5. Top Forty

The trail sloped sharply downhill before opening into a wide, grassy field. The landscape was a chaotic mess, littered with fallen logs, massive boulders, and shallow patches of thick, sucking mud.

I could already see dozens of students ahead of me, their dark academy uniforms blurring against the green.

Including Vanessa. And unfortunately, Susan.

"Please, Goddess, don't let them notie me." I muttered under my breath.

Taking a deep, painful breath, I pushed my tired legs harder. Every single muscle in my body screamed in violent protest. My palms still burned like fire from climbing the stone wall, my knees ached, and even my lungs had officially filed a formal complaint.

Too bad. Nobody was listening, and I sure as hell wasn't stopping. Not today. Not ever.

Home wasn't waiting for me, it was trapping me. If I failed this trial, if I couldn't survive Alpha Academy, I’d be sent straight back to the Ashford estate. Back to cleaning Vanessa's room. Back to pretending I didn't exist. Back to being someone's charity case instead of my own person.

No. I clenched my jaw, pushing through the agony. I earned my place here. I'm staying.

Perhaps sensing someone catching up, Vanessa glanced over her shoulder. The absolute confidence on her face instantly vanished.

"Bellona?" She sounded genuinely shocked.

Susan snapped her head around too, her eyes widening. "What? How is she still behind us?"

"Correction," I smiled, digging deep for a burst of speed as I pulled even with them. "Beside you."

Vanessa's lips pressed into a thin, angry line. Susan looked almost offended by my mere existence. Honestly, I tended to have that effect on people.

"You should've quit by now," Susan sneered between ragged breaths.

"I considered it," I nodded seriously, not breaking stride. "Then I remembered how much I enjoy making life good for myself."

Vanessa shot me a venomous, irritated look. "Bellona!"

"What?"

"Stop talking." She growled. The three of us weren't communicating normally, we were chocking out out words in ragged breaths.

"Okay."

The three of us reached a narrow, slick wooden beam stretching over a deep, muddy ditch. Students were crossing it one by one. Vanessa went first, quick, balanced, and confident. She landed safely on the other side without a single backward glance.

Susan stepped onto the beam next. But halfway across, she slowed down. Waiting. For me. I frowned, a bad feeling twisting in my gut. That couldn't possibly mean...

The exact millisecond I stepped onto the log beside her, Susan smiled. Then, her heavy boot slammed sideways directly into my ankle.

White-hot pain shot through my leg. My balance vanished.

"Ahh-!" I crashed clean off the beam, falling straight into the mud below.

It was cold, wet, and utterly disgusting. Laughter immediately erupted around the ditch, and several passing students actually slowed running just to watch the show. Susan looked down at me from the safety of the bank, her face twisting into fake concern. "Oh no. You slipped."

Vanessa didn't even bother to glance back, her voice remaining perfectly calm and cold. "Bellona, try not to embarrass yourself."

Then both of them took off, leaving me lying flat in the sludge. For a few seconds, I didn't move. The mocking laughter of the academy faded into background noise. The mud wasn't what actually stung. I’d been covered in worse back at the estate. It was the familiar, toxic feeling. That tiny, dark voice whispering inside my head: You're always behind. You'll never belong here.

...Maybe they're right.

My fingers slowly tightened into fists, grabbing handfuls of wet earth. Then, another memory surfaced. My official acceptance letter. Holding my silver student badge this morning. Walking through those massive academy gates and feeling real, unadulterated hope. Tears stung the back of my eyes at the unfairness but I breathed deeply.

I closed my eyes, took one deep breath, and smiled. It was small, quiet, and dangerous.

"Nice try."

I shoved myself back up onto my feet. Mud dripped heavily from my sleeves, my hair, and my face. I rolled my shoulders, wiped my eyes, and started running again. Faster.

The finish line wasn't far now, visible through a break in the trees. Alexander, Dareth, Atlas and some other students have already reached there observing the rest of the students trying to reach the finish line.

Students were sprinting with absolutely everything they had left. Susan glanced back once, a smug smile plastered on her face, certain she’d won.

...Cute. Very cute. Shall I kill her for good?

A few hundred meters ahead stood the final obstacle of the course: a series of narrow balance beams placed over another wide, muddy trench. Unlike the first one, these beams were completely slick from dozens of dirty, wet footprints.

While running I watched Susan's form carefully as she approached them. The way she ran. The way she always landed right foot first, every single time.

Hmmm.

I reached upto her again and I wasn't going back home no matter what. I was putting everything I've got. I crossed the first beam with agile speed, then the second. Before stepping off the third, I deliberately dragged my muddy combat boot hard across the exact wooden spot where I knew she was about to step. Nothing dangerous. Just... pure physics.

I jumped safely onto solid ground.

Behind me, a sharp gasp cut through the air. Susan landed exactly where I’d expected. Her right foot hit my fresh, slick patch of mud. It slid instantly. Her arms windmilled wildly in the air.

"Oh-!"

SPLASH!

She disappeared face-first into the trench, a tidal wave of brown sludge exploding over her clean uniform. The laughter from the crowd this time was twice as loud. I turned around, waving my hand at her sweetly.

"Careful," I screamed so she could hear me. "The ground seems to have favorites today."

Then I continued running. No victory dance, no argument. Just... beautiful karma. It felt nice. The white finish line finally rushed into view. Students crossed one after another before collapsing entirely onto the grass in exhaustion. My vision blurred, my chest burned, and every breath felt like inhaling literal fire.

...Just... a little... further.

One more agonizing step. Then another. Then... I crossed. A loud, piercing whistle echoed across the field. I slowed to a stumbling stop before dropping heavily onto one knee, desperately trying to convince my lungs that oxygen was, in fact, a wonderful invention.

Professor Hawthorne stood near the gate, looking down at his clipboard. "Bellona Ashford."

I lifted my muddy head, wiping a streak of dirt from my forehead.

"Thirty-ninth."

For a second, I simply stared at him, stunned. Thirty-ninth. Out of one hundred elite wolves. Without an active wolf of my own.

A slow, triumphant smile spread across my dirt covered face. I did it. I wasn't the best, and I certainly wasn't the strongest, but I belonged. Happy tears blurrd my vision as I lay flat on the ground facing the sky, breathing heavily.

Feeling eyes on me I glanced to the left only to find Alexander staring at me and when I find him staring, he averted his gaze. Weird dude...

A few seconds later, another sharp whistle sounded. Susan stumbled across the finish line, completely drenched in black sludge.

Professor Hawthorne didn't even look up from his notes. "Fortieth."

Susan froze. Her head snapped toward me, then whipped toward the digital ranking board flashing above the field.

39. Bellona Ashford.

40. Susan Carter.

The color completely drained from her face.

I smiled brightly at her, tilting my head. "...Looks like the ground liked me more."

Her expression twisted with pure, unadulterated fury. Worth it. Absolutely worth it.

Professor Hawthorne watched the muddy girl laughing quietly to herself on the grass.

The younger professor beside him frowned, adjusting his glasses. "No active wolf... and she still finished in the top forty."

Professor Hawthorne's amber eyes remained locked on Bellona, a faint, intrigued smile touching his lips.

"Interesting," he murmured softly. "Very... interesting."