Riven’s POV
“She’s ready.”
I looked across the dusty clearing at Jace, pulling my focus away from the edge of the woods.
“What?” Jace was leaning casually against a thick pine tree, his arms folded over his chest.
“Nyra. She’s ready, Riven.”
I followed his gaze.
Several yards away, Nyra was running through fluid drills with one of the practice weapons I had carved for her.
Her movements had completely transformed over the past few weeks.
She was lethal now.
Fast, remarkably precise, and hyper-aware of every shadow shifting around her.
Jace pushed himself away from the trunk, his expression turning serious.
“I think it’s time we start training her properly.”
I knew exactly what he meant.
“Shifting.”
“Exactly.”I considered it, a low hum vibrating in my chest.
I had been debating the exact same thing.
Nyra was incredibly strong in her human skin, but fluidly navigating the boundary between flesh and fur was vital for a wolf’s survival.
It would sharpen her tracking, amplify her senses, and give her an undeniable edge.
If she was going to hunt down the monsters who butchered her family, she needed every advantage available.
“You’re right,” I murmured.
Jace flashed a wide grin.
“I usually am.”
“Don’t ruin the moment, Jace.”
He chuckled as I turned toward the center of the clearing.
“Nyra.”
She immediately lowered her weapon, her chest rising and falling.
“Yes?”
“Come here.”She approached us, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead.
She darted a look between the two of us.
“What did I do wrong now?”
“Oh nothing.”
“That is highly suspicious.”
Jace let out a loud snort, and I deliberately ignored him.
“We’re changing the parameters of today’s training,” I said, stepping into her space.
“You’re going to shift.”
Nyra froze.
She stared at me, her eyes widening, before her gaze darted to Jace.Jace instantly lifted his hands in mock surrender.
“Don’t look at me, young miss. I’m entirely innocent.”
Nyra looked back up at me, a sudden, heavy hesitation pooling in her dark eyes.
“I… I haven’t shifted in a very long time, Riven.”
I caught the precise wording instantly.
Not I can’t.
Not I don’t know how.
But I haven’t.
“Why?”
I asked softly, the mate bond pulsing with her sudden spike of anxiety.
Nyra opened her mouth, then closed it, clearly waging a fierce war inside her own mind.
For several agonising seconds, the clearing was dead silent as she stared down at her boots.
Then, she let out a long, shuddering breath and looked back up, a newfound determination blazing in her eyes.
“Riven,” she whispered, her voice trembling slightly.
“Promise me you won’t freak out after I do this. And you both have to swear to keep it a total secret.”
Jace and I exchanged a brief, weighted glance before turning back to her.
I nodded firmly.
“I swear it.” This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“Don’t force it,” I instructed gently, stepping back.
“Just let your wolf come forward naturally.”
Jace moved deeper into the tree line to give her ample space.
The entire forest seemed to go dead silent.
Nyra closed her eyes, taking a slow, grounding breath.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then, the air pressure in the clearing violently shifted.
Her fingers curled.
Her jaw clenched.
A powerful, suffocating aura exploded outward from her petite frame.
And then, the bones snapped, and Nyra transformed.
My breath caught completely in my throat.
I froze, my boots rooted to the dirt.The wolf standing before me was nothing like I had anticipated.
She was absolutely enormous, her shoulders commanding and powerful.
But it was her coat that stole the air from my lungs.
She was completely, flawlessly white.
Not a pale grey or silver.
A pure, blinding white that seemed to practically hum with a luminous, divine light beneath the afternoon sun.
Beside me, Jace let out a sharp, choked gasp.
Deep within my soul, Tristan went entirely, utterly paralyzed.
For the first time in my adult life, I couldn’t find a single word.
Something about the majestic beast before me felt terrifyingly familiar, not because I had ever seen her before, but because I had spent my entire existence tracking a her.’
Riven…’ Tristan’s voice finally cracked through our bond, shaking with absolute, disbelieving awe.
‘Look at her.
Look at the coat.’
“I did.”
And in a devastating flash, the years came rushing back like a tidal wave.
I heard my father’s dying, ragged voice bleeding into the dirt.
I felt the grip of his bloody hand on my shoulder.
