Surrender To Us, Our Luna (One Luna, Four Alphas): Chapters 1–5

Clementine:

"Catch this she-wolf and bring her to Alpha William!"

The royal beta’s voice roared through the air like thunder. My body shuddered at the realization of how close they had come to me. The ground beneath me seemed to pull me down as my knees began to give out.

I had been running for an hour, away from my worries, away from my bullies, from my stepmother and stepsister, and from my alpha father. If I don’t, I will face a difficult time. I ran as fast as I could, my face wet with tears. The wind hit my skin like cold water, sharp and real. Ahead of me, the mountains stood tall in the distance, dark shapes under the heavy sky. The birds flew away in flocks, like they knew something bad was coming. My heart pounded. I didn’t know where I was going. I just knew I had to keep moving.

"Ugh!" A painful cry escaped my lips when an arrow laced with wolfsbane grazed my thigh, and something wet began to drip down my baggy jeans. The amount of blood I shed didn’t bother me as long as I got away from this hell hole called Crimson Claws Pack.

’Come on, wolf. We have to get out of here,’ I tried hyping up my wolf, but it was useless as the poison had started its effect on my wolf. Another arrow struck me in the shoulder from behind, sticking out the front, and I dropped to my knees.

Just then, it happened.

My wolf went silent. The poison called wolfsbane knocked her out, and now it was just the human me, fighting the pack.

I crawled on my knees, grunting in pain. My father’s warriors slowed down, they knew I was done for. The sirens blared in the air, making me lift my head and groan softly at the future ahead of me. I wished I had gotten away in time.

"You thought you could run away? What kind of coward would do that?" Beta Ross knelt beside me and grabbed my hair in his fist, pulling me up from the ground.

"I will not sacrifice myself for you—or for any werewolf," I hissed, spitting in his face. That made him angry.

He had earned the royal beta title after kissing my father’s butt for a while. He would flatter my father until he was gifted the title of royal beta. I bet he even let my father sleep with his mate once or twice.

I hated the alphas and betas. I hated packs.

But I couldn’t go rogue, I had only two options: either stay in the pack and be part of their dirty drama or to be sacrificed as a warrior, a crusader to the north.

"Take her to her father. He’s waiting," the royal beta threw me to the ground, and soon I was dragged by my hair back to the packhouse.

They dragged me through the hallway, the omegas and deltas catching glimpses of me from their rooms. The first floor was for omegas and deltas, the second for the royal gamma, gammas, and betas. Lastly, the third floor was for the alpha—his family and the royal beta’s family.

So they had to pull me all the way to the top while everyone else watched me treated like a slave.

"Ugh," I grunted when they threw me onto the couch.

"It’s a shame. You ruined my name when you ran away like a coward," my father said, sitting on his high chair, a wine glass in his hand. His white hair were perfectly styled to the side, his face although a little wrinkly but still looked better for a man who had fought in wars throughout his life. His gray eyes were examining me a little too harshly.

"Call me whatever you want. I’m not your warrior," I hissed, rolling my eyes as the warrior grabbed the arrow from my shoulder and pulled it out. Blood splattered everywhere, and my screams echoed through the big hall.

My stepmother snickered, "Look at her. She looks like a boy in those clothes. Why must she dress so tomboyish?" She always had a problem with how I dressed and acted.

I identified as a woman, but I liked wearing clothes that were loose and big on me. I did not want any alpha or any werewolf’s attention.

"And she always wears that hat to cover her noodle hair," my stepsister added, sticking a finger in her mouth to fake a gag at my naturally curly red hair. She was always proper and polished.

Leysa, the daughter of my father from his second fated mate, my stepmother.

Sadly, the world was messed up.

Every alpha had four or more fated mates. And every poor mate suffered, fighting for their alpha’s attention. In fact, most males had multiple mates.

She-wolves had no real power. They were controlled and had no say. They would compete until only one was left standing., and that meant killing off the other mates. Killing an alpha’s child was forbidden, so they found other ways to get rid of them and secure the crown for their own.

In my case, Glinda, my stepmother, had the perfect plan, all backed by the royal beta and royal gamma.

