Gift from the Stone (Source of Elementra Book 2), page 26
I have to hold back a sneer as the other Elders look at the rest of us like a group of rag-tag miscreants that are going to desecrate their pack lands.
Despite their complete dismissal and rude attitudes toward the lot of us, the scenery is stunning. There are multiple mountain peaks stretching far into the distance, creating a beautiful backdrop around the land. I can tell by the lack of homes or even people, they keep the outsiders farther apart from the pack members.
We’re in a more secluded area of the land, where the trees continue to stretch for miles, breaking apart for small blooming meadows, and judging by the low sound of running water, there are streams somewhere hidden within the forest.
I swear we walk a mile before finally coming up to a huge dwelling standing alone in a small clearing. For some reason, in my mind, I was picturing we’d be staying in a small mountain cottage, not a mansion. It’s not as large as our mansion, which is way too big, but it’s still huge.
“Headmaster Vito, you and your guests will be in the east wing. Gloria’s inside and can escort everyone to their rooms, and the trials will begin in one hour. You all can transport to the center instead of walking,” Sawyer speaks for the first time.
“Thanks, kid,” Corentin grunts, roughing up his hair as he walks by him.
“I hope our rooms are close to one another’s. This place is huge,” Oakly says as she walks up beside me, taking in every detail of the house as we follow a very stoic, meanly looking Gloria.
“I was thinking the same thing. I thought we’d be staying in a cottage or cabin you know?”
“Nothing but the best for the Vito family. These two-faced shits have to keep up appearances,” she whispers low, causing my laugh to echo in the eerily quiet hall.
Luckily, we’re in fact right next door to one another. Our two rooms are the only ones on this hall and they’re massive. A replica of one another, with large Nexus beds, as I’ve dubbed calling them, and a bathroom each. Ry and San drop all their bags in their Nexus’s room before converging into ours, shrinking the space completely. These eight massive-ass men make any room feel small.
“Are we staying here for the hour or going to the center?” I ask Tillman as I lean my head back on his chest.
Wrapping his arm around me, he pulls me back until I’m flush with his front, and I soak in the protective, safe feeling.
“Go to the center and meet up with Rhett and his guys. Scout out what we can before the trials begin.”
“And there are three trials, each one eliminating a finalist, until the Alpha challenge, right?” I ask.
They warned me that these trials would be brutal, bloody, and possibly deadly if the finalists took it too far, and no one would step in to stop it. Shifter culture, especially Alpha trials, is cutthroat as shit apparently.
“Yes. The first trial will test their level of dominance. The second will be hand-to-hand combat with elements, and the third, their animals will fight. The Alpha challenge will be a combination of them all between the two finalists.”
“Stay close to us, Willow, and don’t wander off. We don’t know if anyone else here was given a picture of you like Jarod was, so we aren’t taking any risk. And go ahead and conceal your necklace. The palace team will be spread out in other positions, but the rest of us will stay together,” Corentin orders as he pushes his communicator back into his pocket, extending his hand out for me to hold.
Doing as I’m told, I conceal my necklace, then go straight into his arms. The rest of the guys surround me once again, and I watch as Oakly does the same, the two of us nodding at one another. Our silent way of saying everything’s going to be okay.
I know it’s judgmental of me, but I honestly assumed and have been expecting the absolute worst at every turn. Granted, we’ve been here less than an hour, but that’s just not the case, aside from the asshole Elders.
As I look out over all the people buzzing with activity, running all around in preparation for the trials to start, they all seem normal. There are homes, shops, restaurants, children running around playing. Nothing here screams evil cult. It’s a community, a beautiful one.
I swallow roughly as we make our way to the farthest point in the center that backs to the forest at the base of the mountain. Standing shirtless in front of an enormous house are the ten finalists. The Alpha’s house. I know it’s the Alpha’s house because I’ve seen it in my dreams, multiple times.
