Chapter 5:Night Before The Trial

The night was heavy. The moon was hiding behind dark clouds like even the goddess was ashamed of me. I sat in the corner of my small room, hugging my knees, shaking. Tomorrow would be the first trial. Tomorrow the whole pack would gather just to watch me fail.  

I could hear their voices in my head even though the room was quiet. “She’s weak. She’s nothing. She doesn’t belong here.” Those words had followed me since I was little, and now they were louder than ever.  

I pressed my face against my knees and tried to stop crying, but the tears kept rolling. I had cried so much these past days that my eyes burned. It felt like my body carried shame inside my skin. My heart kept asking one question I could not answer: why was I born human?  

I thought about the mark on my neck, the one that tied me to Damien. It still stung every night, as if it wanted me to remember what I could never escape. I did not ask for this bond. I did not ask to be his mate. But tomorrow the trials would decide if I had the right to stand by his side, or if I would be thrown out like dirt.  

A knock came at my door. Sharp. Annoying.  

“Are you crying again, weakling?” Clara’s voice. She had followed me all day like a shadow. She laughed before I could even open my mouth. “I hope you sleep well, Elara. Tomorrow will be the day the pack laughs at you the most. Don’t forget to wear something nice. Even failure should be dressed properly.”  

Her laugh was cruel, loud, and it cut through the walls. I buried my head deeper into my knees, wishing I could disappear.  

Sometimes I hated myself more than they hated me. Sometimes I wished the Moon Goddess had never chosen me at all.  

---

When the pack house went silent later that night, I still could not sleep. My body shook from inside, and my chest felt too heavy. I walked out to the window and stared at the sky.  

The clouds moved, and for a moment the moon showed itself. Bright. Cold. Watching me.  

“Why me?” I whispered. My voice cracked. “Why did you choose me? You could have given Damien a strong wolf. Someone the pack would love. Someone who deserves it. But you gave him me.”  

I waited for an answer that never came. The moon only shined brighter, as if mocking me.  

---

I finally lay on the bed and closed my eyes, but sleep came like a punishment. The dream hit me fast, dark and heavy.  

I was standing in the middle of the woods. The air smelled of blood. I looked down and my hands were red, dripping. My heart raced. Around me wolves circled, their eyes glowing. They were not my pack. They were strangers, their teeth sharp, their growls loud.  

“You don’t belong here,” one voice hissed.  

“You will die tomorrow,” another growled.  

“You are weak. You are nothing.”  

I wanted to scream but my throat felt locked. I tried to run but the trees closed around me, trapping me inside. Then the ground broke under my feet, and I fell into darkness.  

At the bottom, a woman’s voice whispered close to my ear. Soft but cold.  

“You are not only human, Elara. You are more. But to be more, you must bleed first.”  

I woke up screaming. My whole body was wet with sweat, my chest rising and falling so fast I thought I would faint. I grabbed my blanket and hugged it tight, my teeth shaking.  

Was it only a nightmare? Or was it the Goddess speaking?  

---

Morning came too quickly. My eyes were swollen, my body weak. I dragged myself out of bed, but every step felt heavy.  

As soon as I stepped outside, I could hear them. The whispers. The laughter.  

“She looks like a ghost.”  

“She won’t last five minutes tomorrow.”  

“Maybe Damien will finally throw her out after this.”  

Their words stabbed harder than knives. I kept my eyes on the ground, pretending I didn’t hear, but every word stuck inside me. I wanted to scream at them, tell them to stop, but my voice stayed locked inside.  

Clara walked past with her friends, her lips painted with a cruel smile.  

“Careful, Elara,” she said loud enough for everyone to hear. “Don’t trip tomorrow. It would be such a shame if our Luna fell before the trial even began.”  

The pack laughed. My cheeks burned. I bit my lip so hard it bled.  

---

By the time I reached the edge of the training grounds, Damien was already there with the elders. His eyes were cold as always when they found mine. No warmth. No care. Just the weight of judgment.  

“The trial begins tomorrow at sunrise,” Elder Rowan said, his voice strong. “The girl will face it. If she fails, the bond is broken. The pack will decide her fate.”  

My knees almost gave way. My hands shook. I felt the world spinning.  

Damien said nothing. He just turned his face away like I didn’t matter.  

---

That night, I sat in my room again, staring at the moon through the window. My body was empty, my heart too heavy.  

The nightmare kept repeating in my mind. The wolves. The blood. The woman’s voice. *You must bleed first.*  

Was it a warning? A curse? Or a chance?  

I did not know.  

All I knew was this: tomorrow, my life would end or change forever.  

I closed my eyes and whispered through the tears, “If I must fall, then let me fall fast. But if I must rise, then give me strength.”  

The mark on my neck burned, sharper than ever, as if answering me.  

I gasped, clutching it. My body trembled. Was the Goddess truly listening?  

I fell back on the bed, still shaking, and the last thing I saw before sleep dragged me under again was the moon shining bright through the clouds, watching, waiting, as if it had secrets I could not yet understand.  

And in the distance, I thought I heard Clara’s laugh again.  

But this time, it sounded like a warning.