Chapter 383: Laia Vs Holly, Orion Arrives

The clearing buzzed with uneasy energy.

Teams One through Eight stood clustered in loose formations, each group gathered near their assigned examiners and the healers. Snow crunched beneath restless boots. Breath fogged the cold air in pale clouds. The trainees were anxious.

The air was filled with tension, and everyone felt it.

The test had been interrupted too abruptly. None of the trainees had actually expected that the signal for mass retreat would be used, but it was used either way, and no one knew the reason... well, except Dren and his members.

Team Six stood slightly apart from the others.

Holly was at the center of them. They made a circle around her.

Her wrists were bound tightly with a strip of heavy bandage, tied into a firm knot that cut into her skin. Her shoulders were stiff with restrained fury, her jaw clenched so tightly her teeth ground faintly. Her face was twisted in open irritation, eyes flashing with wild, unfiltered emotion.

She looked less like a trainee and more like a cornered animal.

Genevieve stood a short distance away, arms crossed tightly over her chest, expression drawn and wary. The straps of her medical box were slipping into her shoulders.

Wesley, along with the others present, noticed immediately.

His eyes flicked from the bound hands to Holly’s furious expression, then back to Genevieve. His brow furrowed deeply as he stepped closer to her side. He turned first to make sure that he wasn’t mistaken, but there was no sign of Ethan.

"Where’s Ethan?" he asked quietly, voice tight with concern.

Genevieve shook her head once. "I’ll explain later, but let’s get the trainees to safety."

Wesley’s frown deepened. His gaze swept the clearing again.

Two people were missing from Team Six along with Ethan — that made it three.

The members of the other teams also noticed. Micah scanned Team Six mentally, accounting for faces, postures, familiar movements.

Sophia wasn’t there.

Neither was Joren.

A cold knot tightened in Micah’s stomach.

He moved toward Uther, who had his arms folded, expression grim. "Where’s Sophia?" Micah demanded, not bothering to soften his tone. "And Joren?"

Uther opened his mouth to respond—

—but Holly beat him to it.

A sharp, manic laugh burst from her throat, slicing through the low murmur of the clearing like a blade.

Everyone turned.

Holly threw her head back slightly, eyes gleaming with unhinged triumph. "That bitch is finally going to get what’s coming to her," she said loudly, her voice ringing with cruel satisfaction. "I saved the whole pack today. You’ll all see. You’ll all know I was right."

Several trainees stiffened.

"What are you talking about?" someone muttered.

Holly’s grin widened into something ugly and feral. "Sophia is a demon. And now everyone’s finally going to see it."

The clearing erupted into stunned silence.

Then—

Nia moved.

She crossed the distance in a blur of motion so fast even the examiners jerked in surprise. Snow sprayed beneath her boots as she stopped inches from Holly’s face, her body coiled with barely contained violence.

Her eyes glowed faintly with a low, dangerous shimmer.

"Where is Sophia?" Nia growled, voice low and vibrating with restrained fury.

Holly tilted her head mockingly, lips curling. "Why would I tell you?" she sang. "Just wait. You’ll see soon enough. I’ll deal with you too, don’t worry."

The air crackled with tension.

Nia’s hands flexed at her sides, claws threatening to surface.

She inhaled sharply, forcing control into her posture, then turned her head slightly toward her examiner — a compact woman with cropped dark hair and a pale scar running from her wrist up her forearm like a faded lightning strike.

"Rhea," Nia said tightly, eyes never leaving Holly. "May I hit her? I’m asking respectfully."

A ripple of shocked murmurs ran through the gathered trainees.

Rhea blinked, clearly caught off guard. "Nia, I—"

A loud crack cut through the air.

Holly’s head snapped violently to the side as a sharp slap landed across her cheek, the sound echoing across the clearing.

Everyone froze.

Nia turned sharply toward her sister.

Laia stood there, chest heaving, eyes blazing with unrestrained fury. Her hand trembled in rage from the impact she’d just delivered.

"Where the fuck is Sophia?" Laia snarled, stepping forward again.

Holly’s cheek reddened instantly — but she only laughed.

A harsh, broken sound that crawled under everyone’s skin.

"That’s the best you’ve got?" Holly taunted. "You should’ve hit harder."

Laia lunged again.

Nia caught her around the waist, and Micah stepped in and held Laia back just in time, dragging her backward as Laia fought against his grip, rage flashing dangerously close to the surface.

"Let me go!" Laia snapped. "I’m going to deal with the bitch. I’ve had enough of her."

"I’ve had enough of her too," Nia told her sister.

Dren gave Holly a look unlike Laia’s. He appeared calm. "Where is Sophia and Joren?"

"Joren is with Ethan," Genevieve spoke out.

"And Sophia?" Cat asked her.

Genevieve shook her head. She had planned on informing Wesley alone and then Alpha Orion when they got to the pack, but with the way the others were behaving, she had to say something.

"Let me go. I’ll kill this bitch, I’ll kill her myself!" Laia said, scrambling to get out of Micah’s hold.

"Calm yourself down!" Micah told her.

"Calm? I should calm myself down? When I have no idea where Sophia is?" Laia asked him.

The clearing vibrated with restrained chaos. Even the examiners were stunned.

Whispers spread like wildfire among the teams.

"Did she say demon?"

"Where’s Sophia?"

"Why are her hands tied?"

"Something’s wrong..."

"I swear, if anything happens to Sophia — even if it’s just a fucking strand of her hair that goes missing — I’ll fucking kill you and donate you to the enclave!" Nia growled out at Holly.

Micah knew at that moment that he was holding the wrong person back, because Nia looked like she was seconds away from ripping into Holly.

Just then, a new sensation rolled across the clearing. It was pressure, and it was heavy, like someone was placing a massive rock over them.

Every person present stilled, and every conversation stopped. Micah released Laia as he swallowed nervously. Orion had told him to watch over Sophia, and he hadn’t done it. But there was no way he could have — especially since they were on different teams.

The wind seemed to hesitate as a presence moved through the treeline.

Branches cracked slowly.

Footsteps — massive, deliberate — pressed into the earth.

A huge wolf emerged from the forest.

Silver-black fur gleamed faintly in the pale winter light, muscles rolling beneath his coat with controlled power. His eyes burned with sharp, piercing intelligence. Every movement radiated contained force, restrained violence held behind disciplined command.

The entire clearing snapped to attention instinctively.

Even the examiners shifted their footing.

Even the most reckless trainees felt their spines lock rigid under the weight of his presence.

But something was different.

A fresh mark gleamed faintly on the wolf’s forehead — a half crescent moon carved into fur and skin, still faintly luminous, like a blessing or a brand.

Whispers rippled through the gathered crowd.

"Is that... new?"

"When did he get that?"

"Goddess tits, he’s—"

The wolf’s gaze swept the clearing once — a single slow arc that pinned everyone in place — then locked onto Holly.

Her bravado wavered.

For the first time, something like real fear flickered across her face.

The massive wolf stepped forward once.

Then again.

The ground seemed to subtly yield beneath his weight.

Bones shifted fluidly.

Fur receded. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

In a breath, Orion stood where the wolf had been — tall, broad-shouldered, eyes blazing with cold, focused intensity. His presence didn’t diminish in human form. If anything, it sharpened.

His gaze never left Holly, and she swallowed hard.