The air felt heavier with every step the Lycan King took.
Raven Drakos wasn't just powerful—he radiated a cold authority that made everyone instinctively straighten their backs and lower their heads. Tall, broad, dressed in a dark cloak trimmed with silver fur, he moved like the world shifted out of his way.
He shouldn't be here.
In my past life, he never visited this pack until years later.
So why… now?
His gaze remained locked on me as he approached. Not Kai. Not Vivienne. Not the warriors bowing all around us.
Me.
My pulse quickened, not from fear—but from confusion.
I made sure my expression stayed calm.
No trembling.
No awe.
No reaction.
Raven stopped a few feet away, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade.
"You. Step forward."
Every warrior turned to stare.
Kai stiffened. "Your Majesty—"
Raven didn't spare him a glance.
He waited.
I stepped forward, slow and steady.
His eyes—an icy, impossible silver—dragged over me the way a hunter studies something unexpected. Something rare.
"What is your name?" he asked.
The question held weight—like he already knew the answer but wanted to hear how I said it.
"Aura Danvers," I replied.
Vivienne's jaw clenched in the background—she was used to attention, but not this kind.
Raven's gaze flicked to the mark glowing faintly on my wrist—the crescent moon. His expression didn't change, but a ripple went through the air, like he recognized it.
Or feared it.
Kai finally stepped forward, tension rippling through his shoulders.
"Your Majesty," he said carefully, "Aura is one of my wolves. She's newly discovered as my ma—"
"Mateship does not concern me," Raven said flatly, cutting him off.
Kai's eyes darkened.
The king tilted his head slightly, still examining me.
"Interesting," he murmured.
Whispers shot through the warriors.
The Lycan King did not call people interesting.
He barely acknowledged anyone.
Kai moved subtly in front of me—a territorial instinct he didn't even seem aware of.
"Why are you here, Your Majesty?" Kai asked, voice low, controlled.
"To inspect the packs in our region," Raven said. "And to follow a scent that appeared two nights ago."
My stomach dropped.
Two nights ago…
That was when I returned from death.
Was he able to sense that shift?
His gaze sharpened at the faint change in my breathing.
"Aura," he said, my name rolling smoothly off his tongue, "come to the front."
Kai stepped aside too slowly.
Raven's eyes flicked toward him—just one look.
That alone made Kai stiffen.
I stepped forward again, keeping my chin lifted.
The king leaned slightly closer—close enough that I felt the chill of his aura, like winter winds curling around my skin.
He inhaled subtly.
And the air shifted.
Recognition.
"I've picked up your scent before," he said quietly. "But not here. Not in this lifetime."
A chill shot down my spine.
My past life?
My death?
My rebirth?
Did he sense it?
Kai's voice snapped sharply, "What do you mean by that?"
Raven ignored him.
Instead… he lifted a gloved hand and traced a finger just above my wrist—never touching, but close enough that a faint spark of power hummed between us.
My crescent mark glowed brighter, pulsing.
Raven's eyes narrowed, fascination deepening.
"So it awakened," he whispered.
Vivienne took a step forward, voice trembling with forced sweetness.
"Your Majesty, Aura is just a regular wolf—she's timid, she has no—"
Raven turned his head slightly.
Just a glance.
Vivienne went silent instantly, face draining of color.
He looked at me again.
"You will report to my court in three days."
Kai snapped, "She's under my authority—"
Raven's gaze cut to him, cold and absolute.
"You would challenge a king's order, Alpha?"
The entire field froze.
Kai clenched his jaw, fists tightening, but he said nothing.
Good.
Let him feel what it's like to have power snatched away.
Raven stepped back, cloak sweeping across the dust, eyes lingering on me one last time.
"This girl," he said to Kai, "is not as ordinary as you believe."
Then he walked away.
Leaving silence.
Shock.
Fear.
And the unmistakable beginning of something I never expected:
The two most powerful men in our world…
were now paying attention to me.
And this time—
I wasn't the one who should be afraid.