All Chapters of THE ALPHA TRIALS: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

—AVA—The moment she crossed the veil into the Celestial Temple, the air changed.It wasn’t just colder.It was empty.Like the gods themselves were holding their breath.She stepped onto stone etched with runes of trials, betrayal, and victory—her victory. Her mates followed close behind, cloaked in silence.Cassian’s hand brushed hers. “You don’t have to face him alone.”“I do,” Ava said quietly. “He crowned me.”“He can answer for what he’s done.”—THE TEMPLE’S HEARTThe Celestial Temple rose like a skeleton of light and shadow, ancient and humming with magic older than the packs.In the center, the golden flame that once burned bright for judgment flickered weakly now.Ava stepped onto the dais where she once faced illusions of herself.Where she had bled for a throne.Where she had watched her mother vanish.And there—emerging from smoke and silence—was Oryn.He wasn’t cloaked in flame this time.He wore a crown of ash. And his eyes were not warm.They were endless.—THE CONFRONT

—AVA—The mirror left behind by Oryn pulsed in her tent like it was alive.Ava sat across from it, eyes locked on the reflection that wasn’t entirely hers.The Blood Queen.Her lips curled in a half-smile, silver eyes glinting.“You still look like her,” Ava whispered.“My mother. Raven.”The reflection responded.“And you still carry her weakness.”—THE BLOODLINE TRUTHLucien burst into the tent, fury in his stride.“We should destroy that thing—”“No.” Ava’s voice was calm but firm. “She wants me to know. This… isn’t just war. It’s personal.”Cassian appeared behind her. “What do you mean?”Ava’s throat tightened.“I think she’s Raven’s firstborn. The one no one talked about. Hidden. Trained. Abandoned. She wants more than my crown.”“She wants revenge.”—THE WAR COUNCILThey gathered again in the sacred circle—Elders, warriors, her mates, the moon-blessed priestess.Ava stood in the center, wind snapping through her cloak. “This war is no longer between the packs. It’s between the

—AVA—She didn’t speak for two days.Not when the bodies were burned.Not when the packs began to whisper of surrender.Not even when the Elders called for a retreat.Ava just watched the horizon, where frost met fire.She could feel her sister breathing there—waiting.Cassian knelt beside her one night, pressing her cold fingers between his.“You can’t carry it all,” he whispered. “Not alone.”She looked at him.“Then let me become something that can.”—THE LEGEND OF THE FORBIDDEN FLAMEDeep beneath the Sovereign Temple, a scroll had long been sealed by divine order. It was said to contain a ritual—so dangerous, so ancient—that even the gods refused to speak its name.But Ava’s blood had unlocked it.As she read it aloud under moonlight, the wind shifted unnaturally. The flames in her lantern burned blue.Lucien appeared beside her, eyes sharp with warning.“That flame killed the first Moon Queen,” he said. “It burns your soul to fuel your power.”“I don’t need to be saved,” Ava whis

—CASSIAN—They stood in the crater where Ava had fallen.The battlefield was silent. The moon hung cracked and bleeding.And she lay there—Still.Unmoving.Silent.Cassian dropped to his knees beside her, his breath shallow. “No… no, no, no. Don’t you dare leave me, Ava.”Lucien knelt across from him, his hands trembling as he pressed glowing runes against her chest.“She’s not gone,” Lucien whispered. “But her soul’s no longer… here.”Darius looked up. “Then we go get her.”—THE RITUAL OF RETURNThe celestial wolf—freed from the Blood Queen’s chains—spoke ancient words none of them recognized.It lowered its head to Ava’s chest and whispered:“She walks the Path of Echoes.”“If you want her back, you must enter the realm where time breaks, memories twist, and truth reveals itself.”Cassian stood. “What do we need to do?”The celestial’s eyes burned gold.“You must give part of yourselves—your blood, your memory, your name.”Lucien stepped forward. “Take it.”Darius followed. “We don

The silence in the Trial Hall was deafening.Not even the crackle of the enchanted torches dared disturb the air as Ava stared at the crimson smear across her shoulder. Her breathing was shallow, her pulse a wild rhythm in her ears.He had struck her.One of them had crossed the line.A contender. A sworn protector.And now… everything was changed.The Elders were frozen in place on the high stone dais. The Oracle’s veil fluttered from the force of an unseen wind, her lips parted in silent horror.Damon stepped forward first, his voice low and dangerous. “You broke the Oath.”The accused—Lucien.His silver-blond hair was tousled from the scuffle, his eyes wild, rimmed with the golden hue of his wolf barely restrained. “She’s not who you think she is,” he hissed, blood still dripping from his claws. “You don’t know what she’s becoming.”“She is the Chosen of the Blood Moon!” Kellan roared, shoving past the others. His aura surged, powerful and blinding, as if his wolf stood beside him.