~The Sky Dome: Evernight, Outskirts of the Federation~
Enrollment season was always the worst.
Like all things Lycan, it began first with chaos.
And not the good kind... Not the kind Sirius could get used to, or even attempt to respect.
It was that grating, controlled chaos. The kind that pretended that everything that should not have been in order, was.
And it was the same now, as he stood at a private balcony of the dome, watching the Red Knights gallop towards Evernight, escorting the carriages of the newly arrived tax brides.
Tax brides...
He sniggered at the thought of it.
The Lycan court was a madhouse, at this point. There was no other explanation for this absurd experiment.
Centuries had passed since the undead pandemic had left the Lycan female population near extinction. And with tensions rising with the Crimson Court, Sirius knew their options were limited.
Even so, werewolf brides?
It was laughable.
He'd been with a few himself. They weren't all that more impressive than humans.
To put it simply, they were too weak to balance out the berserk state or bear Lycan heirs.
And just because one Lycan noble had been lucky enough to bond a certain she-wolf who'd been popping out heirs here and there like it was an annual appointment, it didn't automatically mean every she-wolf would.
How could she-wolves possibly compare to the noble vampire females that had first claim to Lycan bonds?
It didn't make sense to him.
And Sirius would even argue whoever had come up with this idea to put Eclipsera's first years, and young she-wolves together in a deadly experiment, hoping to trigger their primal instincts and foster mate bonds, was a certified dunce...if it hadn't been his own father.
"Prince Sirius," Knox's familiar voice drew him out of his thoughts,
The Lycan enforcer was his father's right hand man, but he had been more of a father to Sirius than his own.
Not that Sirius would ever admit it out loud.
"The first years are gathering at the Atrium," Knox relayed. "The hunt will commence at sundown."
The hunt.
For first years enrolling in Eclipsera, it was but a rite of passage. A test of strength and survival instincts.
But for outsiders...
"Vice Chancellor Hannes has released the prey." Knox continued, "At the sound of the second horn, all first years will descend the Sky Dome."
Sirius scoffed beneath his breath, "By all means, why don't we give them a headstart, before sending them off to their deaths?"
"Your father said to remind you that it is of great importance you attempt to establish a bond with at least one of these women." Knox relayed sternly, "And if you do find one you admire, he expects you to see to it she makes it safely to Eclipsera."
Sirius scoffed beneath his breath.
As it was, protecting himself was already a handful. He didn't have the luxury to be responsible for anyone else.
He grabbed his cloak, pulling the black hood over his head.
His father would say it was unbecoming for a Lycan prince to adorn a similar ensemble to the Red Knights.
Being the understanding son he wasn't, he'd gotten his own cloak tailored in black, the words 'Black Knight' boldly embroidered.
Life was all about compromises. At least that's what Cassius would say.
"I'll send that message to my brother when I get to Eclipsera. He'll do a better job, as always."
Though they were twins born on the same day, they couldn't have been more different.
Cassius always had a higher tolerance for family expectations.
Which explained why he was already a third year cadet of Eclipsera, whilst Sirius was only just enrolling into the academy, three years late.
"I must emphasize the need for you to participate in this hunt, and abide by the rules." Knox insisted, "Particularly, do not provoke the first years from the Crimson Court. Though you have been kept in different parts of the dome through this trip, it would be best if you can restore some friendships with your vampire peers."
"Bond over chasing down a bunch of strange girls? Why the hell not?" Pushing off the ledge, Sirius leaped off the balcony.
It was a long way down from Eclipsera's watch tower, to solid earth. But he was certain he could make the jump.
"There are entrances and exit doors in this dome, Prince Sirius!" Knox called after him. "You might want to consider using them!"
But Sirius was already leaping his way down from ledge to ledge.
The second horn echoed shrilly, across the dome.
The thrill that followed was welcome.
Politics was madness. Chasing down women or finding a mate? He couldn't be bothered with them.
But hunting? That, Sirius could do.
----------
The moon was now high in the sky, casting Evernight in a silvery glow.
Sloane wasn't sure for how long she'd been running. She'd tripped about a dozen times. Her dress was torn in multiple places and covered in patches of mud, but she'd gotten to safety.
At least, for now.
A while ago, she'd heard the distant echo of a horn.
The Vice Chancellor had said the second horn signalled the end of their headstart, and the beginning of the true hunt.
Which meant there were first year Lycans and Vampires now lurking around these woods, and in their most primal or bloodthirsty states.
Sloane glanced around her surroundings warily, her dress clutched tightly in her fists.
The shrieks had long faded, but she was now in the middle of nowhere. Literally.
All the trees around her looked the same. And there was nothing even close to a shelter to camp out for the night.
Staying out in the open was too much of a risk. Sloane didn't know what else lurked in these woods, but she didn't want to meet them.
It was only now she had the good sense to check her map.
Feeling around her satchel for it, she pulled out the folded map and the guidebook with trembling hands, inching closer to the rays of the moonlight, the only source of lighting in the damned woods.
Her eyes scanned it. Turning it over repeatedly before she finally figured out which way was the top and which was the bottom.
The map showed in bare details, the course they were expected to travel.
Yellow markings were for temporary shelters, she noted. Green markings indicated locations with supplies. Red markings meant beast terrain...
Sloane's blood ran cold as she stared at the red marker dangling right over her current location on the map.
"Shit! Shit!" Tears sprang to her eyes as the terror surged again, her heart pounding rapidly against her ribcage.
"Focus, Sloane! You have to live...you have to live..." She quickly folded the map up, and glanced around again.
She needed to get to the closest shelter, and hide out till the sun rose.
Just then, Sloane heard a twig snap somewhere in the shadowy darkness behind. A low growl rumbled from a distance.
Her blood ran cold.
"This isn't happening...not again..."
She dashed frantically for the nearest tree and pulled herself up the first branch she could reach.
Her arm throbbed terribly where it had been stepped on. Sloane bit back a cry of pain, hiding up on the tree and watching for movements below.
It took only a few breaths before a hideous looking boar strutted in, snorting around wildly.
It was abnormally large, two horns erupting from its jaws. It's skin glinted in the moonlight, like it was covered by a layer of metal. Steam shot out of its nostrils as it stumped the ground angrily, its head spinning from side to side before it inched closer to the tree she hid in, sniffing around it.
It was tracking her, she realised.
Sloane lifted a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide and terrified.
Just then, that low growl came again. But this time, it sounded closer. Terrifyingly close.
Her eyes squinted and she caught a flash of something darting in the shadows,
In the blink of an eye, a massive creature leaped from the shadows, its pitch black fur caught the moonlight as it tackled the boar to the ground.
'A werewolf!' Sloane thought in bafflement,
But it was unlike any wolf she'd seen. It was at least three times the size of any she had seen in her pack.
The beast was covered entirely in strange silver markings, a striking contrast to the dark shade of its fur. It ripped into the boar with terrifying ease, it's dying shrieks echoing in the night.
The wolf leaned back, shaking the blood of its fur.
Sloane's grip slipped. The creaking sound was loud and clear in the quiet of the night.
The wolf's head turned sharply, eyes finding Sloane's.
Her heart shriveled, her breath catching in her throat.
The tales told of the Red Cloaks that marked the harbingers of death...
But the tales also told of the feral wolf beast marked by the moon...
'That was no wolf! It was a Lycan!'