"I say we send her to the academy as a Crusader for North. Our pack has already been nominated to send a warrior anyway. Every pack is sending their children, the ones without brains to lead as alphas, just muscle," Glinda suggested, resting her hand on the back of my father’s.

"She’s clearly not fit to be an alpha. Look at her. Look at how she acts, she’s a boy. But Leysa? She’s ready to be Luna. Every alpha wants to marry her, while Clementine is just a problem we can hand off to the academy to make ourselves look better," she kept yapping, afraid my father might change his mind.

"I would rather die than fight for any of you in the North," I spat on the ground, watching Leysa flinch like I had dropped a bomb.

North.

Another disaster.

It started with one pack in the North, attacked by giants and ogres. Then they took over the entire region. After them came other creatures. People feared that if they weren’t stopped, the monsters would take over the world.

So, every few months, the children of alphas or pack members with potential, specifically the ones who wouldn’t inherit the crown, were sent to the academy. There, they were put into groups and sent off to fight in the North.

This time, it was our pack’s turn. The previous troupe mist have retired or died for them to look for replacements.

"Your stepmother is right. Your life has no purpose. Nobody wants you. It’s better for you to die a hero than stay here and become the whore you seem destined to be," my father said coldly.

Leysa laughed before covering her mouth with her hands, pretending to be sweet and proper again.

"Well, you’ll have to drag me to that academy then, Father," I said, getting up, drenched in my own blood, and limped back to my room in the attic.

It had always been clear, my stepmother would never let me become the alpha. So she treated me like trash. And in return, I grew up stubborn, angry, and defiant.

Nobody knew how broken I was. They just knew I was insufferable, and hated me for it.

That night, I cleaned my own wounds and bandaged myself, lying on the hard mattress that was torn and falling apart.

I stared out the window at the moon and noticed the red color bleeding into the sky. Every time the creatures killed civilians in the North, or whoever was still hiding and alive, the sky turned red.

I wasn’t a hero. I didn’t want to be one.

Nobody had become a hero when I needed one, so why would I waste my life for anyone else?

I just wanted to enjoy my life, not become an alpha, or someone’s fifth or sixth wife or mate.

As my eyes grew heavy and I started to drift off, I heard a click at the door. I felt someone step inside. Without opening my eyes, I reached under my pillow to grab my knife, but they were faster.

Before I could grab it, they grabbed me.

I opened my eyes to see men in black, long coats, faces covered in ski masks, holding my arms and legs.

"Let me go!" I screamed, kicking and swinging my fists, but they were strong, and clearly sent to take me away.

"What the fuck!" I yelled, panicking. How had kidnappers gotten past so many warriors, gammas, and betas to find me?

Fear crawled into me. Who were these men? What did they want?

But the real shock came when they dragged me all the way down to the first floor, and I saw everyone just standing there, watching me struggle.

"What are you waiting for? Help me! I’m your alpha’s daughter. Fucking stop them!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face until I saw my father standing with my stepmother, both holding wine glasses.

"You said we’d have to drag you," he said calmly. "Well, happy eighteenth birthday. I’d hope you come back a martyr— or not at all."

Those words from my father’s mouth would haunt me forever.

It wasn’t kidnappers.

It was the Lurkers, the guardians, from the academy–-taking me by force.

Clementine:

"Hushhhh! Nobody will find out. Just come with me," the old man said, raising his hand for me to hold it, but I started shaking my head. He had an eye patch on, his old rusty clothes smell foul. He had some gray hair and the hand reaching me was subtly shaking too.

"Fine, don’t come. But give him to me. He needs care," he continued, pointing at the baby I held close to my chest.

"You will kill him," I uttered, my vision blurred.

"I won’t. Trust me, I’ll keep him safe." his face started to contort into something uglier, his nails poking out like a monster ready to devour its prey.

"No! No! I won’t give him to you—not this time!" I yelled. A hard rock hit my cheek and I broke awake, sitting up panting and covered in sweat.

The long brown oversized shirt with baggy jeans and no shoes made me look homeless. But that was how I dressed all the time, it was my style. With a hat that covered my hair, I have prevented myself from men’s attention.

