Chapter 70
Immediately after Laila fully stepped into the arena, the top of the arena slowly began to close, and the wires along the walls connected to the ceiling. It closed in a way that separated the audience from the field below, blocking their view of the arena floor while still allowing them to see what was happening below in the many holographic screens.
At once, a technological illusion was created inside the enclosed space, and the crowd watched from the screens as the arena transformed into the Silver Pack world.
Everything happening in that space was now controlled by technology.
Viola recalled Nick telling her that there would be people behind computers, operating everything and making it all feel real and believable to the audience.
The arena transformed into a literal battleground, where an illusionary version of the Silver Pack world was created. However, the world crafted by the system was now being destroyed by enemies, with every building burning to the ground.
From what Viola had read in the sheets sent to her, this first trial was called the Luna Emergency Evacuation Trial. This competition was designed to test a Luna’s ability to lead during urgent, high-pressure situations.
The elders framed the scenario as a simulated pack attack, where the Alpha was occupied fighting the enemies, and his Luna was responsible for securing the safety of the weaker pack members.
It was said that something like this had happened many, many years ago, when an attack struck the Silver Pack and many were lost, including a Luna because she couldn’t think fast in a high stake situation. That was why they now needed to test a future Luna through such trials.
Though the arena had turned into nothing but battlegrounds filled with fire and burning houses, there was a safe ground that led to an underground safety chamber that truly existed for emergency purposes within the Silver Pack.
Now, the Luna was required to lead the injured women and children to that safety before they died in the attacks.
Only the safety ground was not something an ordinary she-wolf could open. The chamber was an emergency shelter used during attacks or wartime. The entrance was sealed by a heavy mechanical cover that could only be lifted once.
Once the cover was released and closed fully, it would automatically lock and could not be reopened again. It was made that way to prevent enemies from following the pack members underground.
So the Luna had to use her wolf to hold the cover open while her people made it to safety. This was explained to Laila, as she was the first candidate and Viola noticed how the shewolf was smiling as if she found it simple.
Having an Alpha wolf must have made it look easy to her. She was to lead the most vulnerable members to safety, and among those she was expected to evacuate were older she-wolves with reduced strength, wounded werewolves, and young children.
The Luna was allowed to leave people behind if necessary, but she was expected to save as many lives as possible before sealing the shelter.
What made this trial even more daunting was the fact that not everything was fabricated by the system. The people left behind would genuinely feel the pain of whatever attack struck them, and even the Luna herself would suffer if she was hit.
Viola glanced at the people posing as vulnerable members, the ones the Luna was meant to protect. They had been taken from the packless with the promise that, if they survived the trial, they would be given a chance to join and become official members of the Silver Pack.
That was why their clothes were tattered, and why some of them were already injured and looked starved, from running, hiding, and living in the wild for years, without the protection of a pack or an Alpha. These were individuals who had been banished from other packs.
If they survived the trial and made it to safety with the Luna, they would finally have a home in Silver.
No normal werewolf would volunteer for something like this, knowing the risks of injury in the Luna trial. But these people were already hurt, already packless, already homeless, and desperate for a chance to belong, even if it meant enduring more pain in this trial.
Everything was designed to feel incredibly real, like a movie playing out before a live audience. Did they really have to go to such lengths? Viola wondered, finding herself feeling sorry for the people and the way they looked thin, starved, and frightened. It struck her deeply, because she had been there before herself and knew exactly what being that hungry and malnourished felt like.
From what she had read on the sheet, this was the most easiest among the three competitions.
Viola heard Emilia scoff and then relax back into her seat as the rules were announced, and she understood the purpose of the people inside the arena.
“Easy-peasy,” Emilia said. “But unfortunately, not for someone without the strength of their wolf p>
Viola was aware Emilia was talking to her, but she was too focused on the screen to pay any heed to the she-wolf next to her. She wanted to see how Laila would handle this.
