Chapter 34: No One Gets Left Behind

The starting horn sounded, the gates flew open, and Roxanne took off beside the four Moonstones with nothing in her ears but pounding feet and the roar of the crowd behind them. Liam shot ahead almost immediately, calling back for them to try and keep up, and she muttered show-off under her breath while Kai passed both of them without a word beyond telling Liam to focus. Liam shouted that he was focused, right until the course split ahead and he skidded to a stop, having sprinted straight toward the wrong path. Roxanne laughed despite herself.

The first real section threw a series of narrow lanes with moving barriers at them, and while the obvious route ran straight through the middle, Roxanne noticed the barriers followed a pattern, every third gap holding open just a fraction longer than the others. She called for everyone to wait, pointed toward the third lane, and Roshan studied it for half a second before confirming she was right. Lucien didn’t hesitate, calling the lane and telling everyone to move, and they cleared the section without losing any speed at all.

A massive wooden wall came next, too tall to simply scale, its footholds scattered awkwardly along one side. Another team arrived close behind them as Liam suggested going straight over, but Kai shook his head, pointing out the footholds looked unstable. Lucien decided someone needed to stabilize the middle, and Kai volunteered immediately, bracing himself against the wall while Lucien climbed first, followed by Roshan, then Liam. Roxanne went last, reaching for the first foothold, and Kai told her not to rush.

"I’ve got it."

"I know."

Halfway up, the foothold cracked beneath her weight and she slipped, but Kai caught her wrist before she could fall far, his eyes meeting hers for a brief second. "I’ve got you." She found her footing again and thanked him, and he simply told her to keep going, releasing her without turning it into anything bigger than it needed to be.

The wooded section that followed scattered several scent trails through the trees, with a sign directing them to find the correct marker. Liam pointed left immediately, calling it obvious, while Roshan shook his head, insisting it was too obvious to be right. Roxanne closed her eyes and focused, sorting through pine, damp earth, and the familiar scent of the training grounds until she found something fainter buried underneath. She remembered what Roshan had taught her, choosing one thread instead of drowning in all of them.

"This way," she said.

"You’re sure?"

"No. But I’m more sure than I am about the others."

Roshan smiled and told her that was good enough, and they followed her lead while the other team took the obvious path and set off an alarm moments later. Liam declared their resident genius had struck again, and Roxanne told him not to make her regret saving him.

The course accelerated into a series of suspended platforms, and Liam went first, calling it easy right before the platform beneath him swung violently and sent him scrambling for a rope. Roxanne burst out laughing as he hung there, revising his earlier assessment, and when Lucien told her not to risk her position going after him, she couldn’t leave him hanging regardless. She crossed carefully, grabbed his arm, and together they hauled him back onto the platform. For once, Liam went quiet, then told her she’d come back for him.

"We’re a team," she said, shrugging.

"You’re officially my favorite teammate."

"You say that to everyone."

"No. Just you."

She rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop smiling as they kept moving.

At the next obstacle, a wide gap forced a choice between a narrow beam or a straight jump. Kai took the jump, followed by Lucien and Roshan, and Roxanne considered it carefully, confident she could make it herself. Kai landed on the other side and turned back, extending his hand anyway.

"I can jump," she said.

"I know."

"Then why offer?"

"Because this isn’t me rescuing you," he said. "It’s me helping my teammate."

That landed somewhere she wasn’t ready for, and she took his hand, letting him pull her across the gap. For a second they stood close, his fingers still wrapped around hers, before he let go and told her to keep moving. She tried to hide her smile and mostly failed.

Emerging from the obstacle section, they found themselves trailing another team, and Liam’s frustration was immediate as he pointed out they’d fallen behind. Lucien studied the remaining course while Roshan pointed toward two paths, one longer, one unmarked entirely. Kai guessed the unmarked one was probably a penalty route, but Roxanne studied the terrain and spotted small flags tucked between the trees, barely visible unless someone was looking for exactly that.

"That’s not a penalty route," she said, pointing at the flags.

Roshan followed her gaze, his eyes widening as he realized they were course markers meant to be noticed. Lucien understood instantly, calling it a shortcut, and Liam declared his love for her brain loudly enough that a few nearby students turned to look.

This time, Lucien didn’t lead. Roxanne did, calling out directions as they moved, left, then jump, then duck beneath a swinging obstacle that nearly caught Liam off guard entirely. Roshan followed her signals without hesitation, Kai stayed close enough to react the instant she changed direction, and Lucien trusted every instruction without question. For a few seconds, she forgot they were royal Lycans at all. They were just five students racing toward a finish line, and she was the one leading them there while the crowd’s cheering grew louder around them.

They reached the final stretch with another team only seconds ahead, and Liam declared they could still catch them. Lucien agreed, and they sprinted together, adrenaline burning through Roxanne’s legs and lungs while she found herself smiling anyway. Liam was laughing beside her, Roshan focused entirely on the path ahead, Lucien calculating every step, and Kai running right at her side, not ahead of her and not behind her. Something about that felt more important than she expected.

She wasn’t being protected anymore. She wasn’t being carried. She was one of them.

Then a massive metal gate dropped between them and the finish line, and the crowd gasped as an official’s voice boomed across the field, announcing the final section. A towering climbing structure rose ahead of them, a single lever waiting at the very top, and the rule flashed across the screen for everyone to see. One member must cross first and unlock the gate.

Liam looked up at the structure and muttered a quiet well. Roshan pointed out only one person could reach the lever at all, and Lucien glanced toward the other teams already selecting their strongest climbers. Kai’s eyes moved to Roxanne, and she studied the obstacle in front of her, tall, narrow, and demanding, with no teammate able to follow once someone committed.

Lucien started to speak. "I’ll—"

"I’ll do it," Roxanne said, stepping forward before he could finish.

The brothers all turned to look at her, and Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Roxanne."

"I know," she said, meeting his gaze.

She turned toward the structure as the crowd roared and Joanna’s team began climbing across the field. Placing one foot on the first platform, then another, she heard Kai’s voice behind her telling her not to rush.

She smiled faintly. "I’m not."

And she climbed.