Rejected Heir, Eternal Queen

The Wolf Of Silvermoon

CHAPTER 2: THE WOLF OF SILVERMOON

I woke to the smell of pine and woodsmoke.

My entire body ached like I'd been trampled by a stampede. Every muscle screamed. My wrists—especially my left one—throbbed with a deep, burning pulse that traveled all the way to my heart.

The mark.

I shot upright, gasping.

I wasn't outside anymore. I was lying on a worn leather couch in a small cabin. A fire crackled in a stone fireplace across the room. Moonlight streamed through a single window, casting silver patterns on the wooden floor.

Where am I?

"Easy."

The voice was low, rough, like gravel wrapped in silk. I whipped my head toward the sound.

He sat in a wooden chair by the fire, arms crossed, watching me with dark gray eyes that seemed to see right through my soul. He was beautiful in a dangerous way—sharp jaw, messy black hair falling over his forehead, tattoos crawling up both arms in ancient symbols I couldn't read.

A gold earring glinted in his left ear.

"Who—" My voice came out cracked and weak. "Who are you?"

He didn't smile. "You're in my cabin. You collapsed outside my door."

"I collapsed—" Memories slammed into me like a freight train. Damon's cold eyes. The rejection. The poison burning through my veins. The silver wolf. Me. I looked down at my hands—still human, still trembling.

"I shifted," I whispered. "I turned into... something. What was that?"

The stranger leaned forward, elbows on his knees. His eyes softened—just barely.

"That," he said slowly, "was your true form, Raven."

I flinched. "How do you know my name?"

"I know everything about you." He stood, and even from across the room, I felt the weight of him—like standing next to a mountain. "I've been watching you since the day you were born."

My heart hammered. "That's not creepy at all."

The corner of his mouth twitched—almost a smile. "I'm Silas. Silas Voss."

Voss. The same last name as Celine. As the General in the vision—if that was even real.

"Celine's your—"

"Cousin." His jaw tightened. "But we're not close. She chose the Alliance. I chose something else."

"The Alliance?"

He walked to the fireplace and grabbed a kettle, pouring hot water into a ceramic mug. "The Northern Alliance. The pack that murdered your mother."

I went cold.

"You're lying." My voice shook. "My mother died in a car accident. I was an orphan. That's what the records say."

Silas turned and held out the mug. Steam curled from it. "The records were forged. By me."

I stared at him. At the mug. At the fire. At the dark forest outside the window.

"Take it," he said gently. "You need to eat. You shifted for the first time and burned through everything in your system."

"I'm not hungry." My stomach growled violently. I grabbed the mug anyway—herbal tea, honey-sweet. It was strangely comforting.

"Sip." He sat back down. "Then I'll tell you the truth. All of it."

I sipped. The warmth spread through my chest.

Silas began:

"Your mother was Queen Seraphina of the Silvermoon bloodline. The most powerful wolf pack in history. They ruled for centuries, keeping peace between all the packs. But eighteen years ago, the Northern Alliance—a coalition of rogue wolves who wanted Silvermoon's power—attacked."

My fingers tightened around the mug.

"They burned the palace. Killed almost everyone. Your mother escaped with you—a newborn. She hid you among humans and gave you to my grandfather, General Voss, to protect."

"General Voss," I repeated. "I saw him. In the vision—"

"It wasn't a vision." Silas's voice dropped. "Your awakening unlocked fragments of your mother's memory. She embedded them in your bloodline. You saw what actually happened."

My hand flew to my chest. "So my mother... she really died in the fire?"

Silas paused. Too long.

"She was presumed dead," he said carefully. "The palace collapsed on top of her. No body was ever found."

My heart seized. "You're saying she might be alive?"

"I'm saying nothing is certain." He leaned forward again. "But I do know this: the Alliance has been hunting you since the day you were born. They couldn't sense you because of your mother's pendant—the obsidian moon she placed in your swaddling. It cloaked your power."

I touched my neck. No pendant.

"It fell off," Silas said. "When you shifted. That's why everyone in the gym saw your true form."

The gym. The wolves. Bowing.

"They bowed to me," I whispered.

"Because silver is the color of royalty," Silas said. "You're not an Omega, Raven. You never were. You're the last heir to the Silvermoon throne. And now that your power is awake, every pack in the country will either try to crown you... or kill you."

