TateCsernis
• A Greykin Chronicles Companion Story •
What the hell did a mutt like Emrys think he was doing participating in the Redblood Trials? Winning, that was what. He'd prove to everyone that he wasn't just some runty Omega, and the prize would be his: he'd become Alpha King Zane's mate.
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Since the beginning of the human-Caeleste war, Emrys' pack has moved from territory to territory in an attempt to avoid the chaos. When they finally reach the Pactlands, a city far from the war's reach and neutral ground between the surrounding packs, it is immediately made clear that Omegas aren't welcome, and mutts never last long. Unfortunately, Emrys is both.
With Finn at his side, he survives long enough to witness the twentieth Grey Moon, and with it comes the Redblood Trials, a brutal tournament which promises the victor a royal title. That was his chance to prove that a mutt was more than a revolting cross of far too many bloodlines.
But his fight for survival starts before he can even sign up. Driven from the city by the Silveinbloods, he trespasses into forbidden woodland, an eerie forest with a thousand horror stories to ward any curious pup away.
Emrys was no pup, though. He didn't believe in ghosts. He ventures into the eldritch dark, abandoning sense and instinct alike, and within the ruins of an old castle, he uncovers an ancient Aegis artifact. However, the discovery doesn't promise riches, fame, or a better future. It warns him: if he enters the trials, all he'd find is danger and despair.
With the moon just around the corner, he has to decide what he fears more: a life forever of humiliation and seclusion, or the apparent fate waiting for him in the arena.
❅ Dark Fantasy ❅ Mystery-Thriller ❅ MxM Romance ❅ Battle of Life and Death ❅
Word Count: 3,417
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✵ Numenverse year: 1150
2026 © Tate Csernis