The Lunar Trials Part 2

*NOT EDITED*

'That's a lot of people' was the first thought that popped into my head as I looked onto the crowd. Every single pair of eyes was on me, and even though they were all sitting on their chairs, it felt like they could pounce on me any second. The only eyes in the crowd who gave me comfort were Corrine's as she gave me a thumbs-up and her million-dollar smile.

I looked to my right at Axel, and I reached out my hand to hold his. I was not sure if he noticed it or not, but he didn't make a move to hold it out. I quickly hid my hands behind my back to hide whatever just transpired from the crowds that were analyzing every single part of me. Brushing it off, I focused on what was going to happen next.

"Calista Jessen," a voice I didn't recognize boomed behind me. I turned my attention to its demanding presence and found a long table with people sitting there. I recognized some, like the jackass William and Axel's grandma. There were 12 seats total, and I could tell because they were numbered. However, one was empty, and I assumed it was Axel's.

"Yes," I answered. It didn't come out very strong and confident like I had hoped it would, but it wasn't shaky either. I felt a little proud of myself.

"It is great to meet you, I am Councilman Darren, and this is the Blood Venom Council," he said gesturing to the people seated at the table with him. "Welcome to your Lunar Trials!" Even though he sounded friendly, there was this sick smile that I wanted to shove right off his face. I desperately wanted to roll my eyes at him because of how enthusiastic he is about the Trials. But, I contained myself, and instead smiled at the old man, and said, "Thank you, Darren."

"To start this off, you will have to pledge your allegiance to Blood Venom. Once you do, you will be able to take part in the official Trials that, if you pass, will make you Luna," Darren continued. I nodded my head ready for this to be over with.

"Alpha Axel, you may begin," William instructed.

At this point, Axel moved towards the Council's table and grabbed a beautifully, well-designed dagger from the center. Wait, what is he going to do with that?

I stayed rooted in my spot, not really knowing what to do. However, I trusted that whatever it is, was going to be okay. He moved back towards me and looked me right in the eyes.

"Callista Sophia Jessen, do you pledge your complete allegiance to Blood Venom and me as your Alpha?

"I do," I said sounding a little nervous. I think he was able to tell, because he paused and locked eyes with me, to give me some time.

"Do you solemnly swear never to betray the Blood Venom Pack or me as your Alpha?" He asked facing me and not losing eye contact for even a second.

"I do." I wasn't sure if I was supposed to recite everything that he was saying again. Nobody had really explained how this works, but since he kept moving on with the questions, I assumed I was doing it right.

"Do you swear to always do what is best for Blood Venom given your capabilities as a Luna?"

"I do."

"Do you swear to honor and cherish Blood Venom members and everything Blood Venom holds dear?"

"I do."

At this point, Axel glanced back towards the Council, as if signaling that he is ready for the next step. Quickly, he grabbed my hand, and led me towards the very edge of the stage. I wasn't really sure what was going on, but I was just rolling with it.

"To prove your allegiance to me and to this pack, we will form a blood bond, for this entire pack to witness," Axel addressed me, but making sure everyone is able to hear. "Our blood will mix and will fall on Blood Venom soil, as a symbol of the sacrifices we are willing to make for our pack," he continued.

I didn't really have time to react, because in a split second, Axel had grabbed my palm and ran the sharp end of the dagger across a small portion of it. I released a quit hiss, as the skin broke. I wanted to grab my palm and tend to the wound, but I didn't want to be seen as the girl that couldn't handle a little cut, especially not in front of the entire pack. As I glanced at Axel, I saw him draw the dagger back and cut his entire palm, much deeper and longer than how he cut mine. I saw him bite his lip a little, I guess it obviously hurt. I was about to say something, but he whispered, "There needs to be enough blood to drip onto the soil. If I cut my skin like I did yours, we wouldn't pool enough blood because of our quick healing." True to his word, my blood was already starting to clot from the small shallow cut he gave me. I nodded my head and let him grab my palm with his injured one. We extended our held hands over the edge of the stage and saw the blood drip from our hands onto the ground. There was a ton of clapping that occurred, but my only focus was on Axel, who mouthed good luck to me, and pecked my lips.

"We will take a quick break, and the Trials will resume shortly," William said.

