Waiting for him to admit this was some kind of joke.
But he didn’t.
The fire crackled softly between us, throwing shadows across the cave walls, and the longer he looked at me, the more serious he seemed.
My stomach twisted.
Because nothing he was saying made sense.
I wasn’t royalty.
I wasn’t some lost princess from an ancient kingdom.
I was Aria.
The girl nobody wanted.
The orphan who grew up sleeping beside sacks of potatoes in Blackfang’s kitchens.
The maid who spent years scrubbing blood from stone floors while pack members pretended she didn’t exist.
The girl Alpha Kael rejected in front of thousands of wolves.
That was who I was.
Not an heir.
Not a queen.
Certainly not someone connected to forgotten thrones and ancient bloodlines.
“You have the wrong person,” I whispered.
The old man didn’t argue.
He simply reached into his worn gray cloak and pulled out a folded piece of parchment.
The paper looked ancient.
The edges were yellow and brittle with age.
Carefully, he unfolded it and placed it beside the fire.
I looked down.
At first, it was just a drawing.
Then my breath caught.
A silver phoenix.
Its wings stretched wide as if ready to rise from flames.
Ancient vines curled around its body like chains.
Something about it felt familiar.
Not because I had seen it before.
But because a strange part of me recognized it.
The moment my eyes locked onto the symbol, pain exploded through my right shoulder.
A scream tore from my throat.
The force knocked me sideways.
I crashed onto the stone floor as burning heat spread beneath my skin.
It felt like liquid fire.
Like someone had poured molten silver directly into my veins.
Every muscle in my body locked.
I couldn’t breathe.
Couldn’t think.
Couldn’t do anything except endure it.
The old man jumped to his feet.
“Moon Goddess…” he breathed.
The pain grew worse.
Silver light burst through the fabric covering my shoulder.
The cave walls glowed.
The fire flickered wildly.
I clenched my teeth until my jaw ached.
The burning moved beneath my skin.
Drawing.
Carving.
Creating something.
Seconds felt like hours.
Then suddenly— everything stopped.
The heat vanished.
The pain disappeared.
Leaving only silence.
My chest heaved as I struggled for air.
With trembling fingers, I pulled aside the collar of my dress.
And froze.
A mark had appeared on my shoulder.
A silver phoenix.
Exactly like the one on the parchment.
Its wings stretched across my skin in dark silver lines that shimmered faintly in the firelight.
The mark wasn’t ink.
It wasn’t a scar.
It looked alive.
As if it had always belonged there.
The old man stared at it.
His eyes filled with emotion.
Then, to my shock, he dropped to both knees.
His forehead touched the stone floor.
“The Silver Crest,” he whispered.
His voice shook.
“After twenty-three years…
it has finally awakened.” A chill raced through me.
I touched the mark carefully.
Warmth pulsed beneath my fingertips.
A steady rhythm.
Like a second heartbeat.
Before I could ask another question, thunder exploded outside.
The cave trembled.
A second later, another sound followed.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Deliberate.
The old man’s head snapped toward the entrance.
Every trace of color drained from his face.
“He found us.” Fear tightened around my chest.
“Who?” The old man didn’t answer.
Outside, rain poured from the night sky.
A faint silver glow appeared beyond the cave entrance.
My breath caught.
I knew that light.
I had seen it in the forest.
I had seen it beside the ravine.
I had seen it in my dreams.
The Silver-Eyed Watcher.
The footsteps grew closer.
Each one seemed to shake the air itself.
An ancient pressure filled the cave.
Not the dominance of an Alpha.
Something older.
Something stronger.
Without realizing it, my hand moved to my stomach.
Warmth immediately answered beneath my palm.
The same strange warmth that always appeared whenever those silver eyes were near.
The old man noticed.
His gaze dropped briefly to my hand.
Then he lowered his head completely.
“My King,” he whispered.
King?
The word hit me harder than the Silver Crest.
Before I could process it, a tall figure stepped through the curtain of rain.
Everything went still.
Even the storm seemed quieter.
The stranger wore a dark cloak.
Power rolled from him in silent waves.
Then he lifted his hood.
Silver eyes.
Ancient.
Mesmerizing.
Unforgettable.
The same eyes that had followed me since the night I left Blackfang.
For a long moment, he simply looked at me.
His gaze moved from my face to the Silver Crest on my shoulder.
Something flashed across his expression.
Relief.
Shock.
Recognition.
Then his eyes lowered.
To my stomach.
The warmth beneath my palm pulsed once.
Twice.
Responding to him.
The king went completely still.
Silence stretched between us.
Questions flooded my mind.
Who was he?
Why was he looking at me like that?
And why did it feel as though this moment had been waiting for me long before I was born?
Slowly, he stepped forward.
The firelight reflected in his silver eyes.
“At last,” he said softly.
His voice carried the weight of years.
Of loss.
Of searching.
Then he held out his hand.
And for the first time, the mysterious ruler of the forbidden lands spoke directly to me.
“I’ve finally found you.” Outside, thunder rolled across the mountains.
Inside the cave, the last pieces of my old life crumbled away.
And deep in my heart, I knew one terrifying truth.
Everything was about to change.
[END OF CHAPTER 10]