Chapter 5 Chapter 5

He shook his head, his jaw setting tight as he took a step back. "No. I'm not going to reject you."

"We had a deal!" I snapped, my fists tightening at my sides.

"No, the deal was to save your life," he replied, his voice firm and steady. "A rejection inflicts severe pain on the rejected person. It causes deep agony that takes weeks to heal. You just finished patching yourself up. If I reject you right now, all our effort goes straight down the drain."

"I don't care!" I glared at him. "I don't want a mate. I don't want you!"

His dark eyes softened slightly, a weary breath escaping his lips. "Fine. I won't come looking for you. From this moment on, we act like tonight never happened."

"Just do it," I demanded, stepping closer. "Perform the rejection right now."

He let out a heavy sigh, searching my face. "Fine. What is your name?"

"Sarah," I lied without blinking.

He took a slow breath, his chest expanding. "I, Alpha Buko, reject you, Sarah, as my mate."

I braced myself, waiting for the harsh snap of the bond breaking, but nothing happened. I frowned. "Is it done?"

A slow, knowing smirk spread across his face. "No, it's not done. You lied about your name. I can tell whenever you're lying to me, but you can't tell when I'm lying. My real name isn't Buko. It's Raphael."

My blood boiled instantly. "You tricked me! I'm going to kill—"

Before I could finish my sentence, his body shifted into a giant black blur. In a split second, he transformed into his massive wolf form and vanished straight into the dark trees, leaving me completely alone in the silent woods.

I groaned in frustration, my head spinning from exhaustion. Dragging my aching body to a patch of soft grass, I collapsed onto the ground and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When morning came, bright sunlight pierced through the thick forest canopy. I stretched my arms, testing my body. The wounds were gone, leaving only faint marks.

I pushed through the thick bushes and stepped out onto a dirt road. I looked around at the towering pines and distant blue hills, and a shock of recognition hit me.

I know this place. This is the Crestwood Pack.

It was a territory far away from my home pack. When I was a child, my mother used to bring me here in secret to visit her witch friend, Vivian.

Wait... if Crestwood is miles away from my pack, how did Raphael run here so fast last night?

I didn't dwell on it. I set off down the path, quickening my pace until I reached a small, rustic cottage tucked away behind the trees.

I marched up the wooden steps and knocked hard on the door.

A moment later, the door swung open. Vivian stood in the doorway, her eyes widening in pure terror the second she recognized my face. Without a word, she reached out, grabbed my arm, and yanked me inside, slamming the heavy wooden door behind us.

"Girl, what on earth have you done this time?!" she hissed, her voice trembling. "How did you even manage to get all the way here?"

I blinked, taking a step back in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Instead of answering, she marched over to her wooden desk, snatched up a fresh piece of parchment, and slapped it against my chest. "Explain this!"

I took the paper and looked down. Right at the top was a sharp drawing of my face. Below the picture, my real name was printed in bold black ink alongside a single line: WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE. MASSIVE REWARD IN GOLD.

A dry laugh escaped my throat. "Oh, he can't be serious right now."

Vivian folded her arms, giving me a hard, sharp glare. "What caused this, Kitana?"

"Revenge for my mother," I muttered, looking away.

Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, don't tell me you actually tried to assassinate your father. Because that sounds exactly like something your reckless head would do."

"Well, I didn't assassinate him," I grumbled. "I just... tried to escape."

She gave me a long, piercing look that cut right through my excuse.

I let out a sigh, throwing my hands up. "Fine! That's what I did! I tried to kill him! How do we solve this?"

"How do we solve this?" Vivian scoffed, pointing a finger at me. "It's how are you going to solve this! This is your mess, not mine."

"Please, Vivian," I begged, my voice softening. "Make me stronger. Teach me magic or give me power. I need to get strong enough to go back and end him once and for all."

She shook her head sadly. "Revenge isn't everything, child."

"If I don't get vengeance for my mother, my life has no meaning!" I shouted, tears stinging my eyes.

"It's not just about taking vengeance," Vivian said quietly, stepping closer. "It's about knowing what really happened to her. Have you ever once asked yourself what she was doing right before she got sick? Do you even know how she fell ill in the first place?"

She turned back to her table, picked up an old, yellowed photograph, and tossed it onto the desk in front of me.

I leaned down to examine it. The image showed a giant, golden city with massive stone towers. "Pack's Landing... the capital of all packs."

