Chapter 16 Human or werewolf?

Chapter 16 Human or werewolf?
Chapter 016

RAVENNA

I took my place at the starting line, keeping my expression neutral even as I could feel the weight of thousands of eyes on me.

Some of them cheered. Most of them did not. I heard the jeers from the stands clearly. I heard the whispers doubting whether a human could possibly survive what was coming.

But I ignored all of it, including the glare Darius was directing at me from a few positions down the line. His eyes were cold and angry, but I refused to meet them.

This was for my sister. For what they did to her. For every moment she suffered because of this world.

And it was for my friend too. For the life I was about to turn upside down. I tell myself this everytime, this was the purpose for coming to this shit head academy in the first place.

So if little Darius wants, let him go to hell.

I looked up at the full moon, hanging high and bright in the night sky.

It had risen to its peak, illuminating the arena in its pale light.

There was something about it that called to me. Something ancient and powerful.

I whispered under my breath, "Give me luck," and then I kissed my hand and pressed it towards the moon.

It was something my mother had taught me years ago. "Ravenna listen to me and listen well. In difficult times, when you were facing impossible odds, you prayed to the moon goddess. You asked for her blessing. And wait to see what happens."

And then something happened.

A tingling sensation coursed through my entire body. It started at the base of my spine and spread outward, reaching every nerve ending, every cell.

I froze, not understanding what was happening to me.

Something was stirring inside me. Something that felt like it was waking up from a deep slumber.

The tingling intensified, and I looked down at my arms. The hairs on my skin were standing on end, and they seemed longer than they should have been.

My eyesight shifted, becoming sharper somehow. I could see every person in the stadium with crystal clarity. Every expression. Every movement. Details I should not have been able to make out from this distance.

My hearing sharpened too. I could pick out individual conversations from the crowd. Someone three sections over talking about whether I would survive the first obstacle. Another person made a bet that I would not even make it past the mud pit.

My fingernails felt strange. I looked down and realized they had extended slightly, becoming almost claw-like. Not quite, but close enough that it unsettled me.

I did not understand what was happening to my body. But I also did not have time to process it.

Whatever this was, whatever had changed inside me, I would deal with it after the trials.

My mother had always told me that the moon goddess favoured those who asked properly. "Maybe this was her blessing. Maybe this was her gift to help me survive what was coming."

I took a breath and steadied myself.

"And go!" The attendant's voice boomed across the arena.

Everyone exploded into motion.

I was not prepared. I had hesitated too long, thinking about what was happening to my body, and by the time I started moving, everyone else was already ahead of me.

Darius was leading, his wolf-enhanced speed giving him an immediate advantage. The others were close behind.

But I pushed forward, my body moving with a fluidity that surprised me. The changes that had occurred were not slowing me down.

If anything, they were helping me.

The first obstacle was a massive mud pit. It was deep and treacherous. The kind of thing that could swallow you whole if you were not careful.

I assessed it as I ran towards it. With my new eyesight, I could see the variations in the pit. The areas where the mud was deeper and the areas where it was shallower.

There was a path. A route that would get me through without getting bogged down.

I changed my trajectory slightly and ran across the shallower sections, my feet finding purchase where others would have sunk.

I was slower than Darius, but I was faster than I had any right to be.

The next obstacle was worse. It was an Enchanted trap. I could see them now with my enhanced vision. They were rigged with magic that would snap closed on anything that touched them.

I watched as Marcus got caught in one, his leg caught in a metal snare. He fought with it, cursing loudly.

I saw one coming for me and managed to dodge at the last moment. But another one caught my arm, the magical metal clamping down hard enough to hurt.

I gritted my teeth and twisted, using leverage and strength I did not know I had. The trap snapped open with a loud crack.

The crowd gasped. I heard someone in the stands shout, "How did she do that?"

I did not stop to answer. Why would I even answer anyways? Instead I kept moving.

The next section was illusions. Predators that did not actually exist. The course was designed to confuse and frighten competitors. Most people would panic. Most people would waste time trying to figure out what was real and what was not.

But I could hear the fake predators. There was a sound to them, a vibration in the air that my new hearing picked up instantly.

And my eyesight could distinguish between the real obstacles and the illusions. The fake predators lacked a certain solidity that the real objects had.

I navigated through them easily, ducking when I needed to, dodging when the moment called for it.

Behind me, I heard Elena scream as an illusion startled her. But I was already past, already moving forward.

I was catching up to the others now. My body had adjusted to the changes.

The tingling sensation had faded, replaced by a strange sense of power and awareness that I had never experienced before.

Every sense was heightened. Every movement felt precise and controlled.

I passed Tyler. Then Sarah. I could see Darius ahead, his lead shrinking with every obstacle we overcame.

In one section of the course, I actually overtook him. Just for a moment. Just long enough to see his eyes flash with fury before I moved ahead.

The crowd erupted. They did not know what they were watching, but they knew it was something extraordinary.

I heard them screaming and shouting my name, the disbelief in their voices.

But I could not celebrate yet. There was still the final climb.

The obstacle course concluded with a massive wall of about thirty feet high at least. Straight up with no handholds. No obvious way to get over it.

I could see the top clearly with my enhanced vision. Darius was already halfway up, his wolf strength making the climb look easy. Dorian was close behind him.

I started climbing, my new strength helping me find purchase on the smooth surface.

My claws, or whatever these extended nails were, gripped the wall better than normal fingernails ever could have.

I was climbing faster than I should have been able to. Faster than made sense.

I could feel Darius noticing. Could feel his attention shifting to me as I narrowed the distance between us.

He reached the top and started down the other side. I was only a few feet behind him now.

And then he did something unexpected.

He turned and put himself directly in my path, blocking the route down the wall.

His face was twisted with fury and something else. Something that looked almost like desperation.

"Stay in your place," he snarled, his voice low and dangerous.

I stared at him for a moment. At the raw intensity in his eyes. By the way his entire body was tense like a coiled spring.

"Never," I chuckled amused at his behavior.

I moved forward, and he did not get out of my way. We collided on the side of the wall, both of us scrambling for position. Our hands touched, gripped and fought for purchase.

And then we were both falling. Tumbling down the final section of the wall, locked together, neither of us willing to give the other an advantage.

We hit the ground hard, rolling across the finish line with limbs tangled together.

The crowd went absolutely silent.

The judges stared at us, confusion clear on their faces.

On the scoreboard, it remained blank. No one knew who had crossed first.

Darius and I lay there, breathing hard, our eyes locked together. His were still blazing gold. Mine felt strange, like they might be doing something similar.

"We have a tie," the announcer finally called out. "Darius Pike and Raven Casmir have both finished the course simultaneously. The judges will need to review the footage to determine the official winner."

But neither Darius nor I were listening. We were only looking at each other, and I could see the question in his eyes.

He knew. On some level, he already knew.

I was not human.