldier wolf came in. His eyes were hard like stone.  

“The fossils are calling you. Come now.”  

Elara stood, even though her legs felt weak. As she walked through the hall, wolves looked at her. Some whispered, some laughed. Clara sat in a corner with her friends. She smiled wide, her eyes shining with hate.  

“She won’t return this time,” Clara said loudly.  

Elara didn’t answer. She just kept walking, her head up. She would not give Clara her fear.  

***  

The arena was full. The fossils sat on high chairs, their faces serious. Elder Kain, the oldest, stood up. His voice carried through the crowd.  

“Today, she faces the Trial of Shadows. She must enter the Dark Cavern. Inside there is no light. Only those chosen by the moon can survive. If she comes out alive, she will be accepted. If not… her blood will feed the earth.”  

The crowd shouted, some cheering for her death. Elara searched for Damien. He stood near the fossils, arms crossed, face cold. He didn’t cheer, didn’t speak. He only looked at her. His silence was sharper than their insults.  

Soldiers pushed her to the mouth of the cavern. It was black, like a giant mouth ready to swallow her. The smell of earth and wet stone filled her nose. Elara took a deep breath and stepped inside. Darkness swallowed her whole.  

***  

Inside, she could see nothing. Only the sound of her breath and her steps. The walls were wet when she touched them.  

“Elara…” a voice called.  

She froze. It was her mother’s voice.  

“Mother?” she whispered.  

A shadow appeared. It looked like her mother, smiling. Elara’s chest filled with hope, but then she saw the eyes—dark and empty.  

“No,” Elara shook her head. “You are not her.”  

The shadow smiled wider, its mouth too big.  

“You bring death to everyone. Even us.”  

Then it jumped at her. Elara fell back, grabbed a sharp rock, and struck. The shadow screamed and turned into smoke. Her body shook all over. She understood now. The trial was not about monsters. It was about fear.  

More shadows came. Her father, accusing her. Clara, laughing at her. Damien, looking at her with hate.  

“You are nothing to me,” his shadow said again and again.  

Elara held her head, tears running down her face. “Stop! Please stop!”  

But the voices grew louder, filling her until she almost gave up.  

Then she saw it—a small crack in the roof of the cavern. Moonlight entered, weak but real. She crawled to it, her body shaking. When her skin touched the light, the shadows screamed and vanished.  

Elara breathed hard, but she felt calm for a moment. “Thank you, Moon,” she whispered. She stood again, following the silver light deeper into the cavern.  

After a long time, she saw the end. The exit. She ran with the little strength left in her. She fell to the ground as soon as she stepped out.  

The arena went silent. Then voices rose in shock.  

“She survived… again.”  

Clara’s face twisted. She looked like she wanted to tear Elara apart.  

Elder Kain stood. His eyes burned like fire. “She survived the Trial of Shadows. Twice now the moon has saved her. This cannot be ignored.”  

The crowd roared. Some angry, some afraid. Elara lifted her head slowly. Her hair was messy, her body weak, but her eyes glowed faintly silver. She was alive. She was still here.  

***  

That night, Elara sat alone near the fountain. The water moved softly, but her thoughts were heavy.  

“You survived,” a voice said.  

She turned and saw Damien. He stood in the shadows, his face calm.  

“You keep proving them wrong,” he said. “But you have not proved me wrong yet.”  

Elara’s throat ached. “Why must I always prove myself to you? Why can’t you just see me as I am?”  

Damien looked away. His jaw was tight. “Because what you are might destroy us all.”  

He left her there with those words. Her chest hurt, but inside her heart, a small spark refused to die.  

***  

In her room, Clara broke a vase. Her hands shook with rage.  

“She is stealing everything from me!” she shouted. “The fossils, the pack… even Damien’s eyes.”  

Her friends tried to calm her, but Clara pushed them away. She stood in the middle of the room, her eyes sharp.  

“If the trials cannot kill her,” she said, “then I will.”  

The moon shone above, but Elara did not know a darker danger was already waiting for her.