Chapter 29. A Letter and Challenge

A rider arrived at dawn, breathless and dust-streaked. Damian took the folded letter from him with steady hands. The rider bowed and left. Damian sat at his desk and opened the seal.

The elders at Dam-Nighade had decided Rina must face the old test—the challenge against the pack’s strongest female warrior—before she could be crowned Luna. They wanted tradition kept. They wanted proof.

Damian read the words twice. He folded the letter and called Lucian over.

Lucian studied the paper. He frowned. “Although, Rina was an elite warrior of mine, but what if Rina is not yet ready, this could be dangerous,” he said. “We could ask Theo to tell the elders to postpone it. Or we can sent other our elite warriors to train her more before the fight.”

Damian leaned back and watched the morning light cross the floor. He thought of customs and of the symbol a Luna must be to the pack. “Tradition matters,” he said finally. “A Luna must accept the old rites. If we let Theo remo