**Aria**
Training with King Raven was nothing like the stories I'd heard about alpha training. For one thing, he didn't yell at me when I messed up, which was constantly. For another, he actually explained why we were doing each exercise instead of just barking orders.
"Your body remembers," he said on our fifth day of training. We were in his private training grounds, a huge indoor space with weapons lining the walls. "Your father trained you when you were young. The knowledge is there—we just need to wake it up."
"Pretty sure my body only remembers how to scrub floors and carry heavy trays," I panted, bent over with my hands on my knees. We'd been practicing basic defense moves for two hours, and I was dying. "Can we take a break?"
"Your aunt won't give you a break when she comes for you."
"My aunt probably won't challenge me to hand-to-hand combat either," I pointed out. "She's got magic and an army."
"Which is why you need to be prepared for everything." But he did toss me a water bottle. "Besides, you're doing better than you think."
"I've fallen on my butt twelve times!"
"Thirteen, actually. But you've also successfully blocked thirty-eight attacks and landed six hits on me."
I stared at him. "You were counting?"
"I count everything. It's a habit." He pulled off his training shirt, and I definitely didn't stare at his abs. Nope. Not at all. My wolf, however, was practically drooling.
*Stop that,* I told her.
*Make me,* she shot back. *Our mate is very nice to look at.*
*He's not our mate yet. We haven't accepted the bond.*
*Details.*
"You're arguing with your wolf," King Raven observed, amused.
"She's being inappropriate," I muttered, my face heating up.
"Wolves usually are." He grabbed two practice swords from the wall. "Ready to try something new?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"You always have a choice, Aria." He'd started calling me by my real name once we were alone, and I liked how it sounded in his deep voice. "That's lesson one—there's always a choice. Sometimes all the options are bad, but there's still a choice."
I took one of the practice swords, surprised by how light it felt. "Is this made of wood?"
"Enchanted birch. Light as a feather, strong as steel, and it won't kill you if you accidentally stab yourself."
"That's reassuring."
He moved to stand across from me, his sword held casually at his side. "Your mother was a celestial witch. That means you have magic in your blood. The sword should respond to that."
"How?"
"Focus on it. Feel the connection between your hand and the weapon. Celestial magic is about bonds—between earth and sky, moon and wolf, weapon and wielder."
I closed my eyes and tried to feel... something. Anything. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, I felt a warmth spreading from my palm into the sword's handle. When I opened my eyes, the blade was glowing with soft silver light.
"Holy cheese!" I yelped, nearly dropping it.
King Raven laughed—a real, full laugh that made him look years younger. "Holy cheese?"
"I used to get in trouble for actual cursing when I was a servant," I explained, embarrassed. "So I started saying weird things instead."
"It's endearing." He raised his own sword. "Now, let's see if you can maintain that glow while fighting."
The answer was no, I definitely could not. The moment he attacked—slowly and telegraphed, but still—my concentration shattered and the glow winked out. I managed to block his strike through pure instinct, but barely.
"Again," he said.
We practiced for another hour. By the end, I could maintain the glow for about thirty seconds while defending, which King Raven claimed was excellent progress. I thought it was pathetic, but kept that to myself.
"You're too hard on yourself," he said as we walked back to the main palace. "Most hybrids take years to manifest even basic celestial magic. You're doing it in days."
"Most hybrids don't have a psychotic aunt coming to kill them in three weeks."
"True." He stopped walking suddenly, his head tilted like he was listening to something. "We have company."
Before I could ask what he meant, three figures emerged from the shadows of the hallway. My blood went cold when I recognized them—Prince Zander, Diana, and Alpha King Marcus.
"So the rumors are true," Alpha King Marcus said, his eyes fixed on me. "The omega servant is here."
"Princess Lunaria is my guest," King Raven corrected coolly. "And last I checked, this was still my territory."
"Princess?" Diana laughed, the sound sharp as breaking glass. "This pathetic creature? Please. She's an omega who's somehow convinced you she's special."
"Actually," I said, finding my voice, "I'm exactly who he says I am. Would you like to see?"
Before anyone could respond, I let my power surface. My skin began to glow with that soft silver light, my hair lifted slightly as if in an invisible breeze, and my eyes—I knew from practicing in front of water—turned pure silver.
