Semua Bab THE ALPHA TRIALS: Bab 81 - Bab 90

The night sky bled crimson.Above the sacred valley, the Blood Moon reached its zenith, casting an eerie red glow over the lands below. Every shadow stretched longer. Every breath tasted older. It was the kind of night when the veil between legends and truth grew thin.Ava stood at the edge of the Ritual Plateau, the ground beneath her feet thrumming with power. Her cloak had been replaced with ceremonial armor—a blend of silver-etched leather and obsidian plating, fitted tightly to her body. Around her neck hung the sigil of the Chosen: a crescent entwined with a bleeding thorn.Behind her, the four remaining contenders stood in silence, each carrying the weight of what was to come.Kellan, his eyes focused only on her, jaw tight with unspoken vows.Damon, standing apart, his posture alert—ready for battle or sacrifice.Maddox, cool and unreadable, arms folded over his broad chest, his expression unreadable beneath his war paint.Ronan, his aura pulsing with ancient magic, a feral gl

The wind whispered secrets through the ancient trees surrounding the sanctuary.Ava stood alone in the Oracle’s private garden, cloaked in moonlight and trembling truths. The mark on her back burned softly, pulsing with its own rhythm—one that didn’t match her heartbeat. It was older. Hungrier.Her fingers trembled at her sides. Her vision blurred, not from tears, but from visions. They had returned.Every time she closed her eyes now, she saw a different version of herself. Crowned in shadows. Eyes glowing silver and red. Her hands soaked in blood—but not her own.And always… a choice.Four paths. Four souls. One price.Sacrifice one. Save the rest. Or lose them all.She shook her head. “There has to be another way.”“Ava.”The voice behind her was soft. Familiar.She turned, already knowing it was Kellan.He looked worn—like he hadn’t slept since the final trial. His shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, revealing part of the scar across his chest, the one she knew he got protecting h

The trees were wrong here.Twisted, colorless, petrified as though they’d died mid-scream. The Dead Forest didn’t rustle or breathe. No birds. No wolves. Not even the wind.Each step their horses took echoed like a heartbeat in a tomb.Ava pulled her cloak tighter, though the cold had nothing to do with weather.It was the pull.The closer they got to the Temple of Mirrors, the louder the Echo became inside her mind.She doesn’t deserve them.They’ll choose me in the end.They already see you fading.Ava flinched. Damon noticed.He was riding beside her, silent but watchful. His dark hair was tied back. His dagger glinted on his thigh. And though he hadn’t spoken much since they’d crossed the wardline into the forest, she felt his presence like armor.“You heard her again,” he said quietly.Ava nodded. “She’s growing stronger. I can’t block her out anymore. It’s like… she’s feasting on something.”Damon’s jaw flexed. “This place is soaked in old power. Death, mostly. But there’s somet

The room pulsed with ancient energy.The mirrors that lined the Temple’s inner sanctum rippled like disturbed water. Each reflection warped, blurred—and stepped into reality.Not copies.Not illusions.But shadows, forged by the Veil itself. Born from pain. Fueled by fear.Each Alpha faced himself.And Ava stood at the center, her heart slamming against her ribs as the Echo—her own dark reflection—smiled from the obsidian altar at the far end of the room.“You brought them here,” the Echo whispered, voice dripping with poisoned silk. “To break the curse. But they are cursed, Ava. Just like you.”Her bare feet hovered inches above the stone. Her silver-black hair whipped around her like smoke. And her eyes—red as war—burned with knowing.“They were never meant to survive the Trials. You interfered. Twisted fate. And now… balance demands blood.”She raised her hand.The mirror-versions attacked.Kellan vs. KellanSteel clanged as two swords met—identical in blade, motion, and fury.Kell

The morning after the Moonfire Ceremony was unnaturally still.The wind did not stir the leaves. The birds did not sing.And the light had a strange tint to it—pale gold, almost bruised with violet.Ava stood at the balcony of her chamber in the Citadel, her arms crossed over her chest, the faint glow of her mark now dormant beneath her skin.She should’ve felt peace.But instead, her soul itched—like something inside her was stretching.Changing.A knock on the door pulled her from the haze.It was Mira, the Oracle’s young apprentice. Wide-eyed. Breathless.“The Moon Elders have summoned you,” she said. “Now.”The Hall of SilenceBuried deep beneath the Citadel was a chamber even the Oracle rarely entered.Lit by moonstone crystals and guarded by ancient silverwood doors, the Hall of Silence was said to house the first wolves who ever communed with the Moon.Ava had only heard of it in whispers.But as she descended into the earth, flanked by the four Alphas and Mira, the air grew he