<b>My </b>heart ached for him as I remit mbered how his mother had chosen Maxwell –had chosen to stand beside the man who had stolen Adriana birthright. <b>couldn’t </b>imagine the betrayal he must have felt.
“She must have her reasons,” I suggested gently, reaching up to touch his cheek, ‘Reasons we might not understand.”
she,‘ he wrived with a small, und smile.
Seeing the shadow in his eyes, I decided in change the subject. “We have five days in prepare for the next trial,” I said, sitting op straighter. “The Trial of Wisdom is always different each year. We should study the past challenges to prepare.”
Adrian’s expression cleared, grateful for the shift inensation. “Good idea. The Council archives should have records of previous trials. I’ll ask Gerrett to research them remotely from Dasishem.”
“From what I’ve heard, the Trial of Wisdom is a teampetition, I continued, my mind already working through potential scenarios. “We need to make sure our team is fully prepared, Lydia and Ryder will need to be at their best
Adrian nodded, his eyes warming as he watched me slip into my Bets role so naturally. “Our team is small but strong,” he assured me. “Together, there’s nothing we can’t face.”
“Task Garrett to look into past trials,” I said, pulling out my phone to send a quick message. “<b>He’s </b>excellent at research, and we need <b>as </b><b>much </b>information as possible.”
Half an hourter. I received a call From Garrett
Garrett’s excited voice greeted me <b>as </b><b>soon </b>as I epted the <b>call </b><b>“</b><b>Skye</b>! Is Adrian with you? Put me <b>on </b><b>speaker</b>!”
I pressed the speaker button, exchanging a curious nce with Adrian. “We’re both here, Garrett. What’s going on?”
“Fint things first–congrattions on passing the first trial, Alphat‘ Garrett’s <b>enthusiasm </b><b>was </b>palpable even through the phone. “Everyone at Osborn is celebrating! Venus arranged a feast for tonight, and Marcus has the entire park involved in security drills. They’re determined to have us ready for whatever
<bes </b><b>nex</b>.”
Adrian’s expression softened at the mention of nur pack members. “<b>Thank </b>them for us, Garrett. Your support means everything.”
<b>“</b>Oh, and thats not all, Garrett continued<b>, </b>the <b>sound </b>of rapid typing apanying his words. “I’ve sent you both emails with detailed archives of past Trials of Wisdom. It’s fascinating stuff–and frankly, a bit terrifying”
My phone pinged with the iing email notification, and I quickly scanned the massive document Garrett had assembled. It <b>was </b>impressivelyprehensive, with detailed ounts of trials dating back decades.
This is incredible, Garrett,” I said, genuinely impressed by his thoroughness. This must have taken hours topile.”
“Happy to help,” he replied, though I could hear the exhaustion in his voice. “Oh, and Venus had another brilliant idea. We’ve set up official Oasisbon social media ounts <b>to </b>build support for Adrian’s candidacy. Venus is rallying the westem territories, especially appealing to non–werewolfmunities who’ve suffered under the current eastern–dominated leadership.”
Adrian raised an eyebrow. “<b>Social </b>media? That sounds more like something Alpha Xavier would do.
“Exactly!” Garrett eximed. “We can’t let the easter <b>packs </b>dominate every arena. Venus says building public support could be crucial, expecially forter stages of thepetition<b>.</b>”
“Thank her for me,” Adrian <b>said</b>, his tone warm with appreciation. “You’re all doing amazing work back home. We couldn’t <b>ask </b>for better support.”
There was <b>a </b>brief pause before Garrett’s voice returned, nus more serio. <b>“</b>One more thing you both should know. <b>Based </b>on my <b>analysis </b>of pastpetitions, the Trial of Wisdom is significantly more dangerous than it sounds.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, an ungary feeling settling in my stomach.
<b>1/2 </b>
— thy <b>not </b>just en <b>intelligent</b><b>, </b>test, Gt”
Streneli eich year. The Council cleverly di
fect by darsifying these desika differently – theyre feconded an str
Adrian and I exchanged concerned nces. “How is that possible?” <b>i </b><b>asked</b>. I thoug
<b>danger </b>
Widum Trial was about strategy and hostelse hot phoni
“That’s what makes it so insidious,” Carrell replied. “Candidates expect physical challenges from the Strength Trial and prepare secundiégly. <b>But </b><b>the </b><b>bris </b>Trial.. <b>I’s </b>designed to kill you through your mistakes. Through pour judgment, faulty reasoning, he misced trust”
A chill ran down my spine at Garrett’s words. Adrian stewightened, his expression hardening with resolve.
“We’ll be careful,” he promised. “Send us every scrap of Information you can find. We need to be prepared for anything.”
<b>“</b>Already done.” Garrett assured us. “Just… watch each other’s backs<b>, </b>okay? There’s a reason they schedule a full They want you at full strength for whates next,
week between the first and second trials.
After ending the call, Adrian and I spent the remainder of the afternoon huddled over Garrett’s documentation, studying video recordings of past trials wich Ryder and Lydia. The more we watched, the more sobering our mood became.
Π
In one particrly disturbing trial from twelve years ago, teams were trapped in abyrinth filled with poisonous gas. The test wasn’t simply to find the mot -it was to identify which team members should receive the limited supply of antidote. Several Alphas had sacrificed themes, believing they were saving their teams, only to discoverter that their ‘poison had been harmless while their teammates <b>died </b>from the real toxin
“This is psychological warfare,” Lydia observed, her usually melodic voice tight with concern. They’re not just testing knowledge–they’re testing character, loyalty, and the ability to make impossible choices.”
Ryder, who had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout our <b>study </b>session, finally spoke up. “Do you think they’ll make us turn against each other? Force us to choose <b>who </b>lives and who dies?”
The young warrior’s question <b>hung </b><b>heavy </b>in the air, Adrian ced a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Whatever they throw <b>at </b>us, we face it together. Nopetitions, no sacrifices. We survive as pack or not at all.”
I nodded in agreement, though the videos had shaken me more than I wanted to admit. In every recording, I saw the same pattern–Alphas forced to weigh the lives of their pack members against their ambition to be Alpha King. Some chose their teams; others chose the crown. Neither decision guaranteed survival.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, pulling me from these dark thoughts. I nced at the screen, expecting another message from Garrett with additional information.
Instead, I found myself staring at a text from an
unknown
number.<fnd953> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n fin?novel</fnd953>
Tomorrow afternoon. Silver Spoon Cafe. Come alone. -Maya