“It’s impossible. How do none of them bear the mark? We thought for sure at least half of them would,” Caspian murmurs, stepping up beside me and speaking over my head to Corentin.
“Maybe this will be more than just an Alpha trial. Maybe it’s their trial to get into the society as well,” Corentin grunts.
My Memoria stone begins blazing against my chest as soon as the words leave his mouth. It’s so hot, there’s no ignoring it. Turning my body so I’m directly in front of Caspian, he looks down at me questioningly. I give a slight shake of my head and slowly reach up to grip my stone. He works out immediately what’s happening, pulling me into his chest, shrouding us in his shadows.
“What makes you think my gift will be the sight? I’ve had my elements for two years now and nothing’s happened.”
“I have my ways of knowing, Willow, you know this. And if I’m wrong, there’s nothing you’ve got to lose when learning about a gift that rare,” my stranger tells sixteen-year-old me.
“Do you even know anyone with that gift?”
“I’m very close to someone with that gift, thank you very much, Miss Priss. Are you ready to learn or would you rather continue to ask questions?”
“Well, if you’re open to answering them, I got a list.” I smirk, knowing I’m pushing my luck.
“Nice try. Now listen. Someone with the sight has far more abilities than just seeing the future or diverging paths of the future and there are three very important abilities I want to tell you about for now.
“Someone with this gift has a higher intuition when it comes to sensing the intentions of others and they’ll likely know within the first few moments of meeting someone if they care for them or not. It’s a powerful ability when faced with powerful people. They should always listen to that little inkling they get when meeting someone for the first time.
“They can dream-walk, enter the dreams of others. This permits them to forge deep connections with people when it’s not possible to meet or know them in person, offering guidance with or without informing them of the futures they’ve already seen of them.
“Lastly, when the seer activates it, there’s a spell that can be cast to show them things that have been concealed from the sights of others, but for someone who possess the sight, there’s nothing that cannot be seen.”
“Holy shit, that’s incredible. There’s no way I’ll be powerful enough to possess this gift. Wait, that old dude is supposed to teach me a concealment spell. Is that the spell you’re talking about?”
“He’d die if you called him an old dude.” The stranger laughs. “But no, my smart girl. The spell he will teach you will show you how to conceal something. The spell I’m going to tell you would reveal the things people have concealed. You know…if you possess this gift.”
“Well, get on with it. Don’t leave me in suspense.”
“Of course, filia mea. Reveal to me their disguise, show the truth through my knowing eyes.”
Swaying backward from being thrown out of the memory so fast, my back collides with a much larger body that stops me from hitting my ass. Fuck, two out of those three abilities I’ve already used, just didn’t know that they were related.
Damn it, I do have the sight.
“What happened, little wanderer?” Draken asks, gripping my hand.
“A memory just unlocked. I’m sorry to tell you all, but the sight is definitely a gift I have. And right now, I need to cast a spell and I’ve never cast one without some sort of guidance. Is it the same for all spells? Call my magic forth, say my incantation, then command it?” I ask quietly, looking at Corentin for advice.
“Yeah, princess. It’s almost always the same. What’s the spell?” he asks.
“Let’s see if I can do it first. If it works, this is not something anyone should hear,” I tell him seriously. I’ll broadcast it to Tillman, and then he can relay the message.
Closing my eyes, my magic glows the moment I call for it. “Reveal to me their disguise, show the truth through my knowing eyes.”
Releasing my breath, I slowly peel my eyes back open, flinching at the sight around Caspian. Turning around in a quick circle, all of them are strapped to the brim with weapons.
“Why do you all have so many damn knifes and I have nothing?” I whisper-yell.
“How can you see that, Primary?” Caspian asks, gripping my chin, forcing my eyes to his.
The sight allows me to see what others have concealed.
“Everyone touch me,” Tillman orders.
“This is a really inappropriate time, dude,” Draken jokes as he lays his hand somewhere on Tillman, causing me to snort.
