Alpha Blood,Royal Heart

The night I should've died began with a whisper.

Not a scream. Not a bang. Just... a voice. Low. Male. Right behind me.

"Raven."

I turned fast-too fast-my boots slipping on the moss-slick forest floor. No one was there. Just trees. Cold. Watching. Too still. The full moon hung above like an open eye, bleeding silver down on the world.

I shouldn't have been out here. The GPS had cut out miles ago. The invitation-the one that showed up on my twenty-first birthday with no return address, just my real name, Raven Blackthorn-led me to a half-dead road, a bus stop, and now... this.

"Come home," the letter had said. "Your blood remembers."

What blood? I was a foster kid, a nobody with too many case files and not enough answers. But standing in that forest, heart slamming against my ribs, I felt it. A pull. Like the earth itself was calling me by name.

Something moved up ahead. Fast. Quiet.

I froze.

Another whisper.

Not a voice this time-something in me. A thrumming in my chest, ancient and wrong. Like a locked door cracking open inside my soul.

I backed up-and slammed into something solid.

Someone.

A hand caught my elbow before I could scream. Cold. Strong. Unshakably calm.

"You shouldn't be here," a voice murmured, deep and refined.

I turned and saw him.

Tall. Broad. Dressed in black like the night had tailored itself to him. His eyes-icy blue, inhumanly sharp-glowed faintly in the dark.

Lucian.

I didn't know his name yet. But some part of me did.

His gaze pinned me in place. Possessive. Knowing. A little furious.

"You're early," he said, stepping back. "The blood shouldn't have called you yet."

My throat dried. "Called me?"

He didn't answer. His eyes flicked to the trees. "We need to move. Now."

And that's when the howling started.

Low. Distant. Dozens of voices. Not dogs. Not coyotes.

Wolves.

And they were getting closer.

"Who are you?" I demanded, heart punching my ribs.

Lucian's jaw clenched. "The only one who can keep you alive."

Behind him, something else emerged from the trees-bare-chested, tattooed, wild-eyed, and smirking like this was fun for him.

Kade.

Where Lucian was ice, this one was fire-mischief and muscle and danger wrapped in a snarl.

"Or you could come with me," Kade said, looking me up and down. "And live."

Lucian growled. Actually growled.

The forest around us tensed. Shadows thickened. Eyes blinked open in the dark.

"Too late," Lucian hissed. "They found her."

"Guess that invitation wasn't as private as we thought," Kade muttered.

I didn't wait for another cryptic threat. I turned and ran.

Straight into the wolves.

The clearing hit me like a trap-too open, too silent, ringed with trees like an audience holding its breath. The second I crossed the edge, the wolves emerged.

Not animals. Not even close.

Half-shifted forms, bone cracking over muscle, fur crawling across skin, eyes glowing red and gold. Five... no, six of them, circling like sharks scenting blood.

Mine.

Lucian was suddenly in front of me, coat flying like a cloak of shadows. Kade flanked the left, his tattoos igniting like green fire across his chest and arms.

"Stay behind me," Lucian commanded.

"I'd listen," Kade added, voice a growl. "Unless you're into dying in your favorite hoodie."

I couldn't move if I wanted to. My body was frozen. Not in fear-okay, maybe a little fear-but more in recognition. Like some wild, buried instinct had slammed the brakes.

I knew these things. Not their faces. But the way they moved, the way they looked at me-like they'd tasted my soul before.

Lucian shifted first.

One blink he was a man. The next, a monster.

A black wolf, massive and sleek, fur rippling like liquid night. His eyes blazed frost-blue, and the ground cracked under his paws.

Kade followed, his shift raw and violent-bones snapping, fur bursting through skin, his lean form coated in streaks of glowing ink even in wolf form. He looked like war incarnate.

And then they lunged.

The wolves clashed midair, snarling and snapping, teeth flashing. Blood hit the dirt. A body flew past me, slammed into a tree, and didn't get up.

I just stood there.

Shaking. Heart in my throat. Fists clenched.

Until one of the rogues broke from the fray-and ran straight for me.

"Raven!" Kade barked.

Too late.

The rogue leapt.

And time cracked open.

The world slowed. My vision blurred, not from fear but from light. White-hot light pouring through my skin, racing down my arms, crawling across my palms like fire that couldn't wait to burn.

I threw up my hands to block the attack-

And the wolf hit an invisible wall of flame.

It shrieked, recoiling midair as its fur lit up, the fire mine. The air pulsed with heat and something older-something holy and terrifying.

The rogue dropped, howling in agony, flames still licking his side as he limped away.

Lucian broke from the fight to stare at me, shifting back into human form mid-sprint. He didn't look scared.

He looked stunned.

"You awakened," he whispered.

I stared at my hands. My veins glowed silver. My fingertips smoked.

"What the hell is happening to me?" I asked, voice trembling.

Kade shifted back, panting, bleeding, a slash across his collarbone.

"You just summoned hellfire," he said, eyes wide. "That's supposed to be impossible."

Lucian stepped forward, gaze locked on mine.

"Not for her."

The last rogue saw the flames still dancing around my fingers-and ran.

Smart.

The rest lay scattered. Broken. Not dead. But they wouldn't be coming back.

My hands finally stopped glowing. The heat vanished. My knees buckled.

