Chapter 167

Chapter 167
Freya's POV

The moment Alexander settled into his seat next to Angela, I felt my chest tighten like a vice.

They looked... natural together. Both tall, commanding, with that effortless Alpha presence that made everyone else in the arena seem insignificant by comparison.

'Great. Now I'm the awkward third wheel at my own certification exam.'

"Attention, all candidates!" Master Emmett's voice boomed across the arena, mercifully cutting through the whispers around me. "Today's certification exam will consist of wolf-form combat trials. Each candidate must complete three consecutive rounds. Victory conditions are simple: if your opponent is pinned and unable to counterattack for ten seconds, or if they're forced outside the ring, they're eliminated."

The crowd murmured with anticipation. Three rounds was brutal – most pack warrior exams only required two.

"Our first candidate is Freya Austen," Emmett continued, consulting his clipboard. "Your opponent will be... Helena Perez."

A collective gasp rippled through the spectators.

"What the fuck?" someone whispered behind me. "Helena's the strongest female fighter in the entire camp!"

I felt my jaw clench. Helena was built like a tank – easily forty pounds heavier than me, with a reputation for taking down werewolves twice her size. Pairing her with a newcomer as the opening match?

'This whole setup reeks of Angela's scheming.'

Up in the judges' section, Alexander shot to his feet. "Who authorized this matchup?" His voice carried that Alpha command that made lesser wolves instinctively submit.

'Oh, now the bastard decides to show some concern for me.'

Angela placed a restraining hand on his arm. "Alexander, the pairings were drawn randomly. We can't show favoritism."

Random, my ass.

---

"Well, well," Claire's voice dripped with false sympathy as she sidled up to me. "Looks like your luck just ran out, newbie. Helena's wolf form is absolutely savage – I'd hate to see you get torn to pieces on your first try."

I didn't bother responding. My focus was on the arena floor, visualizing my strategy while I stripped down to sports bra and shorts.

Helena was already beginning her shift. Her muscles bulged and stretched as gray-brown fur erupted across her skin. Bones cracked and reformed with wet, organic sounds that made the humans in the crowd wince. When the transformation completed, she stood as a massive she-wolf with golden eyes that promised violence.

'Jesus. She's even bigger in wolf form than I expected.'

My turn. I closed my eyes and reached for that familiar burning sensation in my chest. The shift came easier now after two weeks of practice.

When I opened my eyes again, the world was painted in silver-gray tones. My wolf form was sleeker than Helena's, built for speed rather than brute force.

"Beautiful coloring," someone said. "But size matters in combat."

---

The starting bell clanged, and Helena launched herself at me with the subtlety of a freight train.

'Shit!'

I dove sideways, but her claws caught my ribs as she passed, opening three parallel gashes that burned like fire. The metallic scent of my own blood filled my nostrils.

The crowd roared its approval at first blood.

Helena wheeled around for another attack, this time aiming for my throat. I twisted away, but the impact of her shoulder against mine sent me tumbling across the arena floor.

'She's trying to end this quick. Smart strategy.'

Helena pressed her advantage, using her weight to try and pin me down. Her massive paws slammed into my shoulders, driving the air from my lungs.

'Can't... breathe...'

She lowered her head, jaws opening wide to clamp down on my throat. The killing bite.

I managed to twist at the last second, her fangs scraping along my neck instead of puncturing. Then I drove my hind legs up into her belly with everything I had.

She stumbled backward with a surprised yelp, giving me the opening I needed to roll away and regain my footing.

'Okay, new strategy. Can't match her strength, but I can outlast her.'

I began circling, using my speed advantage to stay just out of range while looking for openings. Quick darting attacks to her flanks, then dancing away before she could retaliate.

Helena was getting frustrated, her attacks becoming wilder and more reckless. Good. Anger made fighters sloppy.

But then she faked a stumble, and like an idiot, I bought it.

The moment I moved in for what I thought was an easy strike, Helena's massive form exploded upward. Her shoulder caught me square in the chest, launching me toward the edge of the ring.

I hit the ground hard, skidding to a stop less than a foot from the boundary line. My head spun, vision blurring at the edges.

'Get up. Get up now.'

Helena's triumphant howl echoed through the arena as she stalked toward me for the finishing blow.

That's when I heard Molly's voice cutting through the crowd noise: "Freya, watch your back!"

Helena was airborne, all four paws off the ground, aiming to crush me with her full weight.

I tried to roll away, but my body wouldn't respond. The impact from her last attack had rattled my brain, leaving me sluggish and disoriented.

'This is it. I'm about to get eliminated in the most humiliating way possible.'

But then something changed. A strange heat began building in my chest, spreading through my blood like molten silver.

The transformation was unlike anything I'd ever experienced.

My wolf form suddenly blazed with soft silver light, as if moonbeams were radiating from my fur.

Helena's descending form seemed frozen in mid-air as my newly enhanced reflexes kicked in. I rolled aside with supernatural speed, her massive body slamming into the spot where I'd been lying a split second before.

The crowd fell silent, stunned by the display.

'What the hell is happening to me?'

I didn't have time to analyze it. Helena was already recovering, spinning to face me with confusion and alarm in her golden eyes.

This time when she lunged, I was ready.

My enhanced speed made her attack look sluggish. I ducked under her leap, then sprang upward to clamp my jaws around the back of her neck in the classic dominance hold.

Helena struggled wildly, but the mysterious power flooding my system made her efforts feel weak and clumsy. I tightened my grip, applying just enough pressure to make my point without causing permanent damage.

After ten seconds of futile struggling, Helena went limp in submission.

The referee's whistle shrieked across the suddenly silent arena.

---

Both of us shifted back to human form, panting and covered in sweat.

Up in the judges' section, Angela had gone pale as milk. She clearly hadn't expected this outcome.

The crowd erupted into excited chatter:

"Did you see that silver glow?"

"I've never witnessed a bloodline awakening like that before!"

"Where does power like that even come from?"

Angela was quick to recover, rising from her seat with a calculated expression. "Her bloodline origins are completely unknown!" she announced to the arena. "How do we know she's not mixed-blood or some kind of infiltrator?"

Several werewolves in the crowd began nodding, their earlier admiration shifting to suspicion.

Alexander's voice cut through the growing murmur like a blade. "Bloodline awakenings are gifts from the Moon Goddess herself. To question that is to question Her divine will."

Thank you, I guess.

Molly jumped down from the spectator section to support me as I swayed on my feet. "That was incredible, Freya! But are you okay? That light... what happened?"

"I honestly don't know," I admitted. The mysterious power had completely drained away, leaving me feeling hollow and shaky.

"But I still have two more rounds," I said weakly.

Molly looked worried. "Freya, are you sure you can handle two more fights in this condition?"

I squared my shoulders, pushing through the exhaustion. "I'll manage. I didn't come this far to quit now."

That's when Stella appeared at my elbow, slightly out of breath. "Freya, Alexander wants to see you. Private meeting in the judges' lounge."

Molly raised an eyebrow. "Think he wants to discuss the bloodline awakening?"

Stella's expression was cryptic. "Maybe. But I have a feeling there's more to it than that."