I looked around and found myself in an unfamiliar place. I was in a cage. There were many cages in the hall. The hall itself was huge, really—with high stone walls that looked like they were carved a long time ago. Everything felt old. The air was cold and smelled like metal and dust. It was quiet, the kind of quiet that made your skin crawl. The torches on the walls flickered weakly, casting shadows that moved like ghosts.

The cages were lined up on one side of the hall, each one divided by thick iron bars. The metal was scratched and stained, and I didn’t want to think about what had happened here before me.

On the other side of the hall, more bars blocked the view outside. But through them, I could see where this hall was, probably in the woods. It was nighttime.

The moon hung above the trees, glowing softly. The forest outside looked quiet and still, like it was holding its breath. Tall trees reached toward the sky, their leaves gently swaying in the breeze. And far behind them, mountains rose in the distance, dark and quiet, their peaks touching the stars.

It looked peaceful out there.

But sitting here in a cage, I felt like an animal who must be kept in chains.

"Thank you for waking me up," I groaned tiredly, thanking the person sitting in the corner, barely responsive. He wasn’t hurt or anything, he just seemed hostile. Dressed in all black, with tattoos on the backs of both hands and a head full of black hair—that was all I could see of him. But he wasn’t my focus of attention. I was grateful he woke me up from a nightmare, but the real nightmare was still not over.

I had heard about this place. It’s called the Transition Stage. This is where they bring the candidates who are being difficult.

"What is your name?" I asked him, trying to fill in the deadly silence, "I am Clementine Stark." I introduced myself, realizing he probably didn’t want to be here either.

"Hey, can you get me that thing—" I gulped, reaching toward his cage, gripping the bars with my hands and pointing at the small, very thin rod next to him. A small piece of broken debris from probably the cage had loosened over time and fallen in front of his cage. It could work in our favor. But the guy was so odd. He sat with his legs bent close to his chest, arms resting loosely on his knees. His fingers met in the middle like they were locked in thought, and his head hung low. There was something quiet about the way he held himself—like the world could fall apart around him and he wouldn’t flinch.

"I can open these cages if you get me that thin wire next to your cage," I whispered, making sure the others on the right were still asleep. It was just me and the silent guy awake. I was not the type to wait for someone to lead the way. I mostly came up with my own ideas and worked on them whether I had anyone on my side or not. But I needed his help tonight. He stayed quiet for a moment before turning his head to the left to look at the object I was pointing at.

"Listen, I can pick locks. I’ve done it my entire life. If you can help me get that, I can get us both out," I whispered in urgency.

Not only was I still hurting from the arrows shot at me earlier, but I couldn’t heal either as we have been given more wolfsbane after we were abducted from the comfort of our homes.

The silent guy finally stood up, and seeing how tall he was made me thank the Moon Goddess for putting him in the cage beside mine.

He extended his arm out of the cage, and I was left with my jaw hanging at how long his arms were. He grabbed the wire and stared at it, head down, his hair hiding his eyes. He had a sharp jawline, so sharp I could’ve used his jaw to open the lock, a thin chin, and full lips.

His long neck had veins and an Adam’s apple so prominent. I had never seen a guy so godly before. I wondered what his eyes looked like. He didn’t lift his head as he strode toward me.

He stopped right on the other side, and I gently stretched my hand out to take the wire from him. He towered over me, his presence radiating such a strange and mysterious aura. He finally lifted his head, and I almost gasped at the color of his eyes.

They were a gorgeous shade of gray, like two glowing bulbs staring right at me. His thick black eyebrows made him look even sexier. I couldn’t believe I was thinking this.

But Goddess, men are beautiful.

"Take it," he said, and I nodded. His voice sent chills down my spine. It was notably low, with a rich, husky texture that felt raw and edgy. I grabbed the thin wire and reached for the lock.

"Come on, come on," I muttered under my breath, pressing my skin against the cold bars, twisting the thin wire carefully inside the lock.

I could feel his eyes burning, steady, watching me from the other cage. Part of me wanted to glance up, to meet that confident gaze. Instead, I straightened my shoulders and bit back a smirk. If I was going to be stuck here, I might as well get his attention. I wanted to impress him so badly at that moment.

