War Of Hearts

Chapter Four~Trust Yourself

"It's time." Casey whispers after getting me dressed for the next rating.

"Remember La'ree only ten women will get through this stage. You have four hours to complete the test. If you do not complete it in time you are automatically disqualified.

"I know, I got this" I say as I look at myself in the mirror seeing the determination in my eyes. When I woke up this morning, I was even more convinced in my plan to win it all. I wasn't going to back down.

Casey led me out of the room. I looked around my surroundings, we were in a long hallway with doors on each side till it curved over to where I assumed there were more rooms. There were men stationed every five or so doors, hands crossed in front of them staring at me. A look of evil in their eyes as their stared down at my body trying to remember every crevice. I stared them down a small growl clawing its way up my throat.

We kept walking till we reached a door that led outside. I raised my head in the air slightly smiling at the feel of the hot sun on my skin. I hadn't been outside in months. It was hard for wolves to stay inside for so long, we were a part of nature, we are wild at heart. I felt my body wanting to turn into my wolf form.

Before I had a chance, Casey grabbed my arm "Don't turn, you will be shot on sight." When she said that I saw snippers in the trees with guns all facing me. I fought the urge to turn, fighting my natural ability that wanted to come out so bad.

We kept walking until we were in the depth of the woods. I heard a crowd in the distance, men cheering and whistling in the distance, and then I saw it. A huge stadium in the clearing of the woods. Casey walked me right in until I was on the field in the center of the stadium. She roughly grabbed my arm and placed me in the line with the other women. A couple other women migrated in until it stopped and the loud boom a voice went off.

I looked up to the sound, " I am Beta Alec, I will be the one running the ranking today." In my head I thought the cowardly king can't even face us himself. A smirk formed on my face as I continued to listen.

"Today will be a test of your mind. You will be put through a series of tests to determine if you are fit enough to sit by the True King's side. Remember no shifting, if you do, well you don't want to find out." he chuckled. Still he hadn't said which King exactly this was all for.

"The first is your sense of smell, there you will find the next challenge. GO!!!" He shouted into the air with the crowd cheering him on.

All the women ran, along with myself. I need to get away from all these strange smells if I wanted to find anything. All of us ran out of the stadium in different directions. I ran straight for about a mile, dodging rocks and fallen trees. I could feel sweat trickling down my body when I finally stopped. I looked around me and found a large moss-covered tree and started to climb it. When I reached the top, I raised my head and smelled. I first smelled other girls sweat around me, I knew it wasn't that and tried to bring my attention to something else.

That's when I smelled it. I wasn't sure what it was exactly, but it was different from all the other smells. It smelt almost like metal. I knew that was it. I looked down and saw no one around me. I pushed off the top of the tree and glided down, landing on my feet with a thud. My body ached not used to the strenuous activity anymore. I felt my wolf slightly raising to the surface giving me the strength, not letting my human body fail me. And I ran.

I ran in the direction that I believed to be West but honestly had no idea if I was correct. But giving myself a target comforted me in some strange way. I then I saw it none of the other women were around but a haggard old woman. When I reached her she was standing in front of a table with tiny vials laying on it. That's when I realized she was a witch. That's what the strange smell was. They smelt different from wolves.