Beneath The Mask
933 Words
Chapter 10: Beneath the Mask
Rina stood at the highest tower of the barracks, arms folded as the late-night wind swept through her braid. Below, the camp was dim, most warriors already retired. She watched Kael’s silhouette pacing near the Council Hall, speaking in hushed tones with one of the elders. Her wolf stirred, uneasy, the faint echo of their bond rattling inside her bones. She clenched her fists, grounding herself in the identity she’d forged: not Adira, never again. She was Rina Hollowbrook, and she had come to destroy them all.
Ronan found her not long after. His boots were silent on the stone, but she felt him anyway. His energy was always different, quietly coiled, protective, edged with grief he never voiced.
“You keep staring at him like he’s already bleeding,” he said.
She didn’t turn. “Soon enough.”
Ronan stepped beside her, his profile sharp in the moonlight. “You’ve made it this far. You’re in the finals tomorrow. After that, you’re part of the council’s inner circle.”
“I’m almost there,” she said.
But her voice didn’t hold the triumph it should have. Instead, it trembled with the weight of everything she had buried. Her wolf was louder now, more present. The closer she got to Kael, the harder it was to keep her instincts in check. The part of her that once longed for him is still remembered.
“Is it your wolf?” Ronan asked quietly.
She finally turned to him. “She wants what we can’t afford.”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. He reached into his coat, pulled out a folded piece of parchment.
“What’s that?”
“Something you need to see.”
She opened it. A scout report. Kael had ordered an inquiry into her background. He hadn’t gone through official channels—this was his personal search. He was looking for the girl behind the name.
“He’s getting too close,” Ronan said. “You need to finish this soon.”
“I know.”
But even as she said it, her heart was not in it. She had planned for this. Had mapped every step. And yet… Kael’s voice earlier that day, the heat in it when he asked about her past, haunted her. His eyes were too sharp. He didn’t believe she was just another warrior.
He suspects.
Tomorrow, she will fight the final round of the Alpha Trials. The winner would be assigned directly to Kael’s High Command, where the council’s secrets were passed behind closed doors.
It was her way in. Her final step before revenge.
The next day, the arena was packed. Warriors, nobles, council members—all watching the final match.
Rina walked out first, dressed in light armor, her face blank. Her opponent was a seasoned fighter named Calder, a brutal war chief known for drawing blood within the first minute of any match.
Kael stood above the ring on the high platform, flanked by the council. His gaze never left Rina.
The match began.
Calder charged. Rina didn’t wait. She met him halfway, sidestepping his blade, slamming her elbow into his gut. He stumbled but recovered fast, slashing at her ribs. She twisted away, countered with a knee to his thigh.
They circled.
She remembered her training with Ronan—don’t overpower, outlast. Wait for the moment.
It came when Calder lunged with too much weight. She ducked, rolled, swept his legs out from under him. He hit the dirt, groaning.
She stood over him, blade at his throat.
“Yield,” she said.
He spat blood. “Finish it.”
But she didn’t.
She turned her eyes to Kael. “He yields.”
Silence fell.
Kael rose slowly. “Victory is yours… Rina Hollowbrook.”
The crowd erupted.
But Kael’s eyes never left hers. There was something in them now—recognition, pain, guilt. And something more dangerous: hope.
That night, Rina was summoned.
The guards escorted her to the war room, but instead of the full council, only Kael waited.
He dismissed the guards. She stood in the doorway, tense.
“You didn’t kill him,” Kael said.
“He yielded.”
“You’ve killed before.”
“Not without cause.”
A long silence stretched between them.
“I know who you are,” he said finally.
Her heart skipped. “Do you?”
“You move like someone trained to kill alphas. Not win games. You hide your scent well, but my wolf…”
He stepped forward. “My wolf screams when you walk into a room.”
She swallowed hard. “He’s delusional.”
He laughed once, hollow. “Maybe. But I remember your eyes.”
She turned to go.
“You left me,” she said coldly. “That night. You didn’t say a word.”
“I wasn’t allowed to.”
“You were Alpha.”
“I was a boy drowning in power I didn’t ask for. They made me choose. You or the crown.”
She didn’t speak.
“Tell me your name,” he said. “The real one.”
She paused at the door.
And said nothing.
Then I walked away.
Later that night, she sat in the barracks, blade in hand, sharpening.
Ronan entered. “It’s done. You’re in.”
She nodded.
“Did he say anything?”
She lied. “No.”
Ronan’s eyes searched hers. “Be careful.”
“I always am.”
But the mask she wore had started to c***k.
And beneath it, Adira stirred.
Ready to rise.
- Writer
