Trial by Blood

The clearing still hummed with the echoes of my breath, the pounding of my heart, the lingering heat of the runes that had saved me. Wolves shifted uneasily around the circle, their voices a restless tide—some muttering in disbelief, others howling with approval, a few spitting on the ground like my survival was an insult carved into the night.

“She cheated.”

“She’ll never make the next one.”

“She ran faster than half of you bastards ever could.”

The clash of voices rolled like thunder, but I heard none of it clearly. My chest still heaved, my lungs scraped raw. Dirt clung to my skin, blood tasted sharp in my mouth from biting my tongue when I’d fallen. Every muscle trembled.

And yet, I was alive.

Kade stood at the edge of the crowd, his golden eyes unblinking, molten fire against the dark. He hadn’t looked away from me once. Not when I’d stumbled. Not when I’d nearly been torn down. Not even now, when the circle seemed to hunger for me to fail.

He lifted his hand. Silence. Absolute.

The pack stilled as though his gesture alone chained their throats shut. That power, that brutal control, rippled through the air and coiled around me as surely as the mark he’d left on my neck.

“One trial survived,” Kade said, his voice low, cutting, dangerous. “But the hunt proves only one thing: whether you can run.”

The silence deepened. Even the wolves breathing seemed to hold.

“Now,” he continued, stepping forward, his gaze raking across every face until it returned to mine, “we see if you can fight.”

My stomach turned to stone.

A murmur broke out, hushed but sharp.

“Trial by Blood.”

The words whispered through the crowd like sparks on dry pine. Some eyes lit with hunger. Others narrowed with scorn. And mine—mine widened in dawning horror.

Fight.

Not run. Not dodge. Not survive. Fight.

I forced the words out, my voice raw. “I’m not a wolf.”

A ripple of mocking laughter hissed through the pack. My fists clenched.

Kade’s eyes narrowed, the gold burning hotter. “Neither were you a hunter. Yet you survived the hunt.”

“That was luck,” I snapped.

“Then perhaps you’ll find your luck again.” His tone was merciless.

The circle stirred. Wolves began to shift, bodies rippling, skin tearing into fur. The crack of bones, the guttural sounds of half-formed growls filled the air. I staggered back a step, throat tight, as one figure remained human, stepping forward with a predator’s smile.

Her hair was raven-dark, braided tight down her back. Her shoulders corded with muscle, her arms dusted with scars. She was tall, nearly my height, but broader, built like she’d been carved for war. And her eyes—her eyes glowed amber, hungry with hate.

“I’ll take her,” she said, voice sharp as a blade.

Murmurs of approval answered.

Her gaze slid over me, cruel and cold. “The Alpha dishonors us with a human at his side. I’ll correct his mistake.”

Kade didn’t move. Didn’t blink. He let her words fall into the air and fester. His silence made them heavier, sharper.

I swallowed, my pulse pounding in my throat. “Who—”

“Maris,” someone whispered behind me. “Second daughter of the Redfang line.”

The name meant nothing to me, but the reverence in the tone did. This wasn’t some nameless wolf. This was someone bred for this moment.

She grinned, baring her teeth. “Try not to bleed too quickly, little human. I want to savor it.”

My mouth went dry.

Kade’s voice rang out. “The second trial begins. Trial by Blood.”

The pack howled, the sound tearing into my skin, rattling my bones.

Maris lunged.

I barely raised my arms before her fist slammed into my ribs, knocking the air from my lungs. I stumbled back, vision sparking white. Pain radiated sharp and hot.

She didn’t stop. Another strike came, faster than my eyes could follow. I blocked clumsily, the impact numbing my arm.

The circle roared its approval.

I was prey again.

But prey with no escape.

Maris snarled, circling, her movements precise, almost graceful. “Pathetic. This is the Alpha’s chosen?”

Her words cut deeper than her blows. Shame, fury, terror all tangled in my chest. The mark on my neck burned, pulsing, and somewhere beyond the pain and humiliation, a spark flared.

Kade watched.

I felt it. His gaze, heavy as chains, molten as fire. He wasn’t going to save me. Not here. Not now.

If I fell, I fell alone.

Maris lunged again. Instinct shoved me sideways. Her claws sliced air where my throat had been. I threw a wild punch. She caught it, twisted, and pain ripped up my wrist as she bent it backward.

I screamed, dropping to my knees.

The circle howled for blood.

Maris wrenched my arm, forcing my head back. Her amber eyes gleamed with cruel delight. “Too easy.”

Her claws scraped my throat, shallow, just enough to sting, to draw the first bead of blood.

The pack erupted. The first drop. The signal of prey falling.

And Kade—Kade still didn’t move.

Something inside me snapped.

