The only time the room was silent was when the doctors walked in. There was about five of them, walking around the room and treating each person for about twenty minutes. The results of the tests seemed to come back almost immediately, I suppose limiting the majority of the wait time and ensuring quick results.

I didn't bother watching it, instead, staring up at the ceiling, pondering the words that had been spoken not even an hour before. It's easy to live within yourself, but it's hard to remember that you have an effect on people. I suppose that was never really something I considered, that the things I stole and the people I killed would physically affect someone else, that would cause me to be remembered as a nightmare, a terror.

Or maybe I did know that, and I just didn't particularly care. Perhaps those emotions and thoughts just hadn't transferred over during Withdrawal.

"Ma'am, if you could sit up please?"

I moved forward, facing the doctor that was now standing at the end of the bed.

"My name is Doctor Stevenson, and I'll be conducting the exam First, I'm giving you the opportunity to say now, have you taken any performance-enhancing drugs or used any spells given to you via witches in the past few days?"

I shook my head, "No."

"Do you have any previous injuries that we should be aware of?"

I shook my head again, "No, none that will be triggered by the trials."

Dr Stevenson grabbed out two rubber gloves from his briefcase and pulled them taut over the skin of his hands. "Amazing, if you could just sit still facing that wall, I can continue with the assessment."

I nodded, facing the wall that he had pointed too. I took a few deep breaths before I noticed the silver glint of the needle he had just pulled out.

I blinked, "What are you doing?"

"A blood test, it's just for analysation so we can make an assessment if there is anything in your system that may put you at an advantage." He raised an eyebrow, "Do you not like needles?"

I shook my head, my whole body paralysed. "You can't give it to me,"

His grasp on my forearm became tighter, "It's only a pinch, besides, blood tests don't hurt nearly as much as injections-"

It was like an alarm was sounding in my head. I pulled out of his grasp and pushed myself as far away as I possibly could, constricting into the wall. The empty syringe suddenly filled with a sparkling, iridescent red. I could hear it speaking to me, yelling at me, begging me...

Two more doctors had come over, each grabbing me by the arm and restraining me in a lock. The needle went in as I let out a cry of fear. Then, it was over. Just like that.

My breathing was completely out of wack, vibrations running through my body as the other doctors walked away and Dr Stevenson injected the blood onto a small petri dish which was then sucked into a machine.

I pinched myself before knocking my head against my palm. I was fine, there was nothing even in there.

"It seems that you do have magic in your bloodstream, yet it's old and extremely dormant. Any idea what that is?"

Without even thinking, I blurted, "While pregnant my mother did a lot of drugs, usually through magic."

A look of understanding and sympathy, "Of course. That explains it perfectly. Look, the board will have to be alerted, but it's not going to change anything since they only thing that could wake up the dormant magic and cause it to actually assist you in any way would be an extremely powerful injection, one I don't even think exists."

I tried to smile but failed miserably.

"Well, that's all I needed to do, good luck with the trials Ms Verano."

I blinked, and just for a moment, Dr Stevenson was Mistress Hemlock. Assuring me, offering some bout of kindness, trying to be respectful to cancel out Madame Beaudelines lines of abuse. And then I blinked again, and it was like nothing had ever changed.

The moment the doctor moved on from me, I changed into a pair of pyjamas and lied down on the bed, facing the wall with my entire body covered by the large, thick blanket.

"Are you alright, Cassandra?" Alana whispered. "You look awfully pale."

I paused. "Fine. I'm fine. Just... exhausted from the drive."

I could practically envision the crack and folding of the skin between her brows. "Let me know if anything changes... Goodnight."

The lights were flicked off before I could even deign to respond.

------------------------------------------

When I woke up the next morning, the sun had barely started to rise over the horizon and every bed in the room was filled with a sleeping, snoring wolf. As quietly as I could, I slipped out from the blankets and onto the floor.

I knew that for the trials I would have to be wearing essentially exactly what I wore yesterday. I pulled the second set out of my bag and slowly tiptoed over towards the bathroom.

