Chapter 8
The clearing was frozen in silence.
No one moved.
No one even breathed.
Ariana hovered above the ground again, surrounded by blinding golden light. The energy rippled around her like a living storm, bending the air itself.
Behind her, the glowing shape of enormous wings stretched into the sky.
And above her head—
a crown of golden fire burned like a rising sun.
Cassian stared upward in open disbelief.
"Well," he murmured.
"That's definitely new."
Even the hunters looked uncertain now.
The High Alpha slowly released Kael.
The enormous white wolf stepped back, its glowing blue eyes fixed on Ariana.
Kael collapsed briefly to one knee before shifting back into human form. Blood ran down the side of his neck where the High Alpha's fangs had grazed him.
But he barely noticed.
His eyes were locked on Ariana.
"Ariana…" he said quietly.
She didn't answer.
Her golden eyes glowed brighter than before.
Not wild.
Not uncontrolled.
But focused.
Ancient.
The power inside her radiated across the clearing like a command.
Every supernatural creature felt it.
The winged guardian stepped forward slowly, its silver eyes wide with shock.
"It's real," it whispered.
Cassian glanced sideways.
"What is?"
The guardian's voice dropped.
"The Sovereign."
The word rippled through the clearing like a stone thrown into still water.
Several hunters stiffened.
The High Alpha's gaze darkened.
"That title was erased centuries ago."
The guardian looked directly at Ariana.
"Apparently not."
Ariana felt something strange happening inside her mind.
Voices.
Echoes.
Whispers from somewhere deep inside her blood.
Images flashed across her vision.
Ancient cities.
Massive battles.
Creatures bowing before a figure of golden light.
Her chest tightened.
"What is happening to me?" she whispered.
The golden wings behind her flickered.
Kael stepped forward cautiously.
"You're awakening," he said.
"I don't want this," she said weakly.
Kael's voice softened.
"It's not something you can stop."
The High Alpha shifted back into human form, towering over the clearing.
His icy gaze moved slowly across Ariana's glowing form.
"If this is true," he said carefully, "then everything we believed about the Fifth Blood is wrong."
Cassian crossed his arms.
"Oh, I wouldn't say wrong."
He smiled.
"Just… incomplete."
The High Alpha turned sharply toward him.
"Explain."
Cassian shrugged casually.
"According to the oldest council records, the Fifth Blood was never just a bloodline."
He gestured toward Ariana.
"It was a throne."
The guardian nodded slowly.
"A throne meant to rule all supernatural races."
The clearing erupted into murmurs.
Hunters exchanged uneasy glances.
The High Alpha's voice cut through the noise.
"That throne was destroyed."
Cassian's smile widened.
"Apparently someone forgot to tell her."
Ariana's breathing quickened.
"I don't want to rule anyone."
The guardian stepped closer.
"You don't have a choice."
The golden crown above Ariana's head burned brighter.
"You were born for it."
Kael moved instantly.
"She's not ruling anything."
The guardian's silver eyes turned toward him.
"You cannot stop destiny, Alpha."
"Watch me."
The High Alpha studied Kael carefully.
"You're willing to challenge the entire council for her?"
Kael didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
The hunters shifted uneasily again.
Cassian chuckled.
"Oh, this is getting better by the minute."
But suddenly—
the golden light around Ariana flickered violently.
The wings behind her trembled.
Her breathing became uneven.
Kael noticed immediately.
"Ariana?"
Her body trembled in the air.
The voices inside her mind grew louder.
Too loud.
"I can't…" she whispered weakly.
Kael stepped forward quickly.
"Ariana, look at me."
Her glowing eyes flickered toward him.
Fear flashed across her face.
"Kael… I can't control it."
The crown above her head cracked with a sharp sound.
The guardian's eyes widened.
"That's not good."
The golden light suddenly collapsed inward.
Ariana screamed.
The energy surged wildly through the clearing.
Kael ran toward her.
"Ariana!"
He reached her just as the light began to explode outward.
For a split second, their eyes met.
Then—
the golden light exploded.
A massive shockwave blasted across the clearing.
Trees snapped.
Hunters were thrown backward.
Even the High Alpha staggered.
When the light faded—
Ariana was gone.
The clearing fell into stunned silence.
Kael looked around wildly.
"No…"
The guardian stepped forward slowly, scanning the empty air.
"She's not here."
Cassian raised an eyebrow.
"Well."
"That's inconvenient."
Kael's chest tightened.
"Where is she?"
The guardian looked toward the sky.
Its expression turned grim.
"She didn't disappear."
Kael's heart pounded.
"Then where did she go?"
The guardian's voice dropped to a whisper.
"She was taken."
The High Alpha's eyes narrowed.
"By who?"
The guardian looked directly at him.
"The ones who have been waiting centuries for the Sovereign to awaken."
Kael's stomach dropped.
"Who?"
The guardian's wings spread slowly.
"The original bloodline."
The clearing went silent again.
Cassian blinked.
"…That bloodline is extinct."
The guardian shook its head.
"No."
Then it spoke the words that made Kael's blood run cold.
"They've been hiding."
"And now they have her."