Semua Bab The Luna Trials: Bab 21 - Bab 30

Cassy struggled to keep her eyes open even with Jace’s commanding voice echoing around the clearing that was to be the start and end point of the next Trial. Not only had she had a bad sleep, but crying all night had left her with red puffy eyes that ached with heavy emotion. Ice hadn’t managed to calm their colour, and foundation could only do so much, so she stayed at the back of the group of contestants and kept her head down while the rules of the Survival Trial were laid out.  She hoped no one would notice her there, but every time she looked up, Zac had his eyes on her. There was something imploring about his

“You idiot!” A thump on her chest woke Cassy up in a flash. Blurry eyes cleared with rapid blinks, her arm hair standing on end at Katie’s form towering over her. In her lap, laid a bag. A bag that previous had food, water and medical supplies in, but was now empty. It also used to carry their jade-coloured ornament in, but that was gone too. “You fell asleep and someone took our ornament.” “Yeah, no shit.” Cassy grated out, pushing to her feet so the woman couldn’t loom over her like a threat. “That’s it? Unlike you, I have a chance of making it far in the Trials. I need to get through this round and will not have you sabotaging me.” “You think I’m trying to sabotage you?” “Of course you are. Why else would you partner with me?” Katie threw her hands out as if the woods around them provided some kind of evidence. “You’ve lost Zac. Without him, what reason do you have to stay in the Trials?” Cassy’s mouth snapped open to argue back, but she didn’t have an answer. For once, Kat

To say Katie looked more real across the firepit from her was an odd thing to say, but after years of Cassy only seeing the cliché mean girl in her, it was strange to see some of the layers beneath. Her friends had exposed them, betraying her in the Trials to steal her ticket to the next round and calling her hands filthy. Cassy didn’t know what that meant. They were all covered in dirt from their little scrap for the upper hand, but Katie’s reaction was... Visceral. It couldn’t have been just a simple remark, but something more she didn’t understand. “You’re staring again.” Katie growled, taking her frustration out on a stick that she was flaying and sharpening to a point. Her mood had been that sour all day, a dark cloud that followed them through the woods to make camp near the finish line. They wouldn’t be able to hand their ornaments in until morning broke, as per the rules, but Cassy was sure they’d survive the night. Any wolf with any sense of self-preservation would steer well

They weren’t going to make it far. Cassy knew it as she raced up the path to the Ash Mount territory, Katie behind her urging her faster and faster. Whoever was chasing them had started too close and were closing in too fast to make it to safety. ‘Breech at the mountain base.’ Katie fired over a pack-wide mindlink. It wasn’t completely true, the wolves weren’t on Ash Mount territory just yet, but every warrior reacted to a breech. There were protocols in place to protect the pack and that involved every available warrior coming to their aid. ‘Two unknown wolves. One brown, one grey. Chasing Cassy and I up the path. Please intercept.

The next hour was a whirlwind of activity. After Jace confirmed she was okay, he sprang into action, ordering around his warriors with practised ease, becoming the Alpha role and leading his wolves after the breech. The grey wolf was forced to shift to its human form and the woman it revealed was handcuffed with silver and taken to the packhouse basement to be interrogated later. The brown wolf was confirmed dead and taken away to be cremated outside of the pack’s borders. Neither were identifiable to any Ash Mount wolf, nor did the tracking team find where they had come from. Their scent began on the outer edge of the pack, just shy of where Katie had first spotted them, as if they had appeared from nowhere. Cassy’s mum joined the warriors quickly after the event, looking over Cassy’s few wounds with a glint in her eye that promised she’d heal them later, but Cassy redirected her to Katie. With gashes and bite marks over her body, it was hard to tell what blood was hers and what was