Page 37 of Wild Fated

Lana took a breath as the stone to her left lit up with her answer. She stepped forward, and the moment her foot made contact, the symbol on the first stone crumbled and dropped. The second stone held. She'd chosen correctly.

I exhaled, not realizing I'd been holding my breath. Another question blazed in the air.

I amthe howl that first broke silence, the moon that gave birth to night’s kin. Without me, the wolves scatter; together, I bind what cannot be tamed. Who am I?

My wolf growled,pacing in my head. He was worried for her. He’d been in my head all night, pressing forward toward herwolf, urging me to mark her. I’d fought him tooth and nail and actually won for once.

But now he was pissed. He wanted her safe. He wanted herours.

“Alpha,” Lana called out, and her eyes briefly flicked to mine. I clenched my jaw. So we were going to get some indoctrination along with this challenge. Fantastic.

Lana pressed on, her movements becoming more confident, but I could feel her uncertainty. Her wolf pushed her to act, to leap from stone to stone without hesitation, but she needed to think through each answer, and the questions weren’t getting any easier.

With a glance back at me after the fifth question, she took another step. The stones were more unstable now. She hovered over the middle of nothing, the only stones behind her the wrong path. The stones ahead . . .

I dragged my hands through my hair, pacing as I watched. The air grew thicker, the silence oppressive. Lana’s hair clung to her skin with sweat, and I could see the tremor in her muscles. She was on edge, her wolf instincts screaming at her to move faster, to leap and run, but she fought for calm. For control.

I livewhere the past lingers, woven through stories told in whispers and scars. I am a weight you must carry, yet release, to run free under the moon. What am I?

Lana paused,her chest heaving. She was panicking. She didn’t know the answer. Her frustration and anxiety pulsed through me, and I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to do something. Anything.

“Breathe!” I called out. I was impotent there on the sideline and it was ripping me apart. The idea of her dropping into nothingness had my wolf pawing at the ground, baring his teeth.

I needed to calm down. To think.I live where the past lingers, woven through stories told in whispers and scars.It could be anything.

“Destin!” Lana’s voice shook. She’d been standing there too long. The stone beneath her feet was beginning to waver.

What the hell was this challenge? How did solving riddles prove anything about Lana and Shadow Pack? The voice had said she’d be tested, but how many times? How long would we be stuck here? How many times would I have to stand here and watch?

I closed my eyes, forcing myself to let go. Fighting emotions never worked. I’d learned that younger than most since they threatened to consume me daily since I was a pup. I allowed my fear and Lana’s to rush over me, sweeping through like a flooded river. I acknowledged the pain, the anxiety, the?—

“Guilt!” I yelled, and Lana’s eyes widened. Guilt.You must carry, yet release to run free.It worked. It had to work.

Lana spoke the word and stepped up to the glowing stone. It held. I dropped into a crouch, pressing my hands over my eyes, breathing with relief.

And then my eyes snapped open. Lana’s emotions had passed through me, and mine were draining like water from a sink.

But there was another current. Another flow of . . . something. It was a slow hum, a pushing and pulling. I stood and turned in a circle, searching the cavern around us. There was nobody there, and yet?—

My gaze caught on the stone beneath Lana's feet. I blinked. It was glowing, but that didn't mean it was sentient. Or could it be?

I closed my eyes, willing my body to still and feel.Yes. There was something there.

In the forest deep,a choice must be made,

One wolf stands alone, in shadow, afraid.

The pack howls a call, their strength in the night,

But the lone wolf’s cry tugs at your heart’s light.

If you run to the one, the many will fall,

If you stand with the pack, you answer the call.

What will you choose when the paths split in two?

The love of the one, or the pack that is true?

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