Chapter 2 The Dragon King's Claim

Selena's heart pounded as she stared at the man-no, the being-standing before her.

The Dragon King.

His presence filled the massive stone chamber like heat rolling off a storm. Wings folded behind his back, eyes like burning gold, he stood still and silent, watching her as though he could see through her skin and into her soul.

She clutched the bedsheet to her chest, the pain in her shoulder still sharp, though bandaged.

"I don't understand," she rasped. "Where am I?"

"You're safe," he said simply. His voice was deep, ancient-something that belonged to the earth and sky. "You were dying. I intervened."

Selena flinched at the memory. The rogues. The blood. The hopelessness.

"Why?" she whispered.

The Dragon King stepped closer. His bare feet made no sound against the smooth stone floor. The warmth in the room intensified with every step he took.

"Because the fates sent you to me."

She stared at him, stunned. "I didn't ask for this."

"No," he said. "But your soul did."

Her breath caught.

"My name is Thorne," he continued, voice quieter now. "I am the last of the Oldblood Dragons. Cursed to rule in shadow for a thousand years."

Selena narrowed her eyes. "And what do I have to do with that?"

Thorne stopped at the edge of the bed. He tilted his head slightly, as though puzzled.

"You bear the mark."

"The... what?"

He reached out-not touching her, but close enough for her skin to react to the heat radiating from his palm.

"You were born with it. The sign of the Flamebound. Only she can awaken a sleeping Dragon King."

Selena felt her heartbeat stutter. She looked down at herself, then pulled the sheet lower. Just below her collarbone, above her heart, faint glowing lines twisted into the shape of a dragon's eye encircled by flame. It hadn't been there before.

She covered it quickly, unsettled.

"I don't believe in fate," she whispered.

Thorne's eyes burned brighter.

"That won't stop it from believing in you."

Selena's throat tightened. "What do you want from me?"

He stared at her for a long moment. Then, almost softly, he said:

"To live."

She blinked. "What?"

"You don't know what you are yet," Thorne said, his gaze steady. "You were born between two destinies. Rejected by one, claimed by the other. But your power... it's waking now. And there are those who will kill to stop you from rising."

"I'm not powerful," she snapped. "I'm nothing! I was thrown away like trash by the only pack I ever knew!"

Thorne's jaw clenched. His aura flared briefly, causing the torches around the chamber to flicker.

"You were never weak," he said. "Only suppressed."

Selena turned her face away, biting down the emotion swelling in her chest. She had cried enough.

"I want to go home."

"There is no home for you there," he said quietly. "Not anymore."

She looked at him then. "And what? You'll just keep me here? Lock me away in this stone cage?"

Thorne's expression didn't change. But something dark flickered in his eyes.

"You're not a prisoner," he said. "You're a queen in the making."

A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "A queen? Me?"

He didn't smile.

"You've bled. You've been broken. But from that comes fire. And when it awakens fully, not even the gods will stand in your way."

Selena shook her head. "You're insane."

Thorne stepped back, and with a simple gesture, the walls of the room shifted. Selena gasped.

What had once looked like solid black stone melted into glass, revealing a breathtaking vista beyond.

A vast volcanic valley stretched below the fortress-rivers of glowing magma winding through jagged cliffs, molten waterfalls crashing into scarlet lakes. Winged creatures soared through the sky-some dragons, some not.

This was not the world she knew.

This was ancient. Beautiful. Terrifying.

"I'm not ready for this," she whispered.

"No one ever is," Thorne said.

He turned and began to walk away, his wings dragging lightly behind him.

"I'll give you time. But understand this, Selena of Ashborn..." He paused at the doorway, not looking back. "Your former Alpha has sent trackers into the woods. They're looking for you."

Selena stiffened.

Kael?

"He rejected me," she said bitterly. "Why would he care now?"

Thorne's voice was quiet. "Because now... he senses what he lost."

And then he was gone.

---

Selena was alone in the obsidian chamber, too overwhelmed to cry, too exhausted to scream. She stared out the glass wall at the impossible landscape. Somewhere, beneath her ribs, her wolf stirred-but it felt different now. Stronger. More alert. As if it were also... changing.

The burn of the strange mark above her heart pulsed in time with her heartbeat.

What am I?

She didn't know how long she stood there. Minutes. Hours. Eventually, a soft chime sounded. The door opened.

A woman entered-tall, graceful, with deep golden skin and amber eyes. She wore flowing robes of dark red and black, marked with runes Selena couldn't read.

"I am Seraya," she said with a small bow. "The Flame King's high healer. I'm here to prepare you."

"Prepare me?" Selena asked, suspicious.

"For the Rite," Seraya said gently. "You were brought here on the night of the Blood Moon. In Dragon culture, that makes you eligible for the Trial of Flame."

"I didn't agree to any trial."

Seraya only smiled. "No one ever does."

---

Later, Selena sat in a steaming bath of herbal smoke and glowing mineral salts. Her body ached, her mind spun, but somewhere deep down... she felt something new.

Not just fear.

Potential.

When she stepped from the water, a soft black gown awaited her. It shimmered like obsidian, clinging to her curves, symbols woven into the fabric that pulsed faintly against her skin. Her mark burned warmer now.

Seraya handed her a mirror.

Selena stared at herself.

She didn't look like the broken omega who had run from rejection and death.

She looked like someone being forged.

---

That night, as the moon turned blood-red again over the Dragonlands, Selena was brought to a stone platform beneath the open sky. Lava flowed beneath the ground. Flames crackled at the edges of the sacred ring.

Thorne stood at the center.

"You came," he said.

"I didn't have much of a choice," she replied.

He stepped closer. "You always have a choice. But some choices... awaken power."

He reached out.

Selena didn't move.

When his fingers brushed the glowing mark on her chest, her knees trembled.

A flash of fire.

A rush of wind.

And suddenly, the flames at the edge of the ring roared to life.

Selena cried out, but not from pain-from something else. Something inside her responded. The fire didn't burn her-it called to her.

The mark flared.

Thorne's eyes widened.

"It's begun," he whispered.

Selena's own eyes glowed gold.