"Yes," Vivian nodded gravely. "That's the last place your mother visited before her illness began. And the last people she spoke to while she was still healthy were the Alpha King and his son—the future Alpha King."

My breath hitched in my throat. "Wait... my mother knew the Alpha King? The Alpha over every pack?"

"She did," Vivian said softly. "And if my research is correct, your father didn't act alone. The Alpha King and his son are the ones who truly killed your mother. They poisoned her. So, if you really want to make the people responsible pay the ultimate price, you don't need to go back to your father yet. You need to go to Pack's Landing."

I stared at the photograph, my heart pounding against my ribs. "How am I supposed to go there? I need to train. I need to get stronger first."

"You can't stay in my house for another hour," Vivian warned, glancing out the window. "If the guards check this cottage, you'll put my life in danger."

"Please," I whispered, clutching my arms. "I don't have anyone left in this world except you."

Vivian sighed, her shoulders dropping as she looked at me with soft, pitying eyes. "Fine. If you want to get stronger and enter Pack's Landing unnoticed, you enter the Tournament for Kings."

"What is that?" I asked, frowning.

"It's an elite academy located deep inside Pack's Landing," she explained. "Boys from every single pack are sent there after passing a strict entrance exam. They live together, train together, and fight in brutal competitions to test their raw strength. It's intense, bloodthirsty training. And at the end of it all, only one warrior can emerge as the supreme leader."

"What's the benefit of becoming the Alpha King?" I asked.

"An Alpha King possesses far more power than any regular Alpha," Vivian answered. "He can take control of any pack he wants and rule without question. But be warned—many of the boys who enter the tournament aren't strong enough. Most of them die in the trial grounds. You will have to fight just to survive."

She took a step closer, her voice dropping to a low whisper. "The current Alpha King's son will be participating in this tournament too. He is considered the strongest warrior in the entire realm. To take the crown, you will have to face him, defeat him, and uncover the final truth about what happened to your mother."

Before I could speak, Vivian grabbed my arm. "Come with me."

She dragged me into her small back room and forced me down onto a wooden stool. She pulled out a pair of sharp iron shears and instantly began chopping away at my long hair, cutting it down to a short, messy boyish style.

"Give me your mother's necklace," she ordered, handing me a clean towel. "Go take a quick bath."

I unclasped the silver chain, handed it to her, and quickly washed the dried blood and dirt off my skin.

When I stepped back into the room, Vivian was standing over a small metal pot on her stove. The silver necklace was bubbling in a glowing green liquid while she chanted ancient words under her breath.

She fished the necklace out of the pot, let it cool for a second, and strapped it tightly around my neck.

"From this day on, you are no longer Kitana," Vivian said, staring straight into my eyes. "Your name is Bubu. This necklace holds a powerful concealment spell. It completely hides your scent—your female aura is gone. No one will be able to smell what you are, not even a mate. It also carries a illusion spell that lowers your voice, making you sound like a young man. No one will ever notice that you are a woman. But I must warn you: never, ever take this necklace off. The moment it leaves your skin, your true identity will be exposed."

She reached into her robe, pulled out a small black card, and shoved it into my hand.

I looked down at the forged ID. Printed on the hard surface was my new name—BUBU FRANKLIN—alongside a unique registration number for the tournament. My jaw dropped. How had she prepared all of this so quickly?

Vivian tossed a small leather travel bag at my chest. "There are some male clothes in there, though the academy will provide your official uniforms."

I caught the bag, staring at her with wide eyes. "Vivian... I don't even know how to thank you—"

"Get out," she cut me off cold, waving her hand toward the door. "There's no time for tearful goodbyes. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this because I owed your mother a debt."

I gripped the strap of the bag, nodded once, and slipped out into the morning air. Inside the bag, I found a small pouch of gold coins. I used a few coins to hail a passing carriage, hopping inside.

"Take me to the Tournament for Kings academy," I instructed the driver.

The journey was long and silent. Hours passed as the carriage traveled across winding roads, finally bringing me to the outer walls of a massive stone fortress.

I stepped down from the carriage, the cold wind whipping past my short hair. Standing right in front of me was a pair of giant iron gates, towering high into the sky. Engraved into the dark metal were three massive words:

TOURNAMENT FOR KINGS

I stared up at the iron gates, taking a deep breath as I prepared to step into a world of ruthless male warriors.

What I didn't know as I took my first step forward was that entering this a

cademy would become the most dangerous mistake of my life—and the dark trap waiting inside those gates would tear my world completely apart.