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Despite my red cheeks, I lift my chin and look straight ahead. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
At my denial, Scott glances around the too quiet forest, his expression changing and eyes narrowing as if he’s expecting an attack at any moment. “I managed to lose the others. They were heading towards the beacon, but that doesn’t mean they won’t come back.”
Or that something else might come after us. I’d thought my only threats when I entered this trial would be my fellow competitors, not monsters from legend that I didn’t know existed.
“We should move on,” he suggests, and I nod in agreement, already stepping forward as the hair on my arms stand on end as I think about what other unholy creatures could be waiting for us in these woods.
A body suddenly appears in front of me, and I have to jerk to a stop to avoid crashing into him. Frowning, I glare up at Syn, but he’s not even looking at me. “I think it would be better to wait. Laelia needs to rest.”
Scowling at Syn for answering for me, I throw my hands up in the air and step around him, walking towards the centre of the arena. They can follow me if they want, or they can stay there and argue. I’ve had enough bullshit and alpha male posturing.
“Looks like she disagrees,” Scott drawls from behind me. “We can rest when we finish the trial.”
“She’s not like you,” Syn spits back, his anger making the air feel thinner. “She can’t shift and heal injuries or turn into a wolf and race away like us.”
Right, that’s it, I fume. Well and truly fed up with them talking about me like I’m some frail human, I spin around and glare at them. “No, she can’t do any of that,” I shout, getting their attention.
They both turn to look at me, surprise shining in their eyes like they’d forgotten I was here.
“But what she can do is kill the squid thinganda minotaur, which neither of you could do!” I shout, gesturing widely. “If we don’t finish this quickly, then I die, so we’re leaving now. End of discussion.”
Syn’s expression darkens. It’s clear he doesn’t like being told what to do, but something shifts in my chest when I see a flash of hurt. It’s gone in a second, but I know I saw it. His eyes dart over to Scott and then back to me, that darkness flickering around him. “Looks like you’ve got things sorted here then.” He shifts without another word and runs off into the forest.
“Syn!” I call out, but he doesn’t stop or even look over his shoulder as he disappears into the gloom. “For fuck’s sake,” I curse, shaking my head.
He tried to help me. Sure, he went about it the wrong way, but this is a male who only knows how to look after himself, and I just turned him away in front of another male. Cursing again, I automatically take a step forward as if to follow after him. It’s stupid, I know it is, but I hate the idea that I might have hurt him when he was only trying to help me. He hid me from the others and the minotaur, and he didn’t have to do that. Shit. After this trial, I need to find him, and I need to make things right.
A hand touches my shoulder, and I jump, spinning to find Scott beside me.
“Let’s go,” Scott says. There’s a newfound respect shining in his eyes. Apparently standing up to alphas is all it takes to earn their respect around here. Noted, that shouldn’t be a problem. I’m happy to follow the order ofmyalpha, but that’s because I know and trust him not to abuse that power. I won’t allow people I don’t know to push me around because they think being an alpha means they are better than me.
Scott and I jog through the forest. We’re both slower than we would usually be, our wounds making it more difficult, but we silently agree to match each other’s pace. However, the longer we go, the more the pressure of the trial bears down on me.
The forest begins to get lighter, and the glow ahead tells me we’re finally about to break through to the centre of the arena. A sudden boost of strength hits me, and as I glance over at Scott and see his slight smile, I know he’s feeling the same. Stumbling to a stop at the treeline, we blink against the brightness of the sun and examine the land before us.
The forest ends abruptly, circling a green pasture that slopes down towards a lake. Right in the centre is a small island and a tall pillar of rock—the beacon. Even now I see two males climbing from the water and jogging towards the rock. When their hands touch it, they vanish from sight. I want to ask where they disappeared to, but Scott’s attention is on something else.
Following his gaze, I see he’s watching several wolves fight. Three wolves have cornered one and are snapping at him. In the middle of the group is a large alpha of varying shades of dark grey and two smaller brown wolves on either side of him. However, that’s not to say they are small, because both of those wolves would still come halfway up my chest, only emphasising how big the alpha is.
“That’s Bates.” Scott points at the alpha, his voice tinged with dislike. “I recognise his wolf, but I don’t know the other wolf he’s fighting.”
My eyes go to the russet wolf that’s holding his own against the onslaught of the others, and I don’t know how it took me so long to realise that I recognise him.
“That’s Nicolai!” My face drains of blood, and fear makes my whole body turn cold. I take a step forward, while Star is already several steps ahead as she goes to help her friend, recognising that he’s in trouble.
“Wait!” Scott’s arm shoots out and yanks me to a stop. Spinning on him, I bare my teeth, snarling at the unwelcome touch. He might be helping me get through the trials, but no one gets in the way of my family, and that’s what Nicolai is to me.
“Laelia, stop,” he insists, not releasing his hold on me, baring his teeth in return. “Look, there are more of them waiting. It’s an ambush. They know you’ll run for your friend.” With his free hand, he angrily gestures towards the treeline behind the fight.
“Then they were right!” I shout back, yanking away from his hold, barely glancing at the wolves waiting for us. My gaze returns to Nicolai’s wolf, and I see he’s favouring his left side, trying not to put weight on his right front paw. I can’t make it out well from here, but I think I see red matting his fur.
“Think about this, Laelia!” Scott grabs my shoulders and shakes me. “Nothing good will come of this!”
Star is at my side in an instant, snarling up at the male, her ears back and hackles raised. She might have accepted Scott, but she’ll protect me from him if she thinks he poses a threat. His eyes flick down to where she’s poised and ready to jump between us, but he quickly dismisses her—not because he doesn’t believe she’d hurt him, but because he’s decided that stopping me is worth potentially getting attacked by her.
The small voice in the back of my mind is telling me to listen to him. I know he’s right, and this is obviously a trap, but I’m blinded by fear and the need to help my friend. Nicolai’s been targeted because of who he is to me, and I can’t just walk on by and let him fend for himself.
“I won’t leave him when he needs help,” I insist, my expression determined. My hand tingles again, and I feel the hilt of a dagger in my palm, and I know without looking down that the starlight blade is back in my hand. Somehow my magic is working instinctively to create weapons, but when I try to use it, it goes haywire. I’ll ruminate on that later, but now is not the time.
