Chapter 7 The Trial of Blood

The ground was cold, but my blood was on fire.

Six months had passed since I jumped into the mist. My belly was now a heavy, round ball. Every time the baby kicked, I felt a surge of that strange gold heat. I wasn't the skinny girl from the kitchens anymore. My arms were lean muscle. My skin was tan from the sun that peeked through the trees.

But today, none of that mattered.

I stood in the center of the Rogue Citadel. It was a giant circle of packed dirt. Hundreds of Rogues stood on the cliffs above, looking down at me. They weren't bowing today. They were waiting to see if I would bleed.

"She is too far along," a woman whispered. "The trial will kill the pup."

"She is an Omega," an old man spat. "A pregnant Omega cannot lead us."

Silas stood at the edge of the circle. He didn't look worried. He just leaned against a wooden post, his arms crossed over his leather coat. His blue eyes stayed on me.

"The rules are simple, Elena," Silas said. His voice carried across the wind. "To lead the Rogues, you must show you are the strongest. You must face a challenger. If you fall, you leave. If you win, you stay as our leader."

"I’m not leaving," I said. My voice didn't shake.

An Alpha stepped into the circle. His name was Kael. He was twice my size. He had a thick beard and eyes that looked like yellow glass. He didn't shift into a wolf. He didn't need to. He held a long, thin dagger in his hand.

The blade was silver. It shined with a deadly, white light.

"I don't fight pregnant girls," Kael said. He laughed, and the crowd joined him. "Go back to the tents, Elena. Give birth to your bastard and let the real wolves lead."

"Fight me, Kael," I said. "Or get on your knees."

Kael’s laugh died. He growled, a deep sound that made the dirt vibrate under my feet. He lunged.

He was fast. Much faster than the guards back home. He swung the silver knife at my throat. I dipped my head, feeling the cold air of the blade pass over my hair. I spun, planting my palm into his chest.

I didn't use a fist. I used my spirit.

Boom.

Kael stumbled back four steps. His eyes went wide. The crowd went silent.

"What was that?" he hissed.

I didn't answer. I couldn't.

Suddenly, a wave of agony hit me. It wasn't the baby. It was my wolf.

Inside my mind, the brown wolf I had lived with for twenty years was screaming. She was tearing herself apart. I felt my bones start to pop. I felt my teeth grow sharp, then dull, then sharp again.

It hurts, I thought. It hurts so much.

This wasn't a normal shift. My wolf wasn't just coming out. She was changing. She was becoming something else.

"She’s weak!" Kael yelled. He saw me stagger. He saw the sweat pouring down my face. "Look at her! She can't even stand!"

He ran at me again. He didn't go for my throat this time. He aimed the silver knife straight for my stomach.

"No!" Silas barked, moving forward.

But I was faster.

The world slowed down. The white trees, the grey mist, the screaming Rogues—everything stopped.

The pain reached a peak. I felt a snap in my chest. A bright, blinding white light filled my vision. It wasn't the gold light of the baby. This was pure, cold white.

My wolf let out a howl that sounded like a thousand voices. She wasn't a brown Omega anymore. She was a White Spirit Wolf.

I didn't shift fully. I stayed on two legs, but my hair turned to silver silk. My eyes went white. The air around me turned to ice.

Kael’s knife hit me.

He slammed the silver blade right against my side. It hit the skin of my waist, right above my belly.

The sound of metal breaking filled the air.

Clink.

The silver blade didn't cut me. It didn't even leave a scratch. It shattered into a hundred tiny pieces. The shards fell into the dirt like broken glass.

Kael looked at his empty hand. He looked at the stump of the handle. He looked at my skin.

"Silver..." he whispered. "It’s silver. It should have killed you."

I grabbed his throat. My hand felt like a vice of frozen iron. I didn't need to shift. The power of the Spirit Wolf was flowing through my human veins.

"Silver is for the weak," I said. My voice sounded like it was echoing from a deep cave.

I squeezed. Kael’s face turned purple. He dropped his hand, clawing at my arm, but I didn't move. I felt like a mountain.

"Do you yield?" I asked.

Kael nodded. He couldn't speak. He was terrified.

I let him go. He collapsed into the dirt, coughing and gasping for air.

I turned to the crowd. My hair was still white. My eyes were still glowing. The Rogues were dead silent. Even the birds in the trees had stopped singing.

I looked at the Elders. They were the ones who had doubted me. They were the ones who said an Omega was a mistake.

The oldest Elder, a woman with hair as white as mine, stepped forward. She looked at the broken silver on the ground. She looked at the gold light still humming around my belly.

"The prophecy was wrong," she whispered.

I frowned. "What?"

"It didn't say you would be a Queen," she said. She dropped to both knees, pressing her forehead into the dirt. "It said you would be a Goddess."

One by one, the Rogues fell.

Silas was the last one standing. He walked into the circle and stood in front of me. He looked at my silver hair. He reached out and touched the spot where the knife had broken.

"You're okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I said. The white light began to fade. My hair turned back to brown. The ice in the air melted. "The baby is fine."

Silas looked at the crowd, then back at me. A look of pure pride filled his face.

"They won't challenge you again, Elena," he said.

"Good," I said. I looked toward the mountains. Toward the Moonlight Pack. Toward the King who thought a silver blade could stop me.

"Because I'm not just staying," I said. "I'm building an army."

I felt the baby kick again. It was a strong, steady beat.

The King's heir was growing inside a woman who couldn't be cut by silver.

Valerius had sent me here to die. He had sent his killers to take my head.

But I had found a new skin. And it was harder than any crown he could ever wear.

I walked out of the circle. I didn't look back.

The Trial of Blood was over. The reign of the Rogue Queen had begun.

I walked out of the circle. The shattered silver blade glinted in the dirt behind me.

A scout ran up to Silas, out of breath. He pointed toward the dark forest.

"The shadow-beasts are gathering at the southern ridge. Hundreds of them. They're waiting for the eclipse."