CHAPTER FOUR

You Can’t Protect Yourself

Birds exploded from the canopy. 

Something massive tore through the brush to Riven’s right. Then the horn sounded, low, ancient, vibrating through bone instead of air.

Riven jolted awake near the dying fire. Around her, bodies snapped upright. Wolves were already on their feet. Witches reached for magic that sputtered like broken wiring. Above the clearing, the cameras surged closer, red lenses blinking alive in the dark.

The horn sounded again. The ground trembled. A voice rolled through the jungle.

“Trial Two begins.”

Panic erupted.

“What kind of trial…”

“There were no rules…”

“This is insane…”

“You will hunt,” the voice continued calmly. “You will be hunted.”

The earth split open. The campsite collapsed inward. Tables tipped. Fire scattered. Contestants screamed as the ground caved into a jagged pit lined with stone and writhing roots. Riven barely leapt aside before the soil gave way beneath her.

A hand grabbed her arm. She reacted on instinct, elbow slamming back. The grip loosened. A witch stumbled past her and vanished into the pit, her scream cutting off too fast.

Riven ran.

The jungle closed around her. Branches lashed her skin. Roots snagged her boots. The horn boomed again, closer now. Something fast was moving behind her.

She veered downhill, slid in mud, and crashed hard into a tree. Pain flared through her shoulder. Her breath knocked out of her lungs.

Get up.

She pushed to her feet just as something burst through the brush.

A creature stood there, once a man. Bone warped beneath gray skin. Its mouth split too wide, teeth jagged, eyes burning with the same carved symbols she’d seen on the pillars.

A rejected contestant? The realization hit cold. She grabbed a broken branch and swung. The wood cracked against its jaw. It barely staggered. Claws tore across her side.

She screamed. Blood soaked her clothes. Her knees buckled and the jungle answered. The ground beneath the creature softened, sucking at its feet. Vines lashed up, coiling around its limbs and throat. It thrashed, roaring as the earth swallowed it whole.

Silence fell. Riven collapsed to her knees, shaking. The pain burned. The island had intervened, for her.

Above the treetops, the cameras jittered, static flared, feeds flickered.

***

[Live Stream Comment Section – Cam 03: Jungle Basin]

wolfwatcher: DID YOU SEE THAT?! The plants just… moved for her??

shipstorm: Why is the human girl always in the middle of insane stuff, omg.

midnightfang: That creature was a CONTESTANT. This show is sick.

kaelstan: Wait—who’s the guy who keeps showing up near her?

romancelover: HELLO?? Tall dark wolf-man protecting the fragile human?? I SHIP IT.

***

A howl tore through the trees. Another scream followed. Magic detonated somewhere, lighting the canopy blue before dying out.

People were dying.

Riven forced herself up, stumbling forward. The jungle parted for her, branches pulling back, roots easing just enough to let her through. She burst into a clearing.

Wolves circled a lone witch. Her spell rebounded, burning symbols into her own skin before the ground swallowed her whole. Nearby, a siren lay broken, throat torn out. A shifter sobbed, trying to crawl with crushed legs.

The cameras hovered, unblinking. Riven staggered back and slammed into stone.

“Riven!”

Jace caught her arm, hauling her upright. His face was smeared with blood. His eyes burned gold, wild and feral.

“You’re bleeding,” he said.

“I know,” she snapped, though her voice shook.

The horn blasted again, closer.

“Move.”

He dragged her through the trees as something massive crashed after them. Then he shoved her behind him and shifted.

Bone cracked. Flesh tore. The wolf burst free in a blur of muscle and fury. Riven stared, breath caught, as Jace tore into the creature pursuing them, jaws locking around its throat until it went still.

Silence returned. Jace shifted back, chest heaving. Blood dripped from his hands.

“That thing was a contestant,” Riven whispered.

“Yes.”

“They’re turning people into monsters.”

“Punishments,” he said quietly. “Warnings.”

Her knees trembled. “Why didn’t it attack me first? Why did the jungle help me?”

Jace looked at her like the answer frightened him. “Maybe because you’re the wildcard. No powers. No protection.”

“But I have nothing,” she said hoarsely. “You have fans. People rooting for you. I have no one.”

For a moment, he didn’t speak. Then his hand tightened around hers.

“You have me right now,” he said.

Her breath hitched. The voice rolled through the trees again.

“Some hunt to dominate.

