Chapter 5: The Luna Trials Announced

I wasn’t expecting the announcement. No one was.

The morning started like any other: gray light filtering through the frost-lined windows, the scent of burnt coffee drifting from the mess hall, and the usual murmurs of fighters nursing bruises from yesterday’s matches.

I sat alone at the far end of the dining room, chewing dry toast that tasted more like cardboard than food. Across the room, Ronin was bragging about our fight to anyone who would listen.

“She fights like someone who’s got nothing to lose,” he said.

I didn’t look up. He wasn’t wrong. But it wasn’t a compliment either.

Mara slid into the seat beside me, her tray clattering onto the table.

“Eat something that’s not misery,” she said, eyeing my toast. “You’re acting like the world’s about to end.”

“It usually does around here,” I muttered.

She rolled her eyes and picked up a spoon. “You should be proud. You lasted against Ronin. That’s like surviving a damn tornado.”

I took a sip of the bitter coffee. “Surviving isn’t the same as winning.”

Mara leaned closer, her voice dropping. “You think Lucian’s going to let you disappear now?”

I glanced at her, uncertain. “What are you talking about?”

Before she could answer, the room fell into a sudden hush.

Lucian had entered.

He walked like the floor didn’t dare creak under his boots. Eyes followed his every move, shoulders straightening, voices vanishing. He stopped at the front, beside a silver-bound scroll held by one of the elders.

I tensed.

He didn’t speak right away. He looked out across the dining hall like he could see past skin, right down to bone. When his eyes passed over me, my breath caught for no reason I wanted to admit.

Then he spoke.

“The Luna Trials will begin in three days.”

It hit like a thunderclap.

Gasps, whispers, heads turning.

My heart thudded once, hard.

Someone at a nearby table asked, “He’s actually doing it?”

The Luna Trials.

An ancient tradition most packs left in the past. A test of strength, leadership, endurance—and loyalty. A public search for a Luna. A mate.

Lucian's jaw tightened as he continued.

“Every she-wolf of age, ranked or not, is eligible to compete. This isn’t about politics or bloodlines. It’s about strength and stability.”

Another elder unrolled the scroll beside him and pinned it to the wall. Names would be signed there—voluntarily.

Voluntarily. That was the lie we all agreed to pretend was true.

Lucian didn’t look at me again. He just turned and walked out like he hadn’t just set fire to the room.

Mara leaned back in her chair slowly, exhaling. “Well... damn.”

I swallowed the last of the bitter coffee, the taste suddenly colder in my mouth. “He’s not looking for a Luna,” I said.

Mara blinked at me. “Then what do you think he’s doing?”

I stared at the scroll.

“He’s looking for loyalty he can control.”

Mara didn’t disagree.

And neither did I.

I didn’t sign up right away.

For the rest of the day, girls lined up at the board, whispering, giggling, trembling. Some were hopeful. Others were terrified. Most weren’t signing up to lead a pack—they were signing up to be seen.

I watched all of it from the shadows.

And Lucian? He watched from his tower.

I could feel his gaze even when I couldn’t see him. A part of me wondered if this was all just another way to push people to show who they really were.

To see who broke first.

By sundown, Mara was pacing beside me near the barracks.

“Just do it,” she said. “You said you wanted a chance to get close to him, right?”

“This isn’t what I meant.”

She crossed her arms. “Then what do you mean, Sera? You came here for something. I don’t believe for one second you just want to blend in.”

I looked at the board again. So many names now. All hoping to be chosen. All willing to be tested.

I hadn’t come to be anyone’s Luna.

But if this was the only way to get into Lucian’s inner circle—if this was the path to revenge—I’d take it.

Even if it meant losing something of myself along the way.

I walked up to the board, picked up the pen.

Sera.

Just that.

No last name. No rank. Just me.

The ink was barely dry when I heard a low voice behind me.

“So the rogue joins the game.”

Lucian.

I didn’t turn around. “Seems like everyone else already has.”

“And you?”

I glanced back. “I’m not like everyone else.”

His mouth curved slightly, but it wasn’t amusement. It was something darker. “No. You’re not.”

Then he turned and walked away.

I didn’t know if that was approval or a warning.

Maybe both.

The first test came faster than anyone expected.

The next morning, the arena was transformed. No more sparring circles or weapons racks. Instead, a tall maze of steel and vines stood at the center, stretching into the trees beyond.

A trial of instinct and survival.

The rules were simple. Find your way out before sundown. No weapons. No help.

The catch?

You weren’t alone in the maze.

Mara touched my arm before I stepped forward. “This isn’t about speed. It’s about endurance.”

I nodded, tightening my ponytail. “I’ve got both.”

She smiled. “Then go show them what a rogue can do.”

I entered the maze last.

The second I stepped in, the shadows swallowed everything. The air was thicker here, laced with magic or memory—I couldn’t tell.

Vines brushed my shoulders. Every step echoed, like the walls were listening.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard someone scream.

I didn’t run. I walked. Slowly. Quietly.

I’d been hunted before. I knew how to listen. How to wait.

The first obstacle came fast—a pit covered with leaves. I stopped just short, heart racing. One step more and I’d have fallen.

They weren’t pulling punches.

Good.

I skirted the edge, keeping low. Far ahead, I heard branches snapping. Someone was running blindly.

Not smart.

I turned left instead, pressing a hand against the wall to feel for vibrations.

It wasn’t just a survival test. It was a trap for those too desperate to impress.

I ducked under low-hanging branches, climbed a rotted fence, and dropped into a muddy clearing.

Then I saw her.

A girl. Blond. Young. She was sitting on the ground, her leg twisted unnaturally beneath her.

She looked up when she saw me, eyes wide. “Please—please help me. I can’t move.”

I hesitated.

This was the part where I should walk away. I didn’t come here to make friends.

But...

I knelt beside her. “You fall?”

She nodded. “I heard something chasing me. I ran.”

I checked her leg. Dislocated, not broken. Painful, but fixable.

“This is going to hurt,” I warned.

Then I popped it back into place.

She screamed, bit down on her sleeve.

I helped her to her feet. “You can walk?”

“Barely.”

“Good enough.”

I didn’t carry her. But I did guide her. The rest of the way was slower, filled with stops and detours. We weren’t the first to get out.

But we did get out.

And when we did, Lucian was there—watching again.

I met his gaze as I stepped through the final archway.

He didn’t smile.

But I didn’t need him to.

Because I saw the surprise flicker in his eyes.

I hadn’t just survived the maze.

I’d chosen to help someone along the way.

And that, apparently, was not what he expected.

Later that night, I sat near the edge of the training field, cleaning dirt from under my nails. Mara joined me, dropping beside me with two bottles of water.

“You made an impression,” she said, handing me one.

I didn’t answer right away.

She nudged me. “You really helped that girl?”

“She needed it.”

“You’re gonna confuse people doing things like that.”

I shrugged. “Let them be confused.”

Mara sipped her water. “You know what Lucian said when he saw you walk out of that maze?”

I looked at her.

“He said, ‘She’s more dangerous than I thought.’”

I turned away, eyes scanning the stars.

Good.

Let him think that.

Because I wasn’t here to play games.

I was here to win one.

End of Chapter 5