The lock clicked faintly, and I held my breath. One more twist and freedom felt just within reach. The hero act wasn’t just for me anymore. It was for him, to show that I wasn’t some helpless girl. I was the Alpha’s daughter. And I’d break out of this cage and save his gorgeous ass too.

And then it happened, I opened the lock.

"You’re good," he said, and the way he complimented me in that deep, husky voice made my cheeks burn. I swear I was turning tomato red. I snuck out and stood in front of his cage, noticing how calmly he’d been watching me. Even if he didn’t want to be here, and that’s why he was in the cage, he didn’t seem in a hurry to leave either.

"What is your name?" I asked in a hushed tone, opening his lock.

"Ian!"

That was all he said. Didn’t even mention his rank or anything like most handsome men would do. Or maybe he wasn’t trying to impress me afterall.

Once I opened his cage, I stepped back and watched him get out. He was probably six-foot-seven, tall with broad shoulders and a slim waist, straight out of a manga.

He walked right up to my face, dipped his head low, and gazed into my eyes before stepping to the side and walking past me. I followed him until we reached another set of bars to the outside.

"The keys are hanging over there," I said, pointing at the wall on the other side of the bars.

"But you’ll have to jump through the bars and open it for me," I added, and he turned to me, scrunching his eyebrows.

"I have wolfsbane in my system and I’m injured. I don’t think I can crawl this gate like you," I uttered. Ugh! I hated saying it out loud, and hated asking for help.

It’s usually me helping others. I’m the one every girl at school would come to when they needed help with the bullies. I’d help them deal with those damn losers and cocky playboy jocks too.

"Got it," he replied. He wasn’t very talkative. He started climbing the gate, and I got a front-row view of his ass. He was perfect.

The pants fit him so well. His long legs moved effortlessly as he scaled upward, and then he jumped down to the other side.

"The keys!" I called, impatiently jumping up and down, pointing toward the wall. He looked at me, his gray eyes peeking through his ruffled black hair and then at the keys. There was a moment of pause in his body language where he was contemplating something and then, he turned around to run behind the wall instead of grabbing the keys for me.

"Hey! The keys!" I hissed, frowning.

"He’s fucking leaving me behind," I growled in disbelief, stunned and pissed.

"Hey!" I called again, this time my patience cracking completely.

That asshole. He could’ve helped me, but instead, he bailed? What a prick.

Anger surged through my veins. If I couldn’t leave, then I sure as hell wouldn’t let him leave either.

"Somebody stop him—he’s escaping!" I screamed, running toward the right side of the hallway where some rooms housed resting warriors. I started banging hard on the doors, waking them up, before racing back to my cage to guide them toward the direction he ran.

The warriors rushed out through the side doors, but at the same time, I saw the silent guy again, running back toward me with keys in his hand.

"Huh?" I blinked, stunned, as he approached and started unlocking the door.

"But the keys—" I pointed at the set hanging on the wall.

"They’re fake. The real ones were hidden behind the wall. I had to go get them," he explained in that same deep, velvety voice.

"But I thought you had left me behind," I murmured, covering my mouth when I noticed the warriors reaching behind him.

He stopped. Slowly, he turned around, then looked back at me with betrayal burning in his eyes.

"You fucking bitch," he grunted just before one of the warriors slammed a rod against his head, knocking him out.

Clementine:

"Clementine Stark, I hope you’ve made up your mind to cooperate," the headmaster of Ravecrest, the principal of the academy, said, his fingers tapping on the table.

He wore a black mask, his gray eyes shining from behind it. He was known as the Masked Principal. He was strong and powerful, but also arrogant and strict. That’s what I’d heard about him.

He was tall, with broad shoulders and long legs. The black suit he wore fit him like a character from a movie.

"You will be sent to a guest room for now. We’ve paired you up with some of the best candidates for the time being. Later, there will be a trial in the ruins which will decide your permanent squad for the rest of the year, before you are also sent to your dorm room."

He had such a robotic voice, or maybe it was because of the mask covering his lips. But his presence made me nod, even though I didn’t want to agree with him.