Once the door was closed behind me, I let out a breath of relief. A moment to myself. I stepped into the shower, only for a few minutes as I let the grime of yesterday fall of my body and clean my skin. The bathroom was large, room for at least another five people, set up with a smaller subsection of toilets and set up of ten showerheads. I wanted to be done and out of here before someone else decided that they would want to get ready for the day as well. I quickly ran a brush through my undone hair, sighing when it frizzed. Carefully, a started one long braid starting from the top of my hairline that went all the way back, the plait finishing mid-back. I gave my lobe piercings a quick twist before letting out a sigh. I tugged on my black athletic shoes before exiting the bathroom.

The sky was now an orange-blue, yet no one seemed to have stirred just yet. Dodging between each bed, I made my way to the front door, flicked the lock, and let myself out.

While the air was still dry, it was comforting, like the few moments in a sauna before the heat became unbearable. I found myself a spot, right in the centre of the suns beam, relishing in the warmth against my face.

I rose my arm, stretching it over my head, feeling the slight burn in my muscle as I then did the same to my other arm.

I had already checked the whole perimeter, for a pack so desperate for perfect security, there wasn't a camera in sight, perhaps they had only bothered with the inside.

A mistake on their part, clearly.

I bent down, stretching my legs. My gut began to turn, my fingers hovering over the dagger stashed between my boot and my ankle.

In one quick movement, the dagger was in my hands and pressed to the neck of the person who had been creeping behind me.

I noticed it straight away, The alliance tattoo on his collarbone.

"Come on Nightstalker, no need to be freaky. At least, not in public." Leonardo seethed with a smirk on his face. "Go on, move the knife."

"The knife is staying right where it is until you can tell me why you're here." I threatened, pressing a little tighter.

"Ok, Ok," I weakened my grip, but kept the knife taut. "I'm here to talk to you."

I raised an eyebrow, "Make it quick."

"An update, The leaders wanted to remind you that your time on this mission is coming to an end. They expect you back on the dot of the day you run out of injections and trust me, they're keeping count. Any information you'd like to share? Just to give the leaders a taste?" He licked his lips.

I rolled my eyes, "Not anything I'd trust you with. Keep talking."

He held his hands in surrender. "They want to know your plans with the Alpha, and you're current status, do they know your part of the organisation?"

"Again," I hissed through my teeth, "Information you're not to be trusted with."

He leaned his head forward, "I'm under instruction, under an order, not to leave without those few details."

I paused. "The Alpha will be killed on the last day, I'll leave right after. They know I'm part of the organisation, there really wasn't any other way for me to get in considering the fact that I received the true intention of my mission while on the Alpha's roof. Had I waited and played my hand in the morning as a desperate rogue needing help, I would have risk being discovered by the guards. In fact, they know of my position, I used it as a play to stay close to the Alpha, which has worked a trick."

Leo looked back down at the dagger before back up to me. "Master Skotus is pleased, he thinks entering yourself into the Games is a fantastic play. Very entertaining."

I raised an eyebrow, "Tell him the idea stemmed from our training. Now get out of my sight," I removed the dagger and lifted my leg, harshly kicking him to the ground. "I see you again, this dagger won't be so merciful."

Leo composed himself, and with a glare, ran back off into the distance, disappearing into Desert Sun's natural terrain. With a huff, I slid the dagger back and moved into the dormitory. Most of the people were still asleep, all but one, a guy who like me, was ready for the day. Wearing a black leather suit with 'Crimson Snow' embroidered on his pec in a bright, stark white.

He raised an eyebrow, "What were you doing?"

I sent back a look of disapproval, "Yoga? Stretching? Didn't realise it was any of your business."

He gulped, "I didn't mean to offend you-"

"Don't." I snapped. "Don't cower beneath me like some simpering fool. I can literally hear your heart beating out of your chest."

He suddenly went red. "My names Titus-"

I collapsed on my bed. "Cassandra. Conversation over."

"-, I'm from Crimson Snow? Look, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go out at some point? You know, my packs planning to stay even if I lose. I could take you to dinner or something."

Well, now I felt bad. I softened my face. "Sorry buddy, I'm mated."

"Oh." His face fell. "Didn't he want to come with you? Maybe that's a good thing, won't know you're sleeping in a room with a bunch of unmated wolves."

I looked down at my hands. "Shit came up and he couldn't get out of it. I doubt he'd be able to contain himself if he knew." I joked.

I wonder how Alexander was coping. Acting like he wasn't my mate would be hard enough, the knowledge that I was alone in a room like this... Unfortunately, there were only about seven girls here right now, including myself. While it wasn't that bad, it certainly wasn't great. That meant there were at least twenty men in this room right now. I'd be damned if I let any of them win.