Not fear. Not despair. Something hotter. Wilder.

The bond flared, fire rushing through my veins, my blood singing with heat that wasn’t mine. My vision sharpened, every detail too crisp, every sound thunderous. I could hear Maris’s heartbeat, rapid and confident. I could smell the iron tang of my own blood.

And for the first time, I didn’t just feel prey.

I felt predator.

The circle throbbed with sound—growls, snarls, the crackle of firelight—but all of it blurred to the edges of my vision. The world funneled down to Maris’s smirk, her claws pricking my skin, the arrogant thrum of her pulse.

The bond burned like molten iron in my veins.

I twisted. Not with strength, but with fury. My body moved before thought—knee snapping up, slamming into her ribs. The shock loosened her grip just enough. I wrenched free, stumbling back, chest heaving, vision swimming.

Maris’s grin faltered.

The pack roared. Some cheered, others cursed, but all leaned closer, hunger sparking in their eyes.

Kade hadn’t moved. Not an inch. His arms folded across his chest, his golden gaze burning like it could sear the truth out of me.

Maris wiped blood from her lip, and the smirk returned, sharper. “So the kitten has claws after all.”

She came at me fast. Too fast. Her fist cracked across my jaw, snapping my head sideways. Stars burst behind my eyes. I staggered, spitting blood.

Another blow slammed into my gut. My knees buckled, the world dimming.

But the bond wouldn’t let me fall.

Get up. The voice wasn’t mine. It was deeper, primal, echoing inside my bones. Fight.

I rose with a scream, swinging wild. My fist connected with her cheek. The sound echoed like a crack of thunder.

The pack went silent.

Maris staggered back a step, shock flashing across her amber eyes. I’d hit her. Hard.

Pain lanced through my knuckles, skin splitting, but I didn’t care. The fire in my blood roared louder, drowning it out.

She growled, feral now, circling like a true predator. “Lucky strike.”

“Try me again,” I rasped, though my body trembled, sweat burning my eyes.

Her smile widened. “Gladly.”

She shifted. Bones snapped, fur tore through skin, her body rippling into the beast beneath. A massive wolf, black with streaks of silver, amber eyes blazing with murder.

Gasps rippled through the circle. The trial wasn’t supposed to go this far.

But Maris didn’t care. She wanted blood.

The wolf lunged.

I dove, rolling across the dirt, claws raking the ground behind me. Pain scored my calf where she caught me. Hot blood trickled down my leg.

The pack howled, some in triumph, some in alarm.

I pushed to my feet, chest burning, lungs screaming. The wolf circled, saliva dripping, massive shoulders rippling with power.

I couldn’t fight her like this. Not with fists. Not with human skin.

The bond pulsed, harder now, blinding, white-hot. My senses sharpened again—too sharp. I could hear every paw-fall, every shift of muscle. I could predict her next move before she made it.

The wolf leapt, jaws wide, claws reaching for my throat.

I didn’t think. I ducked, grabbed a jagged stone from the ground, and drove it up with every ounce of fury in me.

It slammed into her jaw with a sickening crack.

The wolf howled, stumbling sideways, blood spraying.

The pack erupted. Chaos. Half the circle howled for her blood. Half cried foul. But none could deny what they’d seen.

I stood there, shaking, stone slick with blood, chest heaving, eyes burning.

Maris staggered, the wolf shrinking back, trembling. She shifted partially, face contorting between fur and flesh, jaw bleeding. Her eyes burned with humiliation.

“You—” she spat, voice broken, teeth red.

But Kade’s voice cut across her snarl.

“Enough.”

The word cracked like a whip. The pack froze.

Kade stepped into the circle, his gaze sweeping across the crowd before it landed on me. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes—his eyes blazed with something savage.

“She lives,” he declared. “She fights. She bleeds.” His voice dropped lower, darker. “She is mine.”

The pack roared, the sound splitting the night. Some in approval. Some in outrage. But none dared defy his word.

Maris growled low, shame twisting her face, but she didn’t move. Not with Kade standing there.

I swayed on my feet, blood dripping down my leg, my jaw throbbing, my body trembling from the inside out. But I stayed upright.

Kade’s gaze never left me. Not as he spoke to his wolves. Not as he dismissed the trial. Not even as he crossed the space between us, his hand gripping my chin, tilting my face up to his.

His voice was low, meant only for me. “You felt it.”

I tried to deny it. My lips parted, but no words came. Because it was true.

I had felt it. Something primal. Something not human. Something alive in my blood that had answered his.

His thumb brushed my jaw, lingering on the bruise. “Good,” he murmured. “You’ll need it.”

Then he turned, releasing me, his presence filling the clearing with unshakable command.

The trial was over.

But the war inside me had only begun.