The last week had been so hard for me that I kept wondering whether I should keep resisting or switch to survival mode. After I messed up by being impatient, the warriors took the guy away, and I never saw him again.

But I heard they were beating him nonstop to teach him a lesson. I was thrown back in the cage with the others, where they made us do hard labor during the day and left us locked up in the mountains at night, listening to the growls of monsters and ogres. Sleeping was nearly impossible.

"Lurker! Take her to her guest room," he said, without moving a muscle, except for his fingers that kept tapping, creating a strange rhythm.

The Lurkers were basically the guards, the ones who had brought me here. Or should I say, the ones who had kidnapped me.

I stood up when the Lurker grabbed my arm and started pulling me away. Fighting was pointless. The ones who disobeyed were tortured in the worst ways.

"Do you have a name?" I asked the Lurker, who didn’t respond. Their mouths were covered, a black mask hiding the lower half of their faces.

They never spoke, never reacted, they only followed orders and observed us. Soon we were walking down a dark, long hallway with old-fashioned decorations on the tables and pictures hanging on the walls. He stopped in front of one of the many rooms and handed me a big, vintage key.

"Ah! Still asleep, of course," I muttered to my wolf, still under the effects of wolfsbane. They had been drugging us to keep us under control.

The Lurker walked away while I stood outside the room, sighing and staring at the key.

"I’ll be fine. Girls usually like me," I reassured myself.

And it wasn’t a lie. Since I wasn’t your typical popular or girly girl, most girls didn’t feel threatened by me. I was like a bro to them.

With that thought in my mind and a lot of confidence, I swirled the key in the keyhole and opened the door to the room. As soon as I stepped in, I frowned. It was empty.

There were three beds lined up against one wall, and the other three were on the wall with the door to the outside. The bathroom was on the side with no beds.

I walked in and caught a whiff of cologne. That was the first shocker I’d had. It was men’s cologne. My heart skipped a beat as I looked around at the bags next to the beds.

There was one pink bag, which gave me a bit of hope, but then the rest just seemed like trouble.

"One, two, three—three sketchy bags," I muttered under my breath, counting the three bags that looked like something a guy would carry. One of the beds next to mine was empty.

I had just put my bag down when I heard some noises coming from the bathroom.

It was a girl gagging. My instincts kicked in, and despite calling myself an anti-hero, I rushed to help her.

However, before I could storm in, the door opened and the girl in question walked out.

"Ah! That was wonderful," she said with a satisfied look on her face, clearly not in any kind of trouble.

Her long blonde hair was soaking wet, her pink skirt all rumpled. She was hurriedly fixing the tiny white top she wore when her eyes landed on me.

"Ew!! What kind of guy are you?" she said, giving me a once-over.

"I won’t let you touch me," she added quickly, making me frown.

"I’m not a guy," I defended myself hastily before she thought I was some homeless dude trespassing. She looked me up and down before bursting out laughing. I looked down at my baggy shirt and sweater and then at my shoes. What was she laughing about?

"You don’t look like a girl either. Those Billie Eilish clothes only work on her," she said, flicking me before walking off.

"Really?" I grunted. Ugh! Why did she have to test my patience? I was known for having a bad temper, and she had just woken up the beast inside me.

"At least I’m not the one hooking up with some weirdos on the first day of meeting them," I snapped.

As soon as I said that, I saw her eyes shift to something, or someone behind me.

"She’s calling you a weirdo," she snickered, making me gulp. I slowly turned around to face my new roommates, and just like that, I’d already made a terrible first impression.

But it wasn’t just bad, it was much worse.

The three guys walking out of the bathroom narrowed their eyes at me, then started exchanging glances with each other.

Shit!

What were the chances of that happening?

In front of me stood a tall, handsome guy, all platinum blond hair, thick black eyebrows, blue eyes, a sharp jawline, and high cheekbones. In other words, Alpha Troy Dusk. My best friend, well, once best friend, a good childhood friend who thought I betrayed him by leaking his secrets in high school.

