CHAPTER 28: WICKED ASSESSMENT

Ayla felt the cold air as she entered her room. All she wanted was to feel the warmth of being at home, but it seemed impossible to reach. Now that the assessment is approaching, all she had to do was plan, prepare, and strategize with Dara.

"Are you sure about it, Ayla?" Dara asked, worried.

"Yes..." she answered quietly while sitting in the corner of her bed.

It's expected that her wolf would scold her seriously for what she did. Not only for accepting Alpha Liam's request but also for what she said a while ago. Not even a desperate she-wolf would do that.

"That's not even a reward. You should have told him not to humiliate you anymore or even force you to sleep with him."

She breathed out and answered her wolf with a convincing tone, "Combining little acts can make a huge difference, Dara."

"Is that even applicable to him? Are you not concerned why the Alphas are not here? I have a bad feeling about this, Ayla. We can't trust anyone, and that includes the Alpha himself."

Listening to her wolf, she wasn't surprised by how upset Dara was. But realizing how Alpha Liam decided to meet all the alphas in a secluded place away from her location hits differently.

"We need to prepare for tomorrow's assessment, Dara. Worrying won’t help us. Let's sleep," she said in a sweet voice.

"Ayla…" Dara declined. "At least give me an acceptable reaction, will you?"

She stared at nothing. "I hope the assessment will work just like what happened in Alpha Liam's office."

"If not?"

Her lips parted and she let her emotions out. "Then it's game over for us, Dara."

Silence filled the room as neither of them said anything. It was a miserable night, but hopeful at the same time. Expecting that the assessment would be unfair to her and Dara, yet all they had to do was face the alphas head-on.

Ayla was having a breakdown and refused to talk further.

The following day, nothing could compare to the palpitation of Ayla's heart while standing beside Alpha Liam.

She acted normally, was properly dressed and dolled up for the day, and it didn't take long for the alphas to arrive.

"Isaac..." The amusement behind Alpha Liam's voice was noticeable, opposite to her.

"Miss me, Liam?" Alpha Isaac said with eyes pinned in their direction.

It sounded like a mere greeting from two alphas—until Alpha Isaac chuckled darkly while making insulting remarks about her presence. She even saw how his eyes held nothing but hatred for her.

"Why are you here? I thought you weren't interested in this matter. Why the sudden change?"

Chills ran down Ayla's spine at Alpha Isaac's answer.

"I'm here to kill your Luna," Alpha Isaac said impatiently, looking at her with hate and disgust.

"Calm down." A chuckle escaped her Alpha's lips. "You really are ruthless, don't you?"

"You are no better. Should I thank you for picking up a shit from the Creeze Bloody War?"

Once more, Alpha Isaac glanced at her with a displeased expression on his face. It was obvious that the sh*t he was referring to was her.

"Thanks for having me here, Alpha Liam."

A man in his 50s greeted them with formality. There was a genuine smile on his face, and his eyes glowed as he stared at them.

"I brought him with us for the assessment," said Alpha Dale.

Alpha Liam's eyes lingered on the man in front of them before he finally opened his mouth to greet them back. "No need for introduction, Dale. I've met your greatest mage on one of my expeditions, and luckily, he’s a family friend too."

"You're flattering me, Alpha Liam."

Her lips pursed tightly upon hearing Alpha Liam's heads up through mind-link. It lasted for several seconds, enough for her to acknowledge the man in front of them.

"This is hell!"

From the formal introduction, down to the hospitality shown by Alpha Liam's side, Alpha Jack stood up abruptly, throwing a deadly glare their way.

"Why don't we start to get things done? I can't wait to tear her apart piece by piece."

"That eagerness won't benefit you, Jack the beast. You're weak compared to us."

Alpha Jack's jaw clenched as his chest heaved angrily.

Nonetheless, Ayla felt like she'd gone back to the lion's den, who almost murdered her at the offering ceremony.

Despite the cold and menacing greetings, they timely arrived at the training ground, where torches were already lit up as preparation.

"What did you bring to assess my Luna's power, Elder?"

"A sacred power gem crafted by your mother's ancestors," Elder Eric answered proudly.

Ayla felt a brief moment of silence from Alpha Liam. His face became emotionless while staring at the white wooden box presented by the Elder. It is as if he had no mood for the conversation all of a sudden.

"We'll measure her agility and physical strength first," Alpha Dale added.

Alpha Liam's expression was still blank as he answered. "Fine. You are free to use my training ground."

"Forgive me, but I don't have any combat experience, and I am not physically gifted to begin with," Ayla tuned everyone out.

She had a constant air of caution, noticing that the merciless alpha was still shooting deadly glares at her.

Elder Eric gave her a small smile. "Why don't you show us your wolf instead, Luna?"

Her brows furrowed, thinking that the elder's request was strange. "Do you want my wolf to take over...now?"

Elder Eric's nod left her confused and a little wary. "I want you to be in your wolf form, Luna."

Ayla inhaled sharply and pursed her lips together. There's a part of her who wanted to ask the elder about his sudden request.

Why did he want her to shift early? Did he want her to stand out even more?

A moment later, she saw the Alpha's jaws slightly agape as they stared at her in wolf form.

"She's indeed the last piece of the Silverline pack, a huge wolf with snow-white fur."

She clearly heard Alpha Lester's amusement from behind, which was immediately countered by Alpha Jack.

"You seemed amazed, dickhead! That's just a white-furred she-wolf."

She constantly felt like a standing abnormality in front of the alphas, even though the beauty of her wolf was indeed an amazing sight to behold.

"Threat or not. I'm going for a kill," Alpha Isaac sneered, looking down at her like she was a piece of trash.

As much as she wanted to listen to the Alpha's conversation, her attention was stolen by the Elder.

He hadn't said a single word after she shifted, but the look in his eyes became cold and dull. She had the sinking feeling that he was looking at her differently and was not sure if that was a good or a bad thing for this assessment.

She cleared her throat and glanced around, the same moment when Elder Eric suddenly surprised her with his first blow.

"Why is he attacking us with magic? This is only an assessment, right?"

Ayla couldn't help but shake her head while asking her wolf. Confusion was now sinking in her senses.

Dara shuddered. "I guess he has a little intent to kill us with those blows."

"What's the plan? Avoid his attack until he has no choice but to transform into a wolf for additional mana?"

"Yes! We should protect ourselves without standing out. But I don't want to receive one of those, Ayla."

"Me too."

Ayla felt relief when they successfully avoided a powerful attack from the Elder. Still, he continued to chant like a mage stuck in an endless war.

"We need to end this immediately, Ayla!"

"What?"

She felt her voice trapped in the middle of her throat as she felt Dara's anxiousness emerging.

"Let me put the elder to sleep."

Her wolf's decision became worse, and her desire to end the assessment became abrupt.

"Do you want us to cheat? What’s the problem, Dara?"

"Alpha Liam's emitting a sinister and murderous aura, Ayla. He can’t stop staring at the box that was passed down from his mother's ancestors. Let's end this before things get worse."

Ayla watched the movement of the elder's wand while stealing some gazes at Alpha Liam, finally realizing why her wolf wanted to end the first part of the assessment.

"We need to do something, or else he'll go berserk."