The Consort Candidates

Coach Braddock’s booming voice snapped me out of my paranoid thoughts. The seed of doubt withered under his sharp bark. My focus shattered as he clapped his hands, the sound echoing off the gym ceiling, demanding the attention of the exhausted class. My burning lungs were just starting to recover from the brutal track run, but there was no time to rest.

"Listen up! Pairings for the combat drill!" Braddock yelled, scanning the clipboard in his meaty hand.

He rattled off a few names, the surrounding students pairing up and moving to the designated mats. Then, he paused. My stomach dropped into my shoes. I had a sickening premonition before the words left his mouth.

"Clark. You're on the center sparring mat," Braddock announced, his gaze flicking toward me with an unreadable expression. "With Wolfstrom."

My heart hammered against my ribs, pounding a frantic rhythm that I swore everyone could hear. Out of every student in the massive gym, I was placed directly with Ares. Walking onto the padded mat felt like a death march. My legs shook, muscles trembling from exhaustion and dread, but I forced them into a standard defensive stance. I bent my knees, raised my fists to guard my face, and narrowed my eyes at the Alpha heir, refusing to let my fear show.

"Let’s get this over with," I muttered through gritted teeth, hoping the venom in my voice masked my rising panic.

Ares grinned down at me. He looked like a massive, predatory cat that had just cornered a wounded mouse. His golden eyes locked onto mine, gleaming with a dark, twisted amusement.

"Gladly," he purred with chilling anticipation, rolling his shoulders as if preparing for a light stretch rather than a fight.

The moment Coach Braddock blew his whistle, the drill began, and any illusion I had of putting up a decent fight vanished. Ares didn't just fight; he dominated the space. He possessed a terrifying supernatural speed and brute strength that I couldn't begin to match. Before I could throw a defensive jab, his foot swept out in a blinding arc, hooking my ankle and sending me crashing down onto the hard mat.

The impact knocked the wind straight from my lungs. I gasped, tasting stale rubber and sweat, the world spinning for a fraction of a second. I pushed myself back up on bruised arms, my breathing shallow.

"Come on," Ares taunted, his tone lazy and arrogant. He wasn't even sweating.

I threw a wild punch. He batted it away effortlessly, the slap of his hand against my forearm stinging like fire, and shoved my shoulder. I hit the floor again, a sharp ache spreading down my spine. I grunted, rolling back to my feet, raising my arms heavier than before.

But Ares wasn't just trying to beat me physically; his taunts turned intentionally cruel.

"Raised by humans?" he questioned mockingly, stepping into my space. He threw a heavy hook. I brought my forearms up just in time. The blow rattled my bones, sending a shockwave up to my shoulders. "No wonder you don’t have any respect for the Higher packs."

I staggered back, biting my lip to keep from crying out. I tried to sweep his leg, a desperate attempt to gain some ground, but hitting his shin felt like kicking a solid iron pole. He didn't even flinch.

"Though what wolf would abandon their daughter?" he continued, his voice dripping with venom. Another hook came flying, a blur of motion. I barely managed to deflect it. "Clearly you were a massive disappointment."

His words pierced through my physical defenses, sinking deep into my chest. I threw a sloppy jab, which he dodged with a patronizing scoff. He countered with a hard punch to my stomach. I doubled over, wheezing, my knees hitting the mat with a heavy thud.

"I mean, what wolf is wolfless at your big age?" Ares sneered, looming over my hunched form, bathing me in his intimidating shadow. "Just face it, you’re nothing."

He grabbed the collar of my shirt, pulling me up just to look into his glowing, condescending eyes.

"Not even your parents wanted you."

Those words struck a buried, festering nerve. A memory flashed vividly in my mind—the cold, peeling walls of the orphanage. The endless, freezing nights crying for a mother who never came. And then, Queen Cordelia's cold, detached face when I finally met her, looking at me not as her long-lost daughter, but as a strategic pawn.

Pure rage ignited inside my chest. It wasn't just anger; it was a fierce, roaring fire that I had never felt before in my life. It burned away the fear, the exhaustion, and the physical pain. I didn't care that he was an Alpha heir. I didn't care that he was twice my size.

Screaming at the top of my lungs, I recklessly lashed out with everything I had left. I threw my arm forward, curling my fingers into a tight claw. My blunt fingernails swiped fiercely across his massive, exposed bicep.

I expected him to shrug it off. Instead, Ares stumbled back, his eyes widening in shock.

The entire gym went dead silent. The grunts, the squeak of sneakers on rubber, the shouts of the other students—everything stopped abruptly. Everyone turned to stare in open-mouthed shock.

I stood there, chest heaving, and watched as a distinct, bright red trickle of fresh blood dripped down Ares's tanned arm.

He looked at the blood, then up at me, stunned. He slowly ran a finger over the cut, smudging the crimson liquid, as if unable to comprehend that I had actually wounded him.

Breathing heavily, I refused to back down. I stood as tall as my battered frame allowed, meeting his wide, shocked golden gaze without flinching. My hands were balled into fists at my sides, my fingernails aching from the impact.

"I will prove to you that I belong here," I stated slowly, my voice dripping with venomous promise that echoed in the silent gym. "And when I do, I expect that fucking apology."

Before he could respond, I turned on my heel and marched straight off the sparring mat, heading directly for the locker room.

