Rejected by the Alpha, Desired by the King

Royal Blood Doesn’t Lie

Evelyn's POV

“What does that even mean?” I asked again, this time louder, because Ronan was still kneeling in front of me like I was some kind of goddess or prophecy.

“The mark of the true queen,” he repeated under his breath, but it didn’t make anything clearer.

“I’m not a queen,” I said, shaking my head hard. “I’m not even someone anyone cares about. I’m just… me. Evelyn, an ordinary omega that no one notices unless it’s to yell at or step on, so stop saying things that don’t make sense.”

He stood up slowly, and his eyes turned a little more serious as he looked at me.

“I know this is hard to accept,” he said quietly, “but that mark on your wrist, I can assure you that it’s not something just anyone can have. It’s old magic, Evelyn, very old, and it’s tied to the first royal line of werewolves. The blood of the moon-blessed wolves.”

I blinked, and then scoffed, struggling to believe that I was really in this situation. “That sounds like some bedtime story, and you seriously expect me to believe that I, someone like me, am a part of some ancient royal bloodline?”

“I don’t expect you to believe it, but I do expect you to feel it,” he replied.

My mouth went dry. “Feel what?”

“I expect you to feel everything changing inside you, Evelyn. Your wolf waking, your dreams, your instincts, and that bond between us. I can assure you that none of it is random.”

I looked down at the mark again. It was still faintly glowing, and the light was also beating like a heartbeat. I wanted to scrub it off, and pretend none of this was real, but I kind of knew that it wouldn’t go away.

“Then why didn’t anyone ever tell me?” I asked. “Why did I grow up scrubbing the dining hall and sleeping on a cold basement floor? If I’m this... Moon-blessed heir or whatever, then why didn’t anyone come for me, and why was I left to suffer?”

His jaw tightened. “Because they wanted you to stay hidden, and because someone wanted your bloodline erased.”

I felt a lump in my throat. “Then why am I still alive?”

“Because your wolf buried your power deep enough that it didn’t call attention to itself,” he answered. “Until now.”

I sat down slowly, my legs too shaky to keep me upright.

“I don’t want this,” I whispered. “I never asked for this, whatever it is.”

“I know,” he said. “But sometimes, what we want and what we’re meant for aren’t always the same.”

I didn’t say anything after that. I just stared into the fire, trying to understand how my life could have changed so quickly. One day I was just an invisible girl waiting to be noticed, and the very next, I was supposedly part of something much bigger than I could even understand.

It was quiet for a long time, and I thought that Ronan might have left again until I heard him move across the room.

“I can take you to a place,” he said.

I turned my head to look at him. “What place?”

“A part of the forest that only responds to royal blood,” he replied. “Lycans and blood-marked wolves are the only ones who can pass through it without being pushed out.”

“Pushed out?” I asked.

He nodded. “The trees won’t let you in unless you belong, and it’s honestly the only way to be sure.”

I hesitated. “And if I don’t belong?”

“Then you’ll know this is just a misunderstanding,” he said, like it was no big deal. “But if the forest accepts you, then you’ll have your answer.”

I chewed on my bottom lip, still not sure if I should believe any of this, but deep down, I wanted to know. Hell, I needed to know, because if the forest really did push me out, then maybe I could finally go back to being nobody.

I could leave this cabin, forget Ronan, and try to find a new life somewhere far away.

“Okay,” I said finally. “Let’s go.”

The sky was cloudy as we walked, and Ronan stayed a few steps ahead, staying quiet, while I hobbled behind him. My ankle still hurt, but it wasn’t as bad as before, and I couldn't complain since I was the one who wanted to head to the forest as soon as possible.

The forest around us looked different than the one near the cabin. The trees here were thicker, much taller, and their branches were twisted in a way that felt like they had minds of their own, and the deeper we walked, the quieter everything got.

There were no birds, no animals of any sort, just the sound of leaves crunching under our feet and the occasional gust of wind.

After a while, Ronan stopped. “We’re here,” he said.

I looked around, and at first, I didn’t see anything special, just more trees and moss-covered rocks, but then I noticed the line.

It was a perfect circle of black stones that were half-buried in the ground, and stretching out around a wide clearing.

“What is this?” I asked.

“It’s called the Grove,” he said. “It was once used by the original rulers of our kind to hold sacred ceremonies, and the runes on the stones are from the old tongue, or for better understanding, it's all just old language. They only light up when a true heir stands inside the ring.”

I swallowed hard. “And if they don’t?”

“Then nothing happens,” he said simply.

I took a step forward, and my chest tightened. It felt like I was standing at the edge of something final, and something I couldn’t undo if I crossed it.

“Will you go with me?” I asked.

“No,” he said. “Only your blood is being tested, not mine.”

I hesitated, and then after a while, I stepped over the line. The moment my foot touched the space inside the ring, I felt it.

There was a hum under my skin, and the air got heavier, and warmer. The trees around the circle creaked softly, their branches swaying even though the wind was still. I took another step, and then another, until I reached the center of the clearing.

There was a stone pedestal there, covered in vines and moss, and at the top was a smooth surface with deep carvings, runes like Ronan had described.

I reached out with trembling fingers and touched the stone, and the ground vibrated under my feet.

The vines peeled away like they were alive, sliding off the stone like snakes, and then the runes started to glow, and they were only glowing softly at first, but then they started to get brighter and brighter until the whole stone was lit with golden light.

Then my wrist began to burn, and then I cried out and looked down. The mark was glowing too, brighter than ever in fact.

I heard something in the wind.

A voice, it was old, and echoing from the trees and the sky and the earth all at once.

“The heir has been found.”

I stumbled back from the stone, and Ronan was outside the circle, staring with wide eyes.

“What… what was that?” I gasped.

He didn’t speak for a moment, and then, quietly, he said, “It’s the Grove’s way of announcing your return.”

“My return?” I repeated.

“To the bloodline,” he said. “You weren’t just born with the mark. You were born with a title, and now that it’s awake, others will know it too.”

I shook my head slowly, trying to make sense of everything. “What am I supposed to do now?”

He walked toward me, stopping just before the edge of the ring.

“You become what you were meant to be,” he said.

I laughed bitterly. “I don’t even know what that is.”

“You will,” he promised, and I could only take his word for it.

As we walked back to the cabin, I kept looking down at my wrist, and even though the glow had faded, the shape was still there, burned softly into my skin like a reminder.

I didn’t feel any different from yesterday in any way, but I knew everything had changed. I wasn't just Evelyn, the omega girl no one wanted.

I was someone else now, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for her, or to be her.