There was a time setting displayed on the screen. She had thirty minutes to bring as many people as she could to safety, and there were fifty women and children who genuinely looked terrified inside the arena.
Laila was now standing at the far end of the arena with the women and children, while the underground chamber was miles away from where they were currently positioned.
“Get your asses ready to run for your lives. If any old person gets left behind, don’t expect anyone to stop for you, understand?” Laila said to the terrified people behind her, who quickly bobbed their heads, the women clutching tightly onto their children.
Immediately, the trumpet signaling the start was blown.
Laila shifted into her wolf form, reddish and dark fur coating the mighty beast. She loomed powerfully over the people, so much so that the little children began to cry in fear. She snarled at them before barking, “Silent!” Then, looking up at the bombs and arrows being fired, she ordered, “Run to safety p>
Viola watched without blinking as Laila’s wolf sped ahead of the people toward the chamber door so she could open it ahead of time.
Using her front legs, she grabbed the chamber’s seal chain with her paw and then used her mouth to pull it. The strain of lifting it could be seen clearly on her body, and Viola could tell the seal was immensely heavy if such a large wolf like Laila couldn’t lift it swiftly.
When Laila managed to lift it an inch, she fit her head into the narrow space she had created, then moved forward and used her back to push it the rest of the way open. Viola frowned as she realized the cover was not the kind that could stay released once lifted. It couldn’t remain open on its own and would automatically close and seal shut.
That meant Laila had to remain there, using her back to hold it open, waiting for the people to reach her.
Viola watched as the older women with injured legs fell behind, while the children were urged by their mothers to keep running ahead. The less injured ran with all their might as Laila snarled for them to hurry the fuck up because the weight was burning against her back.
Viola felt her heart beating faster as several weak, older women were left behind on the ground, and Laila grew increasingly impatient as the thirty minutes given to her dwindled down to only three minutes remaining.
When the children and some of the healthier women reached the chamber entrance where Laila was holding up the heavy cover, she ordered them to get in. When one of the children hesitated at the opening, crying for her mother who was crawling behind them and couldn’t run because her ankle was twisted, Laila used her hind leg to shove the child inside.
Then, without waiting for the ten weaker women left behind, knowing that the moment the time stopped, she herself could get hurt by the arrows being fired, she entered the safety chamber behind the others and shut the cover with a loud bang.
The moment the cover sealed, the remaining women were shot down with none wolfsbane but extremely painful arrows, knocking them unconscious instantly. Viola’s stomach turned and her eyes widened in shock. Though the arrows weren’t meant to kill as they were not humans, the pain inflicted would be severe.
“Well, that is a good way to go about it!” Emilia exclaimed with amused laughter, and Viola couldn’t help but shoot her a dark look, though the she-wolf only found her glare entertaining.
If this had been her in the past, Viola would have laughed at the sight of weak and innocent people suffering, just like Emilia was doing now. But this new version of her was no longer that kind of person. This new her knew what pain felt like. She knew suffering.
“Aww, don’t feel sorry for them, wolfless. This is a lifetime opportunity given to them, to be part of a pack. The pain will be worth it when they wake up. They’ll have a roof over their heads, food, and assigned work for the pack,” Emilia remarked, biting down on a ripe, fresh apple.
Viola watched the screen as a camera followed Laila underground, showing her smiling and panting after she transformed back into her human form, people quickly covering her with a blanket.
When she was asked why she chose to leave the weaker ones behind, Laila replied,
“As a Luna, I am forced to make sacrifices to save the majority. I believe it is more important to save those who can survive, grow stronger, and rebuild the pack after a disaster. The old and injured no longer serve a purpose and cannot contribute to a pack’s future. Saving the pups and the stronger ones is more logical than having them all killed p>
Laila’s answer earned her thunderous applause from the audience and the approval of all six elders, because that was what they believed made a true Luna. They all agreed with her view and her decision.
Viola watched this, a deep crease forming on her forehead as she silently calculated her strategy for her own turn. Something inside her rebelled against that viewpoint entirely.