Clara's POV
He didn't ask what Lucas had said—he didn't need to. The tension rolling off my shoulders, the fire burning brighter in my eyes, told him enough.He handed me the goblet without a word. I took a sip."Did it hurt him?" he asked eventually, voice low, amused.I glanced over my shoulder. Lucas stood rooted beneath the hearth arch, alone amidst a sea of power players and polished smiles. But he wasn't really alone. He was caged by his past. By me."Oh, yes," I replied. "Like poison beneath the skin."Ryker chuckled, sipping his own wine. "Good. Let him rot in it."We stood there together, not as lovers, but as conspirators. A king who wanted the crown and a queen who wanted vengeance. A pact forged not from affection, but necessity."Clara," Ryker said, tilting his head toward the far corridor, where the war council chamber lay hidden beyond the ceremonial doors. "They'll expect us soon. The elders want to discuss succession."I nodded. "Let them."As we moved, a hush fell over the hall again. Even in a room full of legacy and lycan royalty, we were the ones everyone watched. The girl who'd escaped death. The brother who dared to claim her.And Lucas… the mate who let it all slip through his fingers.He hadn't moved from the fire.I could still feel the weight of his stare digging into my spine as we exited the hall.Once we were out of sight, Ryker glanced at me. "He'll come after you now. You know that."I smiled, dark and calm. "I'm counting on it."Because this wasn't just about justice anymore.It was about showing every broken girl, every cast-off omega, every soul who'd been shackled to a cruel mate, that we could rise. That we could reign.And I would.Not as a bonded mate.But as their queen.And I would burn every kingdom that tried to chain me again.The war council chamber in Blackmoor was colder than I remembered. Not in temperature—but in essence. Gone were the days when I'd sat silently at Lucas's side, docile and unseen. Now, I stood at the head of the obsidian table, flanked by Ryker and Sora, with the eyes of a dozen alphas and advisors boring into me.I let them stare.Let them wonder how a broken omega had clawed her way back here."Shall we begin?" Ryker said, voice silk-wrapped steel.Elder Fenric, the oldest among them, cleared his throat. "Lady Ravenshade… Your arrival has stirred uncertainty among the council. Given your history with Alpha Lucas, some question the legitimacy of your claim as future queen."I met his gaze, unwavering. "Then let me clarify it for you. I do not require your approval. I require your attention."Gasps echoed. Ryker's lips twitched upward."I am not here to relive the past," I continued, pacing slowly along the table's edge. "I am here to reshape the future. One where no wolf is bound by bloodlines or brute strength alone. One where the rule of law outweighs the weight of a mate mark.""You're proposing reform?" another councilman asked, incredulous."I'm proposing survival," I replied. "Lucas's reign was built on fear and tradition. But the world beyond these mountains is changing. The Eastern packs are already shifting alliances. And the Southwood Rebellion wasn't the end—it was the beginning."Sora stepped forward, laying a sealed scroll on the table. "These are confirmed movements. Rogue alphas consolidating. Border raids disguised as trade. If we don't unite under stronger leadership, there won't be a throne left to argue over."The room fell silent as the implications sank in."And what role does Ryker play in this… reformation?" Fenric asked, eyes narrowing.Ryker smiled coolly. "The role of a king who knows when to let his queen lead."That, more than anything, unsettled them.A Lycan king deferring to an omega.But I was no ordinary omega anymore.I was the girl who walked away from her mate and returned with fire in her veins.After the meeting adjourned, I stood alone near the balcony overlooking the northern cliffs. The wind whipped at my hair, carrying the scent of pine, frost… and something else.Lucas.I didn't turn when he approached. I didn't need to."You're rewriting the laws of the kingdom," he said behind me, voice taut."Good," I said softly. "They were broken anyway.""I didn't think you'd come back like this."I turned to face him, slowly. "Did you think I'd come back begging?"His jaw flexed. "No… I just didn't think you'd come back stronger."That was the thing with men like Lucas—they always underestimated the wreckage they left behind. Never realizing it was the perfect ground for rebirth."I survived you," I said. "That made me unstoppable."For the first time, he looked uncertain. Not angry. Not cold.Uncertain."You were mine, Clara," he murmured. "You still are."I stepped close, close enough that he could see the gold flecks in my eyes, the scars I no longer hid."No," I said. "I was never yours. I was only ever surviving you. But now? Now I live for me."And I turned my back on him once again.Because I had a kingdom to win.And a legacy to rewrite. Lucas didn't follow.For once, he didn't try to stop me, didn't throw power like a net to reel me back in. Maybe he finally understood what I'd become. Or maybe he was just too stunned by the fact that I didn't flinch—not when he said I was his, not when he looked at me like a storm he couldn't tame.Either way, I walked back into the council chamber without a backward glance.