Trials of the Werewolf Prince

The first scream came from behind me. I didn’t look back. I already knew what I would see. We all did. We had learned the rules during the first hour, and every person who had broken one of them was dead. Keep running. Stay with the group. And, above all else, never let the Hollow Maw catch you. My lungs felt scraped raw as I raced through the underground forest. Yes, a forest—inside a mountain. Pale, twisted trees rose from the black stone, their roots winding through the cracks like exposed veins. Blue moss clung to the cavern walls, glowing faintly in the darkness. It gave us just enough light to see the path ahead. And the thing pursuing us. The Hollow Maw was larger than any creature I had ever encountered. Its body looked pieced together from several different animals, as if someone had stitched the parts together without understanding where they belonged. Six legs carried its hunched, uneven frame. Gray flesh sagged across its back, already rotting in places. Its long arms ended in hooked claws, and its head seemed strangely small for such a massive body. That changed the moment it opened its mouth. Its jaw split nearly in two, revealing rows of crooked teeth that filled the entire opening. It wasn’t a werewolf. Werewolves had once been human. We could shift forms, lose ourselves to instinct, and become something dangerous, but there was always a person beneath the transformation. The Hollow Maw had never been human. It didn’t change. It didn’t think. It didn’t hesitate. It hunted. Another scream pierced the trees. “Help me!” I glanced over my shoulder before I could stop myself. A boy around my age had fallen between two thick roots. Three candidates sprinted past him without slowing. He clawed at the ground, trying to pull himself free. “Please!” The Hollow Maw crashed through the trees. The boy shifted. His bones cracked as his body expanded, black fur spreading across his skin. For one brief second, I thought the wolf might escape. Then the creature’s jaws opened. The wolf vanished between its teeth. His scream lasted less than three seconds. I tripped over a root, my stomach twisting violently. “Keep moving!” someone shouted. I forced myself forward. Thirty of us had entered the trial. I wasn’t sure there were even fifteen left. Before sending us into the mountain, the elders had explained our objective: reach the eastern gate. Simple enough. They hadn’t told us how long the trial would last. They hadn’t mentioned that the Hollow Maw would be released ten minutes after our arrival. And they certainly hadn’t warned us that the gate would remain sealed until a specific number of candidates had been eliminated. I didn’t know what that number was. None of us did. That was the point. The mountain was designed to keep us terrified, and it was doing an excellent job. “Kael!” A girl appeared beside me, matching my pace. Mira. She had introduced herself before the trial began. Now dirt streaked her face, and blood darkened one side of her shirt, but she was still running. “You’re bleeding,” she said. I looked down. A deep cut stretched across my thigh. Blood had soaked through the fabric and was running down my leg. “I noticed.” A breathless laugh escaped her. Something slammed into the trees behind us. The sound wiped the humor from both our faces. “How far?” she asked. “I don’t know.” “Wonderful.” We pushed ourselves harder. The forest finally began to thin. Ahead, several candidates were gathered at the edge of the trees. Between two towering cliffs stood a massive stone gate. The eastern gate. Freedom—or the closest thing to it. “Move!” someone yelled. The candidates surged toward the opening. I followed Mira into the crowd. Then the ground shook. The Hollow Maw burst from the forest. Panic tore through us. Everyone shifted at once. Wolves collided as they scrambled across the stone, claws striking sparks from the ground. One candidate tried to climb the gate, but the creature seized him before he reached the top. Another vanished beneath its claws. A third wolf raced past me. I grabbed Mira’s arm. “Don’t stop!” We reached the gate. It didn’t move. “Open it!” someone screamed. Above us, the elders stood on a raised stone platform. They watched the chaos with the calm expressions of people observing a ceremony. One of the candidates looked up at them. “You said the gate would open!” An elder lowered his gaze. “It will.” “When?” “When the trial is complete.” The Hollow Maw roared behind us. Every remaining candidate fell silent. And then I understood. The gate wasn’t waiting for us to reach it. It was waiting for enough of us to die. Mira turned toward me, her eyes wide. “How many?” “What?” “How many have to die?” I had no answer. The elder raised one hand. A bell rang through the cavern. Once. The stone gate groaned and began to rise. Relief flashed across the faces around us, relief that lasted only until the elder spoke. “Ten candidates have been eliminated.” I looked around. Nine wolves remained. My blood ran cold. “Eliminated?” Mira whispered. The Hollow Maw lunged. I seized her and threw us both to the side. Its claws tore through the wolf behind us. He didn’t even have time to scream. The gate continued rising. “Run!” We bolted for the opening. I crossed the threshold with Mira at my side. Another candidate reached for the gate, but a claw caught him across the back. He was dragged into the darkness, his screams echoing through the cavern. Then the gate slammed shut. Silence fell. For several seconds, no one moved. The oldest elder descended from the platform and approached us. “Congratulations.” I stared at him. Blood stained the stone behind us. The scent of it filled the air. “Congratulations?” I repeated. He didn’t blink. “You have survived the first trial.” I looked toward the empty space where the other candidates had been standing only moments ago. “Those people are dead.” “Yes.” He said it as casually as if we were discussing the weather. Mira’s hand found mine and closed around it. The elder continued. “Twenty-one candidates entered this trial.” I swallowed. “Twenty-one?” “Nine remain.” Nine. I looked around at the survivors. Some were crying openly. Others stared at the ground as though they couldn’t understand what had happened. One boy had begun laughing under his breath, the sound thin and uneven. That was when I finally understood. This wasn’t an entrance exam. It wasn’t a competition. It was an execution where a few people were allowed to walk away. The elder’s gaze settled on me. “Kael Mercer.” My stomach tightened. “Yes?” “You were summoned to the Prince Trials for one reason.” He paused, letting the words hang between us. “You were not expected to survive this trial.” The doors behind him opened. A dark corridor stretched beyond them, disappearing into the mountain. Waiting. “Rest tonight,” the elder said. “Tomorrow, the second trial begins.” Seven days earlier, I knew nothing about the Prince Trials. I didn’t know the names of the candidates. I didn’t know the Hollow Maw existed. I certainly didn’t know that the Royal Council had already decided I was supposed to die. All I knew was that someone had left a silver envelope on our kitchen table. And my mother was staring at it as if it contained a death sentence.