Chapter 2: No, I Was Not.

The morning sun did nothing to warm the chill in my bones as I stood in the center of what the pack called their training grounds.

Really, it was more like a gladiator pit.

A circular clearing surrounded by towering pines, the ground worn smooth by countless battles I couldn't imagine. Frost still clung to the dead leaves at the edges, making everything sparkle with false beauty.

Tobias's footsteps were deliberately loud as he circled me, a predator playing with his food.

The partial transformation he'd chosen was somehow worse than his full wolf form.

A grotesque blend of human and beast that belonged in horror movies. Claws extended from human fingers, fangs protruded past still-human lips, and his eyes... Those were pure wolf, golden and hungry.

"Scared yet, little human?" he taunted, his voice deeper and rougher than usual. "You should be."

I didn't answer.

I couldn't answer, really; my throat was too dry, and I was too focused on keeping my breathing steady. The knife Mara had pressed into my hands before dawn felt pathetically small against my palm.

"Use it well," she'd whispered, her eyes unreOliviable. "It's silver-lined, one of the few things that can actually hurt us. Though I doubt it'll save you."

The pack had gathered in a loose circle around us, their expressions ranging from eager anticipation to grim resignation. Lyra stood closest to Jay, her hand on his arm either in comfort or restraint, probably both.

She'd tried to speak up earlier, to suggest some alternative to this madness, but Kael's withering glare had silenced her instantly.

"The trial is simple," Kael announced from his perch on a fallen log, looking for all the world like a king on his throne.

"Survive three minutes against Tobias, and you prove your worth to the pack. Fail, and..." His smile was sharp as a blade. "Well, failure won't be an issue for long."

"This is insane," Jay growled, taking a step forward. "She's human, you can't expect…"

"I can expect whatever I want," Kael cut him off. "Unless you'd prefer exile? Both of you?" His eyes flickered to me meaningfully. "At least this way she has a chance."

Jay's fists clenched, but he stayed put. I wanted to tell him it was okay, that I understood, but Tobias chose that moment to lunge forward, testing my reflexes. I stumbled backward, barely keeping my footing on the frost-slick ground.

"Good instincts," Tobias chuckled, the sound rumbling from somewhere deep in his chest. "But instincts won't save you here."

He was right. I might have taken self-defense classes in college, might have gone hiking and rock climbing and thought myself tough, but nothing had prepared me for this. How could it? How do you prepare to fight something that shouldn't exist?

Tobias darted in again, faster this time. His claws raked the air where my face had been a split second before.

I wasn't fast enough to completely Dodge.

I felt the sting as one claw tip caught my cheek, and heard the collective intake of breath from the watching pack.

"First blood," someone murmured. Maybe Mara.

"Ninety seconds," Kael called out, sounding bored. "Try to make this interesting, at least."

The knife trembled in my grip as Tobias circled again, closer this time. Each pass brought him nearer, like a noose slowly tightening. I could hear Jay's ragged breathing, see the way his muscles strained against Lyra's restraining grip.

"You know what's funny?" Tobias's voice dropped lower, meant for my ears alone. "Jay actually thinks you're worth dying for. Worth leaving his family for." His laugh was cruel. "I wonder if he'll still think so when I'm done with you."

Something hot and fierce flared in my chest, burning away some of the fear. My grip on the knife steadied.

"Why don't you come find out?" I challenged, and for just a moment, surprise flickered across his twisted features.

Then his lips pulled back in a snarl, revealing too many teeth, and he launched himself at me with inhuman speed. The real trial was about to begin, and we both knew I wasn't ready.

But I'd be damned if I went down without drawing blood of my own.

Time slowed to a crawl as Tobias's massive form barreled toward me. Every self-defense lesson I'd ever taken screamed at me to run, but instinct told me that would be fatal.

Instead, I dropped and rolled, feeling the whoosh of air as he passed overhead.

"Better!" he snarled, landing with impossible grace. "But not good enough."

Before I could fully regain my footing, his clawed hand caught me in the ribs. The impact sent me sprawling, and the knife nearly slipped from my sweat-slicked grip. Pain bloomed across my side – not deep cuts, but enough to draw blood.

"Sixty seconds!" Kael's voice cut through the ringing in my ears. "Try not to kill her too quickly, brother. It's been a while since we had such entertaining prey."

The pack's voices rose in a chorus of jeers and cheers, most calling for Tobias to stop playing with his food.

Only Jay remained silent, his face a mask of barely contained anguish. But it was Lyra's expression that caught my attention, the way she kept glancing at something behind Tobias, trying to tell me something without words.

I forced myself to focus past the pain, past the fear. Tobias was circling again, his movements liquid grace despite his monstrous form. But this time, I watched differently. Not his claws or his fangs, but his feet. His balance. The way he favored his left side ever so slightly.

"You know what the real shame is?" Tobias taunted, flexing his claws. "Jay actually thought you were special. Different from the others. But look at you; trembling, bleeding, weak. Just like every human who came before."

"Forty-five seconds!"

I stumbled backward, letting him think his words had struck home. Let him see the fear and pain on my face, they were real enough. But my mind was racing, counting steps, measuring distance.

"Did he tell you about Emily?" Tobias pressed, moving closer. "How she begged for mercy in the end? How she promised she'd keep our secret?" His laugh was ugly. "Humans always beg. Always lie. Always…"

I threw the knife.

Not at him – I wasn't that stupid. I threw it past him, toward the fallen log where Kael sat. Tobias's instincts betrayed him; he half-turned to track the potential threat, his weight shifting to his left leg. In that split second, I charged.

The pack's startled shouts were drowned out by Tobias's roar of surprise as I slammed into his weaker side. We went down hard, my shoulder driving into his solar plexus.