I got off the stage, and a couple of people led me to the changing area to get out of my dress and into more active gear. I was given water, and some people came up to me to wish me good luck. Mason hung out with me and gave me some fighting pointers. He wasn't with Victoria, and I assumed it was because he didn't want to attract any attention to them. Axel had to be seated at the Council's table and he wasn't allowed to hang out with me anymore so that we don't collude with each other anything about the Trials. I thought that was a dumb excuse because it wasn't like he knew anything about what was going to happen today anyway. Once the break was over, I was led back to the stage and was told to face the Council. I glanced slightly at Axel, who had the most serious expression on his face, then focused my attention on the rest of the Councilmen.

"Calista, as you know there are two portions to these Trials. There is the first one, in which any unmated female member of the pack who thinks that you would not make a good Luna can challenge you. If she wins the fight, you lose your chance of becoming Luna. The second portion is going to be read off to you after you succeed with your first test," William started.

I released a huge breath I was holding as the reality of the situation struck me another time. "We will start by some logistics and rules. First, you are not allowed to shift into your wolf at any time, especially if you are fighting with an unmated female who doesn't have her wolf yet. Keep in mind that you are allowed to use the added wolf strength that you have to your advantage, but any shifting will immediately disqualify you. Secondly, these Trials are going to be filmed. In previous generations, we had journalist members follow the potential Luna and report everything that was going on during the Trials. However, this is the age of technology, so we have equipped the arena with cameras that will allow everyone a great view on this huge screen," he said pointing to his right. "Do you have any general questions before we begin?"

"No, I don't think so," I answered, still uneasy given the situation.

"Very well then! Blood Venom members, is there anyone who wishes to challenge Calista today? This will be the only day you are allowed to do so."

I faced the crowd and caught Corrine's worried glance. She tried smiling at me, but I knew that this was taking a lot of courage on her end too. I nodded my head to her, signaling that I was okay. I was honestly very glad that she was here.

I was expecting Jade to stand up and challenge me, but surprisingly, she didn't. She kept her gaze glued to the floor.

"This is the last call. Does anyone want to take on Calista Jessen?" William prodded. Why the hell was he trying to convince them to fight me?

When nobody moved a muscle, William accepted and said, "Congratulations Calista, you made it through," faking enthusiasm. He was obviously upset that I did not get beat up. I, however, was over the moon. Not only did I not have to fight anyone, but his meant that the pack is willing to accept me as their Luna!

"We will start with the second portion now," Darren stated, removing a small card from an envelope. "Calista, I am going to have Karen, my assistant, hand you a picture. I think it will be helpful if you keep the picture, so you may hold on to it if you wish to do so," he instructed. I nodded my head, and thanked Karen as she gave me a picture of two things: a key and a small, vintage, metal, rectangular treasure chest. Interesting.

After trying to retain as much of the picture as I can, I looked back at the Council waiting for further instructions. "Calista, we have placed the key that you see in the picture inside this treasure chest which we have placed somewhere in the woods of the Blood Venom Pack. Your objective is to find it and bring it back to us within three hours. To help you, we will give you a map with some clues as to where the chest could be."

I could feel the sweat start pooling out of every pore in my body. How am I going to do this? I am so bad with directions. This is going to be absolutely impossible for me. I tried to calm down and not cry because I knew that the entire pack was looking at me.

My eyes caught Axel's first, and I couldn't tell what he was thinking. Then, my eyes traveled and found Mason, who mouthed to me 'You got this!'

I smiled back at him and regained some of my composure. I reassured myself that as long as I follow the clues in the map, I can hopefully find the key and bring it back. I think I can do this. I have to!

"There is a catch, though," Darren's voice resonated. Of course there is. There is always a catch. Why should it just be simple?

He stayed quiet for a couple of seconds, that honestly felt like an eternity, to build some suspense. What a jackass!

"Since you are new here, Calista, let me give you some background before I present you with your real challenge. A while ago, one of our own female pack members was mated to a rogue. Instead of bringing this matter to the attention of our previous Alpha, she decided to let the rogue come on Blood Venom territory. However, the rogue obviously couldn't be trusted and started causing trouble in our pack. To punish her for betraying the pack, we separated them from each other, banning the rogue from ever coming into our territory and locking her in our dungeon. She has been down there, all alone and without her mate, for about 30 years now, and her mate has been dying to spend some time with her. Some of us think that she has probably learned her lesson now, and they should be reunited. So, we made a deal with her mate. If he can find the key in the treasure chest, he can use it to free his mate, and live the rest of his life with her. Calista, you will be competing with this rogue for the same key. If you retrieve it, you will get to be with your mate. If he does, he will get to be with his mate. However, if he can retrieve the key before you can, you fail the Trials and will not be made Luna," Darren ended his speech.

