Chapter 5 - The Betrayal Unveiled
The Great Arena of Blackwood Keep was packed to capacity for the trial by blood. Representatives from all twelve northern packs sat in the tiered stone seats, murmuring anxiously. In the center stood a massive monolith of ancient black obsidian—the Ancestral Stone, which only reacted to true royal blood.
Morgran stood smugly beside the stone, confident that his fabricated counter-claims and bribery of the lower councilmen would secure his victory.
"Let the claimant step forward," the high arbiter announced formally.
Grace walked down the steps from the royal box. She wore her simple brown wool cloak—the very one she had used to wrap the pups in the blizzard, now carefully mended—over her fine dress. The contrast stunned the crowd. She approached the obsidian monolith without a trace of hesitation.
"Place your hand upon the stone, Grace Miller," the arbiter commanded.
Grace pressed her palm flat against the cold, dark surface of the obsidian. For a moment, nothing happened. A murmur of skepticism rippled through the Pine Hollow delegation. Morgran grinned, opening his mouth to declare her a fraud.
Suddenly, the silver crescent on Grace’s wrist flared with blinding intensity.
A deep, resonant hum vibrated through the arena floor. The obsidian stone cracked down the middle, erupting in a cascade of brilliant silver light that soared into the sky like a pillar of northern lights. The five white wolf pups, sitting near the front of the spectator seats, threw back their heads and let out a unified, resonant howl that shook the very foundations of the fortress.
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The obsidian stone split open to reveal a hidden inner chamber within the monolith, exposing a pristine, glowing royal signet ring that had been locked away for centuries—matching the exact crest burned into the skin of the five pups.
"The True Heir," the high arbiter gasped, falling instantly to his knees. "The White Wolf Dynasty has returned!"