Lucian caught me before I hit the ground.

Kade was already at my other side. "We need to move. More are coming."

"No." Lucian's grip tightened. "They'll all feel it now. Her bloodline just screamed through the forest."

My heart thudded, slow and thunderous. "My... bloodline?"

Lucian's voice was cold and clear.

"You're the last of the Blackthorn line. The Luna of Fate. The one the prophecy warned about."

I laughed, dry and cracked. "Yeah, well, the prophecy can take a number. I didn't sign up for this."

Kade gave a half-smile, despite the blood on his face. "Tough. You just lit the forest on fire with your soul. The whole damn world's about to come knocking."

And then... a horn sounded.

Deep. Hollow. Royal.

Lucian's eyes went sharp. "They're here."

"Who?" I asked.

"The royal pack," Lucian said. "My pack."

"And they're not going to be happy."

The horn's echo still rattled the trees when they arrived.

Wolves. Black-furred and massive, armor strapped to their chests like they were marching to war. They poured into the clearing in perfect formation-too clean, too quiet, too trained.

Behind them came a woman who looked like she didn't walk-she ruled gravity.

Tall. Blonde. Cloaked in smoke and velvet, her silver eyes glittered like daggers. Her mere presence made the wolves around her drop their heads.

She didn't spare them a glance.

Her gaze was all for me.

"You've grown," she said smoothly, as if we'd had tea last week instead of her being a complete stranger.

"Cool," I said flatly. "And you are?"

Lucian stepped forward, voice tight. "High Lady Seraphine Vale. Beta of the royal pack. And my aunt."

Of course she was.

Seraphine's lips curved. "You inherited the sarcasm. Good. You'll need it." Her eyes scanned me like I was something under glass-valuable, unpredictable, maybe dangerous.

Kade took a protective step toward me. She didn't acknowledge him. Not directly.

"You'll excuse the bluntness, Raven," Seraphine said, lifting a pale hand, "but I came to confirm one thing."

A rune shimmered in her palm. The air pulled tight like a thread yanked between realms.

Lucian tensed. "Seraphine-"

But it was too late.

The rune burst like a flare-silver and gold and red light crashing around me. It didn't hurt, exactly, but it felt like being seen by something older than time. Like every secret my blood held just got dragged screaming into the moonlight.

I fell to my knees. Gasping.

And then... it passed.

When I opened my eyes, everyone was staring at me.

Because my irises were glowing. Silver. Pure and bright and undeniable.

Seraphine stepped back, her face unreadable.

"She's awakened," she said. "The heir is real."

Lucian let out a slow breath, shoulders dropping like he'd been holding them up for a century.

Kade looked at me like I was made of stars and gunpowder.

Seraphine, though... she smiled.

But it wasn't kind.

"She's unstable."

"I'm right here," I snapped, staggering to my feet. "Not a bomb. Or a sword."

"You're both," Seraphine said, calm as ever. "And that's the problem."

I folded my arms. "Let me guess. You want to lock me in some enchanted tower until I learn how to behave."

"Don't be ridiculous." She waved her hand dismissively. "It's far more civilized than that. You'll come to the palace. Begin training. Prepare for the Claiming Trials."

Lucian's voice was sharp steel. "No."

Seraphine's brows rose. "You dare challenge royal protocol in front of the heir?"

"I claimed her," Lucian said, stepping toward me. "She's under my protection."

That word again.

Claimed.

I should've been angry. I should've protested.

But my body had other plans.

Heat crawled up my neck. That word thrummed through my bones like a memory I hadn't earned.

Kade stepped between us. "Funny. I didn't hear Raven say she agreed to that."

Lucian growled. Actual growl. His eyes flashed frost-blue.

I put a hand up. "Okay, pause. I'm not a tennis ball. No more tossing me around with magic vows and royal posturing."

Seraphine chuckled. "Oh, you'll do wonderfully."

I turned to her. "I'm not going anywhere. Not to your palace. Not to your trials. Not until someone explains what the hell I am."

Seraphine's expression softened just enough to unsettle me. "You are the end of an age, my dear. The last of a bloodline that was supposed to stay buried."

"Why?" I asked. "Why bury me?"

Lucian looked away.

Kade answered. "Because they were afraid of what you'd become."

The air crackled.

A second later, a whisper rippled across my skin-like someone breathing my name into the bones of the forest.

Seraphine's head turned sharply. "They're coming."

Lucian and Kade both tensed. A new sound rose behind the trees.

Not a howl this time.

A chant.

Foreign. Low. And growing louder.

Seraphine didn't look amused anymore. "You have seven nights, Raven," she said, backing toward her wolves. "Then the trials begin. Survive them, and you choose your fate."

"And if I don't?"

She smiled thinly. "Then the packs will choose for you."

The wolves vanished into the trees like shadows scattering from flame.

And I stood there.

Hands still shaking. Veins still tingling. The forest watching.

The boys said nothing.

Lucian stared at me like I was holy and cursed all at once.

Kade watched me like he was ready to burn the world down for a chance to keep me free.

And me?

I looked down at my hands.

Still faintly glowing.

Still warm with fire that wasn't just mine.

And I whispered to the dark, to the blood in my bones:

> "If they want a Luna... they better be ready for a war."