I shoved clothes into a worn canvas bag with shaking hands. A spare shirt. Underwear. The silver pendant I always wore—the only thing I owned that felt like mine. My room was barely larger than a closet, tucked in the servants' wing where no one would notice if I disappeared.

Penny had mapped out the blind spots in the patrol routes. The guards changed shifts at midnight. If I moved fast, I could reach the forest before anyone realized I was gone.

The pre-ceremony chaos worked in my favor. Wolves rushed through the halls carrying flowers and ribbons, too focused on tomorrow's Luna ceremony to pay attention to one Omega slipping through the shadows.

I made it to the kitchen door. The night air hit my face, cool and sharp. Freedom was fifty yards away—just across the courtyard to the tree line.

I ran.

My wolf stirred for the first time in months, a faint whisper of warning that came too late. A figure stepped from behind the garden wall, blocking my path.

Amora.

She held a vial in her hand, filled with liquid that glowed sickly green in the moonlight. Her smile was all teeth.

"Going somewhere, little Omega?"

I stumbled backward. "Let me pass."

"I don't think so." She moved closer, and I caught that chemical smell beneath her perfume—the same scent from the dungeon. "You've been very inconvenient, Violeta. Do you know how hard it is to steal someone's essence? I've been siphoning your aura for months, drop by drop, and still the Lycan King's trackers keep searching. They can sense something's wrong."

My heart hammered against my ribs. "I don't understand—"

"Of course you don't. You're too stupid to realize what you are." She laughed, sharp and cruel. "The lost Lycan Princess. The White Wolf everyone's been searching for. And you've been scrubbing floors in my pack this whole time."

The words didn't make sense. Couldn't make sense. I was nobody. An Omega. Worthless.

"You're lying," I whispered.

"Am I?" She tilted her head. "Why do you think Cassius kept you hidden? He sensed something in you, something powerful that he couldn't explain. It terrified him. So he buried it. Buried you."

I turned and ran.

She was faster. Her hand caught my hair, yanking me backward. Pain exploded across my scalp as she dragged me toward the northern border. I clawed at her wrist, but she was stronger—a high-ranking wolf against a dormant Omega.

"Cassius was just a stepping stone," she hissed in my ear. "A way to get close to the royal family. But I can't claim your throne while you're still breathing."

The forest opened onto jagged cliffs. Below, the river raged, swollen from spring melt. The sound of rushing water filled my ears, drowning out my own gasping breaths.

Amora shoved me to the edge. Rocks crumbled under my feet.

"The Lycan King will welcome me with open arms," she said. "His long-lost daughter, finally returned. And no one will ever know the truth."

"Please—" The word tore from my throat.

"Begging doesn't suit you, Princess." Her eyes flashed green, that unnatural color from the dark magic. "Goodbye, Violeta."

Her hands slammed into my chest.

I fell.

The world spun—sky, cliff, water. Wind screamed past my ears. My wolf howled inside me, a sound I'd never heard before, desperate and wild and too late.

I hit the water like hitting concrete.

Cold swallowed me whole. The current grabbed my body and pulled me under, tumbling me like a rag doll. My lungs burned. I couldn't tell which way was up.

Something hard cracked against my skull.

Pain exploded behind my eyes, white and blinding. The river's roar faded to a dull hum. My limbs went heavy, useless.

Darkness crept in from the edges of my vision.

I thought of Cassius. Of the mate bond that had only ever brought me pain. Of three years spent hoping he'd see me, really see me, and choose me.

He never would.

The current dragged me downstream, toward the Royal Territory. Toward a kingdom I didn't know. Toward a fate I couldn't imagine.

My eyes closed.

The darkness took me.

I woke to the sound of water lapping against stone.

My lungs burned. Every breath felt like swallowing glass. I coughed, and river water spilled from my mouth, bitter and cold. My body was heavy, wrong, like it didn't belong to me anymore.

Where was I?

I tried to move, but my limbs wouldn't cooperate. The world tilted sideways. Sky. Trees. A figure standing over me, backlit by moonlight.

"Easy." The voice was deep, commanding, but not cruel. Not like Cassius's. "Don't move yet."

Strong hands lifted me from the mud. I should have fought. Should have screamed. But I had nothing left. My wolf was silent, buried so deep I couldn't feel her at all.

