Chapter 49: One Night to Prepare

The notice appeared on the training room’s shared screen just after they’d left the field, and all five of them crowded around it in silence as the details loaded.

Because of the ongoing review, the Moonstone team would face another high-ranking team the following morning. A loss would erase their current ranking entirely and remove them from the competition while the investigation continued.

"Tomorrow," Liam said, reading it twice like the word might change if he stared hard enough. "We weren’t supposed to compete again for days. They’ve had time to study exactly how we fight."

"Complaining won’t buy us more time," Roshan said, already scrolling past the headline toward the fine print. He went quiet for a moment, eyes narrowing at the screen. "This isn’t a straightforward combat match. Look at the format."

Roxanne leaned in. The elimination match combined speed trials, wolf control assessments, strategic problem-solving, and a cooperative final stage that required all five of them working in sync.

"They’re testing whether we function as a team," Roxanne said slowly, "not just whether we can win a fight."

Lucien’s jaw tightened. "Then we need to think differently than we normally do."

They began practicing that same evening on the empty training field, the sky bruising into dusk above them. At first, everyone fell back into old habits. Lucien tried to organize the run into a rigid structure. Roshan kept recalculating angles and timing mid-drill. Liam ignored the planned route twice, cutting corners because his instincts told him to. Kai pushed the pace harder than anyone could sustain, driving the physical sections like the only obstacle worth conquering was exhaustion itself.

Roxanne tried to bridge the gaps between them and mostly ended up caught in the crossfire, adjusting to one brother’s rhythm only to have another brother change the plan entirely.

By the third failed attempt, Lucien snapped at Roshan for altering the strategy again without warning. Liam shot back that the strategy hadn’t worked the first two times anyway. Kai said nothing, just kept running the physical drills alone at the edge of the field, sweat soaking through his shirt.

Roxanne finally stopped walking through it and planted herself in the middle of the field instead.

"We’re training like five separate competitors," she said. "Not one team."

Nobody argued, mostly because nobody had an answer ready.

"Run it again," she said. "But don’t try to win it. Just watch each other. See what everyone actually does under pressure instead of what you assume they’ll do."

They ran it a second time with no pressure to succeed, and something shifted almost immediately. Lucien noticed that Liam adjusted his pace naturally whenever someone fell behind, an instinct he’d never bothered to name before. Roshan realized Kai’s physical bursts always followed a predictable rhythm, three seconds of maximum effort before he eased slightly to recover. Roxanne watched all of it, filing away every small pattern.

Halfway through the run, something clicked into place for her.

"The course is built to punish teams that rely on one dominant member," she said afterward, catching her breath at the edge of the field. "Ironfang’s scouted us already. They’ll expect Lucien to lead the strategy and Kai to carry the physical stretches."

"So we give them something else to prepare for," Lucien said, following her train of thought.

"Make me the visible leader," Roxanne said. "Let them think I’m the weak link they need to target."

Lucien studied her for a long moment. "You think they’ll underestimate you."

"I know they will," Roxanne said, tightening the strap on her glove.

Kai watched her from a few feet away, something quiet passing behind his eyes. "Let them," he said.

Nobody made a bigger moment of it than that, but Roxanne felt the weight of his agreement settle somewhere steady in her chest.

Later, once the others had gone to grab food and check their gear for the morning, Kai stayed behind on the field with her, the last of the daylight fading into the tree line.

"Are you nervous?" he asked.

"Yes," she admitted. "Not about losing, exactly."

"Then what?"

"Being the reason we lose," she said. "If I mess up the opening strategy, everyone will remember that part first."

Kai crouched slightly to check the strap on her training gear, which had loosened during the last drill, and tightened it without asking permission. His hands moved with practiced efficiency, nothing lingering about it, though the ordinary gesture felt different with just the two of them standing there in the near-dark.

"That’s exactly why you’re dangerous to underestimate," he said. "You take responsibility before anyone even asks you to."

"What if I make a mistake tomorrow?"

"Then we fix it," Kai said simply, straightening back up. "Don’t carry five people’s mistakes by yourself tonight."

Roxanne looked at him, something in his steady certainty settling the nervous energy coiled in her stomach, at least for the moment.

While the five of them prepared, Arabella made her own move from somewhere far outside their sight. She didn’t approach Roxanne. She didn’t confront anyone directly. Instead, she submitted an anonymous tip to the academy administration, alleging that the Moonstone team had received preferential treatment in multiple previous competitions, citing several match results that deserved closer scrutiny.

The administration accepted the claim for review without hesitation, given the ongoing investigation already surrounding Kai. By the time the sun set that evening, academy observers had been assigned to attend the following morning’s match specifically to watch for signs of favoritism.

Nobody on the Moonstone team knew yet. The pressure had simply increased, quietly and invisibly, without anyone needing to say a word to Roxanne’s face.

That night, the five of them gathered one final time in the training room, exhaustion evident on every face but something steadier settling over the group as well. Lucien laid out the finalized strategy. Roshan presented a breakdown of Ironfang’s likely patterns based on their previous matches. Liam had the course memorized completely, every turn and obstacle mapped in his head. Kai stood ready, his usual restless energy finally channeled into something focused. Roxanne walked them through the opening sequence, the plan that would put her at the front where Ironfang would least expect real resistance.

For the first time all evening, nobody argued. They moved through the plan together, adjusting small details without friction, five separate instincts finally aligning into something that actually resembled a team.

Then the academy bell rang, sharp and sudden, cutting through the quiet training room. A message appeared simultaneously on every student’s communication board across the entire campus.

ALPHA CHALLENGE — ELIMINATION MATCH

MOONSTONE TEAM VS. IRONFANG TEAM

08:00 TOMORROW

Beneath it, in smaller but unmistakable text:

ALL TEAM MEMBERS WILL BE EVALUATED INDIVIDUALLY.

The room went still. Roxanne read the line twice, understanding immediately what it meant. It didn’t matter how well the team performed together if one of them failed badly enough alone. A single weak link could bring the entire structure down regardless of how carefully they’d prepared.

She looked around at the four brothers, and nobody spoke. No speeches were needed. Just five sets of eyes finding each other across the quiet room, each of them understanding exactly what tomorrow would demand.

Kai reached for his gloves first, pulling them on with quiet finality.

"Tomorrow," he said.

Roxanne picked hers up as well, tightening the strap she’d already tightened twice that evening.

"Tomorrow," she echoed.