“Fuck,” they all say in awe.
“There’s more, but that’ll have to wait. I’m pretty sure when I turn around, our first assumptions of the finalists are going to be correct.”
“I’m sorry, little warrior,” Tillman says, laying a hand on my stomach. Glancing over my shoulder, his stricken face tells me he doesn’t want to ask me to use this ability here, but he knows I have to.
“Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything. We all have our jobs and responsibilities today. This will just become mine. I’ll stay close to you and point them out as we go.” Leaning down, he gives me a quick and hungry kiss, pouring his pride into me with each swipe of his tongue.
“Okay, Will. Tell us what you see,” he orders gently as he steps back, turning us so we switch positions.
“Huh, would you look at that. From left to right, all thick like his was. One, three, five, seven, nine.” I can see it clear as day.
The M marked on each of their chests above their hearts, all thickened like Jarod’s. And just like that, we know there’s a fifty percent chance the Mastery could have another in the Alpha position of this pack.
“Good girl. Let’s walk around a little. It’s not unusual for shifters, at least males, to be shirtless,” Corentin orders, lifting my hand to his lips.
These gifts of mine sure can scare the fuck out of me sometimes and even though I know I’m powerful, I still have a hard time remembering it until times like this when they look at me with such admiration and devotion. They believe in me, and I’ve got to start believing in myself more. Walking through the slew of people, we grow closer to the platform the finalists are standing on and I can’t help it as my gaze falls on Lyker. There’s such a familiarity about him, like looking at a long-lost friend, and it chokes me up knowing what could happen to him very soon.
Almost as if he can sense my stare, he looks me dead in my eyes, just like he did in my vision, and I only hold it for a second before quickly adverting my gaze.
Holding a shifter’s eye, well, anyone’s really, isn’t an issue for me. I had to get used to staring men in their eyes, and if he’d been anyone else, I wouldn’t have looked away first.
For him, though, I’m too afraid he’ll see my worry bleeding through. He has no clue who I am, but I don’t want my look to give anything away. I really have to concentrate to hide my emotions. I don’t have a poker face, so he’d see I fear for him.
“Mid-day, all of them, thin.” The guys all turn their heads at the same time and look at the group of eight or so shifters to the right of us. Six have their shirts off and I can see the thinly sliced Ms carved on their chest, the other two with shirts I obviously can’t tell, but they’re being pretty chummy.
“May I have your attention, please,” a voice booms across the center. Our whole group turns to face the voice and see all the Elders have joined the finalist on the platform.
“Terravile Pack today is both a day of remembrance and celebration as we host the first Alpha Trials in nearly five hundred years. We are thankful for the work and leadership of late Alpha Jarod Teri and know that Elementra is blessing him in the beyond.”
Doubtful.
As the elder continues to talk about Jarod and introduce the finalists, I tune him out since I know all I needed to know about them, and I lean into Oakly.
“How is it they haven’t had an Alpha trial in so long and Jarod didn’t have any heirs?”
“Well, his father won the last Alpha trial they had to host. Jarod just inherited the role. He didn’t have to compete for it. Plus, he wasn’t at baby-making age yet. And from what I’ve heard, he and his Nexus didn’t have a Primary. They preferred the company of multiple women, and they didn’t really like to share. Odd fucking balls,” she informs me.
“Talk about going against the grain. Don’t want to share a Primary and are fucking scum,” I murmur, rolling my eyes. I’m sure, just by the way he spoke to me, Jarod would’ve been a shit Nexus member anyway.
“Please make your way to the arena. The trials will begin soon.” The cheering from the crowd draws my attention back to the platform as the Elder finishes off his speech.
The scents from the crowd are overwhelming me as we walk with the large number of shifters to the arena, and I lean my face into Draken’s arm to breathe him in to block it out. The wet dog smell that was so potent to me when I first shifted has dimmed a little, but the smell of wolves is still very unpleasant. And there’s a number of other shifters here, so I’m getting whiffs of multiple different species, all smelling foul to me.
