The beast grins, it looks very wrong with his mouth like that, and pressed his claws harder.

"Choose, young Alpha" he tilts his head, "Your mate, or your kingdom."

--

Adrian looks torn.

Nyra or his pack? But how can he pick?

Nyra is his heart, while he’s trained for years to rule his pack, how can he lose one to gain the other? How would he ever be complete again?

For the first time, Adrian is genuinely breaking down-- unshed tears fill his eyes.

"I-I don’t know what to pick!" He rasps, ignoring the blood dripping from his temple now. "I-I can’t..please.."

The creature grins wickedly, completely unmoved by his tears. "Well then, I’ll make the choice for you."

He digs his claws harder, and Adrian can’t bear it. The moment his eyes lock on Nyra’s limp frame, he knows who exactly he’s picking. He can’t let her die. Not even Moon-Crest is worth losing her anymore.

"I pick her! Please don’t hurt her!"!" He says quickly before the claws can pierce her to death.

The moment those words leave his mouth, the entire Simulation falls into a heavy, tense silence. He looks around, expecting to see destruction all around them, but surprisingly the entire space is just..calm.

The ruined buildings vanish, the dead beats disappear, the blood on the ground fades.

Even the beast holding Nyra slowly crumbles into black ash.

Adrian stands frozen, breathing hard.

"I... won?" he whispers. "Is it over?"

"No." A female voice echoes across the empty white space-- her voice is calm and beautiful, almost inhuman.

He spins around frantically, only to stand face to face with a woman dressed in flowing silver robes. She stands a few feet away, moonlight glowing beneath her skin.

A crescent moon symbol is encrypted above her forehead, and the air around her feels impossibly calm. Exactly how the myths had described her..

"The Moon Goddess..." Adrian breathes, wide eyes.

She doesn’t answer. Instead, she simply raises one elegant hand--the light around them turns so bright, that Adrian has to cover his eyes with his arm.

Through the small space between his arms, he sees a young girl approach dressed in all white.

Nyra.

She’s completely unharmed now, her beautiful brown hair cascading down her shoulders. She looks so beautiful like this.

Relief crashes through him so hard he almost falls over.

"Nyra!" He rushes toward her, but she doesn’t move to hug him back. She just stands afar, watching him with unreadable eyes.

"I chose you," Adrian says desperately, when he reaches her. "You heard me, didn’t you? I chose you over everything. Over Anna, over my pack!"

Her expression still doesn’t change, amber eyes staring coldly at him.

When she finally speaks, her voice is as dark as night. "I reject our bond, Adrian!"

His smile disappears. "W-what? Why?!"

"I can’t do this anymore. You’ve never treated me right, why should I stay with you!?’

Adrian shakes his head violently.

"No... no, that’s not.. please let’s talk first-"

She walks past him before he can finish. Instantly, a second figure appears from the light around the Goddess.

Jason--Adrian scowls when he sees him. What is he doing in his own stimulation!?

But the more he looks, the more he realizes that something about Jason’s wolf looks different. His brown and black wolf looks enormous, larger than any wolf Adrian has ever seen before.

What’s more unsettling is his eyes. Red and blazing, completely unmoving, like it wants to rip Adrian apart.....and for the briefest second, Adrian has the strange feeling that this isn’t part of the simulation.

What the fuck--

Nyra walks past him, straight toward the massive wolf. "Can I choose someone else?" she asks the Goddess quietly.

The Goddess nods. "You may, my child."

Nyra stares at Jason, then back at Adrian covered in deep wounds and blood.

"Then I choose Jason."

Adrian blinks. "W-what? Why? I’m your mate!"

Nyra tilts her head, like it’s obvious. "Because he treats me better."

Jason’s wolf grins– wolfish and unsettling– at her answer, and places a protective hand on her shoulder, stepping between them, so he can block Adrian’s path.

"No!" Adrian shouts, throwing himself forward, trying to reach her. "Nyra, please!"

She doesn’t even look at him.

"I chose you!" he screams, his voice breaking. "I chose you over my pack!"

But it’s useless. Neither of them even glance back as they begin to walk away together.

"No!" Adrian lunges after them."I said I’m sorry! I chose you!"

His voice cracks."Please, please don’t leave me!" It feels like the bond humming in his chest is being torn into two, as they slowly walk away hand-in-hand.

He tries to run toward them again, but the ground suddenly begins to shake and pain explodes through Adrian’s skull.

He finally understands it. That somewhere between hating her... protecting her... and chasing after her, she’d quietly become the one thing he couldn’t bear to lose.

Adrian’s bloodied hands start yanking at his hair, trying to find the virtual band. The moment he finds it, he takes it off with rough hands.

Looking around as the training ring comes back into focus. Blood pours from his nose, splattering onto the training ground from the force of taking the band off.

The entire arena is silent, watching their future Alpha shake with wide eyes.

"Adrian!" John rushes over first carrying a first aid box.

Their coach also rushed in, ripping the band from his hands. "Easy!"

Adrian doesn’t even look at them, his eyes darting frantically around the room-- until his silver irises fall on her.

She’s sitting on the bleachers besides her friends, looking down worriedly at him. He knows she could feel his fear through their bond, the way her chest is rising and falling proves it.

But what matters is that she’s still here-- alive and safe.

Far away from Jason.

Relief hits him so hard his shoulders sag, but before he can fully exhale, the machine behind them beeps with the result.

Adrian Blackwood-- SIMULATION FAILED.

A stunned silence sweeps across the training ground, everyone freezes. No one even breathes.

The undefeated captain. Their future Alpha has failed.

....for the first time in his life.