The Trials Of The Moonbound Wolf

Chapter two

My heart started pounding so hard that, for a few seconds, I forgot how to breathe again.

Those strange silver eyes seemed to look straight through me like they could see something no one else could.

I gripped the old stone wall. “Who are you?”

The wolf tilted its head.

A cold wind moved through the trees, making the leaves shake.

Before I could speak again, the wolf turned and disappeared into the darkness.

I hurried back towards the pack before anyone could find me near the border.

All through the night I couldn't sleep; every time I closed my eyes, I saw those silver-eyed wolves watching me from the dark. But when morning came, I was back in the real world.

I pulled on my old pants with holes at the knees and a shirt so thin from too many washes that it felt like paper.

I tied my hair back and looked at myself in the small, broken mirror on the wall. I was still the same girl…without a wolf.

The pack house was already noisy when I walked outside.

Wolves moved around, carrying things and talking with excitement. Blue banners with silver symbols hung on the wooden posts.

The Moonbound Trials…

I had almost forgotten.

Every year, young wolves between sixteen and twenty had to prove themselves in a three-day challenge. The ones who won earned their place in the pack’s inner circle.

I walked to the eastern side of the territory where the servants worked.

That was my new place now; I no longer trained with the warriors or ate at the main table. I only carried water, fixed clothes, and stayed out of sight.

“Lyra!”

The voice came from behind the washhouse. I turned and saw Mira carrying a basket of bloody bandages.

“Mira handed me a basket filled with the alpha’s clothes. “They’re torn at the shoulders,” she said. “Fix them before nightfall.” I nodded softly. “Yes, Mira.”

I carried the basket to my usual spot near the well. I sat on the stone bench and picked up the first shirt. It was Alpha Kael’s dark grey training tunic, torn across the chest.

I pushed the needle through the cloth and pulled the thread tight; my hands kept working, but my thoughts stayed on the silver-eyed wolf.

"Look who's actually doing something useful.”

I looked up and saw Rina, Fen, and Jace standing near the well. They were all around my age, and unlike me, they were all shifters.

Rina stepped closer first. She had shifted at twelve and never let anyone forget it. Fen laughed behind her.

My jaw tightened, but I kept my eyes on the shirt in my hands. Jace said nothing; he just leant against the wall with his arms crossed.

“You know what I heard?” Rina said, sitting on the edge of the well.

"I heard the alpha might make you join the trials this year," Fen snorted. “She cannot even shift.

What is she going to do? Sew the other wolves to death?” Rina laughed… I forced my hands to keep working.

Then Jace walked towards me slowly, and everyone stopped laughing.

Jace came and stopped in front of me. I did not look at him.

“The trials are for wolves,” he said quietly. “Not for empty shells.” He reached down and grabbed the shirt from my hands. I watched him hold it up, then drop it into the dirt at my feet.

“Pick it up,” he said.

And that was when a shadow fell over us.

"Jace."

The voice was low and calm.

I looked up… Darius stood behind Jace. I had not even heard him come near. He was taller than most wolves in the pack. His shoulders were broad, and dark hair fell over his forehead. He was the beta, the second strongest after Alpha Kael.

Jace turned around slowly.

"This does not concern you, Beta.” Darius did not blink. “She is part of the pack,” he said. ”That makes it my concern.”

Darius spoke softly, "Pick up the shirt.”

For a long moment, no one moved.

Then Jace bent down and picked up the dirty shirt. He held it out to me without looking at my face.

I took it with fingers that still would not stop shaking.

“If I ever see you bully her again… I will break your arm. Do you understand?”

Jace swallowed hard. “Yes, Beta.”

“Get out.”

Jace left fast… Rina and the other girls followed without looking back. And then it was just me and Darius.

“Stand up,” he said.

I stood up; he studied me for a moment. Then he said something I did not expect.

“The alpha wants you in the trials.” My heart stopped. “What?” “The Moonbound Trials,” he said. “You will compete.”

“That makes no sense,” I said. “I cannot shift…I cannot fight." Darius shrugged.

“That is not my decision. Kael wants all unmated wolves of age to take part. That includes you.” “I know what you cannot do,” he cut me off. “But the alpha gave an order.”

He turned and walked towards the door. “Wait,” I said. He stopped but did not turn around.

Why did you stop Jace?” I asked. “You never help me; no one does.”

Darius was quiet for a long moment.

Then he said, “Because cruelty without reason is weakness, and I do not tolerate weakness in this pack.”

He left… I stood there alone.

How was I supposed to fight in the Moonbound Trials when I could not even shift?

That night, I walked to the old stone wall again.I leant against the cold rocks and stared into the dark forest. And there they were again… Two silver-eyed wolves glowing in the dark. The wolves stepped closer this time.

“What are you?” I whispered.

Then behind me, a twig snapped. I spun around,Darius stood twenty feet away, his arms crossed. But when I looked back at where the wolves stood it was gone.

My eyes widened…