It was late noon when the carriage procession finally rolled to a stop.
The girls huddled together in small groups, trembling from head to toe as the red cloaks trotted in circles around them, dismounting the carriages one after the other.
They'd been on the road for an entire day, and Sloane had learned a few daunting truths in that time.
She was indeed to be a tax bride for the Federation.
What was worse, they were the first ever tax-brides of their kind.
Compared to her minor Glacier Pack, Alexis, Elise and Denna, the three girls in her carriage were all daughters of major packs and extremely powerful Alphas.
Even so, they had been given up to the Lycans.
Her gut tightened at the thought.
The hunger and exhaustion she felt paled in comparison to the dozens of red cloaks encircling them, and the terrifying sight that stared back at them.
A greyed man in weathered robes rode forward, closely escorted by the Red Knight.
He dusted his robes haughtily, his expression one of boredom.
Sloane could tell he held some importance even before he spoke.
"Welcome, tax-brides. I am Hannes, Vice Chancellor of Eclipsera, the Lycan Federation Academy."
He gestured at the woods behind him, "What lies before you, is the Evernight. The sole passageway to Eclipsera Academy."
The girls exchanged looks, huddling even closer to each other, faces as white as sheets.
The woods ahead were encased in pitch darkness. The trees, larger than any Sloane had ever seen.
They towered up to the skies, branches curved in and interwoven with one another to create various hollow entrances
The sun was still up, yet the air was already frigid. Ghostly shrieks echoed from the shadowy darkness ahead.
Sloane shivered, wrapping her arms tighter around herself.
"The red cloaks can only escort you thus far." Hannes continued, "As some of you already know, the rules of the enrollment test dictates, all first years must participate in the Luna Hunt, brave the dangers of Evernight, and make it to the other side unscathed."
It had been an entire year since the Lycans marked their tax brides. A good number of the girls already had a decent inclination of what to expect.
Every girl here at the least, had a moon gift...
Except Sloane.
"From this point on, your journey to the Academy will be completed alone, and on foot." His robes billowed in the wind, his tone bordering on impatience. "You will all be provided with a map, a guide book, and half a day's headstart before our first years from the Crimson and Crescent Courts begin to hunt."
His voice drops an octave, "The Luna Hunt involves two distinct categories of candidates... predators, and prey."
"For this edition, you all are the latter."
A chill ran down Sloane's spine, and it had nothing to do with the night wind.
"That is to say, your fate will either be decided by the elements, the dangers of the Evernight itself, or by partnering and submitting to predators for your protection."
More than a few girls had begun sobbing, but the announcement was yet to be over.
"Predators hunt. Prey survive." He continued, unfazed, "Successful participation is determined by playing your role and playing it well."
"If you do otherwise, you fail the enrollment test." His tone was cold, factual. "Failure, means death."
Sloane's hands trembled. She clenched her fists around her dress.
Sancia's dress...
"It is imperative to note, that the only rule of the enrollment test is that there are no rules."
"You all have been born with unique abilities. Moon gifts, your kind call it," he sniggered, "Sadly, they will not be enough to save you."
His eyes shifted from one group to the next, "Trust no one. You might find your fellow candidates, and the woods themselves, a greater danger than the first year predators."
"Do not think to turn back. Do not linger in one location and attempt to hold out. The woods have enough incentive to keep you moving, should you decide to quit."
"Bear in mind, the fate of your respective packs rests in your hands." Hannes stirred his horse, "And the Academy is always watching."
With that final warning, he galloped away.
"What did I say? We're goners. All of us." The redhead, Alexis, stood beside her, her arms crossed defiantly over her chest.
Her brave front might have misled Sloane, if her pale face didn't already give her away.
"Don't say that, Alexis." Elise whimpered, cowering with wide teary eyes, "I'm sure they have measures in place to make sure we get to the other side safely. Don't you think?"
It was a question for which no one had the answers.
The satchel weighed a ton in Sloane's trembling hands.
Each girl received a similar one, probably containing all that Vice Chancellor Hannes had said they would be given.
A shrill sound split the grim silence. The hunt had begun.
Sloane's heart sank to the pit of her stomach. Her heart thudding wildly within her.
She wasn't supposed to be here.
She should have been with Grayson, somewhere far away from the Glacier Pack, renewing their vows and starting a new life.
All she had ever wanted to be was a wife. A mother...
"What happens if we don't go in?" Elise asked, uncertainly glancing around as some of the braver girls approached the daunting woods.
"She's right." Denna muttered, "Can't we just turn back from this point? Throw in the towel?"
"With over a dozen red cloaks prowling?" Alexis scoffed, "If you want to die out here, by all means, you do you."
"The Academy is always watching, huh? Women of the Ember Pack are raised to be no worse than the men. Let them take a good look." She slung her satchel over her back and joined the first wave of girls stalking towards the nearest entrance.
"Doing well at this might win us better choices for mates." Elise whimpered, gulping audibly. "Lycans protect the realm. My father says the higher the rank of my mate, the better."
She hurried after Alexis, sticking close to her side.
Denna heaved a sigh, "I don't suppose they'd let us go back home just because the woods look haunted."
"We already came all this way, might as well get to Eclipsera."
She also began heading for the entrance, but stopped halfway, "Coming, Sloane?"
Sloane shook off her thoughts.
Regrets... betrayal, none of it mattered now..
Eclipsera Academy and a lifetime of service to the Lycans was the fate her pack had forced upon her.
But if she would live to see the other side of Evernight? That was still left to be known.