Chapter 10 Chapter 10: Trial by Combat

The pack has gathered in the natural amphitheater—a circular clearing ringed by ancient trees. Torches burn at four points. Every wolf is present, silent and watchful. The air itself feels charged, expectant.

Hawk waits in the center, dressed simply in black. When he sees me, his expression transforms into something raw and reverent and terrified all at once.

Sage begins the ritual in that ancient, guttural language—something primal that makes my bones vibrate. She calls to the moon, the forest, the spirits of past alphas. Then switches to English.

"Hawk Blackthorn, Alpha of the Blackthorn Pack, do you claim this woman as your mate? Do you bind your life to hers, your fate, your death to hers?"

"I do." His voice carries across the clearing, absolute and unwavering.

"Luna Pierce, human of the mortal world, do you accept this claim? Do you bind your life to his, your fate to his, your death to his, forsaking all others, forsaking your former life, becoming pack until death?"

This is it. The point of no return. I look at Hawk, at the desperate hope in his eyes, at the pack watching, at the future that terrifies and calls to me.

"I do."

Sage produces a ceremonial blade—ancient, silver-etched, humming with something that might be magic. "Blood to blood, soul to soul, two become one under moon's witness."

She cuts Hawk's palm first—a clean slice that wells immediately with dark blood. Then mine. The pain is sharp, grounding.

"Join hands. Let the bond complete."

We press our bleeding palms together. Our blood mingles, warm and slick.

And the mate bond ignites.

Fire races through my veins—not painful, but overwhelming, consuming, everything. I gasp, nearly collapsing, but Hawk holds me upright. His eyes flash full amber, wolf rising to the surface, and suddenly I can feel him—really feel him.

Not just emotions. Everything.

His wolf surges into my consciousness, feral and ancient and utterly his. I experience his first hunt two centuries ago, taste blood and moonlight, feel the weight of alpha responsibility crushing and exhilarating. His love for this pack, his fear of losing me, his desperate hope that maybe, finally, he won't be alone.

And beyond him—the pack. Thirty-seven souls suddenly there in my head, a chorus of minds I can sense but not quite hear. River's bright joy. Derek's steady calm. Sage's iron-wrapped grief and something else, something that feels like... recognition?

The burning intensifies, concentrated in my left wrist. I look down through tears to see marks appearing on my skin—swirling patterns like vines and flames and crescent moons, black against pale skin, writing themselves into my flesh.

The claiming marks. Permanent. Indelible. Mine.

When the fire finally fades, leaving me gasping and shaking, Sage speaks again. "The bond is complete. Luna Pierce is now Luna Blackthorn, mate to the alpha, member of this pack, bound by blood and moon. What threatens her threatens us all. What harms her harms us all."

The pack howls in unison—a sound of welcome that raises every hair on my body, that resonates in my bones, that I feel rather than just hear.

Hawk pulls me close, pressing his forehead to mine. Through the bond, I feel his relief, his love, his terror at what comes next.

"How do you feel?" he whispers.

"Like I'm connected to everything. Everyone. Like I can sense the forest breathing, the pack moving, your heartbeat matching mine. It's overwhelming and perfect and terrifying."

"It fades. Your mind learns to filter. To find me in the noise." He kisses me then—gentle, reverent, full of promise and goodbye because we both know what comes next.

The moment breaks as Natalia steps into the circle.

"The claiming is complete," she announces, already removing her outer clothing, revealing fighting attire beneath. "Now we settle the challenge. Ritual combat for the right to stand as an alpha's mate. First blood, submission, or incapacitation."

Hawk's arms tighten around me. "Luna, you don't have to—"

"Yes, I do." I step out of his embrace, facing Natalia across the circle. She's taller, broader, built like a weapon. I'm bruised, exhausted, and bonded for less than five minutes.

But I'm packed now. And the pack doesn't quit.

Sage moves to the center. "Ritual combat. First blood, submission, or incapacitation. No killing strikes—alpha mates are too valuable to lose. Understood?"

We both nod.

"Then begin."

Natalia moves first, faster than I can track. Her fist connects with my ribs, driving the air from my lungs. I stumble back, tasting copper, and she's already there with a follow-up aimed at my head.

I duck—barely—remembering Sage's training. Don't be where they expect.

I go for her knee, a quick kick that lands but barely fazes her. She's too strong, too experienced, too everything.

"Pathetic," she hisses. "This is what our alpha chose?"

