The Vanishing Girl
Selene's breath remained uneven as she pressed her back against the door.
The silence in the corridor was thick, suffocating.
She could still hear the girl's whispered warning in her mind:
"You need to leave. Now."
And yet, she was gone.
Taken.
By whom? By what?
Selene's pulse pounded like war drums in her ears.
Kieran.
Her first instinct told her he was involved.
But… something felt off.
The attack had been too fast. Too silent. If Kieran had wanted the girl gone, wouldn't he have simply had her dragged before him?
This was different.
This was something darker.
Selene stepped away from the door and moved to the window, her eyes scanning the vast, shadowed expanse of Kieran's domain.
The night stretched on, unforgiving and endless.
She had choices.
Stay. Play along with the Blood King's game. Find out what he wants.
Run. Escape while she still could. But where?
Or…
Hunt.
She swallowed hard.
The girl had risked her life to warn her.
And now she was gone.
Selene clenched her fists.
She had spent her whole life being pushed around, used, and thrown away when convenient.
Not anymore.
Whatever secrets lurked in this castle—whatever monsters lurked in the dark—she would find them.
And if Kieran thought he could control her?
He was wrong.
---
A Game of Power
The next morning, Selene was called to the throne room.
She expected him.
Kieran.
But as she entered, she found more than just him waiting.
The grand hall was filled with people—nobles, warriors, and elders from the pack. The heavy scent of dominance and intrigue clashed in the air.
At the very center, Kieran sat upon his throne, his expression unreadable.
His presence was like a storm before it broke—silent, but charged with danger.
Selene held her ground.
"Sit," Kieran said.
It wasn't a suggestion.
A chair had been placed directly across from him, and everyone was watching, waiting.
Selene didn't hesitate.
She moved with purpose, refusing to let her nerves show, and lowered herself into the chair with the same kind of regal grace she had been forced to learn growing up.
Kieran leaned forward slightly.
"Do you know why you're here?"
Selene met his gaze, unflinching.
"You tell me, Your Majesty."
A ghost of a smirk flickered across his lips.
"The pack is curious about you," he said. "They know you are not just an outsider. You are a missing piece of royal blood. The wolves will not accept a queen without knowing whether she is worthy."
Selene's jaw tightened.
"And how do you propose I prove myself?"
Kieran's eyes gleamed like molten gold.
"A trial," he said. "A test of strength, wit, and survival."
Murmurs rippled through the room.
Selene's stomach twisted.
A test?
This wasn't just about the throne.
This was a game.
Kieran was setting the stage.
He wanted to see what she was made of.
But more than that—he wanted to watch her fight.
Selene's lips parted, but before she could speak—
A voice interrupted.
"I object."
The room fell silent.
Selene turned her head slowly, eyes narrowing.
A woman stepped forward—tall, striking, and powerful.
Her features were sharp, her dark hair cascading like liquid ink over her shoulders.
Lyria.
The Beta.
And from the way she stared daggers at Selene, it was clear.
She hated her.
---
The Beta's Challenge
Lyria moved with deadly grace as she approached the throne.
Her piercing gaze never left Selene.
"This is unnecessary," Lyria said, addressing Kieran. "She is untrained. Untested. How do we know she will not be a liability?"
Selene clenched her fists beneath the table.
A test was one thing.
But this?
This was an attack.
She opened her mouth, but Kieran beat her to it.
"And yet," he said smoothly, "she carries the blood of royals. Fate chose her as my mate."
Lyria's eyes flashed with something dangerous.
"Fate is not absolute," she countered. "There are ways to reject a mate."
The room tensed.
The air grew thick.
Selene forced herself to remain still, unreadable.
But inside?
She burned.
How dare this woman suggest that she wasn't good enough?
She had spent years being treated as less than nothing.
She would not be treated that way here.
Selene stood.
The movement was slow. Deliberate.
"I accept the test," she said, her voice steady. "Let your pack judge me if they must."
Murmurs broke out again.
Kieran's eyes gleamed with something unreadable.
Lyria, however, was not done.
Her lips curled into a smirk.
"Very well," she said. "Then let the first trial be tonight."
Selene's stomach flipped.
Tonight?
She had no time to prepare.
But there was no turning back now.
Kieran looked at her, as if waiting for her reaction.
Selene met his gaze.
She refused to back down.
So she simply tilted her chin up and said—
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
---
The Trial of the Hunt
Night fell quickly.
The first trial was simple in theory.
Survive.
The Blood King's pack had released a creature into the forest—a rogue, a beast, a monster.
Selene had been given nothing but a blade.
No armor. No guidance.
Just a single rule.
Kill or be killed.
She crouched in the thick undergrowth, the scent of the forest mixing with the metallic tang of blood in the air.
The beast was close.
She could feel it.
Her heart thundered.
Then—
A snarl broke through the trees.
Selene spun just in time to see a pair of glowing eyes emerge from the darkness.
Massive.
Twisted.
Not just a rogue wolf.
Something else.
Something wrong.
Her fingers tightened around the blade.
She didn't have time to think.
The beast lunged.
Selene moved.
Instinct took over.
She dodged barely in time, rolling beneath its snapping jaws, her pulse hammering.
The crowd watched from the edge of the clearing, their eyes glinting in the torchlight.
This was a test.
A game.
And she refused to lose.
She gritted her teeth.
Then, with everything she had, she attacked.
---
End of Chapter Seven (To Be Continued…)