“The King’s daughter survived, Riven. Find her. Protect her. Do not let the Council find her first.”
I remembered the terror of being a child on the run.
The years of ruthless tracking, the endless rumors, the secret records I had stolen and bled for.
For a decade, I had been searching the realm for a faceless princess.
The last blood of the ancient royal line.
And she was standing right in front of me.
My mate.
The woman I had been sparring with.
The woman I had laughed with.
The woman I had fiercely kissed.
A ragged exhale broke from my chest.
“All these years…”Jace stepped forward, his eyes wide as saucers as he stared at the white wolf.
“Riven? Is that…?”
‘We found her!’ Tristan suddenly roared in my head, a sound of pure triumph that shook my entire soul.
‘Riven, we found our princess!’
I swallowed the massive lump in my throat, a sudden, blinding emotion breaking through my stoic defenses.
For once, the feared Rogue leader had absolutely no desire to hide the expression on his face.
A breathless, genuine laugh escaped my lips, a sound of sheer disbelief and monumental relief.
Jace stared at me as if I’d lost my mind.
“I’ve spent my entire life looking for her, Jace,” I whispered, never tearing my eyes away from the luminous white wolf.
Understanding slowly crashed into Jace’s features.
His jaw dropped.
The search was finally over.
The girl I was bound to protect was the exact same girl I was bound to love.
Nyra’s POV
The shift back was always exhausting.
Through the mind-link, I quickly told Riven I needed to turn back.
He immediately rushed into my tent, grabbed a massive thick blanket, and carefully draped it over Eira’s large form.
As the bones shifted and reformed, I watched his face through the fabric.
He looked entirely overwhelmed, a whirlwind of intense emotions flashing across his sharp features.
Before my bare feet could even touch the dirt, Riven swept me up into his massive arms, carrying me bridal-style straight into the privacy of my tent.
Jace immediately took up a protective guard outside the flaps, giving me space to pull on my clothes.
The second I threw my leather jacket on, I spun around.
Riven hadn’t moved an inch.
He was leaning against the wooden tent pole, his grey eyes boring into me with an intensity that made my pulse race.
It wasn’t fear, and it wasn’t confusion.
It was something entirely unreadable.
“Riven?” I breathed, taking a cautious step forward.
He blinked, suddenly snapping back to reality.
“Yes?”
“What is it? Are you okay?”
“…Yeah.”I narrowed my eyes at him.
That answer was downright terrible.
“You look like you’ve just witnessed a ghost rise from the grave.”
Outside, Jace let out a loud cough to hide a sudden laugh.
Riven shot a dark glare toward the tent flap, and I looked between the two of them, my suspicions instantly flaring.
“You’re both acting incredibly strange,” I accused, crossing my arms.
Riven walked toward me, his heavy boots silent against the ground.
“Your shift was… deeply impressive, Nyra.”
I tilted my head, unimpressed.
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”
“That’s it.”
He was lying through his teeth.
There was a massive, staggering truth locked behind his lips, but before I could grill him, he glanced over his shoulder.
“Wait here.”He disappeared into the trees, leaving me completely baffled.
I walked to the tent entrance, frowning at Jace.
“Where the hell is he going?”Jace shrugged, though his usual playful demeanor was completely gone.
“Probably to scout the perimeter. To make sure absolutely no one was watching that shift.”
“Why would anyone-“Before I could finish, the branches rustled.
Riven strode back into the clearing, halting right at the entrance of my tent.
He looked at me with an expression I had never seen on him before.
It was dead serious, raw, and completely emotional.
“Nyra…” he murmured, his voice a low, gravelly vibration.I held my breath, the air between us turning thick with anticipation.
“What is it?”
He hesitated, the smooth, confident rogue completely vanishing for a fraction of a second.
He took a slow step into my tent, closing the distance until I had to look up into his striking face.
“There’s something monumental I need to talk to you about,” he rasped, his eyes locked onto mine.
My heart hammered violently against my ribs, the mate bond screaming that the world was about to shift beneath my feet.
I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Actually, me too… but you go first. Riven, what the hell is wrong with you?”
Riven reached out, his long, ringed fingers gently taking my hand.
He took a deep breath, his grey eyes burning into my soul.
“Nyra… I know exactly who your parents were.”