chapter 6

Tamara

Every single warrior was waiting for Alpha North to reject my challenge. They expected him to humiliate me, to tell me to get out of his ring and go back to my room. Serena stood just a few feet away, her confident smirk firmly in place, clearly waiting for him to send me away.

North stared down at me as his stormy eyes searched my face.

Then, he gave a sharp nod.

"Fine."

A quiet gasp escaped someone in the crowd, but I didn't care. He had accepted. He had actually accepted my request to spar, shocking everyone in the pack and saving me from public embarrassment.

Serena’s smirk instantly vanished, replaced by a look of pure anger. I took a deep breath and raised my fists, trying to remember the fighting stance my brothers taught me.

North did not even raise his hands. He just stood there, massive and completely relaxed.

I made the first move. I stepped forward and threw a punch aimed right at his chest.

Before my fist could even connect, he moved. He was incredibly fast. He simply stepped to the side, grabbed my outstretched arm, and swept his leg behind mine.I hit the hard dirt in less than two seconds.

The impact knocked the breath out of my lungs. A loud burst of laughter erupted from the warriors watching us. My face burned with intense heat. The humiliation stung much worse than the physical pain.

I rolled over, placed my hands on the ground, and pushed myself back up to my feet.

North was already standing a few feet away, watching me with a blank expression. I tried to kick his leg. He blocked it effortlessly with his shin, grabbed my shoulder, and threw me down again and my back slammed into the ground.

The worst part was the mate bond. Every time his skin brushed against mine, warmth shot through my body. My wolf whined, wanting to submit to him, wanting to press against his chest and feel safe, but I had to force myself to ignore the intoxicating feeling. I refused to stay down.

Over and over again. He did not hold back, and he did not go easy on me. He defeated me within seconds every single time. My clothes were covered in dust. My lip was bleeding. My entire body felt like it was covered in bruises. The crowd kept laughing, mocking my weak attempts.

But I kept getting back up. My legs were shaking badly. I struggled to push myself off the dirt. I was breathing heavily, staring at his expensive combat boots.

"Stay down," North ordered. His voice was low, meant only for me to hear.

He stared at me and for a very brief second, I saw something in his stormy eyes. It looked like surprise…maybe even a secret admiration for my stubborn determination. He knew I was in pain, but I was not crying, and I was not quitting.

But then his expression hardened back into solid ice. I'm sure he needed to maintain his image in front of his brutal pack.

"You are too weak to survive here," he told me, making sure the entire crowd heard him.

He turned his back on me and looked directly at his sister.

"Earth," North commanded. "Train her."

Without waiting for an answer, he walked out of the fighting ring. Serena immediately followed closely behind him, shooting me a dirty look over her shoulder.

I stood in the center of the ring, trying to catch my breath. The crowd slowly lost interest and went back to their own training.

Earth walked over to me. She handed me a towel.

"Wipe your face," she said, her voice serious. "He gave an order. We have a lot of work to do."

For the next two hours, Earth pushed me to my absolute limit. She did not teach me how to fight yet. Instead, she made me run laps around the ring. She made me do push-ups and she corrected my posture and forced me to hold defensive stances until my legs burned with sharp pain.

By the time the morning training session was finally over, I could barely stand. Every part of my body screamed in agony. I was so tired.

"Go shower," Earth told me as we walked back toward the massive stone pack house. "Then come to the dining hall to eat. You are going to need the energy."

I dragged my feet all the way to my room. I took a quick, hot shower to soothe my aching muscles, changed into clean clothes, and headed downstairs.

The dining hall was extremely loud. Hundreds of pack members sat at long wooden tables, eating massive plates of roasted meat and talking over each other.

I spotted Earth waving at me from a table near the center of the room. I walked over and sat down beside her. My stomach growled loudly at the smell of the food.

As I picked up a piece of bread, my eyes wandered to the front of the room.

There was a raised platform with a special table. Alpha North sat right in the center. The towering Beta sat on his left. But on North's right side, there was a large, beautifully carved chair.

It was completely empty.

I frowned and nudged Earth. "Who is meant to seat there?"

Earth stopped eating and followed my gaze. She let out a quiet sigh. "That seat belongs to the Luna."

“But I should be there, Earth” I sighed.

"I told you it doesn't work that way Tamara. Titles are not just handed out, even the Alpha had to fight for his title." Earth explained seriously.

"And even if the Moon Goddess paired you with him, the pack will not accept a weak leader. She has to prove herself. It's just the way of the Night sword pack."

I looked back at the empty chair.

Earth leaned closer. "You might be his mate, Tamara. But when the trials are over, you may or may not be the one sitting there. You have to be the last Luna standing."

I looked at North. He was talking to his Beta, completely ignoring my presence in the room. Then I saw Serena. She was sitting at a table very close to the platform, staring at the empty chair with deep, hungry ambition.

Everything suddenly felt like too much.

The physical pain from the morning training. The harsh laughter of the crowd. The cold rejection from my mate. And now, the terrifying reality that I had to fight in a brutal competition just to keep the man I was destined for.

I began to feel completely overwhelmed. The walls of the dining hall felt like they were closing in on me. The loud chatter, the clinking of plates, and the strong scent of the pack were suddenly suffocating.

I pushed my plate away. I couldn't eat.

"I need some air," I whispered to Earth.

Before she could stop me, I stood up from the wooden bench and hurried toward the exit. I pushed the heavy doors open and stepped out into the cool morning breeze.

I walked away from the main building and found a quiet spot near the edge of the woods. I sat down on a cold stone bench and buried my face in my hands. I just wanted to breathe. I wanted to tell myself that everything was going to be fine.

But I was terrified.

As I sat there in the quiet silence, footsteps approached on the grass.

I kept my head down, not wanting any of the harsh warriors to see me looking so defeated.

Then, a familiar voice broke the silence.

"Are you okay?”