"Once the Final Trial begins, the accused Alpha may not leave."
The Keeper slammed his staff against the stone. The center of the temple groaned as a raised obsidian trial platform ascended from the floor.
Rayne stood at the base of the platform, his face ashen.
Nasha, still writhing from the backlash of the fake mark, clutched my mother's necklace desperately against her chest.
I looked down at the crescent moon pendant. "Give it back."
Nasha tucked it inside her ruined collar. "It's mine! Even if the mark is fake, my mother loved me!"
I took a step toward her.
Rayne instinctively stepped in front of her. "Ivy, she's already hurt."
I stared at the arm he used to block me. "Move."
Rayne lowered his voice. "You never used to speak to me like this."
"I used to think you were a man.
