Chapter 94 The second trial announced 2

Chapter 94: Chapter 94 The second trial announced 2

Talia’s POV

I followed him quickly through the hallways. The torches flickered, and the shadows danced on the walls, as my footsteps echoed in the silence.

The gathering hall was already full when I arrived. Kaelen was there, standing near the front, while Jax, Silas, and Cain stood beside him.

Alpha Aldric stood at the front of the hall, with his hands clasped behind his back, and his face was serious.

"Talia," he said. "Come forward."

I walked to the front of the hall and stood beside Kaelen.

"The Trial of the Heart will begin in one month," Alpha Aldric said.

My heart pounded. "What does the trial entail?"

Aldric’s gray eyes fixed on mine. "You must protect a pack member from harm without using your hidden powers."

My blood ran cold.

"You cannot use your voice magic," he continued. "You cannot use any power that sets you apart either. You will be like any other wolf, and you will only use your strength, your wits, and your courage. That is all you will have."

I stared at him in shock, because he knew about my hidden powers, which he should not have known.

"Who must I protect?" I asked.

Alpha Aldric looked at me. "You will not know until the day of the trial."

The room was silent.

I could feel the weight of Alpha Aldric’s words pressing down on my shoulders. I had just one month to prepare for a trial I did not fully understand.

I would have to protect someone I did not know, from a threat I could not see.

And I could not use my voice magic powers. The power that had saved me in Alpha Stone’s hall—I could not use any of it.

The words echoed in my head: no voice magic, and no hidden powers. Just me, Talia, the girl from Cresswood. The girl who had survived on nothing but stubbornness and luck. ’Was that enough?’ I did not know, but I had to believe it was. Because if it was not, then I had already lost, and I was not ready to lose. Not yet, not ever.

I would be like any other wolf, with hopes that it would be enough.

"You have one month to prepare," Aldric said. "That is all."

He dismissed us with a wave of his hand.

I walked back to the room in a daze, and Kaelen followed.

That night, we lay in bed together, as the fire crackled, and the shadows danced on the walls.

"Alpha Kaelen," I said.

He turned his head to look at me with a frown on his face. "What?"

"Did you tell your grandfather about my hidden power?" I asked.

He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Yes."

My chest tightened. "Why?"

"Because he needed to know, so he could prepare the trials to keep you safe," he answered.

"Who else knows?" I asked with a cold voice.

"No one. Only Grandfather," he said.

I was quiet for a long moment, but I did not know if I was angry or relieved.

"I do not want to reveal it to anyone yet," I said. "Not until I fully understand it."

He nodded. "I know."

He reached over and took my hand, and I felt his warm fingers.

"I will not tell anyone else," he said.

I looked at him for a moment, then I nodded. Because I believed him.

The fire crackled in the hearth, and the room was warm. Kaelen’s hand was still wrapped around mine, with his thumb tracing slow circles on my skin.

I watched his face in the firelight, as the shadows softened his sharp features, and his gray eyes were dark and unreadable.

"Are you afraid?" he asked.

I was quiet for a moment. "Yes."

"Of the trial?" he asked again.

"Not really," I whispered. "I am afraid of failing, of letting everyone down, and of proving them right."

He turned to face me, his body shifting on the mattress, and his free hand came up to cup my cheek.

"You will not fail," he said.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Because I know you," he replied.

I stared at him. His thumb brushed across my cheekbone, and my heart skipped.

My wolf stirred again, pressing against my skin, wanting to be closer to him, and I did not push her away this time.

We lay in silence for a long time, with his hand still in mine. The fire burned low, and the shadows grew long.

My mind kept going back to the trial, to the unknown threat, and to the person I would have to protect.

’What if I was not strong enough? What if I froze? What if someone got hurt because of me?’

I closed my eyes and tried to push the thoughts away, but they would not leave.

Then I felt a warmth, like that of my wolf, spreading through my chest, and calming my racing heart.

She was not speaking, but she was there, holding me steady, and strong.

"Thank you," I whispered.

She did not answer. But I felt her presence, warm and reassuring, and slowly, my fear began to fade.

I lay there in the dark, listening to Kaelen breathe. His hand was still in mine, warm, steady, and present. My wolf was still there too, filling me with warmth, as she was waiting, and getting strong, like she was reassuring me that I was not alone.

I had never been alone all my life. I just did not know it. But I knew it now, and that knowledge was a weapon. One I would use, and one that I would need.