The roar of the crowd echoed through the Moon Crown Temple long after Nysera stepped down from the First Trial.
She had survived.
Not only survived but won.
The elders had expected her to fail. The nobles had whispered that the rejected she-wolf would disgrace herself before the Moon Goddess. Even Alpha Kael had watched in stunned silence as she emerged from the sacred ruins with the glowing Moonstone in her hands.
Now every pair of eyes followed her.
Some with admiration.
Most with fear.
Nysera ignored them all.
Each step sent sharp pain through her bruised body. Her shoulder still bled beneath the torn fabric of her dress, and her legs trembled from exhaustion. But she refused to show weakness.
Weak wolves didn’t survive.
She had learned that lesson the night Kael rejected her
