Evaline:
I was standing at the edge of the clearing while blinking up at the morning sky.
People, so of whom were soon going to be students at Silver Moon, kept bustling past . Their voices were filled with excitent and nerves. So were talking about the written test and how well they had perfod in it. So were talking about those who failed the test and were leaving for their packs. And then there were those who were talking about the second test.
Second test.
That phrase alone sent my stomach twisting into knots. I was already feeling sick when I woke up two hours ago, and now my nerves had decided to play their twisted ga with .
"You look like you are about to pass out." Mallory’s familiar voice reached my ears first before she herself appeared beside with her signature bounce and confidence. Her hair was wet, making it obvious that she just walked out of showers.
"Maybe I am," I muttered and then gave her a side glance. "Do you know what this second test even is?" I was unable to stop myself from asking. I needed to know what I was going to face next.
And as I watched a grin spread across her lips, I knew I had asked the right person. "That’s what I ca to tell you. Kyros and I want to share with you what we already know."
Right on cue, Kyros joined us. He was holding a paper bag with sothing that slled suspiciously like cinnamon rolls. "Morning," he said as he handed the bag to Mallory and nodded at . "You eat yet?"
I shook my head. My morning sickness hadn’t allowed to step anywhere near food yet.
Mallory handed a warm roll. "Eat. You are going to need it."
"Why?" I asked while taking a bite and instantly realizing how hungry I was.
Kyros folded his arms as he spoke. "Second test is team-based. They don’t tell us what it’ll be until the test starts, but the structure’s always the sa. There will be teams with three to seven mbers. And those who will fail to form a team, will be imdiately out of the test."
I nearly choked on the bite. "What?"
"Yeah," Mallory said as she chewed thoughtfully. "Pretty brutal, right? They are trying to see who can work together, who’s smart enough to plan ahead."
I wiped my hands, feeling my heartbeat picking up its speed. "So... what happens to people who don’t get picked for any team?"
"Imdiate disqualification," Kyros said flatly.
My hands went cold. How was I going to survive this?
"Why are you turning pale?" Kyros was first to notice, and his words had Mallory turning her worried eyes at . "You don’t have to worry. We are already a team. Even if no other person joins us, we will not be disqualified as we et the minimum requirent of mbers."
I stared at them, my eyes wide with shock. I was really surprised that they included in the team without even a single thought. And while I knew that this was possibly my only chance to grasp if I needed to pass the test, I just couldn’t bring myself to cheat them.
That’s not who I was... or wanted to beco.
"I... I should probably tell you sothing," I said, and both of them turned to look at .
I swallowed, hard, before muttering out the secret. "I don’t have a wolf."
The words ca out quieter than I intended, but they hit the air like a stone dropping into a lake. The silence that followed was sharp and it had my insides twisting even more painfully.
Kyros didn’t react at first. He just looked at while Mallory’s eyes widened slightly.
"I have never shifted," I said quickly before they could say anything. "I have never heard a wolf’s voice in my head, never felt the connection. I’m wolfless. Always have been."
I braced myself for the awkward goodbye, the polite excuse, the shifting of feet and careful distance that always ca after this piece of information.
But instead, Mallory just shrugged. "Okay."
I blinked. "What?"
"So?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Doesn’t change the fact that you are smarter than most of the idiots out there. You passed the written test perfectly, didn’t you?"
Kyros gave a small nod. "Top score."
"And I’m confident that you will give your best in this team-based test as well. You don’t need a wolf to have brains and reflexes," Mallory said. "Honestly, the wolfless thing just makes it more impressive."
I stared at her, genuinely stunned.
My gaze moved to Kyros next and he gave a look I couldn’t quite read. "You in or not?"
"What do you an?"
He held out his hand before speaking, "We form a team. You, , Mallory. Right now."
I looked at the outstretched hand, then at Mallory, who was grinning and nodding in agreent.
For a mont, I didn’t move.
Why would they do this? Why would they risk their own advancent, their own chances, by adding soone like ?
After another mont of hesitation, I finally took Kyros’s hand.
"Alright," I said. "Let’s be a team."
* * *
By the next morning, our team of three beca a team of five.
It happened during breakfast when Mallory and I were finishing off our bowls of oatal in the dining hall and Kyros waved two people over to our table.
"Eva, Mallory," he said while motioning to the pair. "This is Noah and Selene. They are from my pack."
Noah was tall and lean, with warm brown eyes and a calm presence. Selene had a sharp, assessing gaze, dark brown skin and short-cropped hair. They both looked like they belonged in this world. They were confident, strong, the kind of people who didn’t need to say much to make you notice them.
"Kyros speaks highly of you two," Selene said after a brief nod. "So we are in."
Just like that. No questions. No suspicion. No hesitation.
We were a team of five now. A strange team, maybe - two boys, three girls, one of them wolfless - but it felt... right.
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