"This is absolutely preposterous!" yelled a man from the Council and rose from his seat. "Darren, we did not agree on this at all. How dare you change up the Trials in such a vile way? How dare you even invite a rogue to the territory without Axel's approval?"

I wasn't sure who this man was yet, but I was thanking him whole-heartedly. Axel's grandma held this man's hand and whispered in his ear, hoping to let him to calm down. And even though he visibly relaxed, he was still very upset with what had just transpired. I guess that would be Axel's grandpa.

"The Council has the authority to invite whoever they want to the territory, Arthur. And we have extended this courtesy to him. However, if he does anything he shouldn't, he is aware that he will be immediately killed." William interjected.

My eyes locked with Axel's, and for the first time today I can see that he was truly worried about what was going to happen. Please say something, make this stop!

"This is ridiculous, William, and you know it. This rogue is going to be uncontrollable. You can't possibly expect my mate to fight him off if it came down to that," Axel said.

"Well, these are the Trials that we have decided on for this generation. I'm sorry that you were kept out of the loop in all this Alphas but we knew that you and your wife would not approve of this. And when we voted, we had an 6-3 vote. Your votes would have not mattered as majority is still in favor. So, we moved along with it. I hope you aren't implying that Calista is too weak to be able to handle this challenge," he taunted.

"This isn't about whether Calista is weak or not, but this is simply—," Axel was about to respond, but a man on the Council interrupted and addressed me, "Do you think you are too weak to be able to do this, Calista?" another council member I didn't know asked me.

The way he structured the question was unfair, because I didn't want to say I was too weak, but I also did not think this was fair at all. There was no way I can fight off a rogue wolf who has been separated from his mate for thirty years. This was going horribly.

"I, I have been training, but I don't think—I don't know if I can—," I tried speaking, but for some reason I just couldn't find the words.

"If you want you can back out right now. It would just mean that you can't be Luna. We won't change how we designed your Trials, after all we did promise that wolf a fair chance at freeing his mate. We can't back out now. Do you want to give up your position as Luna?"

As this was said, Axel rose from his seat. I couldn't do this to us, and I had to give our relationship a chance. I have to at least try.

"I accept the challenge," I drew out in a quick breath. Axel slumped back in his seat, but for some reason I could see that his entire face paled. He doesn't think I can do this. I looked at Corrine, and her head was held down. She doesn't think I have it in me either. Nobody thinks I can do this. Did I make a mistake? Am I actually going to get hurt at the end of this? Why do I feel like I want to bury myself in a hole and cry?

"That is wonderful. We will give you 15 minutes to take a break and do anything that you need to do. When you're ready, you can meet us at the clearing that is designed as part of your Trial arena."

"I walked down from the stage, and headed towards the restroom. I released a few tears, did my business, then headed out. Karen led me towards the clearing and handed me my map. She hugged me and whispered, "Good luck, I am rooting for you!"

I tried finding Axel, but he wasn't here. I guess it could have been another rule or something. But, I doubt it because now, all the crowd was off their seats and some of the kids were running around and playing games.

"Calista, I am assuming you have your map and the picture of what you are looking for?" A council member asked.

"Yes, they are in my pocket," I answered, not really in the mood to even look at his face.

"Great. Remember you are not allowed to shift into your wolf, and everything will be filmed so that the entire pack can watch you prove your worth as a Luna."

"I don't have to prove anything to you," I told him. "I am doing this for myself. Not for your sick, old ass."

"Hmph," he snarled and walked away.

"Just so you are aware, the area of the Arena is marked with this yellow tape. Of course we won't expect you to be looking for the key all over the territory, because it is pretty large. So, make sure you stay within the yellow tape. If you find yourself going above the tape, then you are doing something very wrong. Anyway, the rogue you are competing with has entered the arena from the opposite end, so it is time for you to enter. Do you have any final questions?" William asked me.

"No, I think I am set," I asked reluctant to head in.

"Good, you may enter. Good luck!" Darren beamed. Oh, just shut your trap you disgusting asshole.

With that thought, I started the second portion of my Lunar Trials.

A/N: I hope you like this. What are your thoughts. I will be updating soon!

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