Reader Warning:

This Chapter contains disturbing themes including forced medical examinations, physical restraint, loss of bodily autonomy, institutional abuse, emotional distress, and dehumanization. Reader discretion is advised.

_____________

After the most boring three-hour ride of her life, they finally arrived at Nova City, the human capital.

Hailey was still on the phone, barking orders left and right, probably deciding Aria’s fate as they spoke.

But Aria understood it now. The Concordia Selection was rigged.

If it took Hailey three hours just to get to her province, then how had the woman known exactly where to be before her name was announced?

The government couldn’t possibly have sent reporters to all seven provinces to wait outside the homes of every girl who applied. That would have been ridiculous. No way would they waste that kind of money on ordinary girls.

Unless they already knew who the winners were.

The reporters had been stationed outside their homes ahead of time, waiting for the exact moment the names were called so they could capture the "raw reactions" live.

Yeah. That made far more sense.

But even if the public figured it out, would they care?

Probably not. As long as it entertained them, people would happily swallow whatever lie the government fed them.

Nova City was the epitome of what every modern city aspired to be. Towering skyscrapers stretched toward the clouds while sleek glass buildings reflected the afternoon light.

The roads were wide, clean, and lined with digital billboards, their advertisements glowing across the highways crowded with streams of expensive vehicles. Even the air was different here, less dusty, and less heavy, nothing like her humble Westmoor Province.

"Finally," Hailey breathed, lowering her phone.

Or so Aria thought. A second later, the woman was already typing furiously again. She raised a brow, wondering if Hailey ever took a break from that damn device.

Speaking of phones...

She had left hers behind for Davina so they could still communicate somehow. She could only hope her sister had the patience to deal with the poor thing without throwing it into a wall.

The phone had been secondhand to begin with since electronics were ridiculously expensive after the Great War. The screen was cracked beyond repair and it was so damaged that she usually had to shove a pin into the tiny port just to force it to restart whenever it died. Which happened constantly.

Hopefully, there would be some way to contact Davina from Bestiaris Academy.

"We’ll arrive at the tower in five minutes," Hailey said suddenly, pulling Aria from her thoughts.

"What?" Aria croaked.

But Hailey was still typing away, barely acknowledging her.

"News of your arrival somehow leaked. There are already fans waiting outside the building."

Finally, she lifted her head and looked Aria over critically.

"I know you’re going for the whole tough-girl, don’t-mess-with-me image," she said, "but winning the crowd over would be smart. Investors eat that kind of shit up and since you’re trying to survive Bestiaris, it would increase your odds."

"Investors," Aria repeated slowly, hating how stupid she sounded.

She rubbed her forehead. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"You don’t honestly think the government is the only group involved in this program, do you?" Hailey asked. "Why would they waste national resources on something with such terrible odds of success?"

"So basically," Aria said flatly, "there are rich humans with a morbid fascination for watching how long girls survive in enemy territory before getting ripped apart."

She nodded grimly. "Nice."

For once, Hailey actually looked caught off guard by her response.

"I don’t know what happened to you, child," she muttered, "but you seriously need some sunshine in your life."

Aria looked away, staring out the window again. What happened was simple. She finally saw the world for the bullshit it truly was.

"The point is," Hailey began, "if the crowd loves you enough, they’ll find ways to keep you alive for as long as possible. Not to mention, your little stunt is already causing a stir in the capital."

Before Aria could ask what exactly Hailey meant by "stir," noise reached her ears and her gaze snapped toward the entrance of the tower.

A crowd had gathered outside. Their limousine slowed as security struggled to push people back, bodies packed tightly behind barricades while cameras flashed nonstop.

Aria felt both flustered and terrified. She had gone from being the freak of her province to somehow becoming popular in the capital overnight. That was not something a person adjusted to in the blink of an eye.

"Remember to smile," Hailey reminded her.

Aria scowled.

What was she? A damn circus attraction?

Hailey visibly winced before throwing her hands up. "You know what? Just be yourself."

Then the woman rose to her feet, muttering something under her breath about being grateful Aria would soon be someone else’s problem.

Aria wasn’t exactly offended. It wasn’t like the two of them had bonded.

A few minutes later, the door finally opened and Aria was introduced to a world she never imagined herself becoming part of.

Camera flashes exploded in her face almost instantly, bright enough to blind her.

Seriously, how exactly was she supposed to smile and wave when she could barely see?

Then came the screaming.

"That’s Trip! She’s finally here!"

"We love you, Trip!"

"Fall again for us, Trip!" someone shouted mockingly from the crowd.

Aria froze.

The cameras captured every second of her deer-in-headlights expression.

She swallowed hard. This was a living nightmare.

It wasn’t until Hailey nudged her sharply and muttered, "Move," that Aria realized she had completely stopped walking.

She stumbled forward awkwardly, her body moving before her brain caught up. Security surrounded her on all sides, blocking off the crowd as fans shoved against the barricades, trying to get closer.

"We support you, Trip!"

"Show those beasts what you’ve got!"

The voices echoed around her from every direction.

Before Aria could process any of it, she was ushered through the revolving doors and into the tower lobby.

