Alpha’s Test
1020 Words
Kaela’s POV
By the time I limped back to Dormitory West, my ribs burned like fire, each breath sharp enough to taste blood. The Pit had left its mark—sand still clung to my skin, and the ghost of the boy’s fist throbbed beneath my ribs like a bruise waiting to bloom.
I didn’t even get a chance to sit.
The bell rang again, loud and relentless, summoning us back to the courtyard.
My wolf stirred, her silver power sliding beneath my skin like moonlight over dark water. She didn’t like being called back into the open so soon, didn’t like the idea of stepping into another fight when we were still marked from the last one.
But we didn’t have a choice.
When I stepped into the courtyard, the sky was still washed in pale morning gray, the stones slick with dew and blood from the earlier trials. The boys were already gathering in clusters—snarling, jostling, snapping at one another like they were one insult away from tearing each other apart.
The air smelled of sweat, dominance, and anticipation. It made my wolf pace restlessly under my skin.
At the far end of the courtyard, Bull-shoulders was waiting.
He spotted me instantly. His grin was sharp, cruel, and split wide under the fresh blood still crusting his lip.
“Round two, new blood,” he said, his voice pitched so everyone could hear. The boys around him snickered and turned to watch me cross the yard, already grinning like they knew exactly how this would end.
I forced my hood lower, kept my head down, and kept moving. If I smelled afraid, they’d eat me alive.
The instructor from earlier stepped onto the dais. His mere presence made the crowd go silent, as if some primal part of them recognized an alpha stronger than all of them combined.
“Some of you fought well,” he said, his voice steady and calm, the kind of calm that was more dangerous than a roar. “Some of you fought stupid. Consider yourselves lucky you’re still standing.”
He let that sink in before continuing.
“Your second trial will decide which of you actually deserves to stay.”
No one laughed this time.
The instructor raised one hand, and several assistants stepped forward, dragging chalk across the stone until wide circles covered the courtyard floor. The sound scraped at my ears, loud as thunder in the morning quiet.
“Dominance test,” the instructor said. “Circle challenge. Pair up. First one to put the other on the ground wins. No claws. No teeth. No mercy.”
Cheers went up immediately, mixed with groans and wolfish laughter. Some of the boys bumped shoulders, already picking their opponents. A few were practically vibrating with eagerness, jaws clenched, fists flexing like they couldn’t wait to start.
Bull-shoulders didn’t wait. He stalked toward me, grabbed my shoulder hard enough to make my ribs scream, and shoved me toward one of the freshly drawn circles.
“Come on,” he said, grinning. “You and me.”
I could have refused. I wanted to.
But refusal here was worse than losing. Refusal meant weakness, and weakness meant becoming prey.
So I stepped into the circle.
The space felt too small, too exposed. The ring of boys closed in around us, teeth flashing, jeers flying, all of them eager to see me break. The stones under my boots were slick. My hands were damp.
Across from me, Bull-shoulders rolled his neck until it cracked, his smile gone.
“You humiliated me in the Pit,” he said, low enough that only I heard. “This time, I’ll make you bleed for it.”
The whistle blew.
He came at me fast, faster than in the Pit, his shoulder slamming into my chest. Pain flared hot through my ribs, and my boots scraped dangerously close to the chalk line.
“Stay in, new blood!” someone jeered.
My wolf snarled, claws raking at my insides. Shift. End this.
No. My jaw locked as I dug my boots into the ground and shoved back.
Bull-shoulders grunted, thrown off balance for half a second. I used it. Ducking under his next swing, I swept my leg low, catching him just above the ankle.
He stumbled, caught himself, and spun on me with a growl.
“Lucky,” he spat.
This time I met him head-on. He grabbed my arm, but I twisted, dropping low and using his momentum to flip him over my hip.
He hit the stones with a grunt and rolled.
The crowd roared.
But it wasn’t over.
He came up snarling, grabbed my hood, and yanked.
The fabric tore half off, my braid spilling forward, silver strands glinting in the gray light like spilled moonlight.
My heart froze.
I slammed my knee into his chest before he could shout, pinning him down with every ounce of strength I had. My hood hung loose, one wrong move away from exposing me completely.
The instructor’s whistle blew again, sharp and final.
“Winner: Kade Thorne!”
For a beat, the courtyard went still.
Then boys started to laugh, shout, clap each other on the back. Some looked impressed. Others just hungry.
Bull-shoulders shoved me off and stood, his chest heaving, his glare promising blood.
“You’re dead,” he hissed so only I could hear.
I yanked my hood back into place with shaking hands, forcing my breathing to slow, forcing my wolf back down where she belonged.
And froze.
Riven was there.
He stood at the edge of the circle, leaning casually against a pillar, like he hadn’t just watched me come within seconds of exposing myself to the entire academy.
His gray eyes met mine. Cold. Calculating.
Something flickered there.
Curiosity.
Suspicion.
Maybe something darker.
And then, for the first time, he smiled.
Not kindly. Not mockingly.
Like a predator who’d just caught the scent of something worth hunting.
And I couldn’t tell if that made him more dangerous—or if I’d just become the most interesting thing in his world.
- Writer
