Chapter 47 Bloom

Pressed against Cassian's chest, trying to breathe through the warmth of the blood still slipping from my nose, the wall of three bodies surrounding me felt like the safest place in the world.

Ivy's trembling hands rested on my shoulders. Kai stood a step ahead of us, practically baring his claws at anything that might come from the darkness.

But that protective circle broke apart once more when Beta Zane's hard, measured footsteps echoed across the stone.

He approached the four of us, his eyes fixed directly on me. Around the ritual grounds, the cold gazes of the council members—and of Alpha Ronan and Luna Sierra seated before them—hung over us with the weight of judgment.

"It's too early to celebrate," Zane said. His voice cracked across the ritual grounds like a whip.

"The first stage is over, but one still remains. Pack law and the council's will are clear." His gaze swept over Cassian, Ivy, and Kai.

"Clear the circle immediately."

Cassian's teeth clenched at the order. A savage growl rumbled from deep inside his chest, proof that Axel was still furious and on high alert.

Instead of letting me go, his arms tightened around me. Every line of his body made his refusal clear. He wasn't going anywhere. He wasn't willing to leave me alone in the middle of the unknown again.

Kai and Ivy exchanged worried looks.

I slowly lifted my right hand and placed it against Cassian's jaw.

His blue eyes snapped to mine. I saw everything burning inside them. Fear. Helplessness. A desperate need to protect me.

I gave him a small smile and held his gaze with the same unbreakable determination that had carried me through the first stage.

Trust me. I'll survive this too. Cassian saw the resolve in my eyes. He drew in a deep, angry breath. Then, reluctantly, he loosened his hold.

He helped me to my feet, squeezed my shoulder one final time, and retreated with Kai and Ivy toward the dark boundary outside the circle.

Once again, I stood alone among the glowing runes. Beta Zane remained at the edge of the circle and raised his voice to address the pack members gathered around us.

"Stage Two: The Moonlight Mirage."

A tense silence settled over the clearing.

"This stage is a direct confrontation with fear and a test of will."

His gaze moved across the crowd.

"Being fully accepted into a pack isn't only about joining your strength with ours. A person must also leave behind the deepest darkness within them—their selfishness, weakness, and greatest fears."

His expression hardened. "A pack cannot accept a spirit that hides secrets or remains enslaved by fear."

Then Zane turned toward me. "Bloom, you will now drink the essence of an ancient plant blessed by the founding Alphas."

He paused. "Moonlight Herb." The name alone seemed to chill the air.

"It will create a brutal illusion that leads you directly into the darkest and most isolated corners of your own mind."

His voice deepened. "Inside that mirage, you will face your past, your deepest loneliness, and the nightmares your soul has spent years trying to escape."

He looked directly into my eyes. "The council will judge whether you can awaken from that illusion through your own will without losing your sanity."

The warning settled heavily around us. "If you surrender to your fear and accept the darkness the mirage offers, your mind will remain trapped inside it forever."

Zane's voice dropped. "The only way to wake is to tear that darkness apart with your own hands."

He lifted his chin. "Only then can you prove your spirit is pure and strong enough to join this pack."

When he finished, one of the oldest members of the council stepped forward. A heavy cloak covered his shoulders. In his hands, he carried a silver bowl engraved with ancient symbols. I looked inside. Beneath the raw light of the full moon, a thick gray liquid shimmered faintly.

The Moonlight Herb mixture.

The old wolf approached and offered me the bowl with hands that trembled slightly but remained strong. I took it between my palms. Even the scent was sharp enough to stir old memories buried in the back of my mind. I didn't hesitate.

In full view of the council and the entire pack, I lifted the bowl to my lips and drank. Then I slowly lowered myself to the ground. The instant the thick, freezing liquid slid down my throat, reality shattered with a violent crack as though the world had been made of glass.

The torches disappeared. The crowd vanished. Cassian's presence was gone. Within a heartbeat, I stood in complete darkness. A freezing cold crawled over my skin. This wasn't the pack consciousness. This was my own private hell.

Walls began rising around me. I found myself trapped inside one of the darkest moments of my past, back in a time when loneliness had closed around me like a cage. The smell of damp stone filled my lungs. Then the shadows along the walls began to move. Figures emerged from them.

Faceless.

Their eyes burning with savage hatred. The two mysterious factions. On one side stood the fanatics obsessed with blood purity. On the other was the dark alliance terrified of my awakening.

"You don't belong here, hybrid," the shadows whispered.

