Chapter 65 TRAIL RITE
Adam's POV
…ohh but it didn’t go away. I didn’t get my energy back. I rather started feeling worse.
I kept waiting for it to pass, like how sickness usually does. You wake up one morning and your body remembers how to work again. Your limbs feel lighter. Your head clears. You breathe and it doesn’t feel like effort.
That morning never came.
Instead, every day felt heavier than the one before. Like something inside me was quietly draining, slow and patient. I woke up tired. I stayed tired. Sometimes even breathing felt like something I had to think about.
I'm getting scared that maybe some weird demonic thing is about to happen to me again… like when those burning marks started. Thankfully, Kael figured out a way to calm his wolf and control his pheromones so the marks no longer come out often.
I didn’t tell Kael.
Not because I didn’t trust him. I trusted him more than anyone. That was the problem. Kael worried with his whole body. With his whole soul. And he already carried an entire pack on his shoulders. I didn’t want to add myself to that weight.
So I smiled.
“I’m fine,” became my favorite lie.
Today is some kind of Trial Rite. Kael mentioned it early in the morning while fastening his cloak. According to Kael, the rite is just him overseeing a traditional trial some young alphas have to go through before joining a particular army of alphas who guard a moon stone that sits in their place of worship.
“It might take a while,” he said. “You don’t have to come if you’re tired.”
I was already sitting up, rubbing my eyes. “I want to come.”
He paused. “Baby—”
“I just want to be near you,” I said softly. “I don’t need to… participate or anything.”
His expression softened. He crossed the room and cupped my face. “You don’t have to push yourself.”
“I’m not,” I said. “I promise.”
That was another lie. I'm feeling really sick, but having him close really helps.
The place of worship sat deeper in the pack grounds, carved from stone and probably moonlight and old belief or whatever magnificent material these people possess. Even from the outside, it felt heavy. Sacred. Like the air itself knew it wasn’t meant for everyone.
There's a moon stone inside, according to Kael.
We reached the entrance, and that’s when the line became clear. Not a spoken one. A felt one.
Kael's steps slowed.
I felt it immediately. That invisible wall. The way the guards straightened. The way eyes flicked to me, then away.
“This is where I wait?” I asked quietly.
Kael frowned. “No— I mean—”
Mira stepped forward before he could finish.
She was new to the council, I don't know why she behaved like she runs the place. But she's pretty. Pretty in a sharp way. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“Only true blood may enter the holy grounds,” she said smoothly. “It’s tradition.”
“I’m not trying to enter,” I said, my voice already tired. “I’ll stand to the side.”
She tilted her head. “The side is still within the sanctum.”
Kael’s jaw tightened. “He’s my mate.”
“And the rite is older than mates,” she replied. “Only true blood wolves. Only those who can answer the Moon Stone if it calls.”
I swallowed.
Kael turned to me. “Adam, I—”
“It’s fine,” I said quickly. “I’ll wait outside.”
It came out too fast. Too practiced.
He searched my face. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “I’ll be right here.”
He hesitated. Then duty won.
“I won’t be long,” he said.
I smiled at him as he walked away.
It didn’t hurt like a stab. It hurt like erosion. Y'know, slow and quiet… wearing me down grain by grain.
I sat on the stone steps outside the sanctum. The air was cooler there. I wrapped my arms around myself and listened to the distant echo of chanting.
Hours passed.
I didn’t realize how much time had gone by until my legs stopped feeling like my legs. Standing felt impossible. Even sitting upright was hard.
A servant passed and glanced at me. Then another. No one spoke.
At some point, Mira passed again.
“You should move,” she said. “This area isn’t meant for… resting.”
“I’m fine,” I murmured.
She looked at me for a long moment. “You don’t look it.”
I didn’t have the energy to respond.
The chanting stopped eventually. Silence settled heavy and final.
I tried to stand up but my body refused.
When Kael finally came out, laughing softly with the other Alphas, his smile faded the second he saw me.
“Adam?” he said, breaking away. “Why are you still here?”
I lifted my head. “It… took longer than I thought.”
He crouched in front of me immediately. “Why didn’t you come inside? Or ask someone to call out…”
“I couldn’t,” I whispered.
“What?” His brows knit. “Why?”
“They said… I couldn’t enter, and I'm feeling too sick to get up.” I said. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay,” he said sharply, then softened. “Why didn’t you tell me you're feeling sick?”
I tried to answer, but my throat felt thick.
“I didn’t want to interrupt,” I said finally. “You were busy.”
His hands shook as he reached for me. “Adam, you’re freezing.”
“I’m just tired,” I said.
“You don’t sound fine.”
“I said I’m fine,” I insisted weakly.
Then warmth spilled down my lip.
Kael froze for a second. “Adam.”
I touched my nose. My fingers came away red.
His breath hitched. “Adam— your nose—”
The world tilted.
I barely heard him shout my name as the blood kept dripping.