Chapter 23: Platinum-Tongue, Protocol-Pimping Predator

One slave alone was nothing. One thousand hitting combat posture on sacred sand with their mouths shut and their spines locked was the most dangerous shit in this building. The other women stood loose, gawking at holograms and enjoying the show like this was entertainment.

The slaves were not entertained.

Nova didn’t look at the score after the salute. She knew she would rank as number one based on the numbers earlier.

The score itself still felt surreal. But the bigger shock was that the elders kept it because Celeste had said her father was on strike-the-record duty.

But here Nova’s score sat. First place. Untouched. Glowing blue at the top for every masked buyer in the house. Bad or good for the sale? Who the hell knew.

The elder raised his hand and the runes flashed blue.

"The following six hundred women have qualified for the Moonfire Rite."

The Ancestral Grounds. Two millennia old. Deep in the forest. The original ritual site predating all the packs in Helix. Back in the day, the Moonfire was used for one purpose: fated mate identification. The Goddess decided.

"Top twenty. Step forward."

The elder began announcing names.

Princesses first. Maria Emberclaw. The Solarbeam princess. The Dunestorm princess. Celeste Starborne, who stepped forward with a wave so rehearsed it could have been choreographed by a team and probably was. High-ranking Betas’ daughters. A Gamma’s daughter who had been the quiet dark horse all day.

Twenty women formed a line at the front of the arena and the crowd treated them like royalty because tonight, they were. Each one waved. Each one soaked it in. Escorts in combat suits guided them through the far tunnel towards a future that twenty-four hundred would never see.

"Next thirty. Step forward."

More names. More applause. More women peeling away from the formation and walking into a life that had their name on it. The crowd thinned with every batch as family members followed their daughters, sisters, and future mates out of the arena to meet them on the other side.

Each group stepped forward, formed a line, waved, and disappeared into the tunnel like the building was slowly emptying itself of everyone who mattered.

Nova stood in the slave warrior position through all of it. Chin up. Hands clasped behind her back. Matching every slave in formation. None of them showed emotion.

The last batch was called. The line of women formed, waved, and walked into the tunnel.

Arena lights on.

For the first time all day, Nova let out a breath. It was over. This nightmare was done. Yes, she was getting sold. But no bombs went off. Everyone was alive. She was still vertical. By today’s standards that was a winning streak.

The runes on the columns flashed blue and an elder’s voice filled the arena.

"Attention. A review of the qualification records has identified one ranked contestant who was not called during the announcement sequence. Registration number 7709, ranked five hundred and forty-first, has met the minimum threshold required for Moonfire Rite eligibility."

The words entered her ears and her brain sent them back stamped with a red RETURN TO MOTHERFUCKING SENDER. Never in the recorded existence of the Helix Repopulation Mandate had a slave made it to the actual Moonfire Rite.

Nova blinked. That can’t be right. She must be hallucinating.

THUM.

Every slave on the floor thunderclapped their chests in one knock and her hallucination theory died on impact.

Nova struck her chest in answer. Third time doing that. But this time it was not in the dark. All of their hands returned clasped behind their backs in the same motion.

Half the stands had already cleared. Boots froze on stairs. A man carrying two beers sat down so fast he spilled both. The exits stopped exiting.

Nova didn’t move from her spot.

Alpha Starborne was already down the stairs. He crossed the sand and stopped in front of the panel. The jumbotron found him immediately.

"Elders." He gave a respectful nod that would have looked genuine to anyone who didn’t know better. "I appreciate the diligence. However, I must raise a procedural concern before this goes any further."

He turned slightly, addressing the remaining crowd as much as the panel.

"Registration 7709 is property of Starborne. Documented. Silver-banded since childhood per standard containment protocol. The Helix Repopulation Mandate requires all draftees to participate in the elimination round. It does not require slave registrants to participate in the Moonfire itself."

He paused like the platinum-tongue, protocol-pimping predator he was, making sure every word had time to settle.

"Now, I don’t fault the system for producing a number. But let’s address the obvious. She doesn’t have a wolf. The Ancestral Grounds are also twenty miles from here. Every woman who left this arena tonight will shift and run that distance on four legs, guided by instinct and moonlight. A slave has no business attempting that."

The crowd disagreed.

"LET HER RUN!"

"BOOO!"

The head elder raised his hand and the boos simmered into a low rumble that vibrated through the stone.

"Alpha Starborne. The Moonfire Rite does not grant exemptions. Registration 7709 met the qualification threshold. The sacred flame at the Ancestral Grounds is the final arbiter."

"She has no wolf. Without a wolf, there is no flame for mate identification," Starborne replied.

"You are correct on that, Alpha. When a wolf’s blood is offered to the fire, the flame responds. Silver kills the wolf. No wolf, no flame. But that is when she will be eliminated. At the flame. By the Goddess. Not here. Not by us."

Starborne’s smile thinned by a degree.

"My issue is timing, Elder. She’ll be running in human form in silver. That means all night and into tomorrow just to cover that distance. Ceremony’ll be over. Mandate dumps her in the Lottery in a day. I have an auction tonight that she is the centerpiece of. All of my buyers are available tonight."

The elder didn’t flinch.

"There is precedent for late arrivals, Alpha Starborne. We checked the law. There have been cases where wolves ran in human form and they were permitted to present at the flame upon arrival. If the silver prevents her from arriving before dawn, she will be eliminated by default and returned to you."

The crowd did not like that.

"TAKE THE CUFFS OFF!"

"REMOVE THE SILVER! LET HER RUN CLEAN!"

The elder raised his hand.

"I understand the request. The answer is no. Pack Slave Law, Article Nineteen, Section Three. Silver containment bands are to remain on all registered slaves at all times without exception. This council does not have jurisdiction over another Alpha’s property. We will not set the precedent of overriding slave containment statutes, regardless of the circumstances."

He turned back to Starborne.

"Your slave will run in silver. That is the only option the law permits."