The man—no, the wolf—pulled me against his chest. Heat radiated from him, chasing away the cold that had seeped into my bones. His scent hit me like a physical force: pine and steel and something wild that made my dormant wolf stir for the first time in months.

Then it happened.

Electricity shot through my body where his skin touched mine. Not painful, but shocking. Alive. The sensation spread from his hands to my chest, wrapping around my heart like a fist.

The man went rigid. His eyes—golden, glowing—locked onto mine.

"MINE." The word came from somewhere deep in his chest, more growl than speech. His Lycan beast, speaking through him.

I didn't understand. Couldn't understand. I already had a mate. A mate who rejected me. A mate who—

"What..." My voice cracked. "What are you?"

"Augustus Walker." He said it like I should know the name. "General of the Royal Army. Lycan Prince."

Prince. Royal. The words floated past me, meaningless.

He wrapped something around my shoulders—a cloak, heavy and warm, smelling like him. His hands lingered on my arms, possessive in a way that should have terrified me but didn't.

"You're safe now," he said, and I almost believed him.

Then he lifted me into his arms like I weighed nothing, and the world went dark again.

---

I woke to softness.

A bed. Clean sheets. The scent of lavender and something medicinal. Sunlight streamed through tall windows, too bright, too warm. This wasn't the servants' quarters. This wasn't anywhere I'd ever been.

Panic clawed up my throat. I tried to sit up, but my body screamed in protest. Bruises covered my arms. My head throbbed where it had hit the rocks.

"You're awake." That voice again. Augustus.

I turned my head too fast, and pain exploded behind my eyes. He stood by the door, watching me with an intensity that made my skin prickle. In the daylight, I could see him clearly: tall, broad-shouldered, with dark hair and those impossible golden eyes. Battle scars crossed his forearms. He looked like he could tear apart armies with his bare hands.

I should have been afraid.

Instead, something in my chest pulled toward him, desperate and hungry.

"Please don't hurt me," I whispered, hating how small I sounded. "I'll do whatever you want. I'll work. I'll—"

"Stop." He crossed the room in three strides and dropped to his knees beside the bed. Knelt. Before me. "You don't bow to anyone here. Not to me. Not to anyone."

I stared at him. Alphas didn't kneel. Princes didn't kneel. Especially not for Omegas.

"I don't understand," I said.

"You will." His hand reached out, hovering near mine but not touching. Asking permission. "There's something about you. Something—"

The door opened.

A woman entered, and the air itself seemed to shift. She was beautiful in a way that hurt to look at—regal, powerful, with silver streaks in her dark hair and eyes that glowed the same silver as moonlight. The Lycan Queen. I knew it without being told.

She moved toward me like she was being pulled by invisible strings. Her gaze locked onto my face, and something flickered there. Recognition? Impossible.

"May I?" she asked, her voice soft.

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

She reached out and pressed her palm to my forehead, checking for fever. The moment her skin touched mine, the world exploded.

Light erupted between us—blinding, silver, pure. It shot through my body like lightning, burning away the fog that had clouded my mind for years. My wolf surged forward, no longer dormant but awake, screaming, alive.

My eyes burned. I gasped, and when I looked down at my hands, they were glowing. Silver light poured from my skin, from my eyes, from somewhere deep inside me that I'd never known existed.

The Queen stumbled backward, tears streaming down her face.

"It's you," she whispered. "My daughter. My baby girl."

The light faded. My brown eyes—I could see them reflected in the window—flashed silver before returning to normal.

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.

"No," I said. "That's not—I'm nobody. I'm just—"

"You're the lost princess," Augustus said quietly. "The White Wolf."

The room spun. This was wrong. This was impossible. I was Violeta Gomez, Omega, worthless, rejected—

The Queen pulled me into her arms, and I shattered.

The training grounds stretched behind the royal palace, a wide expanse of packed earth surrounded by ancient oaks. I'd been here every morning for three weeks now, learning to move like something other than prey.

Augustus circled me, his movements fluid and predatory. "Again."

I lunged, but my body betrayed me—hesitating, pulling back at the last second. Years of conditioning screamed that attacking an Alpha meant punishment. My wolf whimpered inside, confused by the conflicting instincts.

"You're holding back," Augustus said. His voice was patient, but I heard the frustration underneath. "You need to commit."

"I'm trying." The words came out sharper than I intended.

"Try harder." He moved faster this time, closing the distance between us in a heartbeat. His hand shot out, grabbing my wrist and twisting—not enough to hurt, but enough to pin me.

