POV EMMA BELLE
The air in the Forbidden Forest didn't just feel cold; it felt alive, thick with a power that vibrated against my skin like a thousand invisible needles. I was still trembling on the forest floor, the copper scent of Jace's blood lingering in the air.
Félix—Lixie—remained kneeling in front of me. His hand was still on my shoulder, and the heat radiating from his palm was the only thing keeping me from shattering into a million pieces.
"Get her up, Félix," the giant, Damon, commanded. His voice was a tectonic rumble. "Caleb's hounds are already crossing the ravine. If we're found here with a dead Eclipse warrior and their runaway Omega, we're starting a war we aren't ready for."
"I told you, Damon," Félix snapped, his forest-green eyes never leaving mine. "She isn't an Omega. Look at the way the forest is reacting to her."
He was right. As my heart hammered in my chest, the shadows around us seemed to pulse in time with my pulse. The trees leaned in, their leaves whispering a name I couldn't understand.
Félix hooked his arms under mine and hoisted me up. My legs felt like water, and I stumbled against his bare chest. He caught me easily, his grip iron-strong and possessive. "Easy, Little Bird. I've got you."
"We need to move. Now," the silver-eyed one, Nathaniel, said. He wasn't looking at me with pity; he was looking at me like I was a complicated mathematical equation he was desperate to solve.
Before I could ask where they were taking me, the forest erupted.
A chorus of howls tore through the night—closer this time. Caleb's hunting party. I could hear the crashing of heavy bodies through the brush. They weren't just following my scent; they were following the trail of blood Jace had left behind.
"Too late," Vincent whispered, his black eyes scanning the darkness. He stepped back into the deepest shadows, his body seemingly merging with the obsidian night.
"Emma Belle!" Caleb's voice rang out, distorted by his shift but unmistakable in its arrogance. "Give yourself up and I might grant you a quick death! Hide with the exiles and I'll burn this entire forest to the ground!"
Damon let out a harsh, guttural laugh, stepping in front of me. He looked like a god of war silhouetted against the Blood Moon. "He wants a war? Let's give him a glimpse of what happens when you cross the Kings."
"No," Nathaniel intervened, his voice cool and sharp. "We don't reveal our full strength for a mid-tier Alpha like Caleb. Vincent, smoke."
In a heartbeat, Vincent slammed his hand onto the ground. A thick, unnatural fog erupted from the earth, smelling of dry ice and ancient earth. It swallowed us whole, masking our scents and our sight.
"Hold on to me," Félix whispered in my ear. He didn't wait. He swept me into his arms, carrying me bridal-style, and began to run.
But he didn't run like a human. He was a blur of speed, weaving through the ancient oaks with impossible agility. I buried my face in his neck, the scent of pine and adrenaline acting as my only anchor. Behind us, I heard the frustrated roars of Caleb's wolves as they crashed into trees, blinded by Vincent's magic.
We ran for what felt like hours, ascending higher into the jagged cliffs of the North. The air grew thinner, colder, until finally, the fog cleared.
We stood before a massive fortress carved directly into the face of a mountain. It was obsidian and bone, a stronghold that looked like it had been built by giants.
"Welcome to the Black Crag," Félix said, setting me down on the stone bridge that led to the main gates.
I gasped for air, clutching the leather cloak Damon had thrown over me. I looked at the four of them—these outcasts, these "Four Kings" that pack legends spoke of in hushed whispers.
"Why did you save me?" I demanded, my voice finally finding its edge. "You don't know me. I'm a rejected mate. A defect."
Damon stepped forward, his amber eyes glowing with an intensity that made me want to both run and kneel. He reached out, his large hand cupping my jaw. His thumb brushed over my lower lip, a gesture so intimate and dominant it made my breath hitch.
"You keep saying that word," Damon growled. "Omega. Defect. But your blood says something else, Emma. Your blood sings the song of the White Queen. The lineage that was supposed to rule us all before the Council betrayed them."
"I don't have any power," I whispered, tears pricking my eyes. "I couldn't even defend myself against Jace."
"Because they've been poisoning you," Nathaniel said, stepping closer. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, dried flower—mountain ash. "I smelled it on you the moment we found you. Your pack has been feeding you this since you were a child. It suppresses a wolf's core. It turned your fire into embers."
He took my hand, his fingers tracing the faint blue veins in my wrist. "But the rejection… the trauma of Caleb breaking the bond… it cracked the shell. Your power is leaking out, Emma. And if you don't learn to control it, it will burn you from the inside out."
"We aren't just saving you, Emma," Vincent said, appearing behind me like a ghost. "We've been waiting for you. For twenty years, the Four Kings have sat on this mountain, waiting for the one who could unify the North."
"You want me to be a weapon," I said, a bitter realization settling in my stomach.
Félix stepped in, his expression uncharacteristically serious. He took both of my hands in his. "We want you to be a Queen. Our Queen. The bond is already forming, Emma. Can't you feel it?"
I looked inward. He was right. There was a tether—not the fragile, one-sided string I'd had with Caleb, but four distinct, pulsing pillars of light connecting my soul to theirs.
Damon was fire and earth. Nathaniel was ice and steel. Vincent was shadow and silence. And Félix… Félix was the wind and the heartbeat.
"The Council is coming for you," Damon said, his hand moving from my jaw to the back of my neck, his fingers tangling in my hair. He pulled my head back, forcing me to look at the fortress. "And Caleb will not stop until he sees you dead. You have two choices. You can walk back down that mountain and die as an Omega… or you can walk through those gates and learn how to make them all bleed."
I looked down at my scarred hands, then back at the trail we had left behind. I thought of Caleb's sneer. I thought of the laughter in the Great Hall.
The Omega died in the forest.
"I want to make them bleed," I said, my voice as cold as the mountain air.
Félix grinned, his dimples flashing. "That's my Little Bird."
But as we turned to enter the gates, the mark on my neck flared with an agonizing heat. I screamed, falling to my knees as a vision flashed before my eyes: A white wolf, towering over a field of corpses, and four men kneeling before her, their eyes turned to ash.
Nathaniel caught me before I hit the stone. "It's starting," he whispered, his silver eyes wide with alarm. "The first awakening."
"Damon, get her to the altar!" Félix shouted.
But before they could move, the sky above the fortress turned a bruised, violent purple. A massive crow circled above us, its eyes glowing with a familiar, hateful red.
"The High Council," Vincent hissed, baring his fangs. "They found us already."
Damon picked me up, his muscles rippling with a terrifying power. "Then let them come," he roared at the sky. "We have a Queen to crown!"