Torches flickered to life along the damp walls, casting orange shadows in the cave. The air was thick with ancient magic and the scent of earth. Every step they took deeper into the cave tightened the knot in Dominic's chest.
He glanced at Isla who was walking beside him, her eyes scanning the walls. She was trying to be brave.
"So... how long is this ceremony, again?" she asked.
"Two hours."
She let out a long, shaky breath. "Right. Of course it is. And let me guess, it involves ghosts, blood, or something worse?"
He didn't answer.
"I still don't get why this matters," she muttered. "We live in a world with Wi-Fi and espresso machines. Yet I'm walking into a damn cave to prove I'm good enough to stand beside you."
"Tradition tests your strength as Luna."
She said nothing then.
The silence in the cave grew thick and suffocating, wrapping around them.
The Luna Scaling ceremony was not a man-made trial. It was older than his bloodline, older than the Crimson Fang pack itself. The cave chose how it tested each Luna. It tailored the trial to break her and in breaking her, it revealed whether she could survive being his equal.
He could sense the shift in energy already.
The air was growing colder.
"Dominic," Isla whispered again, clutching his arm. "Something's in here."
"It's not something," he murmured. "It's the cave itself. It's alive. And it knows you're here."
She let go, taking a step back from him, her eyes wide. "So what? It's going to eat me alive?"
"No," he said simply, his voice echoing in the dark. "It's going to find your weakness. And force you to face it."
Suddenly, a blinding light burst ahead. A spectral path revealed itself, winding deep into the cavern. The air shimmered, crackling with energy.
Isla's breath hitched in her throat.
"What is that?"
"The first stage," Dominic said, already moving. "Stay close."
She followed him even though every muscle in her body screamed against it.
As they walked, strange whispers tickled Isla's ears. They weren't in a language she recognized but they sounded like accusations and judgments.
And then she heard a bloodcurdling shriek that ricocheted off the cave walls.
Isla froze.
The scream had sounded like her.
She turned and in the distance, she saw a twisted version of herself writhing in pain, chained and burning.
"Stop looking," Dominic said sharply, grabbing her chin and forcing her gaze back forward.
"That was me," she whispered.
"No. That's what the cave wants you to see."
Dominic's jaw was tense, but his mind was louder. He hated this part. He despised the fact that he had to watch her unravel. Watching anyone break wasn't difficult for him, he'd done it a hundred times. But watching her fight like this…
It stirred something dangerous inside of him.
He'd spent years killing the part of himself that felt. He couldn't afford softness. Not with who he was.
But with Isla, the cold armor didn't fit right. It cracked.
The path narrowed, twisting into a chamber glowing with pale green light. Enchanted murals lined the walls, each of them depicting all of Isla's hidden fears.
Her father's face loomed in one, twisted with cruelty. In another, it was Dominic. He was slicing through her with silver claws.
She stumbled back, shaking her head.
"Stop it...stop showing me this—"
The cave didn't stop.
Suddenly, mist filled the chamber, and from it, stepped her mother or the illusion of her.
"Failure," the woman said softly. "You always were."
Isla's body shook. "No. You're not real."
"Dominic will never love you. He'll use you and break you. Then he will discard you like your own family did."
Isla clenched her fists. "Shut up."
"He's just like us," the phantom whispered, walking in circles around her. "Cold. Twisted. You'll never be more than a convenient tool."
Then the phantom turned into a mirror version of Dominic, smirking cruelly. The echo sneered. "You're not a Luna. You're just prey."
Isla backed up, then she slammed into the real Dominic.
He caught her shoulders, steadying her.
"Look at me," he said.
The fake Dominic was still speaking, but his words faded into white noise.
"I'm real," he said again, lowering his voice. "And if you fall for every illusion the cave throws at you, you'll never make it out alive."
She stared into his eyes, uncertain.
"Do you actually care if I survive?" she asked, breathlessly.
He could've lied. He almost did.
But instead, his chest tightened.
"I care more than I should," he said quietly, his thumb brushing her jaw before he realized what he was doing. "That's the problem."
Isla blinked rapidly, unsure of how to react to tenderness that came from him of all people.
Then the cave shifted again.
The chamber cracked, and the ground trembled beneath them.
The final phase had begun.
They stepped into a vast, domed chamber where no torches lit the space. Instead, glowing blue runes circled the floor in an intricate symbol. In the center stood a pedestal with a bloodstone dagger and a silver bowl.
Dominic's tensed. He knew exactly what this was.
The Bond Tie.
It required Isla's blood.
Only a true Luna, one whose soul aligned with her Alpha's, could bleed into the bowl and survive the magic it released.
If her heart wasn't strong enough and if she harbored too much hatred, doubt, or fear, it would stop beating.
He turned to look at her.
"This is the final stage," he said. "Once you do this, there's no going back."
She swallowed. "If I don't pass?"
"You die."
A shiver ran down her spine, her stomach churning with terror.
She had started this trial, it was too late to back out now. Even though, she didn't know what the future held, she was certain of one thing. She needed Dominic's protection.
Therefore, she had to finish this.
Isla's green eyes met his. It was fierce and unwavering, despite the chill that gnawed at her skin.
"You ready?" he asked in a low voice.
"I'm not here to fail," she said.
He nodded.
"This will bind you to me. Your blood to mine. Your soul to this pack."
She stepped forward, and Dominic felt the weight of the cave's gaze. It was as though it was watching and waiting.
Isla picked up the dagger.
She lifted it, then she sliced her palm in one smooth motion.
Crimson droplets welled to the surface of the cut, falling slowly into the silver bowl.
The moment the first drop touched the bowl, the cave erupted.
Blinding light surged from the runes beneath her and flooded the chamber.
Raw power filled the air, shaking the walls and rattling Dominic's bones.
He gritted his teeth against the force, his eyes locked on Isla.
She squeezed her eyes shut, her chest heaving against the strain.
The magic poured into her like a tide, burning and freezing all at once.
Dominic clenched his fists tightly as he watched her face mirror the battle raging inside her.
Fear, doubt, pain, and beneath it all, there was something else.
Strength.
The cave's roar grew louder until it was almost unbearable.
And then, suddenly the light began to dim.
The roar faded to a whisper and Isla's eyes snapped open.
The runes shifted from blue to pure white.
The bond was sealed.
Dominic's breath caught in his throat and for a fraction of a second, his cold mask cracked.
He stepped forward, almost involuntarily.
He reached for her hand, squeezing gently.
"You did it."
Isla looked up at him, exhausted. But despite herself, there was a weary smile tugging at her lips.
All of a sudden, the cave trembled beneath their feet. The torches flickered and died instantly.
Isla froze, barely breathing.
"What was that?"
The rumbling stopped, replaced by silence. After a tense moment, Isla whispered in terror, "Did you hear that?"
Dominic's grim expression deepened.
"We're trapped."
Isla whimpered, clutching his arm.