All Chapters of Bound To The Cruel Alphas (SPICY): Chapter 181 - Chapter 190

ZANA'S POVThe morning of the tournament arrived far too quickly.I barely slept the night before.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Lucius sitting in the royal viewing box, watching me with those cold, calculating eyes. Even now, as I stood near the tournament grounds with House Varen gathered around me, I could feel his presence somewhere nearby.The entire academy seemed different today.Students crowded every walkway leading toward the arena. Wolves from powerful families filled the stands. Professors moved through the grounds with serious expressions. Guards stood at every entrance.Everyone knew this tournament mattered and everyone knew Alpha Lucius was watching.My wolf paced restlessly inside me. She hated being this exposed. She hated knowing the man responsible for so much pain was only a few hundred feet away.I folded my arms across my chest and tried to calm myself."You're thinking too loudly again." Someone said.I turned and found Jessie standing beside me.Her blon

ZANA'S POVThe moment we stepped through the Second Rune Gate, I knew this challenge was different.The air itself felt heavier.The first puzzle challenge had been difficult, but this place felt dangerous in a way I couldn't explain. The air was filled with silver-blue magic. Strange symbols floated in the air above us, appearing and disappearing every few seconds. My wolf became restless inside me. She didn't like this place.Neither did I.The chamber was huge and it stretched so far that I couldn't see the opposite wall. The floor beneath our feet ended abruptly only a few steps ahead. Beyond it was nothing but darkness. It looked like an endless abyss.Then a bridge appeared suddenly or rather, parts of it.Hundreds of glowing stone tiles floated above the darkness, forming what looked like a pathway across the pit. Each tile was covered in magical equations. Silver numbers, symbols, and runes shifted constantly across their surfaces.The sight alone made my head hurt."What is

ZANA'S POVThe moment the realization hit me, I felt even more scared than before.There was only one name playing over and over in my head. Lucius.The name echoed through my mind as I stared at the corrupted crystal in the center of the chamber. My Lunae mark burned so violently that I nearly cried out. Heat spread through my ankle and up my leg, pulsing with every heartbeat.My wolf paced frantically inside my head. Her growls kept growing louder with every second.Something was terribly wrong. The entire chamber seemed alive now.Black Lunae runes spread across the stone floor. They crawled outward from the crystal in twisting patterns. They looked corrupted now.Around me, members of House Varen began backing away nervously."What is happening?" someone shouted."This isn't part of the challenge!""Why won't the doors open?"Panic spread through the room.The massive stone exits slammed shut hard. Ancient symbols immediately appeared across the sealed doors. They glowed black

ZANA'S POVPain.That was the first thing I felt.The pain spread through my body. It felt like claws tearing through flesh. My Lunae mark burned so fiercely that I thought my skin might split open. The black runes covering the chamber floor glowed brighter with every passing second, and each pulse sent another wave of agony through me.I dropped to both knees.My hands slammed against the cold stone floor as I struggled to breathe. Around me, House Varen was falling apart.Jessie was crying. She was actually crying.Tears streamed down her face while she stared at something only she could see. They were still battling their visions. Her entire body shook violently. She kept reaching forward with trembling hands."No," she whispered. "Please don't leave me."My chest tightened.Whatever vision she was trapped in, it was destroying her.A few feet away, Cael looked just as bad.The usually confident captain stood frozen in place. His eyes were wide with horror. Sweat covered his foreh

ZANA'S POVThe creature smiled.The moment that horrible smile appeared on its face, every hair on my body stood up. My wolf snarled so violently inside my head that I nearly lost my balance. The black crystal behind the creature continued cracking apart, and with every crack, more dark magic entered the chamber. The entire maze shook around us.Nobody moved. Nobody even seemed capable of moving.The creature's silver eyes remained locked on me, and something about the way it looked at me made my stomach twist. It wasn't looking at me like prey. It wasn't looking at me like an enemy either. It looked at me as if it recognized me.That terrified me more than anything.Then the loud howl echoed through the maze again.The sound came from somewhere deep under the chamber. It wasn't human. It wasn't wolf. It was something far older. The noise vibrated through the stone floor and through my bones.The Wraith's smile vanished instantly. For the first time since it appeared, it looked scar