Chapter 5: The trial of the unknown.

The moment the blindfold covered her eyes, Elara's world turned black.

She stood in the middle of the training grounds, barefoot on the cool earth, every sense on high alert.

"Your sight is your greatest weakness," Finn's voice murmured near her ear. "Because it has always shown you a world that despises you but we see differently here."

Something whistled through the air—

Elara ducked just in time to avoid the strike.

A second one came from her right. She twisted, barely evading it.

Her heartbeat pounded. "Who's attacking me?"

Silence.

Then—Kael's amused voice. "Figure it out."

A gust of wind. A shift in the ground.

Elara turned just in time to block.

She grinned. "Finn."

A low chuckle. "Good."

The next attack was faster, sharper—Lira, no doubt, her movements were always swift and precise, like a predator toying with prey.

Elara inhaled.

She reached deep, beyond fear, beyond hesitation.

She listened.

The scrape of feet against dirt. A heartbeat. The shift of fabric.

She dodged the next strike easily.

Then, without thinking, she lashed out—

Her hand connected with something solid.

A sharp grunt.

Elara tore off her blindfold.

Kael stood before her, rubbing his arm where she had struck him. He raised a brow. "Huh."

Selene smirked. "You're learning."

Elara's chest rose and fell with deep breaths. "I could feel them."

Selene nodded. "And you will again but there's one more test."

Elara frowned. "Another?"

Selene's expression darkened. "This one… is different."

The training grounds emptied as Selene led Elara deep into the forest, the trees twisted in unfamiliar ways, their shadows stretching unnaturally.

The air grew thick with the scent of damp earth and something… else.

Something feral.

Selene stopped. "This place is sacred to the Deviants. It is where we meet our truest selves."

Elara's pulse quickened. "What do you mean?"

"You must face the beast inside you, Elara," Selene said. "Or it will control you forever."

Elara swallowed hard.

Before she could speak, Selene whispered something under her breath. A gust of wind howled through the trees—

And then—

The world shattered.

The ground beneath Elara's feet cracked open, darkness spiraling around her. She gasped, stumbling back—

Only to find herself somewhere else entirely.

A void.

An endless abyss of swirling shadows.

Then—

A growl.

Low. Deep.

Territorial.

Elara turned slowly.

Standing before her was something monstrous.

A wolf—but not just any wolf. It was massive, its fur shifting like living darkness, its eyes molten silver.

Her breath hitched.

It was her.

The beast inside her.

It bared its fangs.

"You are weak."

Elara flinched.

"You will always be weak."

The words echoed, twisting like claws through her chest.

"No," she whispered.

The beast circled her. "You deny it, but you know it's true, you were cast out, abandoned, you were never enough."

Pain surged through her, memories she had buried clawing their way to the surface.

She dropped to her knees.

The beast loomed closer. "Submit."

Elara's fingers curled into the dirt.

This was the voice that had haunted her all her life. The one that whispered when she failed, when she stumbled, when she was left behind.

But now—

Now, she realized something.

It wasn't just the voice of her pain.

It was hers.

Elara looked up, meeting the beast's silver eyes. "No."

The beast snarled.

Elara stood.

"You are not my weakness," she said, voice steady. "You are my strength."

The beast stilled.

"I don't fear you," Elara continued. "You are me and I am you."

The air shifted.

The darkness trembled.

The beast took a step forward.

Then—

It bowed its head.

A rush of warmth flooded Elara's chest.

When she blinked, she was back in the forest.

Selene stood before her, a knowing smile on her lips.

Elara staggered, breathless. "What… was that?"

Selene placed a hand on her shoulder. "The moment you stopped fearing yourself, you became something greater."

Elara exhaled.

For the first time in her life, she felt whole.

She wasn't just a weak, broken wolf.

She was something else entirely.

And she was ready for whatever came next.

Elara stood at the edge of the training grounds, her chest rising and falling with exhaustion.

Her muscles burned, her body bruised, but her heart… her heart felt something new. A flicker of confidence.l, a sense of belonging.

The other deviants—Kael, Lira, Finn, and the others—had become more than training partners they were her pack now.

Selene approached, watching Elara closely. "You've improved," she said, but her voice carried a weight Elara couldn't quite decipher.

Elara wiped sweat from her brow. "I still have a long way to go."

Selene studied her for a moment. Then she turned, gesturing for Elara to follow. "Come with me there's something you need to see."

Elara hesitated but obeyed, following Selene through the dense trees they walked in silence, deeper into the valley than Elara had ever ventured.

The air grew colder, the sunlight barely piercing through the thick canopy. Soon, the trees thinned, revealing something Elara hadn't expected—ruins.

Old stone walls, crumbled towers, and what remained of a once-great structure stood before them, blanketed in ivy and moss. The air here felt… heavy.

Selene stopped, her silver eyes dark with something close to sorrow.

"This," she said, her voice quiet, "was once a sanctuary, a place for wolves like us. Deviants, those who didn't fit the mold."

Elara's stomach tightened. "What happened?"

Selene ran her fingers over a shattered pillar, her expression distant. "The Moonfang Pack happened before Korrak, there was another Alpha just as ruthless. Just as afraid of what he couldn't control. He led a raid on this place, slaughtering the ones who refused to bow."

Elara's breath caught. "But… why?"

Selene turned to face her. "Because power isn't always measured in brute strength, Elara. Sometimes, it's in the things they can't see and they feared what we could become."

Elara swallowed hard, a cold realization settling over her. "Then why are we still here? Why hasn't Korrak finished what his predecessor started?"

Selene's gaze flickered with something unreadable. "Because we've stayed in the shadows. Hidden but that won't last forever."

A rustling sound made Elara tense. Selene held up a hand, signaling her to stay silent.

Then, from the trees, Finn emerged—his face pale, his body trembling.

"Finn?" Elara stepped forward, but the look in his eyes made her freeze.

"We have a problem," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "A big one."

Selene's posture stiffened. "Speak."

Finn swallowed hard, glancing at Elara before answering. "The Moonfang Pack is hunting deviants again and this time… they know about the valley."

The words slammed into Elara like a blow.

Selene's face was unreadable, but Elara saw the slight clench of her jaw. "How do you know this?"

Finn hesitated. "Because… I heard it from someone in the pack. Someone who's been looking for you, Elara."

Elara's heart stopped.

"Who?" she whispered.

Finn exhaled shakily. "Thorne."

Elara staggered back as if she had been struck. The name sent a storm through her mind—memories of his rejection, his cold eyes as he cast her aside.

"No," she muttered. "He wouldn't—"

Finn cut her off. "He's coming here, Elara. And he's not alone."

Silence thickened the air. Elara's pulse roared in her ears.

Selene's voice was calm, but beneath it, there was steel. "Then we have little time to prepare."

Elara's fingers curled into fists.

She wasn't the same weak, broken girl Thorne had rejected.

If he was coming for her…

She would be ready.