Raina sat at the edge of her bed, the silence in her chamber thick enough to suffocate her. The mark on her shoulder had faded slightly, but the burn beneath it lingered — not just on her skin, but in her bones.
She didn't know how long she'd stared at the envelope Theron gave her. It was still on the floor, still open, but her mind couldn't stop circling one truth:
She was more than she'd ever been told.
More than a farmer's daughter.
More than Kael's discarded mate.
More than anyone had ever allowed her to believe.
Cassian hadn't stayed long after his shocking revelation. He gave her one look — somewhere between fear and reverence — and left her alone with the fire he'd started in her blood.
But as the sky shifted to morning hues outside her window, a knock interrupted her thoughts.
She opened the door cautiously, half-expecting Theron or Cassian.
It was neither.
Kael stood there.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. He looked… tired. Worn down. But there was something else in his expression — something close to guilt.
"I heard about what happened yesterday," he said quietly.
Raina raised an eyebrow. "Which part? The part where your father's trainer nearly broke me, or the one where your brother gave me a sealed mystery from the past?"
Kael ignored her sarcasm. "You've changed."
"No thanks to you."
He flinched. "I didn't come to fight."
She crossed her arms, blocking the doorway. "Then why are you here?"
"I had a dream," he said, voice low. "You were in it."
Raina blinked.
Kael continued. "You were standing on a battlefield, covered in fire. But it didn't burn you. You walked through it like you were made of it. And behind you… wolves knelt."
Raina's heart thudded in her chest.
"I don't know what it means," he added. "But when I woke up, I felt something. My wolf… stirred. For the first time since—since I rejected you."
The silence between them stretched.
"You need to go," she said finally.
Kael hesitated, then nodded. "Just… be careful. My father isn't blind. If he learns what blood runs in your veins—"
"I'll handle him," she said.
He looked at her one last time. "You're stronger than I gave you credit for."
Then he walked away.
Later that morning, Raina was summoned to the king's chamber.
Theron sat behind a carved wooden desk, a scroll laid out in front of him. He didn't look up when she entered.
"You found the mark," he said.
Raina stepped forward slowly. "You knew."
"I suspected."
She frowned. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Theron's gaze lifted to hers. "Because if you knew the truth too early, it would have crushed you. You needed to be forged by rejection, not protected from it."
His words cut deep — but not as deeply as the weight behind them.
"So what happens now?" she asked.
Theron stood and moved to the window, staring out across the mountains. "Now, you choose. I can keep you here. Train you. Protect you. Or…"
"Or what?"
"You can claim what is rightfully yours."
Raina's breath caught. "You mean the throne?"
He turned back to her. "The blood in your veins isn't just royal. It's original. It outranks even mine. You are not bound by this pack's laws. You were born to challenge them."
Raina staggered slightly.
Theron stepped closer, his voice low. "But if you choose that path, Raina… there will be blood. Betrayal. War."
Her hands shook, but she didn't step back.
"I'm tired of being someone else's pawn," she said. "If claiming my truth means setting the world on fire, then so be it."
Theron smiled faintly. "Then I'll stand beside you."
Just then, Cassian burst into the room.
"We have a problem," he said.
"What now?" Theron asked.
Cassian looked straight at Raina. "Your village. The one you came from. It was attacked last night."
Raina's heart dropped.
Theron's expression darkened. "By who?"
Cassian's jaw clenched. "Your father."
Kael's father. The Alpha King.
"Why would he—" Raina's voice cracked.
"To send a message," Cassian said grimly. "He knows. He's hunting your bloodline. Starting with the ones who raised you."