Author's note
Hey everyone! So sorry for the slow updates lately. Life's been a bit hectic, but I'm back and super excited to share this chapter with you. Thanks for sticking with me, and I hope you enjoy the read!
Alpha Adrian sat at a coffee shop in the human realm, his long legs alluringly crossed. His posture was casual, yet the conversation he was having with the Alpha of the Moonfang Pack was providing him with extremely interesting information.
"I heard a rumor," Alpha Phoenix smirked, a mischievous gleam in his brown eyes. He and Alpha Adrian had a simple and tenuous alliance, one that was only as strong as their mutual need allowed. Phoenix, suave and charming, was well-liked throughout the packs, a stark contrast to Adrian's sly aggression and arrogance.
Adrian felt a nerve in his jaw twitch. He was in the human realm, and he hated the lingering stink of humans, the unnatural way they lived, leaving a lasting odor on their very souls. But he knew better than to rush Phoenix; the Alpha loved to play games, and trying to rush them would only end the amusement early. The only reaction Adrian gave was the subtle quirk of his brows. He wanted this viper to hurry up, tapping his long fingers on the small table, attempting to embody patience.
"I have a few friends that have noticed some movement around the Red Castle." Phoenix chuckled, finally seeing Adrian's eyes widen and his restless fingers cease their tapping. Phoenix beamed, ecstatic to see Adrian looking more intrigued. And what he had to say next was even more pivotal. In their tepid alliance, it seemed Phoenix was the more substantial party.
Adrian made sure to expand his awareness, just to be sure there were no other wolves around. This was very expensive information. "Can we trust your friend?" This was exactly what Adrian had been waiting for: the chance to be influential to the next Queen. In his long life, he hadn't been lucky. He had been alive during one Queen's reign, but he was a child, unable to take advantage of the situation. Now, he would have the ability to raise the importance of his pack. He refused to miss this chance.
"Completely! And if that wasn't enough, the council are on the move!" Phoenix knew much more than he was telling Alpha Adrian, but he wasn't willing to give everything away. He wasn't the only person he was in an alliance with.
Alpha Adrian stood to his feet, his imposing height drawing attention from the humans around him as he buttoned his suit jacket. With this kind of news, he needed to get back to his pack. They needed to prepare for the new Queen.
"This was enlightening," Adrian said with an undertone of intention. Alpha Phoenix could already hear the plotting; he knew Adrian couldn't help himself.
A low murmur rippled through the crowd gathered to watch the course. Excitement buzzed in the air, a mix of anticipation and schadenfreude. Bets were being placed on the defectives: whether they'd finish, or how much longer they'd last. The general consensus was that their odds weren't good, but a few bold individuals were willing to risk it all for the unlikely upset.
The group looked ahead of them in astonishment. Not only was the task ahead of them momentous, but they had managed to catch up with many of the other wolves. In front of them was a deep pit of mud, about a meter in depth, with large, oversized tires, the kind used on farm equipment, piled and stacked in the way. It seemed the task was to make one's way through these tires to the other side.
The mud pit was a squelching nightmare. Each step was a battle, the thick, cold mud sucking at their feet with an insistent, greedy grip. It oozed between their toes, a viscous, chilling embrace that promised to pull them deeper with every shift of weight. The smell of damp earth and decay hung heavy in the air, a constant reminder of the mire they were navigating. The mud was relentless, seeping into every crevice, coating their pants and shirts, a chilling dampness that clung to their skin. Some misstepped, sinking deeper, and the muddy water splashed up, splattering across their faces, getting into their mouths. They gagged and coughed, hacking up the gritty earth, the taste foul and metallic. Their cheeks were flushed red with exertion, sweat mingling with the mud to form streaky rivulets down their faces. Hair, once neatly styled, was now plastered to their scalps, slicked back with the heavy, wet mud. Climbing the tires was no easier. Their hands, caked in mud, slipped on the slick rubber, their bodies sliding back down the moment they thought they had a grip. Frustration etched itself onto every face as they battled the elements and their own weakening muscles.
Trinity watched as those who tried to climb over the large tires easily fell back down because of the lack of stability. Others who tried to push tires out of the way didn't account for them sliding back, trapping themselves under the heavy rubber and slippery mud.
"She's drowning!" Ryan said, looking at a she-wolf trapped beneath a large tire, choking on the mud that was constantly being pushed into her face by all the other wolves who were trying to make their way, completely disregarding her in their competitive struggle.
Ryan didn't think twice. He ran over to where the girl was having a hard time, struggling to keep his balance as he slid awkwardly through the mud. Once he reached her, he didn't worry about the tire on top. Gripping her arm, he planted his feet as deep as he could and pulled. Luckily, the mud was wet and slippery, allowing him to pull her out with some force. He grunted in exhaustion as he pulled harder and harder, eventually feeling his burden ease. Looking to the side, he noticed Johnny grabbing her other arm and pulling with him. The two of them quickly released her from the mud.
Ryan noticed that she didn't look even slightly pleased. She just glared at him and walked away, leaving the course as if she had somehow failed.
"I mean, 'thank you' would have been nice," Ryan said begrudgingly.
"She's embarrassed. Not only could she not complete the task, she got stuck. And a defective helped to get her out when no one else would," Johnny said, patting Ryan's back in a gesture of consolation. As they walked back over to their group, they still wondered how they would overcome this obstacle.
The wolves who still remained at this task all looked over at the group of defectives who had somehow made it to this part of the course. They didn't look depleted or bloodied; they didn't even look as exhausted as the rest of them. Those who didn't look exhausted were frustrated or angry, everyone just wanting to be able to finish this course with some semblance of strength.
