Maria.

"Wretch," Davian said coldly, his voice carrying across the arena with commanding authority, "do you really think that with all the words you’re spewing we will suddenly become afraid and let you go?"

His sharp eyes remained fixed on Galen, unblinking, as though daring her to repeat the threat.

Beside him, Damien let out a harsh scoff, folding his arms across his chest.

"Dream on," he added with open disdain.

But Galen didn’t look intimidated, If anything, their reaction only seemed to amuse her.

A strange laugh bubbled from her throat again, low at first, then louder, echoing eerily across the trial ground.

Several pack members exchanged uneasy glances.

The laughter sounded wrong.

Unsettling.

As if she knew something no one else did.

Finally, she lifted her head slowly, strands of messy hair falling away from her face.

"Let me be clear," she spat out, her voice dripping with contempt. "We weren’t after Maria."

My heart clenched painfully at the mention of my name. Every nerve in my body seemed to sharpen instantly as my eyes locked onto her.

"She is just someone insignificant... yet significant in the game," Galen continued, her lips curling nto a cruel smile. "She is just bait."

The word struck me like a physical blow.

"And I guess," she added mockingly, "she is a very useful one."

A bait?

My mind reeled.

Was Galen being serious right now?

If she and whoever she served weren’t after me... then why aim at me in the first place?

Why fire that arrow?

Why drag my name into all of this?

My thoughts spiraled with confusion.

Around me, the tension in the arena thickened.

Galen exhaled slowly before speaking again, her voice suddenly sharper.

"You all are just cowards." Her eyes moving deliberately across the Quadruplets. "You are just too ashamed to admit who holds your hearts dear."

A faint murmur rippled through the crowd.

"Your actions are completely contrary to your behavior," she continued, shaking her head slowly. "That’s not how an Alpha operates."

Aidan leaned forward slightly in his seat, his eyes narrowing.

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" he asked, his tone dangerously calm.

Galen’s lips curled again.

"You know exactly what I mean, Alpha Aidan," she hissed. "Stop acting all righteous." she added, her voice carrying a mocking edge that grated against the tense silence. "But don’t worry," she continued softly, almost as if savoring the moment. "It’s already too late." her gaze hardening."Because you will lose it all."

Before anyone could react...Aidan moved.

With the speed of his wolf surging through him, he shot forward in a blur of motion. Within seconds, he was standing directly in front of Galen.

His hand shot out and gripped her chin roughly, forcing her head up so she had no choice but to look at him.

"How dare you?" he roared.

The rage in his voice sent a ripple of fear through the arena. Without another word, he released her chin and reached for the iron rod resting on the nearby table.

He grabbed it and shoved the tip into the roaring fire. The metal began to glow again under the heat. Then, pulling it out, he pressed it harshly against Galen’s chest once more.

A piercing scream tore from her throat.

This time it was louder.

More raw.

But Aidan didn’t pull the iron away, he kept pressing it against her skin, his jaw clenched with fury.

"Stop!" Daniel’s voice rang out suddenly across the arena.

The shout was sharp enough to make everyone turn toward him immediately.

Confusion spread through the crowd.

Daniel rarely interfered.

So why now?

He stepped forward slightly, his expression firm. "She is still a lady, Alpha Aidan," he said calmly, though his tone carried quiet authority.

Aidan looked over his shoulder at him, his expression dark.

"A lady?" he repeated coldly. "I don’t think so." his grip on the iron tightening slightly. "The moment she released that arrow," he said sharply, "she ceased being just a lady."

A tense silence followed his words.

Then Davian’s voice suddenly cut through the air again, slow and measured.

"Or tell us, Alpha Daniel..." He muttered, fixing his gaze directly on him. "Are you the master she is speaking of?"

The question dropped into the arena like a stone into still water.

Instantly...everything went silent, no one spoke, no one moved.

All eyes shifted toward Daniel.

Daniel suddenly laughed.

The sound broke through the tense silence that had swallowed the arena after Davian’s accusation. It wasn’t loud, but it carried easily across the trial ground, drawing every pair of eyes toward him.

He shook his head slightly, amusement flickering across his face.

"Alpha Davian," he said calmly, his voice smooth and controlled, "if I were her master... wouldn’t it be foolish of me to expose myself?"

For a brief moment, no one responded.

Then faint murmurs began to ripple through the crowd. Soft whispers rose from the pack members standing around the arena.

"That’s true..."

"I don’t think he is the one."

"But then why would he speak up for her?"

"Oh my... he is such a gentleman."

The murmurs grew louder as people exchanged glances and theories among themselves. Some nodded in agreement with Daniel’s reasoning, while others still looked uncertain.

From where I stood, I simply watched everything unfold in silence.

My eyes moved between Daniel and the Quadruplets.

Daniel looked completely relaxed, almost unaffected by the tension that had filled the arena just moments ago.

The Quadruplets, however, said nothing more to him.

They didn’t question him again.

They didn’t argue.

Aidan simply turned away from Galen slowly and walked back toward his seat.

His movements were stiff, his jaw visibly clenched as he lowered himself into the chair. Even from where I stood, the anger radiating from him was impossible to miss.

For a moment, the arena fell quiet again.

Then Aidan’s voice broke the silence.

"Since you wouldn’t speak," he said coldly, his gaze settling back on Galen, "I don’t think there is any need to keep you alive."

Galen remained on her knees, still chained, though her head was slightly lowered.

Aidan leaned back slightly in his seat, his expression dark.

"I would love to see what your master can actually do because of you."

The words were spoken almost casually, but the threat behind them was unmistakable.

He then turned his head toward his brothers, for a brief second, the three of them exchanged glances.

Then, almost simultaneously, they nodded.

Aidan’s lips curled into a hard line.

"Behead her."

The order fell heavily into the silent arena.

The guards moved immediately.

They stepped forward and began loosening the heavy chains wrapped around Galen’s wrists and ankles. The iron links clattered loudly as they were pulled away from her body.

Freed from the pole, Galen collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.

Two guards grabbed her roughly by the arms and dragged her toward the execution board placed at the center of the arena.

The wooden board was already stained from previous punishments.

Without ceremony, they forced her down onto her knees and bent her head forward over the rough surface.

One of the guards lifted a large blade, the metal glinted under the fading sunlight.

The entire arena seemed to hold its breath.

Then...

BOOM!

A sudden explosive sound tore through the air.

Gasps erupted from the crowd.

Within seconds, thick smoke burst outward across the arena, spreading rapidly in every direction.

The air became heavy and gray.

My eyes stung instantly.

I could barely see anything.

People around me began coughing and stumbling as the fog swallowed the entire trial ground.

Shadows moved around me, but it was impossible to tell who was who.

For a few long moments, chaos filled the arena.

Then slowly...the smoke began to thin.

The fog gradually dispersed into the open air, shapes started becoming clearer again.

My heart pounded as my eyes instinctively moved toward the center of the arena.

Toward the execution board.

But the moment my gaze landed there....I froze.

Shock rushed through me like ice.

The guards were still standing there.

The blade was still raised.

But the person who had been lying on the board moments ago...was gone.

Galen had disappeared.