Chapter 14
945 Words
The morning sun broke over the pack house in a blaze of gold, but inside the courtyard, the air was thick with menace. A crowd had gathered, drawn by whispers that Alpha Kieran had summoned Lia.
Lia stood in the center of the stone ring, her body trembling. The bruises from his last punishment still marred her skin, her ribs aching with every breath. She had thought the beatings were bad enough. She had thought the cruelty was the worst she could endure.
But today, something darker brewed in Kieran’s eyes.
“Today,” Kieran’s voice thundered across the courtyard, sharp and merciless, “we will test the truth of the cursed girl.”
The words rippled through the pack members, a wave of mutters and scoffs. Cursed girl. Wolfless freak. Burden. Lia lowered her head, heat crawling across her cheeks. She felt every stare pierce her like knives.
Kieran’s Beta, Darius, stepped forward, his expression unreadable. “Alpha, are you certain?” he asked, his voice pitched low. “The Trial is not meant for the weak. It’s meant to kill or awaken.”
Kieran’s lips curved into a chilling smile. “Exactly.”
Lia’s stomach turned to stone. Trial? What trial?
Two warriors dragged out a cage, iron bars glinting in the sun. Inside, a massive wolf snarled, its yellow eyes wild, its jaws dripping with saliva. The beast slammed against the bars, rattling the cage with raw fury.
Gasps tore through the crowd.
Lia staggered backward. “No…”
Kieran’s gaze never left her. “The Trial of Pain,” he announced, his voice carrying with cruel pride. “Every Alpha knows it. When a wolf resists surfacing, when power hides—pain calls it forth. If you are truly wolfless, you’ll die. If you’re not…” His smile sharpened. “Then we’ll finally see what you’re worth.”
The guards shoved her forward. Lia fell to her knees, scraping her palms against the rough stone. Her heart hammered against her ribs, every beat a scream of terror.
“Kieran, please,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “You don’t have to—”
“Silence!” His roar cracked through the courtyard, making her flinch. “This is the only way to know what lives inside you.”
The cage door creaked open. The feral wolf lunged out, snarling, its claws gouging the ground as it fixed its gaze on Lia.
The pack erupted with shouts and jeers, voices calling for blood.
Lia’s breath came in ragged gasps. Her body wanted to run, but her legs refused to move. The wolf advanced, low and predatory, its teeth bared.
Run.
The voice—her wolf’s voice—slammed into her mind.
Lia’s chest seized. “You’re here?” she whispered, barely audible.
Yes. But I cannot rise unless you let me. Trust me.
The wolf lunged. Lia screamed and dove to the side, the beast’s claws raking across her arm. Fire exploded in her flesh, blood spilling down her sleeve.
The crowd roared with excitement. To them, this was sport. To Kieran, this was calculation.
But to Lia, this was life or death.
The wolf circled her again, snarling, readying for another strike. Her vision blurred with tears. Every muscle in her body trembled. She wasn’t strong enough. She wasn’t fast enough.
You are enough, the voice inside her insisted. You must call me forth. Say the words.
“What words?” she gasped, clutching her bleeding arm.
Claim me. Claim yourself.
The wolf lunged again, jaws snapping inches from her throat. Lia rolled, her side slamming against the ground, pain radiating through her battered ribs.
Her heart screamed at her to give up, to let death take her. But another part—small, burning, defiant—clung to the voice inside.
“I… I claim you,” she choked out. “Whoever you are. Whatever you are—I claim you!”
A surge of heat ignited in her chest. Her vision flashed white for an instant, her veins burning like fire. The wolf’s voice echoed louder than ever before, triumphant.
Yes. Again. Louder!
“I CLAIM YOU!”
The feral wolf lunged for her again, but this time, Lia’s hands shot up instinctively. A force—not physical, not seen, but undeniable—slammed outward from her chest. The beast was hurled backward, skidding across the ground with a yelp.
The courtyard fell silent.
Pack members stared with wide eyes, disbelief etched across every face. The feral wolf shook itself, dazed but not finished.
Kieran’s expression darkened—not with surprise, but with satisfaction. “So. She awakens.”
The wolf charged again, and Lia braced herself, fire coursing through her veins. But before she could act, strong hands seized her arms.
Kieran.
He yanked her upright, holding her painfully close. “You see now?” he growled into her ear, low enough only she could hear. “You’re no curse. You’re the key.”
His grip tightened, bruising her skin. “And I’ll break you again and again until every ounce of your power belongs to me.”
Lia’s stomach churned with terror. He hadn’t done this to test her for freedom—he had done it to trap her more tightly than ever.
The feral wolf snarled again, charging toward them both. Kieran shoved her forward, straight into its path.
“Show me,” he barked. “Show me what you are, or die here.”
The beast lunged, jaws open wide—
And the chapter ended in silence, Lia’s scream caught in her throat as power surged again, threatening to either save her… or destroy her completely.
- Writer