"How do you want to play it?" Timothy asked, knowing that Trinity had backed off from just taking the lead, and he wanted to respect that, even if he was most curious about what she thought.
"We definitely can't go over," Jess mused, looking at the course in front of them skeptically. But she was trying to be positive.
"Hmm."
"I have an idea," Ryan said as he noticed a few of the wolves who had tried to climb the large stacks of tires, only to make them tumble down. Everyone looked to Ryan for his plan. "We're going to make a bridge."
Trinity smiled, already knowing exactly what he meant. She had noticed what he did: the tires that were only stacked by two, people could easily climb them. But anything higher than that, and the ground beneath would become too unstable, and whoever was on top would fall down, probably within the gaps of the tire, just to be sucked in by the mud.
"How do we get it stacked?" Trinity asked.
Smiling, Ryan looked at her, amused, remembering her words from before at the beginning of the course. "We need to wait." It would take an extreme amount of time, effort, and energy to get the tires exactly as they wanted them to be. The easier thing to do was to wait for all the wolves who were going over and under, pushing these tires, thinking that they actually had to literally pick up these tires and move them out of the way. They would do all the heavy lifting for them. Once they were done and through, their bridge would already be partially made.
"Should we help the other wolves?" Trinity asked, looking at all the struggling faces as they took in mouthfuls of mud, hacking and coughing, their extended claws digging into the tires, trying to pull themselves up.
"Why should we help those assholes?" Jess wondered. It wasn't like any of them were even slightly polite, kind, nice, respectable, or civil with any of them. What was the point of helping out their literal enemies?
"Let them struggle and fail," Mona said softly, hoping that only her group would hear her.
The wolves in the area had heard all of the people in their group, glaring at them openly.
"It's hard to be different when everyone around you is the same," Trinity said softly. She knew what it was like to be a certain way because no one was allowed to be any different. She didn't want to help anyone that was actively hurting her, but she didn't want to become a monster just because someone didn't accept her. It was okay to show compassion, even if you didn't get it in return.
Boris, wondered where his daughter had gotten such a peculiar saying. He let the words marinate in his mind for a moment. It's hard to be different when everyone around you is the same. Those words resonated with him. It made him let go of his fear for his daughter and embrace the idea of her succeeding, wanting her to keep trying. How would defectives be treated any differently if he didn't even allow his daughter to be seen differently?
"Do you want to join us?" Johnny called over to the other wolves. He knew none of them would accept their offer, but he was glad to make it for his fellow wolves. He had a different experience with his pack. When he was around them, it felt like love and protection—something that these defectives didn't feel around them, understandably. But he wanted his pack to succeed. He wanted his wolves, his friends, to succeed because that's what they were to him: his friends, his family. The wolves he had known from the day he was born. The pack was his family until the day he died.
Trinity thought about waiting for the others to clear the way, but she wanted to prove a point instead. She stepped into the mud, walking back and forth, looking for what would be the best path. Near the middle left, she knew it was the best starting point. Whistling at her group, she pointed to the place ahead of her.
Ryan was confused; he thought they would wait. But he knew why she had changed her mind. When she was trying to change her life and was losing the will to keep going, Greyson had told her that. He didn't know she would remember those simple words that were meant to help her keep going would stick.
Thomas watched in renewed interest. He had expected the defective group to wait. But that girl had taken control again. He observed as she used the large ridges in the tires as handholds to climb the large tire. Standing tall, she looked to the other side.
Johnny jumped up from the mud, stumbling a little, but Trinity grabbed his forearm, balancing him. Once all of them reached the top, they quickly scouted out a path. Thomas was quickly understanding. Once they reached a roadblock, they split up and pushed the large tire from various angles, then continued. Thomas noticed a few wolves looking to the group, making quick work of a part of the course most felt was unfair.
"Hey!" Jess heard someone yell as they pushed over another tire, apparently right onto the waiting wolf below. Looking over the edge, Jess shrugged uncaringly. She wasn't looking to be the bigger person today.
Tim stepped carefully over to the complaining boy. Looking over the edge, he saw Clyde. A spike of fear attacked his system, causing him to step back, nearly falling into the empty middle of the tire.
"Watch your steps," Jess sighed.
Crossing a few more tires, Trinity came to a stop across from Jess and Timothy. She couldn't place this boy's face, but she thought they had seen him before.
"We should just leave him," Jess spoke the words that she assumed everyone was thinking. He's a wolf, they aren't. Why waste the time? Not everyone was as lucky as Trinity. Fuck turning the other cheek. Why pretend as if she couldn't be vengeful?
Shrugging, Ryan wasn't as inclined to help this guy. He was the one picking on Timothy.
"What do you think, Tim?" Mona asked him.
At Mona's question, the memory clicked into place. He was the one bullying Timothy.
Trinity felt a surge of anger. The feeling wasn't as foreign as it had been the first time. Her eyes looked to the tire that didn't need to be moved. As the rest of them talked about what they wanted to do, she pushed the large tire with all her strength, sliding it with a groan of anger.
Ryan joined Trinity, helping her push the tire the last few inches. He lifted his brow at her as they all heard Clyde scream as he hacked on mud. Everyone looked at Trinity, a bit curious about her change in mindset. Keeping her eyes on the tire she had pushed, she took deep, calming breaths, unintentionally hiding the golden glow in her eyes.
When her eyes opened, they were all still waiting for her to explain herself. They were more in the camp of not helping, not actively attacking them.
"We aren't pushovers," Trinity proclaimed loudly.
"That's my girl!" Boris grinned, clapping enthusiastically.
"This is a test, not a sporting event, Beta," Thomas said, hiding his grin of satisfaction with Trinity's bold move. He remembered his position as a teacher and lightly reminded his Beta of the purpose of this course.