Titus sighed. "Sucks that you're mated. Here I was thinking I had the advantage of getting to you before everyone else."

I looked up at him, "What do you mean?"

Titus looked shellshocked, as if he had just broken some massive rule. "Shit. Look, you just caught the eye of a lot of people. Of course, we all watched your trial videos, because you know, you're an opponent from Bloodlust. Quite honestly, you're my bet to win the whole thing, there's already a couple hundred thousand on you in bet money. Then you turn up in person, looking like some Warrior Goddess. Just seems I'm not the only one who thought they'd like to try their hand."

I gulped. "That's never happened before."

"I'm sure it has and they just didn't have the balls," Titus said with confidence. "Don't worry about it, I'll let everyone know you're mated so you don't have to deal with confessions and proposals of love all day."

I smiled slightly. "Thank you I... I really appreciate that."

He leaned back. "Hey, no problem. Least I can do after catching you so off guard."

Suddenly, an alarm began to sound, and everyone woke up at once, some more disgruntled than others.

"All representatives to report to the main foyer for breakfast and morning briefing."

That one sentence repeated itself over and over again for at least a minute, causing everyone to go running.

Suddenly, I was thankful that I had woken up so early, simply walking through the chaos and out the door. Like walking out of an active blaze.

The main foyer wasn't too far away, the same place that we had been last night. I treaded through the grass, moving as quickly as I possibly could. I was starving, my body practically shaking in desperation for something to eat.

When I finally entered the completely open Glass foyer, the tables were significantly smaller, and was already full. Except, the only people in the room were instead standing by each table, and instead of being representatives like one would expect, it was every Pack Alpha competing.

Eyes were on me once more as I made my way over to Alexander, trying to keep composed as possible as we both sat down at the two-seater table.

"Breakfast." He said, "Allows us to talk strategy before everything begins."

Food was already on the table, and I wasted no time digging in. "Helpful."

Alexander started eating too, admittedly much politer than I was. "Do you want to talk strategy? I doubt we really need to and I certainly don't want to."

I gulped down a mouthful of eggs and orange juice. "The organisation are here I woke up early and went out to do some yoga when I got confronted by an operative."

Alexander stopped eating. "Are you alright? Did he try to take you?"

Of course. I had forgotten that he knew nothing of my mission. "I fought him off, not particularly talented. Anyway, they may have sent more so be on guard from the audience."

His grip on the knife and fork got tighter, veins sticking out from his tanned skin. "I'll kill them."

I snorted. "Feel free." I decided to change topics, change the atmosphere. "Apparently, some of the other representatives were planning to ask me out. One did, actually."

It was like fire in his eyes. I relished in it, biting back a laugh as I say his entire body tense up.

"I said sure, might as well have some fun," I remarked with a wink.

"You better not have," Alexander growled, voice low as his eyes went practically black.

"No of course not." I snorted, "Told him I was mated and said mate got caught up in work which is why he couldn't be here. You've never acted like this before, tense or something?"

Alexander closed his eyes, shook himself and let out a breath. "I'm on edge. I have to pretend like my mate isn't my mate, which will definitely cause problems in the future but regardless. I had to let said mate sleep in a room full of horny, unmated males who hadn't been able to take their eyes off her and have just heard of my mate being threatened. I wonder how I'm still breathing."

I bit back the temptation to place my hand on his arm. To offer some solace. "Well, I'm fine. It doesn't matter anyhow." I paused, "You knew that some of the other representatives were into me?"

Alexander rolled his eyes. "Of course I knew. You would too if you just shifted your gaze. Goddess, I was so close from wrapping my hand around their neck-"

'Hey hey hey," I interrupted. "None of that."

"I'm sorry," Alexander said defensively. "Sorry, I've never been in this sort of situation before, it's like I have absolutely no control."

I finished the last bite of my plate, noticing how the room was now completely full. "Don't worry about it, I understand... sort of."

We made idle conversation after that, nothing too important as to lower the risk of being exposed. My heart seized in my chest when I noticed Luna Montgomery walk onto the stage and clear her throat.

"All Representatives are to report to the Training centre immediately. The time has come for the trials to begin."

---------------------------------------------