Chapter 2 The King's Claim

Liana pov

"You're mine."

The words scorched through me like wildfire, igniting something ancient beneath my skin. My breath caught. My legs refused to move. Every instinct screamed run, but the pull toward him was stronger.

The bond, the one I'd believed broken forever, roared to life.

But not the fragile golden thread I'd once felt with Jaxon.

This was a storm.

Dark.

Endless.

Feral.

"No," I whispered, backing away. "You've made a mistake."

He cocked his head. "I don't make mistakes."

"You don't know who I am."

"I know exactly who you are," Kael said, his voice low and commanding. "The last living White Wolf. Hidden by a dying mother. Masked by fear. Rejected by a fool."

My knees buckled.

"How do you know that?"

Kael moved closer, and every step sent shivers down my spine.

"I've hunted your kind through blood and fire," he said. "Watched them fall one by one. And now... the Moon has returned what was taken."

His hand rose not to touch, but to hover near my face, as if waiting for permission. I flinched anyway.

He paused.

"You feel it too," he said.

I wanted to deny it.

To scream that I didn't need another mate. Wouldn't survive another rejection.

But lying would've been pointless.

The bond pulsed in my chest like a second heartbeat. I couldn't breathe without feeling him.

"Even if I am what you say," I whispered, "that doesn't make me yours."

Something dark flickered in his eyes.

"No," he said. "The Moon does."

He took me that night not forcefully, but with an authority that made refusal irrelevant.

"I won't hurt you," he said as I followed him through the trees, barely keeping up with his long strides. "But I will protect you. And that means taking you away from this pack of traitors before they destroy you."

"I'm not yours to protect," I said, my voice sharper than I intended.

Kael stopped. Turned. His eyes burned into mine.

"Liana," he said, low and rough. "Your power is waking. When it does, they'll smell it. And they'll kill you before you even understand what you are."

"What am I?" I challenged.

He studied me for a moment, like he was deciding how much truth I could survive.

"You're not just a White Wolf," he said. "You're the last direct descendant of the Moon Queen."

I laughed harshly, bitterly, "That's a myth."

"No," he said. "It's history. Buried. Twisted. Feared."

I stepped back, shaking my head.

"I'm just... a girl. An Omega. A reject"

"You're the heir to the lost throne," he interrupted. "And your time in chains is over."

We reached the edge of the territory before sunrise. I could already feel the bond humming stronger, like Kael's presence poured liquid heat into my bones. It was terrifying.

I'd spent my life hiding what I was.

Now this Alpha wanted to make me something else entirely.

His Queen.

Kael's territory wasn't like anything I'd imagined.

It wasn't savage or war-torn. It was beautiful.

Mountains carved the horizon. Forests glowed silver in the moonlight. And at the center of it all, a palace of obsidian stone and moonlit glass spiraled into the sky.

I gasped.

"This is..."

"Home," Kael said simply.

I followed him inside, flanked by warriors who didn't look at me with disgust but awe.

"She's the one?"

"She smells like the Moon."

"She's even stronger than the last."

I stiffened.

Kael's fingers brushed mine, grounding me.

"You'll get used to it," he murmured.

"I don't want to be worshipped," I said.

He smiled darkly and slowly. "You're not. You're feared."

Inside the palace, I was led to a suite larger than my entire cottage back in the Eastern Woods. Soft robes. Warm baths. Food I hadn't tasted in years.

But none of it made sense.

Why did Kael want me?

Why now?

Why me?

That night, I stood on the balcony, staring at the moon. My wolf stirred inside, restless, aching to break free. The bond buzzed in my blood like a song half-remembered.

Then I felt him.

Kael.

He didn't knock. Didn't ask. He just stood there, watching me with eyes like wildfire.

"You haven't shifted since you were ten," he said.

I nodded.

"Why?"

"Because when I did... I wasn't alone."

His expression didn't change. "You mean the second soul."

My eyes widened. "You know?"

He stepped closer. "She's not a demon, Liana. She's a guardian. The White Wolves were born with them shadows forged from the Moon's light."

"She wanted to kill," I said, my voice cracking. "She ripped through an entire rogue pack. I couldn't stop her."

"She protected you," Kael corrected. "And now she's waking again."

I closed my eyes. "What if I can't control her?"

Kael's hand touched my jaw, gentle and sure.

"Then I'll help you."

That night, I dreamed of fire.

Of a throne made of moonstone and blood.

Of a woman with silver hair and eyes like mine, whispering, Remember who you are.

And when I woke

I wasn't alone.

My wolf stood in the corner, fully formed, cloaked in white flame.

And she bowed to me.

The next day, Kael summoned me to the war chamber.

"We've captured a spy," he said. "From your old pack."

My blood turned cold.

I stepped into the room and froze.

It was Jaxon.

Bound. Bruised. Bleeding.

He looked up and his jaw dropped.

"Liana?"

He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

Then his eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing here?"

Kael stepped forward.

"She's mine."

Jaxon laughed a bitter, broken sound.

"She's an Omega."

"She's a Queen," Kael growled.

And then, just to prove it, he kissed me.

Hard.

In front of everyone.

In front of Jaxon.

And the band sang.

I tasted power. Possession. Fate.

When he pulled back, the room was silent.

Even Jaxon looked shaken.

"She was never yours," Kael said. "You rejected her. The Moon didn't."

And then Kael turned to me, voice softer.

"Do you want to speak to him?"

I looked at Jaxon.

At the boy who'd broken me.

At the male who'd thrown away the only thing that ever truly belonged to him.

And I said

"No."

Then I walked away, head held high.

Because I was done chasing fate.

Now, fate chased me.