Chapter 24 It’s Over
RONAN
+8 Pearls
“Alpha Ronan Volkstane,” one of the Alpha instructors called out, marking my name on the list as I stepped into the wide clearing with a tiger draped over my shoulders. Its body was still warm, its weight pressing into me like the price of victory carved in flesh and blood.
The instructors stood like statues along the edges, arms folded, faces unreadable beneath the flickering glow of torchlight. They offered a single nod as I passed.
I didn’t stop
With a sharp motion, I hurled the tiger to the ground. It landed with a dull, final thud–its lifeless eyes staring up at the stars. already fading with the approach of dawn.
Done.
I straightened, exhaling slowly, and let my gaze sweep across the clearing.
It was filling now.
One by one, the Alphas returned, dragging, carrying, or hauling their prey. Warriors, all of them. Bloodied, bruised, exhausted–and yet victorious.
My eyes remained fixed on the forest.I spotted a familiar figure off to the left–Finn, with a coyote slung across his shoulder.
He made it.
But not ‘him”
My eyes cut to the forest’s edge again.
Stillness.
The trees stood silent and unmoving. No figures. No movement. The same heavy silence I’d been watching for minutes now.
“Ronan, you’re finally back,” came Asher’s voice from behind.
I nodded once without turning.
His pace was slower than mine, but he carried a massive wild boar. He dropped it beside my tiger with a grunt and wiped sweat from his brow.
“What the hell are you staring at?”
I didn’t answer.
The wind stirred the leaves like whispers. Still, no movement.
That’s when Alpha Gideon stepped into the clearing. “What’s the report?” he demanded of the nearest instructor.
“Out of one hundred forty Alphas, only thirty have returned. Our scouts haven’t sensed more than ten from the designated. range. It’s likely the rest failed to secure their prey.”
I perked up instinctively at
“The sun will rise in less than twenty minutes,” Gideon growled, disappointment curling through his voice. “The weak will be weeded out today”
Asher glanced back toward the gathered Alphas, then followed my stare. “You’re expecting someone
“No.” I muntered.
He blinked. “Then maybe stop glaring before your eyes bleed and you drop dead.”
I turned my head to him slowly. “Wanna die?”
Chapter 24 It’s Over
+8 Pearls
He laughed and leaned against a nearby tree, eyes scanning the clearing where five more Alphas had just emerged.
“Reed and Cassius made it back. But I don’t see that bastard Seth Darven, he muttered, a scowl darkening his features. “If he’s alive. I’ll kill him myself.
I didn’t respond.
Just glanced at him once before returning to the treeline.
The morning crept in soft and patient. The sky began to bleed with the first colors of dawn, amber and violet streaks crawling over the horizon.
Time was slipping away.
“You’re definitely waiting for someone.” Asher said with certainty.
I reached for the water bottle near my feet. “Maybe”
His ears perked. “Who?”
I uncapped the bottle and raised it to my lips. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” I murmured, taking a slow sip.
That white wolf flashed through my mind.
The one I’d seen in the woods. The one who looked at me like they feared neither death nor judgment.
Amber eyes
Beautiful, haunting eyes.
Eyes I couldn’t forget.
“Dante’s back,” Asher murmured.
I turned my head. Dante had just dropped a massive elk beside the others. His gaze locked with mine across the clearing, and something in it was off.
Before I could place the feeling, an instructor called out another name, snapping me from my thoughts.
I tilted my head, eyes drifting to the sky where the light was blooming.
“Morning’s almost here.” Asher sighed. “Let’s go, it’s over.”
“It’s not over yet I didn’t move a muscle. There’s still five minutes left
Asher stopped mid–step. “What the hell could change in five minutes? Those capable of hunting have returned. I can’t sense a single Alpha still out there. No one’s coming
“Over?” My gaze hardened on the trees. “Then why doesn’t it feel over?”
That’s when the ground shifted beneath us.
A subtle tremor.
Asher stiffened. “Did you feel that?!”
Every Alpha in the clearing froze.
“Was that an earthquake?” one of them whispered, voice tight with panic.
“Something’s not right,” I muttered, eyes fixed on the trembling earth.
Then came the shout, sharp and urgent.
“Look! The forest
The forest erupted
The trees trembled.
The ground roared.
“Something’s coming” someone screamed, pointing toward the entrance of the woods.
I squinted into the shadowed treeline, until a figure burst into view.
“It’s Seth!” Finn shouted, his face beaming with happiness.
Seth, covered in dirt and ash, raced from the forest with terrifying speed. But he wasn’t alone.
Behind him…
A stampede.
A hundred wild bison thundered through the trees in his wake.
“What kind of lunatic is he?!” an Alpha cried in horror. “He was supposed to bring one, not a damn army!”
Technically, the rules never said the prey had to be dead.
“MOVE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!” someone screamed.
Chaos broke out.
Alphas scattered like panicked ants.
But L
I stood there frozen, my heart taking a sudden race.
Seth’s eyes were locked on mine.
He ran straight for me, like I was the only thing he could see.
The next second, his hand seized mine, and he pulled me hard. “Run“”
Together, we bolted.
“Climb!” he yelled, pointing to a massive tree just ahead,
aledar in seconds, a breath away from being trampled
The clearing shook beneath us, thunder rolling from hooves and dust choking the air. The world blurred in panic and sound.
Clinging to the thick branch, I turned.
Seth ut boude me, breath heaving his amber eyes catching the light
I stared into them.
Chapter 24 It’s Over
“Seth Darven.” I whispered, inching closer.
He tensed “What?”
+8 Pearls
My gaze dropped briefly to his blood–streaked lips before rising again to meet his eyes. I leaned in, just inches between us.
“I saw a white she–wolf in the woods,” I murmured, voice low. “Did you see it too?”
