Chapter 8 Luna's POV

Luna’s POV

AN HOUR AGO

My body strains against each step I take. The bulky warrior leads the way. He has barely broken a sweat, and I hate it.

“Where are we going?” I ask. My gaze trails past the pillars and out into the fields. The sun’s rays paint the landscape with a warm glow, enough to make me long to run out and roll around in that soft grass.

That is naught but a dream for me.

A world apart from my true life.

The warrior - Callum - does not respond.

It is frustrating. My hands clench into tight fists.

This morning the same thing: the maids waking me up without a word and shoving me into the bathroom to scrub the dirt away. No words, no care.

I do not blame them.

I blame Alpha Kael.

Yet I choose this path.

It is better than being a broodmare for Alpha Rowan.

I feel my chest tighten, and I inhale sharply.

Now is not the time to think about this.

I am not sure for how long we walk. I trail behind Callum, weaving around corridors with seemingly no end in sight.

When he finally stops, it is in front of a large wooden double door, nearly twice his height and width. One of the guards in front bows and pulls the door open.

Inside are people.

Several eyes turn to our arrival, and I flinch without thinking.

“Warrior Callum,” a woman speaks, walking over to him. She is cloaked in a brown woolen shawl over her shoulders, her brown hair cut short into a bob. However her eyes are steely, enough to cut. “What brings you here?”

“A tribute. She is to train with the rest.” Callum speaks.

And then I realize it.

I turn and glance again, at the large crowd before me, all young girls of varying looks. Then I spot someone familiar at the back: Calla, her head bowed low, quiet.

My heart leapt upon seeing her safe.

Before I can do anything a hand shoves me forward, and I stumble into the lowered grounds of the arena. I nearly hit someone but they step back just as quickly. My knees buckle and I fall down.

Slowly the murmurs stop, replaced by laughter.

Almost silent giggles that make my face heat up.

“Enough!” The woman from before shouts and they all fall silent.

Somehow I am shoved to the back, and Calla finds me before I do.

Her eyes are bright with worry and joy mixed.

“Oh, Luna. It is good to see you again,” she looks over me, her brows furrowing. “Are you injured?”

I shake my head, words dying in my throat.

Concerned.

She worries for me.

The tightness in my chest releases, and I exhale, turning to face the woman along with the rest of the girls.

Her name is Sage, I later find out. And she had participated in the Luna Trials before. Although she didn’t win, being able to complete the Trials alive is seen as a thing of glory, a mark of someone strong enough.

Then, the training begins.

Instantly, it hits me just how far weaker I am compared to my peers.

My hands still tremble as I move through stretches and stances, a remnant of the early morning drills Kael and Callum put me through.

Is this to be my life? Training until the Luna Trials come?

I bite my lip, holding a plank barely.

“You lack stability,” Sage barks at me, her tone mocking. It hurts worse than a slap.

“She is not fit to be with us.” I hear one whisper.

“What a joke. Our team will be cursed.” Another spat in my direction.

“It would be better if she broke an arm and dropped out. Or better yet, her neck.”

Words cruel and tossed around like they mean nothing. My eyes prickle with unshed tears, and my elbows give out. It is a burning sensation that envelopes my body, giving way to shame and fear as all eyes turn to me.

Sage stares down at me with unveiled disgust, and I swallow. The lump in my throat remains. In the background, Callum watches, but does not interfere.

I wonder absently what report he would give to Kael when all this is over.

“Pair up,” Sage sneers, her orders ending the first session of the day.

Calla makes her way towards me, but the teacher has other ideas.

“You will work with Iris,” Sage orders, and Calla stiffens, before bowing her head low and turning away from my direction. “As for you, Xena shall be your partner for today.”

“What?” A black haired girl shouts, her outrage clear. “She is useless! I will not!”

Xena appears to be the strongest in the arena. Her body, though toned and clothed in stylishly fitted training clothes, is unmarked, rosy and glowing with youth. She is the embodiment of beauty and strength.

And I?

I am different.

The utter weakling.

“Do you question your teacher?” Sage demands and Xena shuts her mouth with a click.

She storms towards me with a gaze full of venom, her amber eyes piercing.

“Poison,” she snarls, and I see a flash of wolf canines through her lips. It is a curse, not unlike one I have heard before. Her beautiful face contorts with hatred, disgust.

Half an hour later, I kneel on the floor, bruised to no end. Xena is brutal without mercy or remorse.

“Give up on the Trials,” Xena speaks into my ear.

I groan out, barely stifling a whimper.

“C-cannot—“ I choke out, then I feel a sharp pain in my arm. Her fingers have morphed into claws, digging painfully into skin.

I break, yelping out.

Yet Sage appears to not notice, still deep in conversation with Callum.

Everyone else watches.

“You WILL give up,” Xena tells me, and then tightens her grip.

I lose control, my legs thrashing, and something snaps. A force tears from me, ripping past my body with stunning clarity.

One moment later, Xena’s screams ring out.

Everyone reacts, too slow, not understanding.

Sage bursts into the arena like a woman mad, and stops short at the sight.

Xena convulses on the ground, blood pooling underneath her. I am right beside her, my arm bleeding from tiny claw marks.

Callum acts fast, pulling me to my feet. He holds Xena in his arms as he shoves me through the crowd.

Everything is a blur. A ringing sound echoes through my head, unending.

Until Kael arrives at the infirmary, his eyes clouded with fury.

…