Beside him stood a tall, muscular guy with broad shoulders and a neck so strong you couldn’t help but stare at it. He had gray eyes you could look into for hours, if you didn’t know how awful he could be. His face had a tougher look, like he could be an MMA fighter or something. But he wasn’t. I knew his past from when we were in school. The scar on his face was a reminder, I left that mark on him, and it never healed. In other words, Alpha Haiden Raze. Or better said, my crazy bully, who made my high school life a living hell until school ended.

And then there was the other tall, handsome guy staring at me with his fists clenched. His hair was slightly messy, though he usually kept it neat. His green eyes with thick lashes weren’t his only striking feature. He had a mysterious look on his face, with a sharp jawline and fuller lips. The veins on the backs of his hands always stood out, and his muscular body showed even under his clothes. That was the redhead Alpha Yorick Bane—my toxic ex, who I dated for just a month before he broke up with me after accusing me of cheating.

"Oh fuck, I’m screwed," I muttered before turning around and sprinting toward the door. Escaping was all I could think of, but I wasn’t as fast as their tall, 6-foot-6 plus, built-like-a-tank bodies.

They ran after me, Troy slammed the door in my face, Yorick grabbed me from behind, and Haiden snatched the shoulder bag from me.

"Look who’s here—it’s Clementine fucking bitch," they said in unison, their smirks growing as they finally got their hands on me.

Clementine:

"Give me my bag," I demanded, stepping back and away while they kept coming at me.

This bag was all that was sent with me. I didn’t want to lose it. I didn’t care about the clothes, but there were some things that reminded me of the family I once had.

"Do you guys know her?" the girl in pink asked, checking her nails and shifting her weight to one leg.

"She’s the one who fucking got me kicked off the sports team by telling everyone I was using drugs," Troy hissed, but then the corner of his lips twitched upward into a smirk. He looked so handsome yet so nasty the way he was approaching me.

"Well, you shouldn’t have used drugs then," I shrugged, getting in trouble because of my foul mouth yet again.

Troy slapped the back of my head, but thankfully, I had tied the hat so well that it wouldn’t come off that easily.

"Ouch! That is not very gentleman-like. A man should never hit a woman, no matter the circumstances," the girl complained, watching Troy leave his fingerprints on my neck.

"Riv, does she look like a lady to you?" Troy quickly moved to her side and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to his chest.

She looked me up and down and then, with a snicker, shook her head.

"No, we would never treat you this way because you’re not her. No one can ever be a soul-sucking—energy-sucking—stank-ass Clementine," Haiden said, making me clench my jaw at the way he was dangling my bag in the air. Yorick noticed and came at me, making my back hit the wall. The three of them looked like giants with broad shoulders and strong hands. Seeing them come at me all at once was terrifying.

"Of course you’d never treat her that way. You all found a good toy to fuck and keep your dicks wet and full," I hissed, remembering there will be no women or parties where they can enjoy the taste of a woman after we are sent to the North. I heard that after fighting monsters, the dorm mates would get crazy and look for ways to get steam off their bodies.

And of course, Riv seemed so well put together that anyone would want to fuck her.

As soon as she frowned and pulled his arm away after hearing my comment, Troy stepped forward and slapped the side of my head, leaving my ear ringing.

The bell ringing for dinner broke the tension. Thank goddess I could get out of here and away from them. I planned to talk to the academy headmaster to ask for different roommates.

They all shared one last look before Troy grabbed my head and Haiden took off his socks. All the while Yorick grabbed my arms to stop me from fighting back but the silent struggle continued. I watched Haiden ball one of his socks up and start to shove it into my mouth.

I had no idea what they were planning, but his damn wet sock made me gag. Then they wrapped Riv’s scarf around my mouth so I couldn’t spit it out and tied my hands behind my back. I struggled the whole time, but they overpowered me. They didn’t even care they were manhandling me in the worst way. Then, they dragged me to the bathroom and tied me under the shower.

"You won’t be getting any food tonight. You’ll be going out to the ruins all hungry and weak," Troy hissed, turning on the shower over my head. The three of them gave each other a high five and left the bathroom.

"Are you sure she’ll be fine in there?" I heard Riv ask them, but I couldn’t hear what they said in response.

I stayed under the shower for a few minutes and then fell asleep. It wouldn’t be the first time I had fallen asleep in water. My stepmother used to waterboard me all the time, and then she’d leave me tied in a tub, where I’d eventually drift off.