Inside the humid locker room, the heat of the showers slowly seeped into my aching muscles. I showered quickly, my mind racing over what I had just done, when the white-blonde girl from the track rushed in. She spotted me near the lockers and yanked me aside.

"No one’s ever made Ares bleed," she whispered frantically, her purple eyes wide with disbelief. "Let alone a wolfless!"

She was awestruck. I half-expected her to scold me, but instead, a massive, excited grin broke across her face.

"I’m Tessa, by the way," she said, extending her hand, overcoming her initial shock to offer me genuine friendship. "It seems like you need a friend."

"I do," I mumbled. Starved and exhausted to my core, the offer of an ally felt like a lifeline. When she eagerly invited me to join her in the cafeteria for lunch, I gratefully accepted.

Walking into the dining hall alongside Tessa, my senses were immediately overwhelmed. I had expected a standard school cafeteria, but this massive room was filled to the brim with lavish, extravagant cuisines fit for royalty. Towering displays of fresh sushi sat next to carving stations featuring rich, roasted meats and vibrant vegetation. The scent of exotic spices made my stomach growl ferociously.

But as I looked at the extravagant spread, a cold knot of anxiety formed in my gut. Fearing I had no money in my student account, I couldn't bring myself to indulge. I had grown up in an orphanage where food was scarce. Anxiously, I bypassed the towering displays of fresh sushi and rich meats, opting instead to grab a simple, cheap turkey sandwich on white bread with mustard, and a bottle of water.

I walked up to the cashier, my heart pounding, bracing myself to fish for loose change. I handed over my student card. The cashier swiped it and handed me a receipt.

I glanced down at the paper, and my jaw dropped. I was shocked to realize Queen Cordelia had silently loaded my student account with more than enough funds to buy the whole room. It was a staggering amount of wealth. She had thrown money at me in secret, ensuring I was provided for, yet she offered zero maternal warmth.

I shoved the receipt into my pocket, waiting for Tessa to finish paying. We picked up our trays, looking for an empty table in the crowded, buzzing room.

Then, the grand cafeteria doors swung open.

The room quieted instantly. The shift in atmosphere was so sudden it felt like a vacuum had sucked the air out of the space.

Ares strolled in. He had changed into a pristine white shirt, his presence demanding the attention of every person in the hall. But he wasn't alone. He was flanked by two imposing, massive men.

The man on his right was pale and covered in a dusting of freckles, wearing an ingrained, permanent scowl on his face. He scanned the room with a look of utter disdain, his dark brown hair adding to his rugged, dangerous aura.

But my breath hitched when I saw the second man. Gaelen Nightshade. He was strikingly handsome, with sharp jawlines and light brown hair dyed blonde on top, pulled back into a small ponytail. I instantly recognized him from my brief time hidden in the Luna castle. Cordelia had once pointed him out to me, claiming he would be my fiercely loyal knight one day.

As Gaelen walked through the hall, his dark, calculating eyes swept over the crowd. Then, they landed on me.

He stared intensely. The moment our gazes locked, the rest of the cafeteria melted away. There was a weight to his stare, a heavy, suffocating intensity that made my skin prickle. As I walked past him, holding my plastic tray, I couldn't look away. I was distracted, caught in the magnetic pull of those piercing eyes.

I lost track of my surroundings.

I bumped shoulder-first into someone. The impact jarred my arms.

My cheap turkey sandwich flew right off my plastic tray. It flipped through the air and landed with a wet, disgusting smack directly against a solid chest.

I pried my eyes open in horror.

Ares was looking down at me.

There was unhinged murder swirling in his glowing golden eyes. Smeared directly across the center of his pristine white shirt was a massive, bright yellow stain of mustard.

"Oh, she's done for," someone whispered behind me.

"Fucking hell!" the pale, freckled man screamed, his voice booming and drawing the entire cafeteria's attention right back to us. "Watch where your fucking going! I’ve never seen such a clueless person before."

I stood frozen, the empty tray shaking in my hands. The room was dead silent again, the tension suffocating.

Ares didn't yell. That was somehow far worse. Instead, he slowly, menacingly wiped his large hand down his ruined shirt, scraping off the yellow mess. His golden eyes never left mine, burning with a cold, terrifying fury.

"Maybe if she wasn’t eyeing Gaelen up and down, she would’ve paid better attention," Ares mused coldly, his words slicing through the silence. His golden eyes pierced right through my skull. "Though, I should’ve expected this kind of behavior from a wolfless human."

"Oh, I see," the freckled man hissed. His scowl deepened as he stepped forward, leaving Ares's side to loom aggressively over me. He was taller than Ares, built like a tank, casting a dark, intimidating shadow over my much smaller frame. He looked like a furious giant about to crush an insect. "This is the idiot who chose to scar you in Basics?"

He took another threatening step closer. I stumbled back, my spine rigid with panic as I felt trapped. He raised his heavy hand.

"Listen to me, girl—"

"Kaelar."

Gaelen's deep voice interrupted. It wasn't a shout. It was a sharp, bored warning that echoed over the tense silence, cutting through the freckled man's rage.

*Kaelar.*

The name rang in my ears like a death knell. My heart stopped. I instantly knew that name, too, from Cordelia's meticulous list.

I stood frozen in the dark shadow of the three angry, massive giants towering over me. A paralyzing realization washed over me, chilling my blood to ice.

Were all three of these highly aggressive, incredibly dangerous men supposed to be my potential husbands?