“Just wait till you see the arena, little wanderer, you’ll be too distracted to notice the stench,” Draken whispers.
“How have you all seen the arena if there hasn’t been a trial in so long and they don’t let people in here?” I ask curiously. I know for a fact they weren’t alive then.
“We came for E.F. recruitment one time with one of Corentin and Caspian’s dads. The pack uses it for training and ceremonies as well.”
“Holy shit…” I breathe as the arena comes into view.
It’s massive, at least as big as the Coliseum. The architecture seamlessly blends with nature, almost as if the mountain stretched itself out to create it. There’s no roof, just an open dome that allows the morning rays to shine over the center that’s nothing but a plateau of sand.
The seating sections are constructed from a combination of weathered stone and sturdy timber, with greenery from the forest flowing all over the walls. And as we take our seats in the section marked with the Vito name, I swear center stage, I can’t help but feel a sense of dread bubbling in my stomach. Like from my seat, I’ll be the one giving Lyker a thumbs-up or down, deciding his fate.
We’re completely secluded in our section with just our group but directly across the arena is a group of people, about fifty or so, who I can tell are separated from the rest. They’re not mingling or laughing with the rest of the pack, and my senses instantly alert to them.
“Do you all notice the group across from us?” I ask low enough my words don’t travel, but loud enough they can hear me.
“What about them?” Tillman asks.
“There sitting with the other shifters, but not talking or interacting with them at all. They’re all tense, like they’re waiting in anticipation. I think those are all the M shifter recruits.”
All my men continue talking amongst themselves, but I can see each of them glance over there at the group casually as if they’re just scanning the arena.
Simultaneously, Tillman leans back to draw Ry’s attention, while Corentin leans forward to get Rhett’s, both murmuring quickly then righting themselves, tossing their arms over the back of my seat.
“Good eye, Will,” Tillman whispers, then kisses the soft skin behind my ear, making me squirm and the others laugh.
Tease.
The sound of iron gates creaking open draws everyone’s attention to the far end of the arena where the ten finalists walk in single file, followed by the Elders. Their faces are masks of fierce determination, ready to begin this battle.
An Elder steps up and raises his hands to silence the roaring cheers from the crowd and as the noise dies down, his voice booms.
“Esteemed members of the pack and honored guests from the realm far and wide, welcome to the arena where Elementra herself will hold court! Today, we gather to witness a trial of dominance, strength, and unyielding resolve of our wolf. For on this momentous day, the time has come to determine the rightful heir to the mantle of Alpha. In this challenge, these men shall prove their mettle, for only one among them shall emerge as the chosen leader, the alpha who will guide our pack into a new era.
“As we embark upon this trial, let the echoes of howls and the whispers of the wind bear witness to the strength, ability, and courage that shall unfold. May Elementra guide and judge, and may the Alpha destined by her rise triumphantly. Let the Trial of Terravile begin!”
The shifters in the crowd go wild, stomping their feet, chanting, and howling at the sky. It’s a contagious feeling of anticipation and excitement that makes my adrenaline pump.
“How will the elimination work? I can’t figure it out in my mind with ten finalists and three trials, plus the Alpha challenge,” I ask as the ten finalists step to the side and wait for their names to be called.
“This first round will eliminate two contestants. The second trial will be four on four combat. The losing group is eliminated, leaving the final four to shift. They’ll be paired off and the winner from each fight will move on to the Alpha challenge,” Tillman answers, eyes on the center in front of us.
This first trial of dominance is a lot like what we practiced in my shifter class, pouring our dominance out until someone yields, but instead of one on one, one finalist will hit the other nine finalists at once and attempt to force them to yield or at least show some sort of reaction.
“What will happen if no one yields? How would the Elders judge then?” I ask, still confused on how they’ll be able to tell who has the most dominant command.