But I woke up when the water stopped hitting my head. I opened my eyes and lifted my head to see a Lurker standing in front of me with a grim look in is eyes. He looked unimpressed. He removed the gag from my mouth and untied my hands.

"I’m just not very likable," I said once he pointed at the door.

"Now? Where are we going? And am I not allowed to change my clothes first?" I asked, but instead of responding, he just grabbed my arm and pushed me toward the door.

"Damn it, I’m all wet," I complained, walking ahead of him. Once out of the room, I realized all the rooms had been emptied. It was already nighttime.

"Are you taking me to the last ruins?" I couldn’t believe the trial was already here. I was sleep-deprived, soaking wet, and starving.

Fuck all my exes.

The Lurker threw me into the back of a truck where others were already sitting. A few trucks had already left, and I’m guessing the assholes rode those. After a while, we were knocked out with a sleeping gas and soon we had all drifted to slumber.

I started to wake up to the noises around me. We were dumped into ditches together as roommates, with weapons lying in the corner. I was the first one to wake up since sleeping pills hardly ever affected me for too long.

Loud howls echoed in the distance, waking up the others too. I was still rubbing my eyes when I saw the assholes stand up.

"Everyone, we have to make it to the end of the grounds and stand behind our flag," Troy said, making me look around at everyone’s faces. I had no clue what they were talking about.

"Was this something discussed at the lunch table?" I asked, watching them all turn to me. It was like every time I spoke, I ruined their mood.

When I should’ve been the one mad at them, they made me skip the tutorial.

"She’s our roommate?"

However, a familiar yet distant voice from the corner hit me like a stab in the chest. As he stepped into view, I saw the last roommate—the one whose bed had been left empty—standing and staring right at me.

"Shit," I cursed under my breath while looking at the silent guy, the one who fucking thinks I betrayed him.

Ian from the cage.

I was really deep in the ditch.

Clementine:

They were all staring at my face now.

"What did you say your name was?" Troy asked the quiet guy, who kept staring at me with his eyes half open.

"Ian," he whispered under his breath. His black long hair was flowing with the wind, short leather gloves not hiding the fact that he had his fists clenched.

"You know what this trial is about, right?" Riv asked him, since he had missed the dinner as well.

"This is the final test before we get fully accepted. There are black flags placed around the field. The color black represents our Squad. Some ogres, who were previously caught in the North, are roaming the area. Our goal is to collect all the black flags without getting caught or killed by the ogres, and then reach the big black flag at the end. If we manage to collect the flags but can’t make it to the big black flag, we can go under any other colored flag and become roommates with the people who reached that flag. You can have as few as one roommate or as many as six, but no more than that," he finished, explaining it to me in the simplest way.

He then looked at me and grunted, "I don’t want her to be a part of our Squad."

My body shuddered when their eyes shifted back to me. They all looked me up and down.

"Let’s see, we should just focus on our mission for now," Riv was the first one to sort of not disagree with Ian.

I noticed the look Ian gave her. It was so deadly, as if not agreeing with him would make her his next target.

"You want her in the dorm room?" Yorick asked her, making me roll my eyes at him. Ever since our breakup, he has caused problems for me. I couldn’t even leave my packhouse for a run for a month because he would find me with his goons and bully me.

"I mean, who else will do our chores? I heard we won’t be given any room service. Don’t we all need a slave?" Riv, who I thought was the only one with a little sympathy for me, cleared that misunderstanding too. She only wanted a slave for her royal self. Little did she know, I don’t even do my own chores.

"She’s right," of course Haiden agreed. He would love to have me just to bully me again. I was his personal punching bag, I had always been one. Every time somebody crossed him, he’d look for me just to take his anger out.

Suddenly, we heard the heavy footsteps of an ogre nearby, and it hit us, we had been wasting precious time.

"Okay, let’s go," Troy announced, ready to climb the ditch. However, the first step I took, I stepped on my untied shoelace and face-planted right between them.

"She is so clumsy," Yorick groaned, others snickering at his comment. It wasn’t a lie. I am a dumbass.

