Kaia's POV
The drunk wolf's hand closes around my wrist like a vice.
Come on, sweetheart, he slurs, his breath reeking of cheap whiskey. Just one drink with me and my friends.
I yank my arm back, but his grip tightens. Pain shoots up to my elbow. Let go.
Make me. He grins, showing yellowed teeth.
Two months ago, I would've called for help. Two months ago, I had a family, a fiancé, a life. Two months ago, I was someone.
Now I'm just another Mixedblood serving girl in a dirty tavern that doesn't care if customers get handsy.
I said let go. I twist my wrist hard, breaking his grip with a move I learned on the streets. Survival teaches you things fast.
His smile disappears. You little
His friend grabs my other arm, and suddenly there are three of them surrounding me, their wolves rising in their eyes. The tavern's other customers look away. No one helps girls like me.
My wolf stirs for the first time in weeks—a tiny flicker of anger deep inside where she's been hiding since the rejection. But she's too weak. Too broken. We both are.
Let her go before I shove this bottle somewhere you'll regret.
A girl appears beside the drunk wolves, holding a broken beer bottle like a knife. She's small—barely five feet—with wild black hair and eyes that dare them to try something.
Luna.
My only friend in this godsforsaken world.
This isn't your business, Lowborn, the first drunk snarls.
And she isn't your property, asshole. Luna steps closer, bottle raised. Walk away, or I'll make sure you need a healer.
For a moment, I think they'll attack. Three full-grown males against two homeless girls—we'd lose badly. But something in Luna's eyes makes them hesitate. She's crazy enough to actually do it.
The drunk drops my arm. Whatever. She's not worth it anyway.
They stumble away, muttering insults.
Luna doesn't lower the bottle until they're gone. Then she grins at me. You're welcome.
I had it under control, I mutter, rubbing my wrist.
Sure you did. She tosses the bottle into a trash bin. That's why you looked like a scared rabbit.
I want to argue, but she's right. Two months of living on the streets, and I'm still terrible at standing up for myself.
Come on. Luna links her arm through mine. Your shift's over. Let's get out of this dump.
We walk through the dark streets toward the shelter—a run-down building on the edge of the territory where they let homeless wolves sleep if there's room. Luna chatters the whole way about the ridiculous customer who tried to pay for his meal with a poem, and despite everything, I almost smile.
She's the only good thing that's happened since the rejection.
Why do you stay here? Luna asks suddenly, her usual humor gone. In this territory, I mean. After what they did to you.
I've asked myself the same question a hundred times. Where else would I go?
Anywhere but here. She stops walking, forcing me to face her. Kaia, you're dying here. Slowly, but still dying. Every day you stay is another day they win.
Tears burn my eyes. I have nothing, Luna. No money. No pack. No family. At least here I know the dangers.
You know what's dangerous? She squeezes my hand. Giving up. And you're dangerously close to it.
We reach the shelter. Inside, the main room is packed with bodies on thin mattresses. The air smells like sweat and desperation. Our shared mattress is in the corner—barely big enough for one person, let alone two.
I collapse onto it, exhaustion crushing me.
Luna sits beside me, quieter now. You're stronger than this. I see it in you, even if you don't.
I'm not strong, I whisper. I'm broken.
Broken things can be reforged. She lies down, pulling the threadbare blanket over us both. They just need fire hot enough.
I don't answer. I just stare at the ceiling, counting water stains until Luna's breathing evens out.
That's when I remember the envelope.
I've carried it every day for two months, hidden in the waistband of my pants—the only thing I own that's truly mine. The black wax seal is still perfect. The silver wolf emblem mocks me.
The Luna Trials.
The mysterious woman's words echo in my head: Your real life is about to begin, little princess.
But I'm not a princess. I'm nobody. The woman was crazy, probably mistook me for someone else.
Still... my fingers trace the envelope's edge.
Kalista.
That name she called me. It felt right somehow, like remembering a song from childhood you can't quite place.
I should throw the envelope away. The Luna Trials are a death sentence for someone like me. Ten women competing for the Alpha King's favor, and I'd be eliminated in the first round. Publicly humiliated again.
But Luna's words won't leave me alone: Broken things can be reforged. They just need fire hot enough.
Maybe the trials would be fire enough. Maybe dying fighting is better than dying slowly in this shelter, serving drinks to wolves who treat me like trash.
Maybe
Something crashes outside.
I bolt upright, heart hammering. Luna jerks awake beside me.
What was that? she whispers.
Another crash. Closer this time. Then screaming.
The shelter's front door explodes inward.
Royal guards flood the room—ten of them in black armor with the Alpha King's silver wolf emblem on their chests. Wolves scatter, but there's nowhere to run.
Everyone stay calm, the lead guard commands, his voice cutting through the panic. We're looking for someone.
My blood turns to ice.
They're here for me.
The mysterious envelope wasn't a mistake. It was official. And I ignored a royal summons.
Ignoring the Alpha King is treason. Punishable by death.
The lead guard's eyes scan the room, and I know—I know—the moment they land on me. His expression shifts to recognition.
Kaia Ashborne?
Luna grabs my hand, squeezing hard.
I could run. Try to escape. But there are ten trained warriors and one exit.
I stand on shaking legs. I'm Kaia.
The guard strides toward me, and every wolf in the shelter presses back against the walls, leaving me exposed. Alone.
Just like always.
He stops inches away, so close I can smell metal and wolf. You received a royal summons two months ago. Why didn't you report to the Obsidian Palace?
I— My voice breaks. I didn't think it was real.
The Alpha King's seal isn't real enough for you? His hand moves to the sword at his hip. Refusing a royal summons is a capital crime.
Please. Tears stream down my face. I didn't mean to
You have two choices. His voice is ice. Come with us now to face the trials. Or be executed for treason where you stand.
The shelter goes deathly silent.
Luna's hand trembles in mine.
This is it. The moment everything changes. Die here in this shelter as a nobody. Or die in the trials as someone who at least tried.
The envelope burns against my skin.
Kalista.
I meet the guard's eyes. I'll come.
Smart choice. He gestures to his men. Bind her.
Wait, what? Panic explodes in my chest. Why—
You're a flight risk and a criminal who ignored the Alpha King's summons. Cold metal circles my wrists—shackles. You'll travel to the palace as a prisoner. What happens after that depends on whether you survive trial one.
They drag me toward the door.
Kaia! Luna lunges forward, but a guard blocks her.
It's okay! I call back, even though it's not. Nothing is okay. I'll be fine!
Another lie.
The last thing I see before they shove me into a prison carriage is Luna's face—tears streaming, fists clenched, helpless.
Just like I've been for two months.
But as the carriage lurches forward, carrying me toward the Obsidian Palace and certain death, something shifts inside me.
My wolf wakes fully—not broken anymore, but angry.
And for the first time since Rowan destroyed me, I feel something other than pain.
I feel rage.