Kaia's POV
I force my eyes up to meet the Alpha King's gaze.
Time stops.
Heat explodes in my chest—scorching, overwhelming, claiming. It tears through me like lightning, burning away everything else until there's only this feeling, this impossible pull toward the man on the throne.
My wolf surges awake with a roar that shakes my entire soul.
MATE!
No.
No, this can't be happening.
The Alpha King's silver eyes lock onto mine, and I watch his expression shatter. Shock. Horror. Something that looks like pain.
His power erupts.
The force of it slams into the room like a physical blow. Chandeliers rattle overhead. The marble floor trembles. Every wolf in the throne room staggers under the weight of his dominance—pure, overwhelming, terrifying.
I can't breathe. Can't think. The mate bond screams between us, demanding I go to him, submit to him, claim him as mine.
But I can't move. I'm frozen, staring at this scarred, devastating man who's looking at me like I'm a ghost.
Impossible, he breathes.
His voice breaks the spell. The other candidates gasp, struggling to stay on their feet as his power continues to pulse through the room.
Your Majesty? The guard who led us here sounds panicked. Should we—
Everyone out. Daemon's voice is raw, barely controlled. Except her.
He's pointing at me.
Every candidate turns to stare. I see shock on their faces. Confusion. Jealousy already forming in some eyes.
Your Majesty, a man beside the throne speaks—tall, with kind eyes and warrior build. Perhaps we should continue the ceremony
I said out, Ryker. Daemon's eyes flash gold. Now.
The power in that command makes everyone flinch.
The candidates scramble toward the doors, shooting me looks ranging from curiosity to outright hatred. The blonde woman in silver armor, I heard someone call her Seraphine—stares at me with pure venom before the guards usher her out.
The kind-eyed man, Ryker, hesitates. My King, if you need
Leave us.
Ryker's jaw tightens, but he bows and retreats.
The massive doors slam shut.
I'm alone with the Alpha King.
The silence is deafening. Daemon grips the arms of his throne so hard I hear stone crack. His chest heaves like he's fighting for control.
The mate bond pulls at me, begging me to go to him.
I dig my feet into the marble floor and refuse to move.
What's your name? His voice is harsh.
K-Kaia Ashborne.
Your real name. He stands abruptly, descending from his throne. Each step toward me is measured, predatory. The name you were given at birth.
My heart hammers. I don't have another name. I was adopted as a baby. I don't remember—
Liar.
The word hits like a slap.
I'm not lying! Desperation makes my voice sharp. I don't know anything about my birth family. The Ashbornes never told me. I don't even know where I came from!
He's right in front of me now, towering over me, his power making the air thick and hard to breathe. This close, I can see the scars crossing his jaw and throat. Battle scars. This is a man who's killed, who's survived things that would destroy lesser wolves.
And he's my mate.
The thought is terrifying.
How old are you? he demands.
Twenty-four.
Pain flashes across his face so quickly I almost miss it. Show me your wrist. Your left wrist.
What? Why—
Show me.
The command in his voice makes my wolf whimper. My hand moves before I can stop it, extending my left arm.
Daemon grabs my wrist—not roughly, but his touch sends fire through the mate bond. I gasp at the intensity of it. His thumb brushes my forearm, pushing up my sleeve.
He's looking at my birthmark.
It's small, crescent-shaped, on the inside of my wrist. I've had it my whole life. It's silver instead of the normal brown or red of most birthmarks, but I never thought anything of it.
The sound Daemon makes is inhuman—half-growl, half-broken sob.
It's you. His voice cracks. After ten years. It's actually you.
What are you talking about? I yank my wrist back, cradling it against my chest. I don't understand any of this!
My mate died ten years ago. He backs away, running a hand through his dark hair. When he looks at me again, his silver eyes are anguished. Her name was Kalista Moonborn. She was fourteen years old. The princess of the royal bloodline. And she burned in a coup that slaughtered her entire family.
The name hits me like a punch to the gut.
Kalista.
The mysterious woman outside the Nightshade gates called me that. And something in my soul recognized it.
I've spent a decade hunting her killers, Daemon continues, his voice getting harder, colder. A decade mourning. A decade believing she was gone forever. The mate bond died with her. I felt it break when she died.
Then you're wrong about me, I say desperately. Because I'm not dead. I'm not a princess. I'm just—
The mate bond doesn't lie. He cuts me off, stepping closer again. Right now, it's burning between us. I can feel it. You can feel it. That bond died ten years ago, and it shouldn't be possible for it to come back. But it has. For you.
