REJECTED BY ONE DESIRED BY THREE

CHAPTER 5

THE BLOOD OF THE SHADOW QUEEN

Lyra's: POV

We ran.

Riven moved through the forest like he had been born from it.

I struggled to keep up.

Branches whipped against my arms.

My borrowed dress was ruined.

My boots filled with mud.

But none of that mattered.

Because something was following us.

I could feel it.

Not hear it.

Feel it.

Like a pressure against my skin.

"Riven!"

He didn't stop.

"What is chasing us?"

"Something old."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I have."

"You said you knew what I was."

"I do."

"Then tell me!"

He stopped so suddenly I nearly collided with him.

His eyes were glowing.

"You're carrying Eclipse."

I frowned.

"What is Eclipse?"

"The power beneath the Moon."

He looked toward the trees.

"The power your ancestors controlled."

"Why don't I know any of this?"

"Because someone erased your family's history."

"Who?"

"The Council."

My stomach twisted.

"Why?"

"Because the Nocturne bloodline was dangerous."

"To them?"

"To everyone."

He stepped closer.

"But that's not the part that frightens me."

"What does?"

His eyes moved toward my chest.

"The rejection."

I stared at him.

"What about it?"

"Your mate bond was supposed to die when Cassian rejected you."

"It did."

"No."

His voice was quiet.

"It broke."

He touched two fingers against the air between us.

"But something else woke up."

The pendant around my neck began glowing.

Black.

Silver.

Both colors twisted together.

The forest went silent.

Riven looked around.

"Too late."

"What?"

He grabbed my wrist.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting you out."

The ground shook.

Trees bent.

A deep roar rolled through the forest.

Then the shadows behind us opened.

Not moved.

Opened.

Like a door.

Something stepped through.

It was enormous.

A creature made of smoke and bone.

Its eyes were empty silver.

I couldn't breathe.

Riven stepped in front of me.

"Stay behind me."

The creature opened its mouth.

A voice emerged.

Not animal.

Human.

Ancient.

"NOCTURNE."

My skin burned.

The creature lunged.

Riven transformed.

His wolf collided with it.

The impact shattered nearby trees.

I screamed.

Riven was thrown across the ground.

"Riven!"

The creature turned toward me.

I backed away.

"No."

It advanced.

My wolf inside me trembled.

The pendant burned hotter.

The birthmark beneath my collarbone ignited.

Pain exploded through my body.

I dropped to my knees.

Memories flooded my mind.

A woman standing beneath a black moon.

Long silver hair.

Eyes like mine.

A burning city.

Men kneeling before her.

A baby crying.

My mother.

Then another image.

A man holding her hand.

My father.

And someone standing behind them.

A hooded figure.

The Moon Council.

The vision shattered.

I screamed.

The creature reached for me.

Something inside me snapped.

Not broke.

Awakened.

The shadows erupted.

They poured from the ground.

From the trees.

From the sky.

Every shadow in the forest bent toward me.

The creature stopped.

Riven's wolf stared.

I stood slowly.

My body no longer felt like mine.

My eyes burned.

Silver light filled my vision.

The creature lowered itself.

Then—

It bowed.

I stared.

"What..."

Riven shifted back into human form.

His face was pale.

He looked at me like he was seeing a ghost.

"What?"

He swallowed.

"You need to leave."

"Why?"

His eyes never left mine.

"Because every Alpha in this world will come looking for you."

"Why?"

He took one step backward.

"Because you're not simply the daughter of the Shadow Queen."

The shadows curled around my feet.

Riven whispered:

"You're her heir."

I couldn't speak.

Then another howl echoed through the forest.

This one was different.

Closer.

Powerful.

Familiar.

Riven looked toward the eastern trees.

His expression hardened.

"Someone else is here."

"Who?"

He didn't answer.

A figure appeared between the trees.

A man dressed entirely in black.

Tall.

Broad.

A silver insignia marked his chest.

I recognized it immediately.

The symbol of the Draven Enforcers.

Riven's eyes narrowed.

The man stepped into the moonlight.

His gray eyes met mine.

Then he looked at Riven.

And finally—

At my glowing birthmark.

His expression changed.

For the first time, the man who had spent his life hunting monsters looked afraid.

"Darian."

Riven's voice was almost amused.

The enforcer's hand moved toward his weapon.

"Step away from her."

Riven smiled.

"No."

Darian's eyes hardened.

"I wasn't asking."

I stood between them.

Confused.

Terrified.

And for the first time since Cassian rejected me—

I felt something other than pain.

I felt power.

Darian looked at me.

His expression softened for one impossible second.

Then he whispered:

"Lyra..."

The way he said my name made my wolf stir.

And somewhere deep inside me—

another bond began to awaken.