Chapter#07

Selene’s POV

Morning sunlight filtered through the cracks in the barracks’ stone walls. My mind was still clouded by the events of last night. My muscles screamed with every movement, making it nearly impossible to move.

I wanted to get up, to push through the pain as Kaelen would have, but it pinned me to my straw mattress.

“Let me see,” Rowan said as he approached.

Before I could protest, he pulled back the blanket. His hands were gentle but firm as he examined the fading bruises and cuts along my arms. His brow furrowed, “You’re healing slower than usual,” he said with uncertainty, “Does it still hurt that much?”

“Not much,” I lied, forcing a weak smile, though the pain in my ribs made me wince as I shifted.

His frown deepened. His eyes narrowed as he unscrewed the jar of the healing salve. “It must’ve been a tough night for you,” he said in a soft but probing tone as he applied the salve to my wounds, “And you’re burning up, Selene. You should’ve woken me or Caden up.”

I winced at the contact but didn’t respond. My heart raced at the thought of telling him about last night. If only I could tell him, but I couldn’t burden him with more worry, not when he was already doing so much to protect me.

Caden leaned against the wall, his arms crossed as he watched us. Every so often, his brown eyes flicked toward me with a quiet debate, as if he were weighing whether to break his promise and tell Rowan everything. I stared at him, silently begging him not to bring it up as I clutched the blanket tighter.

“What’s going on?” Rowan asked with curiosity as he caught our exchanged glances. His eyes darted between us, waiting impatiently for an answer.

“Nothing,” I said quickly, sitting up despite the protest of my ribs. The sudden movement sent a sharp pain through my side. I ignored it, forcing my voice to steady as I deepened it to match Kaelen’s cocky drawl. “Caden’s just…he’s being overprotective again.”

“Why, what happened?” Rowan asked, turning his head to Caden.

“I…” Caden started in a hesitant tone, “Last night…”

“Caden told me not to take a shower,” I interrupted, “But I couldn’t help it. I was stinking.”

Rowan let out a soft chuckle, closing the lid of the salve with a faint smile, “Don’t worry, Caden, she’ll be alright. She’s already faced the worst and still survived.”

I shot Caden a quick, grateful glance as soon as Rowan turned away. Rowan couldn’t know. He was already dealing with so much. Even though he was younger than me, younger than Caden as well, he’d taken on the role of my shield, and I couldn’t let him worry more because of my mistakes.

By the time we reached the dining hall, most of the food was gone, leaving only scraps and cold leftovers on the long wooden tables. The scent of burnt bread and thin stew lingered in the air. Rowan and Caden scraped together what they could, a few pieces of charred bread, a bowl of watery stew, and insisted I take the lion’s share.

“You need it more than we do,” Rowan said, pushing a half-burnt piece of bread onto my plate.

“I can’t eat all of this,” I protested weakly. My stomach tied in knots as the weight of the day ahead pressed down on me like the Frostfang Peaks themselves.

“But you have to,” Caden said, rubbing my shoulder with a steady hand, “Your healing process is slower than it should be…maybe the potion, maybe the stress. You’ll need energy to get through the day in this camp.”

I managed a few bites. The bread was tasteless in my mouth, and my appetite dulled by the storm of fears swirling inside me. Then the dining hall doors slammed open. The sound reverberated off the stone walls like a war drum. Captain Torin strode in, silencing the dining hall without a word. His scarred, hairy chest was bare beneath his officer’s cloak.

“Eyes forward,” he barked.

Every head turned as he pointed to a massive obsidian slab on the wall. Its surface flickered to life with lunar magic, displaying rows of names in bright white text.

“From now on,” Torin began, “your rankings will be displayed here for all to see. Every action you take, every choice you make, will affect your standing. At the end of the first month, the bottom thirty percent will be eliminated. Permanently. You don’t want to be one of them.”

My pulse pounded in my throat as I scanned the rankings with the word “eliminated” hanging in my mind like a guillotine. It was a reminder of the Ironfang Pack’s brutal traditions: failure meant expulsion, or worse, death in the Wraithwood trials, which was a ritual to weed out the weak.

At the bottom of the list, there it was, my name, under Kaelen’s guise. Last place. Dead last.

“Five minutes,” Torin barked, snapping me out of my spiraling thoughts, “Finish your breakfast. Then you’ll report to the gym for your next training session. Don’t be late.”

I stared at my plate. My hands trembled as I tried to eat. The charred bread crumbled in my fingers. How was I supposed to eat when the thought of being eliminated made my stomach churn, the fear of failing, not just myself, but Rowan and Caden, who’d risked everything for me, overwhelmed me?

“Selene,” Rowan’s voice broke through the fog.

“I’m fine,” I muttered, pushing the food around with my fork.

“No, you’re not,” Caden said as his brown eyes narrowed as he glanced at the screen, “But I know you’re going to climb the ranks.”

I nodded, though I wasn’t sure if I believed it. My body and mind were too battered to summon the confidence I needed.

The gym was already buzzing with activity when we arrived. The harsh sound of shouting and clashing metal filled the cavernous space. The gym was a hollowed-out chamber in the mountainside. Its stone walls were lined with racks of iron weapons.

“Line up!” one of the instructors yelled.

We obeyed, falling into rows. Rowan stood to my left. Caden was on my right.

“Today’s test will determine if you deserve to stay,” the instructor announced.

A test. Just what I needed. My day couldn’t get any worse, not with my body barely holding together, my rank at the bottom, and the mate bonds with Liam and Varian threatening to expose me at any moment.

But before the instructor could explain further, the doors slammed open again. The sound echoed through the gym like a thunderclap, silencing the room in an instant. A figure strode in. My stomach dropped as I recognized him instantly. Varian.

“I smelled my mate near the hot spring last night.” Varian’s voice was a deep growl reverberating off the stone walls, “And I believe she is hiding somewhere in this camp.”

The room erupted into murmurs as the trainees whispered among themselves. But all I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat, pounding in my ears.

Varian’s emerald eyes didn’t leave mine. “You,” he said in a low growl, pointing at me, “Come forward.”