The Alpha Trials

Chapter 1

Standing in the chilling wind of the Ghost Tear Pack Border I felt my heart lurch one final time. Of course my parents refused to come and see me off. Should I have even expected them too? They had practically sold me to our packs alpha in order to have their son, my older brother, rise in rank. Quite a twisted trade if you asked me. Where did I get to make a choice for myself in this matter? Sure I loved Eros, but did I love him that much?

And all because I didn't conform to the beauty standards of my mother. What a twisted world I live in. A world where my family would sell me to make a better life for my older brother.

It didn't matter, that was a part of my old life now. I was going to make a change for myself. I was running to the only place I knew Anders wouldn't follow me. The New Blood Pack.

Everyone knew about the contest held by New Blood. It was their namesake even. Every two years, two hundred young wolves from surrounding packs were invited to compete in a trial against each other. All for a place in the infamous pack of warriors, those who defended the other seven packs in the Packlands.

Any wolf was invited to sign up and join, only thirty of us would make into the pack by the time it was all over. The others, those too weak, too slow, too curious, or too disobedient, well, they would die. There was no second chances. Once you were in, you were in. We would be the new blood of the pack. A fresh group to keep the warrior bloodlines strong.

I was the only one from Ghost Tear. With my dirty blonde hair and grayish amber tinted eyes there was no other pack I could belong to. I didn't see any others around me though. I saw plenty of outer pack wolves, those who came from packs less advanced than the center packs. These were people who worked outdoor jobs, not office jobs. Therefore they were bigger and stronger than I was by a fair amount.

Shaking my head I forced my forward with my duffle bag slung over my shoulder. The last thing I needed to do was chicken out and give up already. I needed to be strong, to prove to my parents and my pack that I could be more than they thought. That I was worth living.

One last deep breath and I was on my way towards the guards who stood together, helping new recruits to sign in. They all looked so handsome in their formal uniforms. The black suits with golden buttons going up the center, three golden buttons on each side, and the golden insignia of New Blood. The winged wolf who seemed to be leaping over the sun. Its fangs bared in an angry snarl, the detail so pristine and well cut that it perfectly embodied the strict nature these soldiers seem to command.

I took one last moment to calm my racing heart, before I pushed forward, bags in hand. My strides started out confident, only to falter as I got closer to one of the guards. His own black hair and hazel eyes suggested that he too was a pack transfer. Someone just like me and the rest of us, most likely why he had been chosen to work this event.

He looked over at me as I walked over, his hazel eyes scanning me up and down briefly, brief interest flickering in them. "State you name and birth pack," he said, his voice sounding younger than I had originally expected it to be. He was almost my age, if not a few years older. Mentally, he was a good few decades older at the very least.

"Brynn Tenrith," I said, trying to make my voice sound as loud and confident as I possibly could. I don't know it it really worked based on the way he raised his eyebrow at me and tried his hardest not to smile at me.

"What?"

His lips twitched slightly when I snapped at him. "Nothing, it's just, you don't have to act all big and scary quite yet. No one is judging you on anything right now. Just be yourself and try not to get in anyone's way, that helped me the most. You're Ghost Tear, which means you'll stick out from the rest. Your pack is supposed to represent knowledge after all."