"Pin his shoulders to the floor!" Lucien barked, his voice echoing off the sterile metal walls of the medical wing.
Two Federation guards struggled to hold down a snarling, foaming rogue. The wolf's eyes were pitch black, consumed entirely by the Wolf Madness.
"He is tearing his own core apart," Doctor Thorne yelled over the beast's frantic snapping. "We have seconds before his heart gives out."
"Freya," Lucien said, locking his ice-blue eyes on mine. "Now."
I didn't hesitate. I dragged a silver blade across my palm. Warm blood welled up instantly, glowing with a faint, iridescent light.
I dropped to my knees beside the thrashing wolf and shoved my bleeding hand directly against his muzzle.
The reaction was explosive.
A shockwave of pure silver energy blasted through the room, knocking the guards backward. The rogue went entirely rigid. Black veins protruding along his neck rapidly faded into a healthy pink.
The wolf whimpered, his eyes snapping back to a clear, lucid amber. He shifted back into a young, trembling boy.
"My head," the boy whispered, touching his face. "The screaming stopped."
Doctor Thorne dropped his scanner, his jaw slack. "The toxin is completely eradicated. His wolf core is not only repaired, it is stronger."
Lucien handed me a towel. "Your blood is the cure. You are ready."
He turned and tapped a button on the wall console. A holographic display flared to life in the center of the room, broadcasting a live feed from the High Council's amphitheater.
"The annual Luna Trial commences today," Lucien stated, crossing his arms. "The Blackwood pack just submitted their candidate."
On the screen, Damian stood proudly at the center of the ancient stone arena. Ivy clung to his arm, wearing a custom white gown that looked entirely out of place for a blood trial.
"My mate, Ivy, will undertake the Trial," Damian announced to the seated Elders. "She will prove her worth to lead our pack."
An Elder leaned forward. "This trial is perilous. Your previous mate, Freya, possessed the resilience required. Is this one prepared?"
Damian sneered, a look of pure arrogance twisting his features. "Without Freya, she will definitely succeed. Ivy is twice the wolf that cripple ever was."
I squeezed the bloody towel in my fist. The skin on my palm had already knit itself back together.
"He sounds very confident for a man standing on a foundation of ashes," I said.
Lucien stepped into my line of sight, blocking the projection. "Let us go show him what a true Luna looks like."
The roar of the Federation airship engines drowned out the murmurs of the crowd gathered at the Trial grounds.
I stood on the lowered ramp, the wind whipping my hair across my face. Below us, thousands of wolves shielded their eyes from the downdraft.
"Stay close," Lucien murmured, resting a hand on the small of my back as we descended into the amphitheater.
The moment my feet hit the sacred dirt of the arena, the ambient chatter died. Absolute silence swallowed the stadium.
Damian stood ten feet away. His smug expression dissolved into slack-jawed horror.
"Freya?" Damian choked out. He took a step back, bumping into Ivy.
Ivy stared at my legs. "You are walking. That is impossible. You burned."
I ignored them. I let the dormant energy in my chest rise to the surface. My wolf pushed forward, projecting a crushing, suffocating Alpha aura outward.
Damian's knees buckled. He fought to stay standing, his face turning a mottled red as my pressure forced him downward.
"You have no wolf," Damian grunted, sweat beading on his forehead. "Stop this trickery!"
"I have a god," I corrected, stepping closer to him.
A collective gasp rippled through the stands. I didn't need a mirror to know what they saw. A brilliant, silver crescent moon symbol had materialized on my forehead, glowing with undeniable divine authority.
The High Elder scrambled out of his seat. He threw himself onto the dirt, pressing his forehead against the ground.
"The Moon Mark," the Elder cried out, his voice trembling with reverence.
Around the arena, thousands of wolves dropped to their knees. A wave of submission washed over the crowd until only Damian, Ivy, Lucien, and I remained standing.
"Get up!" Ivy hissed, yanking on Damian's sleeve. "She is a fake! Attack her!"
Damian couldn't move. My aura pinned his feet to the earth.
"High Elder," Lucien's voice carried across the silent arena, cold and absolute. "Proceed with the ceremony."
The Elder scrambled to his feet, clutching a heavy, leather-bound book. He flipped the ancient pages frantically.
"According to the ancient codex, the one who bears the true Moon Mark has priority to enter the Luna Trial," the Elder announced, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "All other candidates are immediately disqualified."
Ivy's face drained of all color. She lunged forward, pointing a trembling finger at me.
"No!" Ivy shrieked. "I registered! I am the Luna of the Blackwood pack! She is a rogue!"
"You are a placeholder," I said, throwing her own words back at her.
Ivy whipped her head toward Damian. "Do something! Tell them I am your chosen mate!"
Damian opened his mouth to speak, but the words died in his throat. His eyes darted from the glowing mark on my forehead to the towering, imposing figure of the Supreme Alpha standing at my shoulder.
"The Trial requires a blood sacrifice on the altar," the Elder continued, stepping down from the podium with a ceremonial obsidian dagger in his hands.
He bypassed Ivy completely and extended the blade toward me, bowing his head.
Ivy let out a guttural scream of rage.
She shoved the Elder aside, snatched the obsidian dagger from his hands, and drove the cursed blade straight toward my chest.
