Chapter 11: The Secret Behind the Trials (Scott’s POV)
The night was thick with tension as I stood at the edge of the pack grounds, watching. my territory without Ariana, who decided to leave for good because I messed up.
I remember the old days when she was proving herself through the trials.
I had told myself, over and over, that she wouldn’t make it. The trials were brutal, meant to break even the strongest. I hadn’t seen her shift once, and every part of me believed that her failure would be the confirmation I needed. She would fall short, just as I thought she would, and I would be forced to send her away.
I knew why I couldn’t let her fail–not just because she was my mate, but because of the debt I owed her family.
When I was just a boy, barely surviving a rogue attack that left me near death, it was
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Chapter 11: The Secret Behind the Trials (Scott’s POV)
Ariana‘ s parents who took me in. They cared for me when no one else would, and healed me when I thought I was beyond saving.
It was their kindness that had kept me
alive.
Now, here I was, Alpha of Shadowstone pack, standing at the threshold of something that felt like redemption. Ariana had become the Luna I had never
imagined. Her strength, her perseverance -it reminded me so much of her mother, who had always believed in me.
As the moon rose higher in the sky, my gaze never left Ariana. She stood near the clearing, her back straight, her face a mixture of determination and vulnerability. I couldn’t let her fail. Not after everything her family had done for me. I owed them this, and I would make sure Ariana knew her worth.
I watched her carefully as she stepped forward, heading toward the clearing
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Chapter 11: The Secret Behind the Trials (Scott’s POV)
where the pack council waited. I was proud of her. Despite everything, she still stood tall.
I remembered the first time I met Ariana- her fiery spirit, the way she stood up to me despite my arrogance. I had been so consumed with my own role, so blind to everything around me. But Ariana… Ariana saw through all of that. She didn’t care about my title or the expectations of the pack. She cared about me. And that was something I hadn’t realized I needed until it was too late.
The trials had already begun, and my heart. raced with every step she took toward her fate. I couldn’t afford to let her fail. Not for me, but for her–for the family who had given me a second chance.
So when the firs trial happened, I was fighting the other omegas to clear her path. But I saw how she was strong enough and let her finish her firs trial.
On the second trial, I let my Beta’s mate be
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Chapter 11: The Secret Behind the Trials (Scott’s POV)
one of her team and help her through
strategy.
“Alpha, you don’t have to worry on the last trial. Ariana’s a natural born leader,” Gina, my Beta’s mate said to me after the second
trial.
“Thank you,” I said acknowledging her compliment to Luna.
That night, I was told by my spies that the third trial was transforming into a wolf. I knew Ariana hasn’t done it yet that’s why she’s waiting for her mate to help her. If she fail the third trial, everything will not work for both of us.
I went to Elder Gabriel and suggested to do the howling trial instead. I told him the
real reason and since not able to shift until the mating ritual happened is a normal thing, Elder Gabriel accepted my suggestion.
The day of the third trial, I stepped out from the shadows, careful not to be seen.
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Chapter 11: The Secret Behind the Trials (Scott’s POV)
Ariana wasn’t supposed to know I had helped her in all the trials she went through.
I had slipped her a small vial, filled with a mixture of herbs. Not many knew it existed, and fewer knew how powerful it could be. It wasn‘ t magic, not in the way the Blacknight pack wielded it, but it would strengthen her inner voice to connect the pack once she howls.
I howled with her to make sure the pack wil hear her. Everyone felt her presence and I knew it was a success.
I waited for her outside the trial ground and felt proud seeing her victorious.
But that victory was nothing because she left me to go back to her pack’s land.
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