Diana stepped back with a gasp. Prince Zander's face went pale. But Alpha King Marcus... he smiled.
"So it's true," he said softly. "Artemis's daughter lives. How... interesting."
"You knew my father?" I asked, the glow fading as surprise replaced concentration.
"Knew him? We were allies once. Before your aunt's propaganda convinced me his kingdom was a threat." His expression was unreadable. "I helped fund the army that destroyed your home."
The confession hit me like a physical blow. "You... what?"
"I was told your parents were planning to use hybrid magic to conquer all wolf territories," Marcus continued. "That they were breeding an army of hybrid warriors. Morgana showed me evidence, documents, proof of their intentions."
"They were lies!" I snarled, power flaring again without my conscious control. The windows in the hallway cracked. "My parents wanted peace! They were trying to unite wolves and witches, not conquer anyone!"
"I know that now." Marcus's voice was surprisingly gentle. "Your aunt played us all for fools. By the time I realized the truth, it was too late. Your kingdom was destroyed, your parents dead, and Morgana had claimed the throne."
"And you did nothing?" King Raven's voice was dangerous.
"What could I do? Start a war with a witch queen who'd just proved she could manipulate entire kingdoms into destroying each other?" Marcus shook his head. "I'm not proud of my cowardice, but I chose to protect my pack rather than seek redemption."
"And now?" I asked. "Now that you know I'm alive?"
"Now I'm here to make you an offer," Marcus said. "Return to Shadow Creek. Not as a servant, but as an honored guest. Let my son accept your bond properly—"
"WHAT?!" Prince Zander and I said in unison.
Marcus ignored us. "—and together, our packs can stand against Morgana. The Shadow Creek Pack's army and your rightful claim to the throne. It's the smart choice."
"The smart choice?" I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Your son publicly rejected and humiliated me. He called me worthless, pathetic, a creature. And now you want me to just forgive that because it's politically convenient?"
"You would be Luna of Shadow Creek," Diana said desperately. "That's what you wanted, isn't it? To be important? To matter?"
"I wanted to be loved," I said quietly. "Or at least respected. Your son made it clear that would never happen."
"Things are different now," Prince Zander said, and for the first time since arriving, he spoke directly to me. "You're not an omega. You're a princess. A hybrid. You're powerful."
"I'm the same person I was five days ago," I pointed out. "Just without the spell hiding me. If you couldn't love me then, why would I trust you now?"
"Because you need us," Prince Zander said bluntly. "Raven's pack is strong, but not strong enough to stand against Morgana alone. You need allies."
"I have allies," I said, moving closer to King Raven without really thinking about it.
Prince Zander's eyes tracked the movement, his jaw clenching. "You can't seriously be choosing him over me. He's cursed! He's—"
"Careful," King Raven warned softly. "You're in my home, speaking about matters you don't understand."
"I understand enough," Prince Zander snapped. "You killed your entire family. The Moon Goddess herself cursed you for it. You're a monster who can't even look at his own reflection without seeing the truth of what you are."
The silence that followed was deafening. King Raven had gone completely still beside me, and I could feel rage radiating from him in waves.
"Is that what you think?" I asked Prince Zander. "That curses define us? That our worst moments make us monsters?"
"Don't you dare compare us," Prince Zander snarled. "I'm nothing like him."
"You're right," I agreed. "He's been nothing but kind to me, while you rejected me for being weak. He's protected me, while you hunted me. He sees my worth, while you only saw it after learning I had power. So you're absolutely right—you're nothing like him."
I turned to King Raven, whose golden eyes were wide with surprise. "We should go. I believe we have training to finish."
"Yes," he said softly. "We do."
We started to leave, but Marcus's voice stopped us. "This isn't over, Princess. Morgana is coming, and you'll need more than one cursed king to stop her."
"Maybe," I said, not turning around. "But I'd rather stand with one person who accepts me as I am than an army that only wants me for my power."
As we walked away, I heard Diana whisper to Prince Zander, "We should have killed her when she was just a servant."
"Yes," Prince Zander replied, loud enough for me to hear. "We should have."
The threat should have scared me. Instead, it just made me more determined. They'd had thirteen years to see my worth, and they'd missed it. Now they wanted my power.
They could stand in line behind my aunt.
—