An Unexpected Guest

*Isla*

The first night of the trials went well, all things considered. A large banquet was held in our honor, and the camp outside the stadium had been full to the brim with people from all over the pack lands.

But I am quickly realizing how little I actually know about the lands in which Maddox’s title encompasses.

“I’ve never talked so much in my life,” I say, my voice hoarse and cracking like gravel as I reach for a bottle of water. Trinity shifts her weight in her chair, the white canvas of what Ben calls “The Luna’s Royal Tent” billowing over our heads.

“Well, I’d say you met everyone and their mothers, grandmothers, great aunts and weird cousins,” Trinity chuckles before sipping from her own water bottle. She isn’t wrong. The field in the stadium had been filled with tables and chairs, live music blasting, and food and drinks flowing freely for hours and hours. I’d walked around with Isaac and Maddox, formally introducing myself to Alphas of both large, well established and