POV: Aria
Pain woke me.
Not the dull ache from the rejection—this was different. This was my entire body being remade from the inside out.
I tried to scream, but silver light poured from my mouth instead of sound. It erupted from my skin, my eyes, every part of me blazing like I'd swallowed the moon itself.
"Hold her down!" Theron's voice, urgent and commanding.
Strong hands pressed against my shoulders. I thrashed against them, my body convulsing as something massive fought its way to the surface.
My wolf. But not the weak, broken thing that had whimpered inside me my whole life.
This was something ancient. Powerful. Furious.
"The curse is breaking faster than expected," Damon's cold voice said somewhere above me. "Her body can't handle the transition speed."
"She has to." Lucian's darker tone. "If the awakening stops halfway, it'll kill her."
Kill me? I was already dying. Every bone in my body was shattering and reforming. My skin felt like it was being peeled away. The silver light grew brighter, so bright I couldn't see anything else.
Then my wolf roared.
The sound that came from my throat wasn't human. Wasn't even a normal wolf howl. It was primal, ancient, the cry of something that had been caged for twenty-three years and was finally breaking free.
My body arched off whatever surface I was on. The shift took over—violent, unstoppable.
Bones cracked and reformed. My spine elongated. My hands became massive paws with claws that could tear through steel. Fur erupted across my skin—not the dull gray of my Omega wolf, but pure silver that shimmered in the light.
I grew. And grew. And grew.
When the transformation finally completed, I collapsed onto four legs, panting. My new body felt wrong—too big, too powerful, too much.
I forced my eyes open.
The three kings stood in a circle around me, all in human form, all staring with expressions I couldn't read.
I looked down at myself.
My paws were huge—easily twice the size of a normal wolf's. Silver fur covered my legs, rippling with each breath. And along my back and shoulders, black markings formed intricate patterns that looked like...
A crown.
"Impossible," Damon breathed. "She's larger than an Alpha wolf. Larger than our beasts."
"Not impossible," Theron said, his silver eyes locked on me. "She's Shadow Crown royalty. This is what her wolf was always meant to be."
I tried to shift back to human form, but my body wouldn't obey. My new wolf was too strong, too present. She didn't want to give up control.
We're safe now, my wolf said in my mind. Her voice was different—confident, powerful, nothing like the frightened whimper I was used to. We're finally whole.
"Aria." Lucian stepped closer, his red eyes meeting mine. "You need to shift back. Your human body needs to adjust to the changes too."
I tried. Nothing happened.
Panic flooded through me. What if I was stuck like this? What if—
"Easy." Theron knelt in front of me, his hand reaching out slowly. "Your wolf is protective right now. She's been suppressed your entire life. She doesn't trust easily."
His hand touched my massive head, fingers threading through my silver fur.
The contact sent warmth flooding through my new body. My wolf hummed—actually hummed—at his touch.
"That's it," Theron murmured. "Let yourself relax. You're safe. No one here will hurt you."
I wanted to believe him. My wolf wanted to believe him.
Slowly, carefully, I reached for my human form again.
This time, the shift responded.
My body contracted, bones reshaping, fur receding. When I finally stood on two legs again, I was naked, shaking, and completely different.
Lucian immediately wrapped a blanket around my shoulders. I clutched it tight, my hands trembling.
"Look at your hands," Damon said quietly.
I did.
They were the same... but not. My skin had a faint shimmer to it now, like moonlight on water. My fingers were more delicate, elegant. These weren't the rough, scarred hands of an Omega servant.
"Your hair," Theron said.
I reached up and pulled a strand forward. Silver-white. Pure as starlight.
"The curse hid your true appearance," Lucian explained. "Made you look weak, plain, forgettable. This is what you've always been underneath."
"I don't understand." My voice cracked. "How can I be this? I was an Omega. The weakest—"
"You were never an Omega." Theron's voice was firm. "You're the daughter of the Shadow Crown King and Queen. The most powerful werewolf bloodline in history. The curse suppressed that, made you appear as the lowest rank to keep you safe."
"Safe from what?"
"From her," Damon said coldly. "The Moon Goddess. She murdered your parents twenty-three years ago because they were the only wolves powerful enough to challenge divine authority."
The words should have sounded insane. But something deep inside me recognized them as truth.
"You were just a baby when they died," Lucian continued. "The curse was placed on you to hide your scent, your power, everything that would identify you as Shadow Crown. Your parents' most loyal followers left you at the Crescent Moon Pack border, hoping you'd survive long enough to awaken naturally."
"Naturally?" I laughed bitterly. "Getting rejected and exiled was natural?"
"The rejection broke the curse," Theron said. "The mate bond forming with Kade created a power surge. When he severed it, the magical backlash shattered the curse's hold on you. That's why you were drawn to the Forbidden Lands—to us."
I sank down onto the edge of the bed, my legs giving out. "So Kade rejecting me... saved me?"
"In a way," Damon said. "Though he's still a fool for not recognizing what you were."
"He couldn't recognize it," Lucian corrected. "The curse was designed specifically to hide her from wolves who might exploit or kill her. It worked perfectly. Too perfectly."
My head spun with information. Parents murdered. Goddess hunting me. Hidden royalty. It was too much.
"Where am I?" I asked, needing something concrete to hold onto.
"The Sanctuary," Theron answered. "My fortress in the Northern Reaches. We brought you here after you collapsed in the forest. You've been unconscious for—"
"Three days," I finished, remembering. "You told me when I first woke up."
He nodded.
I looked at each of the three kings. They'd saved my life, protected me, told me I was powerful when everyone else said I was worthless.
But I didn't know them. Didn't know if I could trust them.
My wolf had different ideas. She pressed against my consciousness, wanting to be close to them, especially to—
Three golden threads suddenly flared into visibility.
I gasped. One thread connected my chest to Theron's. Another to Damon's. A third to Lucian's.
Mate bonds.
"No," I whispered, backing away. "No, not again."
The three kings froze.
"Aria—" Theron started.
"I can't do this." My voice rose. "I just had a mate bond form and shatter. I can't—I won't—"
"We're not him," Lucian said fiercely.
"Everyone says that! Everyone promises they won't hurt you, and then—" My breath came in gasps.
Damon stepped forward, his ice-blue eyes locked on mine. "The difference is, we need you as much as you need us."
"What does that mean?"
"It means we're cursed too," Theron said quietly. "All three of us. And according to prophecy, only the Shadow Crown Luna can break our curses."
I stared at them. "What kind of curses?"
"That," Theron said, "is a longer conversation. One we should have when you're not still recovering from your awakening."
Before I could argue, my vision blurred. The room tilted.
"She's crashing," Damon said. "The transformation drained her completely."
Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground. Theron lifted me easily, carrying me back to the bed.
"Sleep," he commanded, and this time his Alpha power washed over me gently, like a warm blanket instead of a crushing weight. "When you wake, we'll explain everything."
I wanted to fight it. Wanted answers now.
But my body had other ideas. Darkness pulled at me, irresistible and complete.
The last thing I felt was Theron's hand smoothing my silver-white hair back from my face.
"Welcome back, little queen," he murmured. "The world's been waiting for you."
Then nothing.