She comes at me again, and this time I see the pattern—she favors her right, leaves her left slightly exposed. I fake right, then go left, my fingers finding her throat.

Not enough to hurt, just enough to make her reassess.

"Eyes, throat, joints," I mutter, channeling Sage's voice.

We circle. Through the bond, I feel Hawk's terror, his desperate need to intervene. I push back: Trust me.

Natalia lunges. I drop low, sweeping her legs. She goes down hard, and I'm on her immediately, going for her eyes like Sage taught me—no honor, no fairness, just survival.

She roars—actually roars, the sound half-human, half-wolf—and throws me off with supernatural strength. I hit the ground, stars exploding in my vision.

"Yield," she commands, standing over me. "Acknowledge my dominance."

I should. Every rational thought screams to submit right now, live to fight another day.

But I think about Hawk. About the Council arbiter arriving tomorrow. About my father's awakening genes and my family's danger, and everything riding on this moment.

"No."

Natalia's eyes flash with fury. She reaches down, hauling me up by my throat. Her grip tightens, cutting off air, and I can't breathe, can't think. The bond screams with Hawk's rage and helplessness.

Eyes, throat, joints.

With the last of my strength, I drive my thumbs into the pressure points at her wrists—the spots Sage drilled into me. Natalia gasps, grip loosening just enough. I twist free, stumbling back, gasping for air.

We're both breathing hard now. Both bloodied. Both are refusing to quit.

"Why won't you submit?" Natalia demands. "You've lost!"

"Because I'm pack now," I gasp out, blood in my mouth. "And pack doesn't quit."

Something shifts in her expression—surprise, maybe respect. Then she moves again, and this time I don't see the feint. Her fist connects with my jaw, and the world tilts. I hit the ground hard, tasting dirt and copper.

This time, I can't get up. My body won't respond.

Natalia stands over me, victorious but not triumphant. "Submit."

Through blood and pain and the bond screaming with Hawk's anguish, I bare my throat. The ultimate submission.

"I yield."

The words taste like ash, but they keep me alive.

Natalia places one hand on my exposed throat—not hard enough to hurt, just enough to establish dominance. But her eyes aren't cruel. Just sad.

"I acknowledge Luna Blackthorn as alpha's mate," she says formally. "She has proven her courage, if not her strength. She may stay."

Then she does something unexpected. She offers her hand.

I take it, letting her pull me to my feet. The pack howls again—approval, acceptance. Not for victory, but for surviving. For refusing to quit even when outmatched.

Hawk is there immediately, catching me as my legs give out. "You stubborn, brave, impossible woman."

"I lost."

"You survived. Against a fighter with a century of training, you lasted four minutes and drew first blood. Luna, you terrified her. That's a victory."

Through the pain and exhaustion, I manage a smile. "Welcome to pack life?"

"Welcome to pack life." He carries me toward his cabin, and this time, I don't protest. "Try not to get killed in your first hour."

As he lays me on his bed—our bed now, I realize—I feel the pack bonds settling into place. Thirty-seven souls connected to mine, a web of belonging I've never experienced.

River appears with medical supplies. Derek brings water. Even Sage hovers nearby, her expression almost... concerned?

"You did well," Sage says grudgingly. "Stupid, but well."

"That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"Don't get used to it."

But as she helps clean my wounds with surprisingly gentle hands, I catch her studying my face with an intensity that makes me uncomfortable.

"What?" I finally ask.

"You look like someone I used to know," she says quietly. "A long time ago."

Before I can ask what she means, Hawk returns with ice. "Everyone out. She needs rest."

As the cabin empties, leaving just us, Hawk settles beside me, careful of my injuries.

"The arbiter arrives at dawn," he says. "Pack Council will present our case. Your claiming ceremony, your willingness to fight, your acceptance by pack members—it all helps our argument."

"And if it's not enough?"

"Then we fight. But Luna, today you proved something important. You proved the mate bond doesn't make me weak—it makes us stronger. Together."

Through the bond, I feel his certainty, his pride, his love.

"Together," I echo.

As I drift toward sleep, exhausted and aching and more alive than I've ever been, I realize something: I haven't thought about my human life in hours. Haven't worried about work or family obligations or who I used to be.

That woman—the ranger who felt overlooked and stagnant—is gone.

In her place is something new. Something fierce.

Luna Blackthorn, alpha's mate.

And I'm ready for whatever comes next.