Chapter2
I turned and left the dorm, vaulted over the low stone wall behind the mountain, and plunged headfirst into the Moon-Gazing Woods, sliding down against the trunk of a tree.
I bit down hard on the back of my hand, forcing back the whimper rising in my throat.
So, you're crying over a coward?
The wolf inside me spoke in a low, raspy voice. That bastard couldn't even guard his own territory and let himself be seduced by a defective piece of trash. And now it's your turn to feel sorry for yourself?
"I'm not..." I wiped the corner of my eye. "I just didn't expect that ten whole years of feelings could be so fragile."
Put away your weakness. Smell the wind; the conspiracy isn't over yet. My wolf released a low, dangerous growl. Tomorrow is the combat trial. If he could kick open your bedroom door tonight, he can treat you as a discarded pawn in the arena tomorrow.
My rationality instantly returned. Tomorrow was the duo-team combat trial... once the match began, switching partners mid-way was strictly forbidden. If he voluntarily forfeited and left me to continue solo, even if I won, he would still walk away with half the points based on the team-binding rules.
"The marriage annulment will take another month. Until then, it's a dead end," I murmured, staring up at the cold moon.
Which is exactly why you have to win. Prove to everyone that you are still the queen.
I slowly uncurled my fists, staring at the bloody marks on my palms, and gradually calmed down. "I will."
"Next up for the combat trial: Athena and Caleb versus the Twin Wolves of the Northern Wastelands!"
Behind the heavy iron gates, two red-eyed Alphas glared at us relentlessly. Caleb and I had rehearsed our strategy for this for exactly three full months prior.
"Open the gates!" A red flag shot into the air.
My legs tensed. Just as I was about to charge forward, the space beside me suddenly felt shockingly empty. Caleb turned around, leaped off the fighting ring, and sprinted heavily toward the audience stands. Lily was huddled in a chair, her hands covering her ears as she trembled violently.
"Caleb, the countdown has already started!" I growled sharply.
"I forfeit! Ref, I forfeit!" He shielded Lily entirely with his broad body. "Athena, she can't even maintain a partial shift! With the suffocating pressure of these raging Alphas pressing down here, she won't survive it without someone protecting her!"
"Caleb! You're forfeiting?" I stared at him. "You plan to leave me completely alone to face those two bloodthirsty animals?"
That damn bastard, we were entirely right! My inner wolf snarled.
"You're an apex Alpha. Taking first place in a two-on-one is no problem for you. Besides, if you win, I'll still get my share of the points anyway." He frowned. "But Lily only has me. Act like the future Luna you're supposed to be. For the sake of your credits and graduation, stop acting jealous at a critical moment like this."
The referee glared at Caleb with a livid face, then turned to ask me: "Caleb has forfeited and withdrawn. You may choose to forfeit this trial as well, or you can continue solo. If you succeed solo, this match will still be recorded as a team victory for both of you and entered normally into the ledger. The danger level is extreme; you should consider this carefully."
I gritted my teeth and nodded heavily. "The trial continues."
The heavy gates slammed wide open. The two red-eyed Alphas lunged simultaneously in a lethal pincer attack. I barely twisted my body to withstand the beast on the left, but my right flank was left completely exposed.
Riiip!
Wicked claws plunged straight into my right shoulder blade. Flesh, muscle, and bone were savagely torn apart. I was violently smashed against a stone pillar, instantly dyeing the yellow sand beneath me a sickening crimson.
Dropping to one knee, I bit down fiercely on my back molars and forced myself to look up. Twenty paces away, Caleb was stripping off his jacket to drape it securely over Lily's head. His large hands clamped affectionately over her eyes and ears, pulling her firmly and completely into the safety of his chest.
"Don't look, it's too bloody," his lips mouthed to her.
The wolf inside me erupted into a savage, blood-curdling howl.
"Get out of my way!" I swallowed down a mouthful of bloody froth, my pupils instantly burning into a tyrannical, blinding dark gold. The exact moment the two red-eyed Alphas lunged again, I didn't retreat but surged forward, crashing straight into their razor-sharp claws. The sickening sound of bones shattering snapped through the air repeatedly. One heavy fist crushed the throat of one Alpha, while a devastating sweeping kick completely shattered the kneecap of the other. In three minutes, the battle was over.
The arena fell dead silent. I slowly straightened my spine, yanked out a broken claw firmly lodged in my collarbone, and tossed it carelessly onto the ground.
"Athena!" Caleb seemed to finally snap out of his daze, running toward me and attempting to pull me into his arms. "You're bleeding too much—"
"Shut up." I dragged my thoroughly mangled body off the arena floor. Using my blood-dripping arm, I aggressively shoved him away and walked straight out of the stadium.
Deep into the night, out by the Moon-Gazing Woods. I sat leaning heavily against a tree trunk, biting down hard on a dry twig. Gripping a surgical suture needle in my right hand, I stitched my flayed shoulder meat back into place, stitch by excruciating stitch. There was no anesthesia—I couldn't go to the infirmary. The Forbidden Forest of Death trial only accepted participants with minor injuries. Once a severe medical record was filed, I would be immediately disqualified.
Dry leaves rustled softly. In a flash, I drew my tactical short blade and pointed it dead into the darkness.
"Don't shoot, it's me." Liam stepped out from the tree shadows, holding a small jar of healing salve swiped from the senior medical ward.
He crouched in front of me, looking at my gruesome wounds. "Caleb's brain was completely fried by his mating instincts. Leaving you all alone in the arena just to coddle a useless Omega! It's not fair, Athena."
He paused. "Last night, I didn't stop you because my heart didn't ache for you. I stopped you because I was afraid that if the pack doctor arrived, Lily's situation couldn't be covered up. Your marriage contract with Caleb would be dragged out and judged publicly by both our families. That would have been even uglier for you. I failed to protect you. I'm useless."
I didn't say a word, simply letting him spread the cooling salve over my open wounds.
"If the exam rules hadn't strictly banned outside interference, I would have drawn my blade and charged in to help you." He looked up, his gaze burning intensely. "You are a born queen. He doesn't deserve to humiliate you like this."
I quietly watched the face of the boy who had grown up closely alongside me, and my tightly clenched jaw slowly began to relax.
"Next week is the final graduation trial in the Forbidden Forest, and it explicitly requires a two-person team." I spat out the mangled twig. "I cannot take a liability who will abandon me at a second's notice into that place. I need a back shield I can absolutely trust."
His eyes lit up instantly. He dropped heavily to one knee into the mud, pressing his right fist firmly against his chest. "Choose me, Athena. I swear to the Moon Goddess that in the Forbidden Forest, I will never abandon you like Caleb did. I will be your shield-bearer, and protect you with my life."
The figure of this childhood friend was the only source of security I could grasp tonight.
"Alright." I put away my blade. "Next week, you team up with me."
He stood up and meticulously wrapped the final stretch of bandage tight around my shoulder. Before turning to leave, he bent down to retrieve my dropped tactical glove from the ground. In the exact moment he handed it back to me, his lowered eyelashes cast a very brief shadow in the moonlight—so fast I almost thought I had imagined it.
I pushed myself up and walked slowly toward the dormitories. I was far too exhausted back then, so I didn't think much of the fact that when Liam had securely tied my bandages, a tiny scrap of thin paper was clinging to the inner side of his knuckles. It looked exactly like something he had been clutching tightly for a very long time, before hurriedly shoving his hand back into his pocket.
