Chapter 3 The Blood Pits

Chapter 3: The Blood Pits

​The training pits of the Black Ridge were not for the faint of heart. Located in the bowels of the mountain, they were circular arenas carved from the bedrock, the air thick with the scent of sweat, ozone, and the metallic tang of dried blood. This was where the Alpha King's warriors were forged, and tonight, it was where Ava was expected to prove she wasn't just a political pawn.

​As Ava descended the stone steps, the rhythmic thud of bodies hitting the floor echoed against the high ceilings. She had traded her travel-worn clothes for a suit of dark leather and reinforced mesh, her hair braided tightly against her scalp. She felt exposed, not because of her attire, but because every eye in the room was fixed on her.

​Kazeem stood at the edge of the central pit, his arms folded. He had shed his tunic, revealing a torso mapped with scars-each one a story of a battle won or a lesson learned.

​"You're late," he remarked, though his eyes held a glimmer of curiosity.

​"I was busy sharpening my focus," Ava replied, stepping into the sand-covered arena.

​Kazeem didn't offer a hand or a word of encouragement. Instead, he gestured toward Selene, who was already waiting in the pit, rolling her shoulders. The silver-haired warrior looked like she had been born for this kind of violence.

​"The rules are simple," Kazeem announced to the gathered warriors. "No shifting. No lethal blows. The first to yield or be pinned loses. If Ava stays on her feet for ten minutes, she joins the raid. If she fails, she stays in the library with the scrolls."

​Selene didn't wait for a signal. She lunged, her movement a blur of silver and shadow. Ava barely had time to react, dropping into a low crouch as Selene's kick whistled over her head. The force of the movement sent a spray of sand into the air.

​Ava realized quickly that she couldn't match Selene's raw power. She had spent her life training to be a Luna-to be a diplomat and a healer-while these people had been bred for conquest. But Ava had something they didn't: the desperation of a woman who had lost everything.

​Selene came at her again, a flurry of strikes that forced Ava back against the stone wall. Left, right, high, low. Ava blocked and parried, her bones jarring with every impact. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and the heat in the pit began to feel like a living thing.

​"Is this all the Silver Moon taught you?" Selene taunted, pinning Ava's arm and slamming her shoulder into the wall. "To hide behind a shield and wait for a mate to save you?"

​The mention of Lucas acted like a spark in a powder keg. The grief that had been weighing Ava down suddenly transformed into a sharp, cold clarity. She stopped trying to play by Selene's rules.

​As Selene moved in for a final takedown, Ava didn't retreat. She stepped into the strike, using Selene's momentum against her. She grabbed the warrior's wrist, twisted, and drove her elbow into the soft tissue of Selene's ribs. With a guttural growl, Ava swept Selene's leg out from under her, sending the second-in-command crashing to the sand.

​The pit went silent.

​Ava stood over her, chest heaving, her eyes glowing with a faint, primal amber light. She didn't look like a rejected mate anymore. She looked like a predator.

​Kazeem jumped down into the pit, the sand crunching under his boots. He looked at Selene, who was pushing herself up with a begrudging nod of respect, and then he turned his full attention to Ava.

​"Ten minutes are up," he said, his voice dropping to a low rumble that only she could hear. "You have the fire, Ava. But fire without control just burns the house down."

​He reached out, his hand hovering near her jaw. He didn't touch her, but the heat from his palm made her skin tingle. "Tomorrow, we move for the Iron Gorge. You will lead the western flank. But remember: if you let your anger for Lucas blind you to my orders, I will pull you from the field myself."

​Ava met his gaze, refusing to back down. "I'm not angry, Kazeem. Anger is a luxury. I'm focused. I want him to see me standing over his broken kingdom, and I want him to know it was the 'unfit' Luna who brought it down."

​Late that night, Ava sat on the balcony of her room, looking out at the jagged peaks of the Black Ridge. The moon was high and full, a silent witness to the war that was brewing. For the first time since her exile, the crushing weight of betrayal felt lighter.

​She felt a presence behind her and knew without turning that it was him. Kazeem didn't say anything at first; he simply leaned against the stone railing, his silhouette formidable against the starlight.

​"Why are you really helping me?" Ava asked softly. "You could have taken the Silver Moon territory whenever you wanted. You didn't need me."

​Kazeem looked out at the horizon. "A king can take land with soldiers. But to hold a territory, you need a heart that the people recognize. They loved you, Ava. They saw your strength even when your Alpha was too blind to value it. I'm not just taking a territory; I'm restoring a balance."

​He turned to her, his amber eyes searching hers. "And perhaps, I wanted to see if the legends of the Silver Moon's true heart were real."

​He left her then, retreating into the shadows of the fortress. Ava stayed long after he was gone, the cold mountain air no longer biting, but invigorating. The raid was only two days away. Soon, the hunt would begin.