Some hunt to survive.

Some hunt to belong.

And some hunt without knowing what they are becoming.”

Riven swayed. The world dimmed. Jace caught her as she collapsed against him.

The last thing she felt before darkness took her was the ground humming beneath her, like the island itself was waking up for her. 

CHAPTER FIVE

The Other Side

The city skyline glittered like a jeweled crown beneath the night sky. Glass towers caught the light, distant and untouchable from consequence. In a penthouse lounge overlooking the river, velvet couches curved around low tables stacked with champagne flutes. Laughter rose and fell, brittle and bright.

A massive curved screen dominated one wall. The Elysian Isle logo pulsed softly in the corner.

Onscreen, the jungle froze mid chaos. A wolf stood over a fallen creature, chest heaving. In his arms, a human girl lay unconscious…blood on her clothes, dirt smudged across her cheek. Her dark hair spilled over his forearm. The room erupted.

“She should’ve died.”

“Did you see the plants move for her?”

“Rewind it…rewind it!”

A woman perched on the arm of a couch scrolled furiously. Live polls refreshed in real time, bars shifting and reshaping with every vote.

RIVEN ASHCROFT – HUMAN WILDCARD

Bond Index: 87%

Audience Favor: 92%

The numbers climbed.

“Human wildcard my ass,” someone muttered. “She’s carrying the season.”

At the bar, a man in a tailored suit watched the screen without blinking. Clips replayed in slow motion: Riven running. Falling. Swinging a broken branch with blood on her hands and fury in her eyes. The jungle bending to her. He didn’t smile.

The broadcast cut to Kira, immaculate as ever, her voice smooth enough to calm a riot.

“If you’re just joining us, tonight’s episode marked the end of Trial Two. Losses were… significant.”

The screen split. Faces faded to static. Numbers rolled upward.

“In moments like this,” Kira continued, “viewers always ask the same question. How do you win Elysian Isle?”

The lounge quieted.

“Victory isn’t about brute strength,” she said. “It never has been.”

Three symbols rotated behind her.

“First, survival.”

Clips flashed. Contestants running. Hiding. Breaking.

“Second, bond Formation.”

The footage lingered this time. A wolf stepping in front of Riven. His hand gripping her arm, dragging her out of danger. The way his body angled toward hers even when he wasn’t touching her.

A soft murmur rippled through the lounge.

“Romantic connections. Alliances. Loyalty,” Kira said lightly. “Who protects whom. Who risks themselves. Bonds create advantages.”

Phones buzzed. Someone laughed nervously.

“And finally, audience favor.”

The camera pulled back to reveal the vote tally.

“You.”

Applause broke out.

“Your votes don’t just decide popularity,” Kira added. “They influence outcomes. In rare cases… they override everything else.”

The word rare lingered.

“And this season,” she said softly, “we have an anomaly.”

Riven’s face filled the screen, bruised, pale, stubbornly defiant even in unconsciousness.

Back on the island, she lay in a field hospital carved into stone. Runes glowed faintly in the ceiling, disguised as modern lights. Machines hummed beside her, their readings flickering between human data and unfamiliar symbols.

“She shouldn’t be stabilizing this fast.”

“It’s the island.”

“No. It’s not.”

There was a pause.

“Lower the feed.”

The cameras dimmed, red lights fading out only to snap back on as backup lenses whirred to life.

In the lounge, Kira continued, smiling.

“Viewers love Riven Ashcroft not because she’s powerful… but because she’s vulnerable.”

Comments streamed beneath the footage.

“protect her”

“don’t let them hurt her”

“wolf guy better not leave her side”

“i ship them idc”

A producer leaned close to the man at the bar. “She’s outpacing the bond index.”

“That’s dangerous,” he said.

“She’s human.”

“She’s a symbol now.”

Onscreen, Kira’s voice softened. “So what does the winner receive?”

Graphics bloomed: fame, protection, money, power… and a final word:

LOVE.

The man at the bar finally smiled.

“She can’t win,” the producer whispered.

“She already is.”

On the island, Jace stood outside the medical chamber, blood drying on his knuckles. He stared through the narrow window at Riven’s still form.

Her chest rose. Fell. Relief hit him harder than any blow. Around him, other contestants watched in silence.

That’s the wolf.

That’s the one she survived with.

That’s the bond forming.

Jace didn’t turn.

