Feral Bonds: Claimed By Rogue Alpha Brothers
Chapter 32: A Special Test for Us

Chapter 32: A Special Test for Us

Evaline:

We took the left path, moving deeper into the maze. And slowly, the forest around us began to change. Vines were curling down from branches like snakes, some even twitching as we passed. The shadows kept growing darker, and a strange mist was clinging low to the ground.

And then... we heard the first scream.

It was not from our team, but someone else. Probably another group, somewhere deeper in the maze. The sound was sharp, raw, and got cut off far too quickly.

Mallory stiffened next to me. "That sounded real."

"It was," Noah said quietly. "They don’t hold back in these tests. The threats are controlled, but the danger is very real."

We didn’t speak after that. We just moved faster. By the time we reached the glade, my heart was pounding. Not from fear, but from the sheer intensity of the maze.

We had passed through a patch of whispering trees that tried to turn us against each other, spinning lies into our ears. Selene had nearly drawn her blade on Kyros, until Noah snapped her out of it by throwing dirt in her face.

It was a little unorthodox, but effective.

Now we were standing in a clearing with a large stone pillar in the center. Strange glyphs were carved into its surface, glowing faintly. At its base was sitting a riddle etched into a plaque.

I am always hungry,

I must always be fed.

The finger I touch,

Will soon turn red.

"Fire," I said immediately as the answer popped into my mind the second I was done reading the riddle.

The moment the word left my mouth, the glyphs shifted and a small section of the stone slid open, revealing a glowing ember inside.

"Well done," Kyros said with a flicker of approval.

I nodded, feeling quite proud of myself for being helpful. "Let’s take it and go-"

Before I could have finished the sentence, the ground beneath us started shuddering.

"Trap!" Selene shouted.

Vines shot up from the ground, aiming for our legs. Noah grabbed me, pulling me back just in time. Mallory was quick to unsheath her dagger and began slicing through the writhing plants. Selene spun midair and landed hard on one knee before swinging her own blade in a wide arc.

I took out my own dagger, something Kyros had given all of us after lunch. He believed that whatever test we were about to face, it would be dangerous and a dagger might come handy. Turned out he was right.

I was ready to help the others and slice down some of those vines, but I never really got the chance. Neither did Noah as he was basically protecting me.

Within minutes, the vines were gone and the ground settled down once again. With the way cleared, Mallory stepped forward and retrieved the ember from the stone pillar.

"It’s actually a sigil fragment," she said as she joined us. "It looks like we need two more."

With that knowledge, we continued to look for the other two fragments.

And the maze didn’t give us another moment of peace. We ended up facing mirrored illusions of ourselves next. They were twisted, monstrous, and even tried to break us apart. But with Kyros and Selene leading us, we made it past them in no time.

Then we solved another riddle. This one involved the names of the moon phases in reverse order. And it took all five of us to find the answer.

Then we crossed a ravine next by using fallen branches and balancing ropes we made from vines.

It was not until the very late afternoon that we found the third and the final fragment of the sigil in the center of a ring of stones, hidden beneath a pool of still, dark water.

We were expecting some kind of trap under the water, but as Noah dove in and came up with the fragment, we realized the only obstacle there was bone-chilling water - something none of us noticed until Noah came out shivering.

Mallory and Kyros both had jackets on, so they quickly took them off and wrapped around Noah. While me and Selene tried to rub his hands and feet to channel some warmth in him.

Poor Noah wouldn’t have to go through all this if not for first rule of entrance exam - applicants weren’t allowed to shift into their wolf forms.

It took about ten minutes for him to calm down enough for us to focus on the three pieces we had successfully collected.

Kyros assembled them with practiced hands, clicking each into place. Once all the pieces were in place, the sigil started pulsing with a soft white light.

"We did it," Mallory whispered with a small smile of victory on her lips.

"We are not done yet," Selene surprised us by her next words while pointing in a certain direction. And it was only then that we realized someone else had joined us.

The trees had parted to reveal the final exit, but standing between us and the end was a single figure. Tall. Cloaked. Masked.

"I thought there weren’t supposed to be final bosses," Mallory muttered.

"Some teams get tested more than others," Noah replied before adding, "And it’s always the top three ones."

The thought of us being one of the top three teams, made me feel excited. But I held myself back and joined the others as we formed a line with our weapons drawn.

I didn’t have claws or wolf strength. But I had my mind and about ten years worth of physical training. It’s just been a long time since I last used the latter one.

But I was determined to not let my team down.

The fight was fast, brutal, making us realize that the test was no joke. The warden was moving like smoke, shifting between us, trying to separate and confuse.

I took a hit to the ribs but rolled through it, drawing the warden’s attention just long enough for Selene to strike from behind. At the same time, Kyros landed the final blow - disarming and disabling without killing it.

And with that, the warden vanished like mist, leaving the path ahead clear.