Their voices multiplied against the walls until they seemed to fill my skull.

"You're nothing but a curse."

The darkness pressed closer.

"The day you were born, you brought disaster to both worlds."

A cruel laugh echoed through the room.

"Do you really think this pack can protect you?"

The scene changed without warning. I was standing in the middle of pack territory. Only now, the land had become a lake of blood. The runes beneath my feet were shattered. The mansion burned in the distance. And directly in front of me...

Cassian, Kai, and Ivy lay motionless on the ground. Covered in blood. Cassian's blue eyes had gone dull. Deep claw marks tore across his chest, blood pouring from the wounds and soaking into the earth. Ivy's lifeless hand stretched toward my feet.

"They died because of you," the cold, mechanical voice screamed from the left side of my mind.

"The curse in your hybrid blood will destroy everyone around you."

The words drove straight through me.

"You killed them, Bloom."

My chest seized.

"We will never allow you to enter the vault or awaken that power."

The darkness curled around me.

"Surrender."

The voice softened into something almost gentle.

"Disappear into this darkness."

It whispered against my thoughts.

"Aren't you tired?"

The bodies in front of me remained still.

"You can finally rest."

A final command slid through my mind.

"Just let go."

The pain and helplessness were so real that I could feel my physical body convulsing inside the ritual circle. My nails dug into the earth as I fought my own fears. The weight crushing my chest made breathing impossible. The lifeless bodies of the people I loved paralyzed my mind.

I stood at the edge of madness. At the edge of remaining trapped in that illusion forever. Fear wrapped around my soul like a snake and dragged me toward the bottomless dark.

No.

The thought came suddenly. Quiet at first. Then stronger.

No. This isn't real.

I fixed my eyes on the bloody illusion. I refused to let my fears control me. I refused to let them use my weakness to force me to my knees. I wasn't that lonely child anymore.

The one who cried helplessly in the corner and accepted whatever fate gave her. I was Bloom. The woman who had faced silver by choice. The woman who had built walls against an avalanche of hundreds of wolves.

"I am not that helpless child!" I screamed.

The words tore through both my mind and the silence of the real world.

"And I won't let anyone die because of me!"

I gathered every trace of wild, unbreakable strength inside me. Every piece of the will that had never bowed to anyone. I forced it into a single point. Then the power buried in the deepest part of my soul erupted.

The explosion tore through my mind. The dark room shattered. The bloody vision of my friends' bodies splintered. The shadowy enemies surrounding me broke apart in the same instant.

The illusion cracked like a glass palace and exploded into nothing. My eyes flew open. I was back in the center of the ritual grounds. The mirage was gone.

Moonlight fell over me once more. The warmth of the torches touched my skin. A terrible, bottomless silence covered the entire clearing. The council members stared at me.

Beta Nova.

Luna Sierra.

Hundreds of pack members surrounding the circle.

All of them looked as though they had forgotten how to speak.

"Not even a pureblood wolf has ever completed both stages like that," someone whispered.

The voice shook with disbelief. "Especially the Moonlight Mirage."

Another stunned breath followed. "She shattered it in a single moment through nothing but her own will."

I had destroyed a legend with my own strength. Alpha Ronan slowly rose from his seat. He tried to hide how shaken he was, but the admiration and disbelief in his eyes were impossible to miss.

He walked to the edge of the circle. Then his powerful voice thundered through the forest. "The trial is over!"

The entire clearing held its breath. "Bloom has proven that she can carry both the mental and spiritual weight of this pack bond and its ancient runes."

His gaze settled on me. "She is now part of this pack!"

Howls erupted. Cheers filled the ritual grounds. Then Ronan's voice rose again, cutting through the celebration instantly.

"But because of the urgency of the situation and the speed at which our enemies are moving, we have no time to stop."

He turned his gaze toward the dark forest at the edge of town.

"The final step—the Blood Oath—must be performed beneath a full moon."

His expression hardened. "And we cannot wait for the next one."

The crowd fell silent again. "Preparations will begin immediately."

His voice carried across the entire territory. "The ritual will take place tomorrow night beneath the full moon."

Then he lifted one hand. "You may all leave."

Cassian drew in a deep breath beside my ear as his arms tightened around me. Ivy held my hand. Kai rubbed my back. When had they reached me?

I had won the second round.

But the Blood Oath waiting for me tomorrow night would become the greatest turning point of my life.

The enemy was at our door. And we were completely out of time.