Inside the chamber, Riven stirred. Pain sharpened, dragging her toward consciousness. Her fingers twitched against the sheets.

Deep beneath the stone, the ground hummed.

And far away, millions of people leaned closer to their screens with hearts racing, fingers hovering over vote buttons, deciding who deserved to be loved enough to survive. 

CHAPTER SIX

The Water’s Whisper

The ocean whispered secrets against the black rocks of Elysian Isle.

Jace stood at the edge of the shore, moonlight silvering the water and outlining the tension in his frame. The chaos of the jungle felt far away out here. The island’s breath slowed with the tide. His didn’t.

A soft laugh drifted across the surf. Fantasy rose from the water like a dream half remembered, her siren form glimmering beneath the moon. Translucent fins traced her spine. Blue light shimmered in her eyes.

“You look troubled, wolf boy,” she sang lightly. “Thinking about your little human?”

Jace didn’t look at her. “Stay away from her.”

Fantasy smiled wider. “That’s not how this game works. The audience already chose her. And they chose you with her. I can’t be mistaken.” 

She flicked her fingers. The air rippled as a translucent feed blinked briefly between them.

[Live Stream – Shore Cam 03]

kay: he’s brooding by the sea again, ugh 

princess: if he doesn’t end up with riven i’m suing the producers

derah: why is the siren always near him?? get her AWAY

aboc: enemies to lovers? no. siren to villain arc pls

“You steal people’s powers for a living.” Jace clenched his jaw. “You tried to touch her soul.”

Fantasy’s smile thinned. “And something touched me back.”

That finally made him turn.

“She’s not empty,” Fantasy murmured. “I don’t thinks she’s a human. The island knows her.”

“Then leave her alone.”

Fantasy stepped closer, voice soft as silk. “Careful. The more you protect her, the more the audience believes you’re bonded.”

She faded back into the tide, laughter echoing behind her.

***

The horn sounded at dawn.

Contestants gathered in the clearing, tension coiled tight. Cameras hovered low, red lights blinking awake.

Vivian Drake appeared, immaculate as ever.

“Today’s trial,” she announced, “is called The Water’s Whisper.”

A low ripple of unease spread.

“You will be paired,” Vivian continued. “Audience vote determines your partner. You will cross the tidal maze together. Separated pairs are eliminated.”

The screen flared.

PAIRING RESULT

RIVEN ASHCROFT × JACE DRAVEN

They were gasps. Murmurs. A few bitter laughs.

[Live Stream Comment Section – Main Feed]

kay: THEY’RE PAIRED, I’M SCREAMING

sunny: forced proximity trope activated!!!

derah: watch the wolf fall in love and hate it 

princess: riven better not get hurt i swear

Riven lifted her eyes to Jace. For a second, neither spoke.

“Looks like the island ships us,” she said quietly.

His mouth twitched. “The island ships bloodshed.”

They were led to the shoreline where stone pathways emerged and vanished beneath rolling tides. Mist curled low, whispering voices threading through it.

“Rule is simple,” Vivian said. “You cannot cross alone. If one falls, both fail.”

The tide surged. Riven slipped on the wet stone. Jace caught her wrist, yanking her back against his chest. Her breath hitched. For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to heat, salt air, and the steady drum of his heart beneath her ear.

“Careful,” he said, low.

“I was fine,” she lied, not moving away.

[Live Stream – Shore Cam 07]

aboc: HELLO??? the tension???

kay: her face?? she’s BLUSHING

princess: wolfboy don’t you dare let go of her hand

love_romance: this is better than scripted dramas

The maze shifted. Water surged, cutting off their path.

Riven hesitated. “We jump or we drown.”

Jace tightened his grip. “Trust me.”

She searched his face. Then nodded. They leapt together. Cold water swallowed them. Jace’s arm locked around her waist, hauling her up as the tide dragged at her legs. Riven clung to him, breath shuddering as they stumbled onto solid stone again, soaked and breathless.

For a second, neither moved. The island hummed.

[Live Stream – Main Feed]

kay: THAT WAS A BOND MOMENT IDC WHAT ANYONE SAYS

sunny: if they die i’m suing this island personally

derah: look at how he’s holding her…

Riven laughed, breathless. “Guess I don’t drown easily.”

Jace didn’t let go right away. “Don’t make me test that theory again.”

The water receded. The path opened. Above them, unseen by the contestants, the bond index ticked upward.