Raina's hands were raw by the time the sun climbed past the treetops. Splinters lined her fingers like scars of war. Her legs burned, her arms trembled, and her vision swam with heat and exhaustion. Still, she stood in the center of the training ring, staff in hand.
"Again," Vanya's voice cracked through the air like a whip.
Raina didn't answer. She couldn't. Her throat was too dry to speak, her breath ragged from hours of repetition.
Block. Spin. Strike.
Every movement had become muscle memory, but her body was failing her. She wobbled on her stance, catching herself just before she stumbled into the dirt.
"Again!" Vanya barked louder.
Raina's grip tightened around the staff. Blood welled at her palm, but she welcomed the sting. It was real — unlike the chaos swirling in her mind.
Vanya lunged, staff swinging. Raina reacted late. The wood slammed into her shoulder, knocking her sideways. She hit the ground hard, biting back a cry of pain.
Around her, the other warriors watched silently. Some had stopped training altogether. Their attention was fixed on the girl who wouldn't quit.
"Do you think the king favors you because he pities you?" Vanya asked, circling her. "Or because you're weak?"
Raina forced herself up on one knee. "I don't need anyone's pity."
"Then prove it."
The next blow came faster — aimed at her legs. Raina blocked it, barely. Her body moved without her command. Something inside her had awakened. A shadow stirring beneath the surface.
Another strike. Another block. She twisted, ducked, and spun on instinct alone. Her staff clashed with Vanya's again and again, the sound echoing like thunder.
Then—silence.
Vanya lowered her weapon and took a step back.
"Good," she said, almost softly. "You touched her."
Raina blinked, panting. "Her?"
"Your wolf," Vanya nodded. "She stirred for the first time."
Raina limped away from the training ground hours later, sweat plastering her hair to her neck. Her body was covered in dirt and bruises, but something else burned beneath her skin — something more than just pain.
A flicker of pride.
She passed a group of younger trainees whispering among themselves.
"She's still standing…"
"She trained with Vanya for six hours."
"I heard the King's been watching."
Raina kept her gaze low and moved faster. She didn't want the attention. She didn't trust it. Not yet.
As she rounded the stone corridor back to her quarters, she stopped short.
King Theron stood at her door.
Arms crossed. Unmoving.
"You missed lunch," he said.
"I wasn't hungry."
He studied her face. "You're lying."
"I'm too tired to argue, Your Majesty."
His lip twitched. "You've learned to lie like a queen already."
Raina moved to open her door, but his voice stopped her again.
"Did you feel her?" he asked.
Raina turned. "My wolf?"
Theron nodded.
She hesitated, then whispered, "Yes. I think so."
"You didn't just feel her, Raina. You called her."
"I didn't—"
"You did. In the middle of pain and pressure, she came forward."
Raina frowned. "Why now? Why not when I was begging her to save me from Kael?"
Theron stepped forward. His eyes glowed in the flickering torchlight.
"Because your wolf doesn't answer to weakness. She answers to purpose."
A chill ran through her.
"What does that mean?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he reached into the inner lining of his cloak and handed her a sealed envelope. "When you're ready," he said. "Open it."
Before she could speak, he was gone.
That night, Raina didn't sleep. The training, the whispers, the conversation with Theron — it all replayed in her head on a loop.
She opened the envelope at midnight.
Inside was a single piece of parchment, old and cracked. On it was a mark — a spiral etched into an ancient family crest. Below it, just one line of text:
"Only those of the First Blood may carry this mark."
She stared at the symbol for a long time, heart thudding.
Later, she stripped off her shirt and stood in front of the mirror to check for new bruises — and that's when she saw it.
On her left shoulder blade, glowing faintly in the dark — the spiral mark.
It hadn't been there before.
She staggered backward.
Then—
Boom.
Her door flew open.
Cassian stormed in, eyes wide. "Where is it?"
"What?!"
He grabbed her arm and spun her around. His breath caught.
"By the gods…" he whispered.
"You knew?"
He nodded slowly. "Only one bloodline carries that mark."
"Theron's?" she asked.
Cassian shook his head.
"No. Older. Before him. Before Kael's father. The original bloodline. The First Alpha."
Raina's head spun. "That doesn't make sense. My parents were nobodies. I'm—"
"You're not what you were told."
She pressed a hand over the glowing mark. "What does this mean?"
Cassian's eyes locked onto hers, serious and unblinking.
"It means you're not just a rejected mate."
He paused.
"You're a threat to the entire throne."