The inside looked even more expensive than the outside. Polished marble floors gleamed beneath massive crystal chandeliers while towering glass walls overlooked the glittering skyline of Nova City. Employees dressed moved briskly across the lobby, barely sparing the commotion outside a glance.

As they walked in, a group of four people approached them, led by a woman dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. Her expression was cold and unreadable, her movements rigid enough to make Aria instinctively straighten. They stopped directly in front of them.

"You’re late," the woman said flatly.

"Stuff happened," Hailey answered with equal indifference.

Then Aria felt the woman’s gaze settle fully on her. The scrutiny was intense. The woman looked her over from head to toe like she was assessing a product rather than a person.

Still, Aria refused to back down. She met the woman’s stare head-on, holding her ground stubbornly. For a brief second, something flickered across the woman’s face. Interest? Approval? Or perhaps irritation. Aria couldn’t tell, and that somehow bothered her more.

"We’ll take it from here," the woman said finally.

Hailey turned toward Aria. "Alright, kid. This is where we part ways. Try to stay alive and keep your promise to your sister."

Then she saluted casually and walked away without another glance.

"Move," the suited woman ordered immediately. "We don’t have much time."

For the first time since meeting her, Aria actually wanted Hailey back. At least the reporter had been honest about who she was and gave her necessary information.

This woman, though? Aria couldn’t read her at all. Still, she followed after her while the others fell into step behind them.

Curious about where they were headed and who she was, Aria finally asked, "What’s your name?"

Judging from the cold stare she gave her, Aria expected silence in return. But a few seconds later, answered in a clipped tone,

"Abigail McLean."

Aria’s brows furrowed slightly. No title. No explanation. Nothing else. Great.

"Where are we headed?" she asked again.

"Processing," Abigail answered bluntly.

Processing. That was the same word Hailey had used earlier. Except Aria still had no idea what exactly they were processing.

For the first time, she regretted refusing to learn more about the Concordia Program. At least then she would know what nightmare she was walking into.

They reached an elevator and Abigail pressed a button.

"Get in."

Aria obeyed reluctantly, noting the floor number.

Ten.

The five of them entered the elevator together, yet somehow the small space felt overcrowded, heavy and suffocating.

None of them spoke, the silence alone making Aria uneasy. The elevator doors finally slid open and she was led into what looked like some kind of administrative office. Phone lines rang nonstop while workers rushed from desk to desk carrying files and tablets. The entire floor buzzed with activity.

A man approached them immediately.

"Is she the one?" he asked.

"Yes," Abigail answered curtly.

From there, everything moved quite quickly. Aria was questioned within an inch of her life. They asked about her mother. Her father—though if she knew who he was, wouldn’t she have mentioned him already?

They asked about Davina too, except Aria only gave the bare minimum. The thought of these people ever dragging her little sister into something like this made her blood boil.

The questions kept coming. Boyfriend?

Friends? Had she ever visited Bestial City?

Gone near the border? Had any affiliation with a beastman? What were her thoughts on beasts?

Every answer was typed down meticulously like she was being entered into some database instead of being spoken to like a person. By the time it ended, Aria was mentally exhausted.

Unfortunately, they still weren’t done. They took records of her height, weight, eye color, skin and blood type. Every physical detail was documented carefully before a worker handed her an identification badge with her photograph attached.

Candidate Twenty.

Sweet.

"Let’s go," Abigail ordered again.

Aria stared at her in disbelief. "We’re still not done?"

"Health assessment."

The answer unsettled her immediately.

The elevator opened onto another floor and Aria’s stomach dropped the moment she spotted two men in white coats already waiting. Something about this felt horribly wrong.

"What’s going on here, Abigail?" she asked cautiously.

"We need a complete medical evaluation," Abigail answered without emotion. "Underlying conditions. Fertility health. Hormonal cycles. Physical compatibility. Bone structure. Reproductive capability."

It dawned on Aria, this wasn’t about her health, they were evaluating breeding stock.

"No," Aria said instantly, taking a step back. "I’m not doing this."

One of the doctors calmly held out a hospital gown. "You’ll need to change immediately."

Fear crawled down Aria’s spine.

"No."

It was then she finally understood why Abigail had brought three guards with them.

The moment Aria turned to run, they moved. She barely made it a few steps before they grabbed her. Aria fought violently, kicking and thrashing as panic took over her body.

"Should’ve marked her as a flight risk," one of them muttered while trying to pin her down.

"Let me go!" Aria screamed. "You can’t do this to me!"

One of the guards laughed coldly.

"The moment those documents were signed, you became government property."

Aria was hauled to her feet and dragged toward a cold metal table where they forcefully strapped her down. No matter how much she screamed, no one came to help her.

Not when they forcefully stripped her bare and examined every inch of her body like she wasn’t even human. Not when cold instruments invaded the most intimate parts of her, tearing cries of pain from her throat while strangers stood around watching like this was normal.

No. Nobody stopped them. Nobody cared.

They handled her body however they pleased, reducing her to nothing more than another candidate to be inspected, documented, and prepared for slaughter.

At that moment, dying at the hands of the beasts almost sounded kinder than surviving another day in this place.