Chapter 1. Elara. The Choosing.
Choosing day.
The words had been written across our calendar in my mother's handwriting three months ago.
As if I might forget.
I hadn't.
I woke to the smell of bread burning.
Again.
I stared at the ceiling for a moment, listening to the faint scrape of a knife against a cutting board downstairs, followed by my mother's muffled curse.
“Damn it.”
I smiled despite myself.
Some things, apparently, were more reliable than tradition.
I pulled on a pair of leather leggings, a simple black shirt and a fitted leather cropped jacket and made my way downstairs.
My mother stood in the kitchen with one hand on her hip and the other holding a piece of blackened toast.
“Don't say it."
“I wasn't going to.”
“You were thinking it.”
“I was thinking that the bread looks brave.”
She glared at me.
I grinned.
For a few seconds, everything felt normal.
Almost...
Outside, the village was already awake. Doors opened and closed along the street. Voices carried farther than usual. Horses passed somewhere beyond the houses, their hooves striking the stone road.
Choosing Day always made people restless.
It wasn't just another ceremony.
Every year, the Choosing was held in a different territory.
This year, it was ours.
Territory Seven.
And by sunset, ten unmated women from the ten territories would be standing in the forest of the Eleventh.
Ten girls.
Ten Alphas.
One hunt.
I had spent my entire life knowing that eventually, someone from our territory would be chosen.
I had just never expected it to be me.
My mother set the ruined toast aside.
“You ready?”
I looked at her.
She was smiling.
But it didn't reach her eyes.
“I think so”
She nodded too quickly.
“Good.”
Something about her answer made the back of my neck prickle.
But before I could ask, someone knocked on the door.
The day had begun.
By midday, the entire territory seemed to have gathered around the old amphitheater.
The stone seats were packed.
Ten banners hung above the arena, each bearing the crest of one of the territories.
And below them stood ten men.
The Alphas.
I'd seen most of them before, from a distance.
I'd never been close enough to speak to one.
We weren't supposed to be.
Not really.
Alphas lived differently from the rest of us. They ruled their territories, settled disputes, commanded armies, and carried traditions older than anyone could remember.
And for most of the year, women were kept well away from them.
Today was the exception.
I found myself looking toward the tenth banner.
Johnathan Ashford stood beneath it.
I knew his name, of course.
Everyone did.
The tenth Alpha.
Thirty years old.
Unmated.
Feared.
There were stories about him.
There were always stories.
He stood apart from the others, dressed entirely in black, his expression unreadable.
While the other Alphas watched the crowd, he looked as though he'd rather be somewhere else.
Then the Council entered.
The noise died almost immediately.
Twelve elders walked into the arena in their gray robes, silver insignias catching the afternoon light.
The oldest among them stepped forward.
“By tradition, by law, and by the will of the territories, the Choosing begins.”
No one moved.
He raised a scroll.
“The selected woman of Territory One..."
A name was announced.
A girl stepped forward.
She walked into the arena.
Then came Territory Two.
Then Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Each time, another girl.
Each time, another family somewhere in the crowd held its breath.
I barely heard the names anymore.
My palms were sweating.
My mother stood beside me.
She hadn't said a word since we'd left home.
“Territory Seven”
My heart stopped.
The Councilor looked down at the scroll.
“Elara Vale.”
For one strange second, I didn't move.
Then I heard my mother gasp.
I turned toward her.
She had gone completely pale.