Wolf or not, everyone needed to breathe. His claws raked my back as we fell, but adrenaline dulled the pain.

I rolled free and scrambled for the knife, fingers closing around the hilt just as Tobias recovered. When he lunged this time, I was ready. The silver-lined blade sliced across his forearm, drawing a line of blood and a howl of genuine pain.

The crowd fell silent.

"Well, well," Kael murmured, leaning forward. "The rabbit has teeth."

Tobias touched his wound, staring at his own blood with something like shock. Then his features contorted with rage, humanity slipping away as the wolf took over. "You'll pay for that."

The next few seconds were a blur of violence. He came at me like a storm, all pretense of play forgotten. I managed to dodge the first strike, but the second caught me across the chest, sending me flying. My head cracked against something hard, a tree, maybe and the world tilted sideways.

"Thirty seconds!"

I tried to stand but my legs wouldn't cooperate. The knife lay just out of reach, glinting mockingly in the morning sun.

Blood, mine or his… I couldn't tell, made the ground slick beneath my hands.

"It didn't have to be like this," Tobias growled, stalking toward me. His golden eyes held no mercy now. "You could have walked away. Could have lived." He raised his claws. "Instead, you'll die like all the others."

"No." The word came out as a wet cough. I forced myself to my knees, even as black spots danced at the edges of my vision. "I'm not... like the others."

"Brave words." His smile was terrible. "Let's see if they're your last."

Through the haze of pain, I saw Jay struggling against both Lyra and Mara now, his features beginning to shift. Saw Kael watching with predatory interest. Saw the sun glinting off Tobias's claws as they descended toward my throat.

Then everything went black.

When consciousness returned, it came in fragments. Jay's voice, desperate and pleading. Kael's cold declaration: "She's failed. The trial is over." And beneath it all, my own heartbeat, stubborn and defiant, refusing to give up even now.

"Wait." Jay's voice cut through the darkness. "I can save her. I can make her worthy."

And somehow, through the pain and the fading consciousness, I understood what he meant. What he was offering. What it would cost us both.

The world swam in and out of focus, pain pulsing with each heartbeat. I was vaguely aware of being cradled in Jay's arms, of his warmth fighting against the cold that seemed to be seeping into my bones. Voices argued above me, their words distorted as if coming through water.

"You can't be serious," Kael's voice cut through the haze. "The bite would definitely kill her."

"You don't know that," Jay shot back. "She's stronger than you think."

"Or it could turn her feral," Tobias growled. "Then we'd have to put her down anyway."

I forced my eyes open, though even that small movement sent daggers of pain through my skull. Jay's face swam into view, his features tight with worry and something else; determination, maybe, or desperation.

"Olivia?" His voice softened as he looked down at me. "Stay with me, okay? I can fix this. I can save you."

"By turning her?" Lyra stepped into my field of vision, her face pale. "Jay, the chances of survival..."

"Are better than certain death," he finished. "It's her only chance."

I tried to speak, but blood bubbled in my throat. The claw wounds across my chest burned like fire, and I could feel myself getting weaker with each passing second. Through dimming vision, I saw Mara press a hand to her mouth, saw Tobias shift uncomfortably.

"Even if she survives the bite," Kael said, his voice oddly quiet, "there's no guarantee she'll be... herself. Remember Marcus? Remember what happened when he tried to turn Emily?"

The name seemed to hang in the air like smoke. I felt Jay tense, his arms tightening around me.

"This is different," he insisted. "Olivia's different. I know it in my bones."

"Your bones?" Tobias laughed harshly. "Or your heart? Because your heart's already clouded your judgment enough."

"Let him try."

The new voice cut through the argument like a blade. Sariah stepped forward, her silver eyes gleaming in the morning light. Everyone, even Kael, fell silent.

"Let him live with the consequences," she continued, her voice cold. "Let him feel what it's like to watch someone you love turn into a monster."

"Sariah," Lyra started, but the silver-haired woman cut her off with a gesture.

"The trial proved one thing, she has spirit. More than most." Sariah's eyes met mine, and I saw something like recognition there.

"Let's see if that spirit's strong enough to survive the change. Or if it breaks her."

My vision was starting to tunnel, black edges creeping in. I could feel my grip on consciousness slipping, but I forced myself to focus on Jay's face. He looked terrified and determined all at once.

"Olivia," he whispered, brushing blood-matted hair from my face. "I need you to choose. Right now. The bite... it'll hurt worse than anything. And it might kill you. But without it..." His voice cracked. "Please. Let me try."

The world was fading fast, but somehow I found the strength to nod. I wasn't ready to die. Not here, not like this. Not when I'd finally found something worth fighting for.

Jay's eyes shifted to molten gold, his features sharpening. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "This will hurt."

Then Jay's teeth… no longer human teeth, sank into my shoulder, and the world exploded into agony.

They say your life flashes before your eyes when you're dying.

They're wrong.

What flashed before my eyes was a future; golden eyes in the mirror, moonlit runs through the forest, strength flowing through my veins like lightning. A future where I could stand beside Jay as an equal, where I could face Tobias without fear, where I could be part of something powerful and terrifying.

If I survived.

The venom from the bite spread like liquid fire through my veins. I heard someone screaming and realized distantly that it was me. Felt my body begin to convulse, felt Jay holding me tighter, heard voices raised in alarm.

"Hold her down!"

"The fever's starting…"

"...might not make it through the night…"

"Jay, you have to let her…"

But I was already falling into darkness, the poison racing through my system like wildfire. The last thing I heard was Jay's voice, desperate and pleading:

"Fight it, Olivia. Please fight it."

Then everything went black, and the real trial began.