Arielle didn't respond.
She couldn't.
Her mind was caught in a whirlwind of thoughts, none of which she could hold onto long enough to understand. The cold bit at her skin, but her blood ran hotter than it ever had.
"You're the last threat to everything my father built."
She stared at Lucien like he'd just struck her. Maybe he had—just not with fists.
"If I'm a threat," she said finally, her voice steady despite the storm in her chest, "why didn't you kill me back there?"
Lucien didn't answer right away. His hands tightened slightly on the reins, eyes fixed ahead.
"Because I don't kill weapons before I understand how they work."
His words were cold, emotionless.
But they were also carefully chosen.
He didn't deny that she was dangerous.
He didn't deny that he had thought about killing her.
But he was hesitating.
That alone was dangerous—for both of them.
---
They camped near the edge of an icy ravine that night. His men formed a silent perimeter, loyal shadows that obeyed his every glance. Arielle sat by a crackling fire, a rough blanket around her shoulders, her thoughts anything but warm.
Lucien knelt across from her, sharpening a blade, his motions smooth and practiced. He hadn't bound her. Hadn't locked her up.
He hadn't needed to.
Where would she run? The mountains were a death trap without direction. And worse… part of her didn't want to run.
Not yet.
"Who do you think I am?" she asked quietly, staring into the flames.
Lucien didn't look up. "You already know."
"I don't," she snapped. "I'm a nobody. An omega without a wolf."
His silver eyes flicked up then, sharp and shining. "Your wolf spoke."
She flinched.
He saw it.
"I can see it in your eyes," Lucien said, setting the blade aside. "She's waking up. Slowly. She's not like the others, is she?"
Arielle wrapped the blanket tighter around her. "What are you trying to do with me?"
Lucien stood, his silhouette framed by the fire.
"I'm trying to find out if the prophecy is true."
She stared at him, heart thudding. "What prophecy?"
Lucien hesitated.
Then, voice low, he recited:
> "Born under silence, crowned by flame,
The last of his line shall rise unnamed.
She who walks in ashes and blood,
Will either rule us… or ruin us."
A chill rippled down her spine. She'd never heard it before, but the words felt like they were etched into her bones.
"Is that… about me?"
Lucien's jaw clenched. "No one knows. But your blood matches the records of the old king's bloodline. The wolves that followed him—those that survived—they've been searching for his heir for years."
"Why would your father want me dead?"
Lucien's eyes darkened. "Because if you're truly his daughter, you're the one thing that can bring down everything the Crimson Claw built."
He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a whisper:
"You're not just the Alpha King's daughter. You're his only living legacy."
---
Arielle felt something shift inside her. Her heart thundered. Her breath came shallow.
But in her mind… her wolf stretched again, slowly.
For the first time, she heard her clearly.
"You are not lost. You are hidden."
---
Suddenly, a horn blared in the distance.
Lucien spun, hand on his blade.
The camp exploded into motion—his soldiers raised weapons, eyes scanning the dark.
"What is it?" Arielle asked, standing.
Lucien's eyes were already narrowed, focused on the trees.
"Hunters."
"Wolves?"
"No," he growled. "Something worse."
Then he turned to her.
"You stay with me. Don't leave my side."
And for the first time, Arielle obeyed without question.
---