His hand reaches toward my face but stops just short of touching. So tell me, Kaia Ashborne. Tell me how you're alive when I buried you ten years ago. Tell me how you have the Moonborn birthmark that only appears in royal blood. Tell me why you smell like her, move like her, have her exact features just... grown.
Tears stream down my face. I don't know! I don't remember anything before the Ashbornes! I don't—
A knock thunders on the doors.
Your Majesty! A guard's voice, urgent. We have a situation. The candidates
Not now! Daemon roars.
My King, someone set fire to the Luna Wing. The candidates are in danger. One of the rooms is completely destroyed.
Daemon's face goes white. Which room?
The one assigned to... Kaia Ashborne.
My knees nearly buckle.
My room. Someone burned my room.
If I'd been in there instead of here...
Daemon's power explodes again, this time pure rage. Get every guard on this. Find out who did this. And protect the other candidates. Now!
Yes, Your Majesty!
The footsteps retreat.
Daemon turns to me, and I've never seen anyone look so deadly. Someone just tried to kill you. On your first day in this palace. Before the trials even began.
But why? I'm nobody—
You're not nobody. He grabs my shoulders, his touch burning through the bond. You're everything. And someone knows it. Someone who wants you dead before you can remember who you really are.
I don't understand—
Ryker! he calls.
The doors open immediately. Ryker must have been waiting right outside.
Assign your best guards to her, Daemon orders. She doesn't go anywhere alone. She doesn't eat anything not tested first. Someone tries to harm her, you kill them. No questions.
Of course. Ryker's kind eyes find mine. I'll keep her safe.
See that you do. Daemon releases me, stepping back. His face closes off, the vulnerable man disappearing behind the cold Alpha King mask. Take her to a secure room. Not the Luna Wing. Somewhere no one can get to her.
What about the other candidates? I ask. If someone's targeting me, are they safe?
Something flickers in Daemon's expression—surprise, maybe respect. They'll be protected too. But you're the target. We need to figure out why before someone succeeds in killing you.
Ryker moves to my side, gentle but firm. Come with me.
I don't want to leave. The mate bond screams against the separation, making my chest ache.
But I let Ryker lead me toward the doors.
Kaia.
Daemon's voice stops me. I turn.
He's standing alone in the massive throne room, looking more lost than any king should.
This isn't over, he says quietly. Whatever you are, whoever you were—I'm going to find the truth. And I'm going to keep you alive long enough to learn it.
Why? I whisper. Why do you care so much?
His silver eyes burn into mine. Because you're my mate. And I already failed to protect you once. I won't fail again.
The doors close between us.
But I can still feel the bond, pulling tight like a rope connecting our souls.
Ryker leads me through hallways in silence. Finally, he speaks. He's not usually like that. The King. He's been ice-cold for ten years. Today's the first time I've seen him feel anything.
I don't want to make him feel things, I say miserably. I just want to survive.
I know. Ryker's voice is kind. But I don't think survival is going to be simple anymore. Not for you.
We reach a heavy door at the end of a secure hallway. Guards flank it.
This was the Queen's chamber, Ryker says. It's been empty since the last Queen died thirty years ago. No one knows about it except the inner circle. You'll be safe here.
He opens the door.
Inside is beautiful—simple but elegant, with a canopy bed and a window overlooking the mountains.
Get some rest, Ryker says. Tomorrow the trials begin, and you'll need your strength.
What's the first trial?
His expression turns grim. The Hunt. You'll be released into the royal forest, and the King's elite guards will track you down. If you're caught before dawn, you're eliminated.
My stomach drops. Eliminated means
Executed. Yes.
I sink onto the bed, my whole body shaking.
Someone already tried to burn me alive tonight. Tomorrow I'll be hunted through a forest by trained killers.
And somewhere in this palace, a secret about my past is buried so deep that people are willing to kill to keep it hidden.
Ryker pauses at the door. The King asked me to investigate your adoption. The Ashborne family, how they got you, where you came from. I'll start tonight.
Thank you, I whisper.
He nods and leaves, locking the door behind him.
I'm alone.
I curl up on the bed, the mate bond aching in my chest like a wound, and I finally let myself cry.
Because everything is wrong.
The Alpha King thinks I'm his dead mate.
Someone wants me dead.
And tomorrow, I have to survive a hunt that kills half the candidates every time.
My wolf stirs weakly, still recovering from months of silence after the rejection.
Mate will protect us, she whispers.
But will he?
Or will I just be another dead girl whose name he mourns?
I close my eyes, but sleep won't come.
Tomorrow, everything changes.
Tomorrow, I become prey.
And I have no idea if I'm strong enough to survive.