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NINETY-TWO | THE MOUNTAIN LION TRIBE (PART 2)
My bed didn’t feel very comfortable. I frowned. I couldn’t feel Samyak there, either, and I missed his warmth. I wanted to wriggle back against him, and for his arms to wrap around me. There was a light breeze, and as it rippled over me I wanted to tug the duvet tighter.
But there was no duvet. I blinked and sat up suddenly. My vision spun, but it cleared quickly.
Li Wei was crouched down in front of me, his face still blank. “Arienne, are you okay?”
“Yeah. Sorry,” I said, pulling myself up straighter. “I’m fine now.”
“You took quite a tumble,” said Ryker, and I realised that he was sat cross-legged on my left hand side. “You’re going to be pretty bruised, but you should otherwise be okay.”
“Thanks,” I said, offering him a quick smile. I still felt dazed, but I pulled myself toge
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Dakota was grinning at me broadly as I scurried along the path towards the Wildflower Meadow. Her blonde hair had been loosely curled today, and hung about her shoulders before falling in coils down her back. “Hi,” she called over to me, and I jogged across the last of the distance to her. There were a few other tribe members milling around, too, and I waved to them before coming to rest in front of Dakota.Her bright blue eyes sized me up, and then caught on my injured face. She frowned, and gestured for me to tilt my head back.I sighed, but resigned myself to doing as she wished. “What did you do to it?” She asked.“The Mountain Lion’s trial was a brawl,” I said. “I got thrown about by Ryker.”“I’m not surprised,” Dakota said, letting my head drop forwards again. “He’s huge. Why on earth were you fighting him?”I shrugged. “To determine my innate bravery.” It sounded ridiculous, even as I said it. “Anyway, I’m fine.”She rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, our trial is simple enough. Y
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My head span as I clambered to my feet. I was looking forward to going home to our little cabin later that evening. Knowing that I still had the most important trial to come was somewhat daunting, but I knew that, no matter what, by the end of the day I’d be tucked up in bed with the man I loved.The man who was keeping secrets from me. I shook myself. That wasn’t true. It was more likely than not that Samyak had simply forgotten to fill me in on one tiny, probably insignificant piece of information. He’d probably frozen initially when Violet had been taken, and then jumped into the fray and been injured then.My head injuries were making me think irrationally; I was sure of it. I forced my thoughts of Samyak, even the nice ones of us eating dinner together in our cosy kitchen, to the back of my mind. I had to focus.I’d found the dandelions, and by some stroke of luck it seemed that my fall
The Beta's Daughter NINETY-FIVE | THE FIFTH TRIAL
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The Beta's Daughter NINETY-SIX | THE SPIRIT OF THE WOLF
As we neared the river, I saw something that I’d missed before. Tucked into the flowers was a small statuette, with a white pillar candle held in its centre. Beside it was a small, wrapped parcel of something; it looked like a collection of herbs, bound together in white twine.“The final trial is known only to those who have undergone it as the Spirit of the Wolf. It is a right of passage, as well as an indicator of your nature – it will guide you through your choice, and it will allocate your tribe for you,” explained Luna Carla.“What are they? What are they for?” I asked, my questions tumbling from my lips in quick succession.She smiled, and then led me over to the small gathering of items on the grass. “This is called the Candle Dragon. It is an ancient rite in our pack. The Candle Dragon is used for guidance. It is, however, not to be used lightly. It has been with the Lap
The Beta's Daughter NINETY-SEVEN | WITHIN
My vision blurred as I followed the flickering of the candle’s flame. Then I felt as though I was being pulled forwards, and I let myself tumble into the darkness.I felt myself roll over, and then I scrabbled with claw-like hands to right myself. I stumbled onto my feet, and stared into oblivion. There was nothing for me to catch sight of; there was no way for me to orient myself. It was just… black.I span around, searching desperately for anything. The emptiness was vast, and then my vision began to blur once more. I felt compelled to sit down, and I crossed my legs as I had done before. I let my hands come to rest in my lap, and I stared forwards. There was a sound. It was like the beating of a heart, growing gradually louder with each breath that I took. I didn’t know where it was coming from, and then I realised: it was coming from within me.My eyes flickered, and the candle was back. The Candle Dragon had disappeared, and the rest of the space was still black. I rocked forward
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Samyak was waiting for me outside the pack house, and his eyebrows shot up as I neared him.The walk back from the river field had been slow and arduous, and each step had felt as though I was heaving lead bricks through the grass. I’d felt the familiar heat of tears prickling at my eyes, and my throat had formed a lump that became impossible to swallow.I’d initially been elated, after discovering that I was, indeed, a Pronghorn. I’d been filled with a surging kind of pride; one that had created delicate tingles in the tips of my fingers. But once I’d turned away from the Candle Dragon, the nightmarish visions I’d experienced came flooding back.If that was what was within me, there was no way to escape it. I wondered if everyone’s fifth trial had been so brutal, though I knew instinctively that they had not. Mine had been flooded with dark imagery, and seething words of promises long
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“Wait! No, no, no,” Samyak chanted. My arm froze in mid-air, ready to push the kitchen door open fully.“What?” I frowned. I couldn’t smell anything; I’d assumed he was cooking us dinner, but the usual scent of fried onion and garlic wasn’t seeping through the air as it so often did.“Wait there. Sorry,” he added, poking his head through the crack in the doorway. He smiled dopily at me, and I cocked my head at him with a smile.“I thought you were calling me because it was ready?”“I was. But I just need you to grab me something from the bedroom. Then stand outside, right by the front door. Okay?”“Okay,” I nodded, the bridge of my nose crinkling with confusion. “What do you need me to get?”“Could you get me something warm – a big jumper will do
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“I’ve set up a meeting with the rogue pack’s Alpha.” Ace sounded calm, but his eyes were wide and dilated. They were childlike, but not playful as they so often were; today, they were scared.We were stood uncomfortably in Alpha Felix’s office. There was a coiled tension in the air, like the wound neck of a python ready to spring. My body felt mechanical, like an automaton on autopilot, as Ace spoke.I felt the same fear reflected within myself. There was an undeniable pit, and I felt my sanity drop into it at his words. I inhaled, one single, shuddering breath, and then I straightened my back out, and stood a little taller.“When is it?” Alpha Felix asked.“Tomorrow. They said they wanted to hear what we had to say. But there’s one condition.”“Well?” Alpha Felix pounded his fist down onto the desk, so hard that his mug of coffee rattled. The liquid inside splashed, and a single drop slid down the ceramic. “What is it?” He barked.His temper had been short lately, particularly where A
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- The Beta's Daughter 119 | BATTLE
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