I sat on my knees and pulled my foot forward, trying to tie my shoelace. I’ve learned things on my own. There was a variety of stuff I was good at, but tying shoelaces was definitely not one of them.

I tried and tried, getting anxious as I watched Yorick climb the dirt wall and help Riv up. Haiden did it effortlessly too. And then there was Ian—climbing seemed to be his thing. One second, he was standing with us, the next, he was standing tall above the ditch.

"Ugh!" I got up just as Troy knelt down and grunted, "If you’re going to be a bad guy, be a bad guy and do your own shoelaces."

I never asked him to help me. But just like old times, when he used to come to my packhouse before school and tie my shoelaces, there he was—on his knees, tying them for me.

Watching him do that after all these years was emotional, yet I had no tears in my eyes. He got up and hissed at me before walking over to the wall and climbing it.

Did he still care?

Well, I had no time to think about the past. I reached the wall and soon realized climbing was another thing I wasn’t good at. Dust filled my lungs as I looked up at the steep walls of the ditch. The ground was loose, slipping away with every move I made. I had to climb out and fast. I was wasting time.

It took me a few falls and many attempts to finally reach the top. I rolled over and lay on my back, smiling in quiet victory when something caught my eye.

I pulled myself out of the ditch, my hands covered in dirt. My arms ached, and my legs felt heavy, but I was out. The sun hit my face, and I took a deep breath.

Then I saw him.

The ogre!

It was huge, taller than anyone I had ever seen. His skin was green and grey, and his muscles looked like big rocks under his skin. His eyes had a faint glow, and he looked furious. When he walked, the ground shook.

My heart started racing. I felt cold inside, like fear was squeezing my chest. I knew I had to move fast and get to my feet.

I saw the black flags scattered around the field. They were mine. Other Squads were running too, each chasing different colored flags—red, blue, green. But mine were black.

I started running.

The wind hit my face, and dirt flew behind me. I saw the first flag near a rock and grabbed it without slowing down. Another one was near a small tree. I reached it quickly, took it, and kept going.

The ogre was close. I could feel him, even without looking. One of his arms swung near me. I ducked. The air from it was strong, but it missed me.

I was frozen for a few seconds before the adrenaline hit me, and I realized, if I didn’t run for my life, I’d be dead, crushed by the ogre.

I kept running, fast and light. My legs knew what to do. My hands grabbed flag after flag. I didn’t trip. I didn’t slow down. This was what I was good at. Running. Catching. Moving fast.

Once I had enough black flags, I decided to make a run for the big flag. I had to cross the line and stand behind the cage wall to survive the ogre and be considered the successor of the trial. But then I saw him running beside me.

Ian.

He looked different from the cage–more dangerous, more silent. His face was like stone. He didn’t look at me, not even once. He had many flags in his hands. Of course he would make it to the finish line. The rule was clear: a total of 20 flags was the goal. Any fewer, and you’d be thrown back out into the field. And this time, there wouldn’t be another chance to collect flags.

That’s why the group discussion had been so important, everyone had to work together and only collect 20 flags total. I wasn’t sure how many I had. Maybe more.

That meant someone in our squad didn’t have enough flags.

My eyes went back to Ian He looked determined, but I knew he also hated me. It was my fault. I had misunderstood. I thought he was going to betray me, so I called the warriors. They locked him up. And now, here he was. In my trial. In my squad.

My chest tightened. If he stayed with me, things would go wrong. He wouldn’t trust me. Maybe he’d try to get back at me. Or worse, we’d fail, just because we couldn’t work together.

I had to do something.

There was another flag close by—red. A few meters behind him. A red squad was already forming there. If he had enough black flags, he could go with the red squad instead.

My eyes darted forward. The black zone line was right ahead of us.

I didn’t want to hurt him. I just wanted him out, since he wanted me out too. He stepped closer to me. Still no words. No expression.

I ran forward like I had seen something important. My shoulder hit his, not too hard, not too soft. Just enough. It was on purpose.

He stumbled.

One foot back.

Two steps.

And then, he tripped—right towards the red line.

"What the fuck!" I heard Troy yell at me from the black flag line. He had seen me sabotage Ian.