The world tilted.

Suddenly I wasn't in the training grounds anymore. I was kneeling on cold marble, Cassius's hand wrapped around my throat, his Alpha voice commanding me to submit while he told me I was nothing, worthless, a mistake—

"Violeta!" Augustus's voice cut through the memory, but I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. My vision tunneled, darkness creeping in from the edges.

His hands released me immediately. "Look at me. Focus on my voice."

I gasped, my lungs finally remembering how to work. Augustus knelt in front of me, his golden eyes steady and calm.

"He's not here," he said quietly. "You're safe. I've got you."

Shame burned through me, hot and suffocating. "I'm sorry. I thought I could—"

"Don't apologize." His hand hovered near mine, asking permission. When I nodded, he took it, his warmth grounding me. "What you survived would have broken most wolves. But you're still standing. That's strength."

"I don't feel strong."

"Then let me show you." He stood, pulling me up with him. "Close your eyes. Feel your wolf. Not the broken, beaten thing he tried to make her. The real one. The White Wolf."

I wanted to argue that I didn't know how, but something in his voice made me try. I closed my eyes and reached inward, past the layers of fear and shame, searching for that spark of silver light I'd felt when the Queen touched me.

There.

My wolf stirred, and this time she didn't whimper. She growled.

"Good," Augustus murmured. "Now channel it. All that fear, all that rage—it's fuel. Use it."

He moved again, faster, and instinct took over. I didn't think. I just reacted.

My body shifted mid-motion, bones cracking and reforming in a rush of silver light. The transformation was instant, effortless, nothing like the painful, clumsy shifts I'd attempted before.

I landed on four paws, and the world sharpened.

Augustus stood frozen, his eyes wide. "Moon Goddess," he breathed.

I looked down at myself—at paws twice the size of a normal wolf's, at fur that gleamed pure white in the morning sun. Power thrummed through me, wild and ancient and mine.

My wolf threw back her head and howled.

The sound echoed across the grounds, and I felt every wolf in the territory respond, their heads turning toward the palace. Toward me.

When I shifted back, Augustus was smiling. "There she is. The White Wolf."

---

The war room was tense when we entered that afternoon. The Lycan King stood at the head of the table, his face carved from stone. Royal scouts flanked him, their expressions grim.

"The Silver Moon Pack is hosting the Luna Ceremony in two days," one scout reported. "Amora Garza plans to announce herself as the found Lycan Princess during the ceremony. She's wearing a silver locket—matches the description of the heirloom that went missing with the princess."

My hand flew to my throat. The locket. The one thing I'd always worn, the one piece of myself I'd clung to. Amora must have taken it before she pushed me.

The King's fist slammed onto the table. "That witch dares to wear my daughter's locket? I'll burn that pack to the ground."

"Father, wait." The word felt strange on my tongue, but right. "Let me handle this."

He turned to me, his silver eyes—so like mine—blazing. "You want to face them? After what they did to you?"

"I need to." I stepped forward, my voice steady. "If you wage war, they'll say I hid behind the crown. I need to face Cassius and Amora myself. I need to show them what they threw away."

Augustus moved to my side, his presence solid and reassuring. "She's right. This is her fight."

The King studied me for a long moment. Finally, he nodded. "We go as diplomats. But if they threaten you—"

"They won't get the chance," I said.

---

The convoy of black SUVs rolled through the forest two days later, the royal crest gleaming on each door. I sat in the back of the lead vehicle, my scent masked by a potion the Queen had prepared. Augustus sat beside me, his hand resting on the seat between us—close enough to touch if I needed him.

The Silver Moon territory gates came into view, decorated with white ribbons and flowers for the ceremony. Guards stood at attention, their faces paling when they recognized the royal vehicles.

Cassius appeared at the gate, flanked by his Beta. Even from a distance, I could see the tension in his shoulders, the nervous twitch of his left eye.

Augustus rolled down the window, his voice cold and commanding. "Open the gates. Royal inspection."

"This is a private ceremony," Cassius said, but his voice wavered. "We weren't expecting—"

"I don't recall asking for permission." Augustus's tone could have frozen fire. "Open. The. Gates."

The guards scrambled to obey. The gates swung open, and our convoy rolled through.

I watched Cassius through the tinted window, my heart steady. No fear. No pain. Just cold, focused determination.

He had no idea what was coming.