Chapter Eight

 

Kael’s POV

Why? Why? Why did I feel irritated when she spoke with Darius? 

I looked back at him…. No.. her… Aria IronClaw. 

The way she’d looked at him, even for that brief moment, bothered me more than it should have. It twisted in my chest like something sharp I couldn’t shake off. Darius hadn’t even done much, just stepped in, spoke calmly, and everyone bent to his will. Even Aria’s eyes had softened, her guard slipping for him in a way I hadn’t seen before.

It shouldn’t matter. She wasn’t mine to watch. She wasn’t mine at all.

So why the hell did I care?

My wolf stirred restlessly, low growls echoing inside my head every time I pictured her standing close to him. It was instinct, I told myself. Just instinct. A wolf reacting to dominance, to competition. That had to be it.

But the longer I looked at her, the harder it was to believe my own excuse. 

Before I could untangle the mess in my head, a low hum filled the garden. The council’s silver orb floated above us, glowing brighter as its voice began.

“Heirs of every pack, today we gather for—”

The words broke off as a spear hit the orb, crashing it to the ground.

Footsteps echoed across the stone, steady and unhurried. Every heir turned. A woman walked into the garden, her white-silver hair catching the light, her presence heavier than anything the council had summoned. She didn’t so much as glance at the orb before lifting her chin and speaking.

“This announcement is mine now.”

Murmurs spread through the crowd, heirs glancing at each other in disbelief. A woman? Here? Taking control from the council?

Whispers rippled all around me, but I barely heard them. My eyes stayed fixed on the woman who had just walked into the garden and silenced the council like they were nothing.

Her presence pressed heavy, sharper than any Alpha’s I’d ever felt. It didn’t make sense. Who the hell was she? No one could just walk in and take control—not here, not in front of every heir.

I clenched my fists, uneasy. Even my wolf stirred, ears pricked and restless, as if it recognized something I didn’t.

Before I could sort it out, Aria came up beside me, her voice low.

“Who is that?”

I glanced at her, then back at the woman as she stood center stage, waiting for silence.

“I don’t know,” I muttered. “But she isn’t someone you ignore.”

The stranger let the whispers rise and die before she continued, her voice cutting clean through the air.

“I am Seraphina Veyr. Founder of this Academy. And this year’s challenge will not follow tradition.”

Seraphina?? The name didn’t ring any bells. But if she was from the Veyr pack, I doubt she’s here for no reason. 

I looked at her once more…. She looks pretty strong though, she’d make good prey.

Before I could ponder more on it…. One of the heirs laughed haphazardly, it followed with a few of his heirs soon most were joining in. 

Idiots… the lady is front of us was at least a Black Core, meaning she could wipe us all in just minutes

“Well that would be enough.” The woman said, smiling… but in a split second, her aura changed into something icy and cold. 

The air suddenly began to choke me and then something like an unseen force hit me strongly in the back. I stumbled but managed to catch myself with a knee planted to the floor.

This pressure… I stared intently at the stranger.

Then I looked around me, most of the heirs were face planted to the ground. Probably couldn’t resist the pressure.

Aside from Aria… she had just a knee on the floor, like I did. 

A woman… the thought crossed my mind… she’s a woman but yet, she was  doing better than most heirs. 

Our eyes met briefly through the haze. And I looked away…. 

Wait, I looked away?

Seraphina’s smile didn’t waver. “Good. Now that I have your attention, let me tell you what this year’s challenge truly is…”

I braced myself, prepared for the worst. If the founder herself had decided to make an appearance, then this year's challenge was going to be different. 

“The Cull Trials.”

A gasp rippled through the sea of heirs and honestly I didn’t see why not. 

The Cull Trials was a challenge forbidden by all the pack leaders, centuries ago, even now people only talked about it in hushed voices because the punishment for even acknowledging it was worse than death itself.

But yet somehow, this woman, Seraphina Veyr who claimed to be the founder, had just waltzed in and announced it like it was some child's-play.

“Umm excuse me.” a familiar voice called out. “Could you explain what the Cull Trial’s are about?”

That voice, I turned to the direction… Aria… that girl, boy, whatever she was. She really pisses me off sometimes.

I rushed up, stopping her before it could get any worse. “He didn’t mean that, Miss Seraphina” I said, slowly walking towards Aiden, silently warning him to shut up. 

“Aiden here…” I placed my hand over him. “He’s new here so he doesn’t know much about the whole trials and stuff… so” I paused, narrowing my eyes on her. “Can we get to the real deal and stop the pranks?”

Miss Seraphina didn’t respond, instead her eyes scanned me from head to toe as if trying to measure my value. 

After a short silence and a bit of awkwardness, she finally spoke. 

“It isn’t a prank, Draven heir….” she walked towards me, placing a hand on my chin and bringing it closer to hers. “I meant what I said and since you know what the Trial is about, explain it to Aiden for me.”

Then out of the blue, she planted her lips on mine, entangling her tongue with mine. 

Shocked, I just stood there stunned as she pulled away. She licked her lips and I could see there was something burning in her eyes. 

Desire? Wait, no, no, no…. There’s no way. 

“I really hope you survive the trials, Draven Heir.” she said, as she walked away.

Then she came to a halt and turned to the heirs “Oh and your current partner  is your partner for the Cull Trials… feel free to make alliances and work together

With that, she gave me a wink and just walked out. 

What the?

“A kiss huh…” Aiden’s voice drawled behind me. “Well that’s a first.”

I could feel heat rush to my cheeks. 

“Shut up”