> "To rise, she must be broken. To lead, she must bleed."
---
Selene stood at the edge of the frozen lake again.
But this time, her body no longer trembled from fear—only exhaustion. Her cuts were sealed with frost. Her mind still echoed with visions of her mother's screams. The truth sat like a dagger in her chest.
The Hollow Moon Pack hadn't been wiped out.
They'd been betrayed.
By their kind.
Now, the last of their blood stood at a threshold. And the only way forward—was through pain.
---
"You want to fight the Devil Alpha?" the silver-haired stranger asked.
Selene nodded.
"Then earn the howl," he said.
He stepped aside.
And behind him, the six other cloaked wolves removed their hoods—revealing their faces.
Each bore scars.
One was missing an eye. Another had a silver collar fused into her neck. One had black veins crawling up his jaw from an old poison wound. But what terrified Selene most—was the way they smiled at her.
Like she was meat thrown into a cage.
---
The stranger raised his hand.
"This is your first rite. Survive until moonset."
Selene frowned. "Survive what?"
He didn't answer.
He howled.
And the circle of wolves attacked.
---
The first hit came from behind—fast and brutal. Selene rolled, barely avoiding claws meant to disembowel her.
She scrambled to her feet and elbowed another in the ribs—but he laughed, caught her wrist mid-strike, and slammed her into the ice.
Another kick to her gut.
Another claw swipe that nearly took her eye.
Blood flew from her mouth.
She gasped, coughed, staggered.
> "This isn't training!" she yelled.
"No," said the one-eyed wolf. "This is evolution."
---
She roared.
The wolf inside her—her dormant beast—snapped awake.
Her back arched. Her spine cracked. Her fingers split and extended into claws. Her canines grew. Her eyes flared silver.
The ice beneath her shattered as her power surged out.
She leapt forward—no longer dodging.
Now striking.
---
She kneed the collar-bearer in the jaw, twisted and slashed across his throat with her claws.
Spun—ducked beneath a blade—grabbed the arm and broke it at the elbow.
Blood sprayed across the snow.
The others closed in again—together this time.
One stabbed into her side—she grabbed the blade while it was still inside her and yanked the attacker toward her, headbutting him with a sickening crunch.
---
But she was slowing.
Too much blood loss.
Too little time.
Too many enemies.
She dropped to one knee. Her breathing was ragged.
The last two wolves circled her.
> "You're not ready," one muttered.
"She's just another pretty corpse," said the other.
Then—
A second howl ripped through the sky.
This one came from her.
It was deep. Raw. Royal.
The attackers froze.
Selene rose again.
And her wounds—froze shut.
---
The ice beneath her surged outward in jagged spikes.
The wolves jumped back, shocked.
Selene stood in the center, glowing silver and blue. Her breath misted like a blizzard. Her hair whipped around her like a snowstorm.
And her voice—
Was calm.
> "You want to see what I am?"
"Then bleed with me."
---
She charged again.
And this time…
She didn't hold back.
---
By the time the moon set, five wolves lay unconscious.
One was missing several fingers.
And Selene stood, cracked and bleeding—
But smiling.
Because she had survived.
No…
She had won.
---
The silver-haired Alpha stepped forward.
His eyes gleamed with new respect.
"Welcome," he said softly. "To the Forgotten Fang."