The mug trembled in my hands. "I don't want a throne. I don't want to be a queen. I just—"

"Wanted to be loved?" His voice was gentle. "I know."

Tears burned my eyes. "Damon rejected me. He looked at me like I was nothing. Like I was worthless."

Silas's expression flickered—something dark and dangerous passing through those gray eyes. "Damon Kingsley is a fool. He rejected you because his father threatened to execute you if he didn't."

I choked. "What?"

"Alpha Kingsley has been working with the Alliance for years. He knew who you were. He tried to kill you by making Damon reject you—the bond-breaking poison would have finished the job." Silas's jaw tightened. "But your bloodline is too strong. The poison only woke you up."

Everything tilted. Damon rejected me to save me? Or did he just not fight hard enough? I didn't know which was worse.

"I need air." I set the mug down and stood. My legs wobbled.

Silas was on his feet in an instant. "You shouldn't walk—"

"I need to think!" I pushed past him and stumbled to the door, yanking it open.

The forest hit me—cold, pine-scented, alive. The moon hung full overhead, bathing everything in silver. I leaned against the doorframe and breathed.

A howl echoed in the distance.

Then another. Closer.

Silas appeared beside me. "They're tracking you."

"Who?"

"The Northwood patrol." His hand closed around my arm—gentle but firm. "Damon sent them to find you."

I turned to look at him. "Why would he send them?"

"Because he watched you transform into a creature of legend and disappear into the night." Silas's eyes met mine. "He's terrified. But more than that—he's regretful. I saw his face when your wolf appeared, Raven. He knows he made a mistake. And Alpha wolves don't take mistakes lightly."

The howls grew closer.

"Come inside," Silas said. "We need to move before they find my cabin. There's a safe house north of here—"

"No."

He blinked. "No?"

I pulled my arm free and stepped fully outside. The cold wind whipped my hair around my face.

"They want to see me?" I lifted my chin. "Then let them."

"Raven, you're still recovering. You can barely stand—"

"I can stand," I cut him off. "I can stand, Silas. I'm still here. I survived his rejection, I survived the poison, and I survived whatever the hell I turned into." I turned to face the forest. "They can come."

Silas stared at me like I'd grown a second head.

Then slowly—so slowly—the corner of his mouth curved into a smile.

"There she is."

"There who is?"

"The Silvermoon heir." His voice dropped to something almost reverent. "I've been waiting eighteen years to meet you, Raven. But I knew you wouldn't be just anyone. I knew you'd be her."

I didn't know what to say to that.

The howls stopped. Silence descended.

And then they emerged from the treeline.

Three wolves—large, dark-furred, eyes glowing—crept toward the cabin. The largest was gray, with a scar across his muzzle. He shifted into human form as he approached.

Northwood patrol. I recognized him. Brett. One of Damon's football cronies. He'd called me "Raven the Reject" a hundred times.

His jaw dropped when he saw me standing there.

"You—" He stammered. "The Alpha wants—"

"Damon wants what?" I stepped forward. "To finish the job? To make sure the Omega dies properly this time?"

Brett took a step back.

"Tell Damon," I said, my voice ringing through the clearing, "that Raven Blackwood is not coming back. Tell him I'm not an Omega. Tell him I'm not a reject. And tell him the next time he sees me..." My eyes flickered—I felt it, that golden heat behind my gaze. "He'll be on his knees."

Brett shifted back into his wolf and ran.

The other two followed.

I stood there, breathing hard, adrenaline pumping through my veins.

Silas appeared beside me.

"Not bad," he said quietly. "For your first day as a queen."

I turned to him. My hand was shaking—but my voice wasn't.

"Take me to this safe house," I said. "And Silas?"

"Yes?"

"Tell me everything you didn't tell me. I'm done being in the dark."

He looked at me for a long moment. Then he nodded.

"Alright, Raven." He stepped aside, gesturing to the forest path. "But when you hear the whole truth, you're not going to like it."

I started walking.

"Too bad," I called over my shoulder. "I'm not in the business of liking things anymore."

Behind me, I heard his soft laugh.

And I swear—I swear—I heard him whisper:

"Finally."