Chapter 8 The Official Challenge

SERAPHINA

I exited the cafeteria with a calm, measured stride, though ba /bstorm of panic violently churned inside. Was he staring at my

Involuntarily, my fingers brushed over my hips again and bagain/bb, /bchecking that the fabric hung loose enough to conceal my shape, ensuring nothing about my appearance invited the bwrong /bkind bof /battentionb. /bEverything seemed in order. So why did feel as though his gaze bhad /balready stripped away every carefulyer I’d put between myself and discovery?

“He notices us far too much,” Phina murmured in the back of my mind, and I couldn’t deny it.

I bit down hard on the binside /bof my cheek, the sharp bsting /bgrounding bme/b. What is this Alpha’s deal?

My spiraling thoughts were interrupted when a sharp siren red, followed by a booming announcement instructing ball /btrainees to gather on the Academy grounds within half an hour.

The massive, open btraining /bbgrounds /bbbuzzed /bwith energy as dozens of bAlpha /bheirs assembled, their towering forms bradiating /bconfidence, raw strengthb, /band unfiltered bdominance/b. As I took my ce among them, an undeniable thrill ran through bme/bb. /bThis is it. I finally made it. My dream… the otticial challenge.

Noticing everyone forming brows/b, I quietly moved to stand at the far end of the fourth line, only to realize Finn had taken the spot beside bme/b.

“Hey,” I ventured, deciding to greet bhim /bfirst.

He offered a bfaint/b, reassuring smile. “I was worried when byou /bwere the only one left in the cafeteria with Alpha Ronan. Are you alright?

I bgave /bba /bsoft bchuckle/b. “bYeah/b, what could possibly happen to me?”

He chuckled bas /bwell, and for ba /bbrief moment, we both looked ahead. But the air around us had thickened, the charged atmosphere palpable among the gathered Alphas.

“What’s with this sudden tension?” I murmured, just loud enough for Finn to catch.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Finn turned to meet my eyes, his expression sober, “Here, every challenge isn’t just about strength. It’s about exposing weakness… weeding out anyone who doesn’t belong.”

A knot tightened in my stomach- bnot /bfrom fear, but from the crushing weight of what his words implied. At this moment, bno /bone was more out of ce than me. The one who, if discovered, would bebeled as the ultimate outsider. The one who didn’t belong.

My gaze drifted over the gathering, instinctively searching for familiar figures. That’s when I spotted bhim/b, Ronan, standing on ba /bbraised /btform above the others. Only now bdid /bI fully register how tall he truly was, his presence towering, making everyone else seem smaller inparison.

On the opposite side, another striking figure caught my attention. Dante. His devastatingly handsome face was etched with barrogance/b, a cold bsmirk /bcurling his lips. The way bhis /bgaze flicked over the others spoke volumes to bhim/b, they were nothing but insects underfoot

But what really intrigued me were the other three Alphas standing apart from the crowd. “Why are bthey /bseparated from the others?” I wondered baloud/b. “Are they treated differently because they belong to the hierarchy?”

Finn bfollowed /bmy gaze and gave a knowing nod. “I heard the hierarchy’s chosen not to participate in this round of challenges

I raised a brow. “Why?”

“So the others bhave /ba bchance /bto win, bprobably/b. If they stepped in.. well, who do byou /bbthink /bwould stand a chance?” He gestured meaningfully btoward /bthem.

I pressed my lips btogether/b, eyes briefly flickering toward Konan. The hierarchy might have opted out of this round, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t join at any bmoment /bif they wished.

Chapter 8 The Official Challenge

+8 Pearls

— – And then as if sensing my thoughts Ronan’s eyes shifted, locking onto mine with unnerving bprecision/b. My heart mmed against my ribs. I tore my gaze away instantly. Shit.

I hoped he hadn’t mistaken my nce for banything /bmore. Out of so bmany /btowering Alpha heirs, how had he managed to find me I bwas /bbarely noticeable among their imposing forms.

I kept my head lowered, doing everything I could to remain inconspicuous, even bas /ba flicker of unmistakable interest from Ronan made bmy /bbskin /bprickle. His intense violet gaze hadn’t strayed far from me sincest night.

And that was a problemb. /b

As Alpha Instructor Gideon entered, a heavy silence crashed over the grounds like a wave. His name alone carried weight, but his presence was something else entirely. Sharp, merciless, band /bas cutting as the gleam in bhis /bsteely gaze, he stood at the center with an expression carved from stone. His eyes swept across us like a predator sizing up his bprey/b.

That wolf was a legend in his own right, rumored to have torn through rogue packs bsingle/bb–/bhandedly. His name was synonymous with bloodshed, discipline, band /bban /bunforgiving standard no one dared fall short of.

“Wee to the third challenge,” he announced, his voice a low growl that seemed to crawl over our skin.

Third challenge?

A jolt shot through me. I missed two? No wonder my name hadn’t appeared on any official list.

“Only those who endure,” Gideon continued, “will earn their ce.

He let the words hang in the air like a threat, his gaze promising ruin to bthe /bweak. The challenge, he exined, would be a bhigh/b–intensity bsurvival /bcourse designed to push every limit bwe /bpossessed.

“You’ll pass the first two phases in your human form. And for the third…” He pausedb, /ba slow, cruel smile curling his lips, “you’re free to shift.”

A ripple of tension rolled through the gathered heirs. Shoulders stiffened. A few exchanged wary bnces/b. No one asked why.

I clenched bmy /bfists. I can’t afford to stand out too much. But bI /bcan’t afford to fail either. Not here. Not when bI /bneeded to survive. Not if I wanted to bavoid /bdrawing any more of Ronan’s attention.

I would bhave /bto walk the line between invisible… and invincible.

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