From Rejected Mate to Royal Queen

Raina stood still as the council chamber emptied. Whispers trailed behind the robed advisors like smoke. Even after Theron had dismissed the meeting, none of them could stop staring at her.

She had expected hatred.

What she hadn't expected… was fear.

Theron watched her from the throne, his face unreadable. "You held your ground well."

"I could feel them sizing me up," Raina said, arms folded. "Like I was a weapon they weren't sure whether to use or destroy."

He rose from the throne, his footsteps echoing as he crossed the floor toward her. "That's because you are."

She raised a brow.

"You're powerful, Raina. But unclaimed power is dangerous to rulers — especially old men who built their kingdom on silence and obedience."

Raina turned away, pacing toward the massive stained-glass window. Outside, the moons had risen — twin orbs of silver and violet hovering over the dark mountains.

"Cassian told me something earlier," she said softly. "That I don't fit in their box. That makes me dangerous."

"You terrify them," Theron said. "And they're right to be terrified."

She turned. "You're not scared of me?"

His lips twitched into a smirk. "I'm too proud to be afraid."

The next morning, the castle courtyard was alive with motion — weapons clashing in training, messengers racing across cobblestones, and servants murmuring about rising tensions at the borders.

Raina stood with Vanya again, both of them barefoot in the dew-covered grass, blades drawn. But today, the lesson was different.

"You're not fighting me," Vanya said, circling. "You're fighting what you think you're still chained to."

"I'm not afraid of Kael anymore."

"Then why does he still live in your mind rent-free?"

Raina lunged. Vanya dodged easily.

"You hate him. But hatred is still attention. Still attachment."

Raina swung again, faster. "You sound like a monk."

Vanya parried, eyes sharp. "You'll never truly awaken until you kill the girl who needed him."

Those words struck deep. Not because they were cruel — but because they were true.

Raina took a slow breath, letting it expand in her chest, then exhaled.

She closed her eyes and envisioned Kael's face — the cold dismissal, the moment he turned his back on her. She saw herself begging.

And then she opened her eyes.

And she struck.

Vanya caught the blade at the last second, but this time, her grip shook slightly.

"Better," she said, voice quiet.

That night, Raina found herself in the old tower library again, the ancient book still open on the table. She flipped past the family tree of the Lunaris bloodline, landing on a page about the Queen's Trials — a rite of passage for the female heirs of the old line.

The trials had been outlawed centuries ago by the Alpha King, claiming they were "dangerous and unnecessary."

But according to the book, they unlocked more than power — they unlocked memory.

"A Queen cannot command a future she does not remember from her past lives."

Raina blinked at the line.

Past lives?

The book said the Lunaris queens were bound to each other not just by blood — but by soul. Reincarnated rulers, fated to rise again and again whenever the world needed a queen to rise from ashes.

A shiver ran down Raina's spine.

It sounded like legend. But something about it made her heart race like it was truth she had always known.

"Raina."

Cassian's voice snapped her from the page.

She looked up as he stepped inside, eyes flicking to the open book.

"You're still reading those dusty myths?"

"They're not myths," she said. "They're warnings. And instructions."

He gave her a long look. "There's something I haven't told you."

Raina's body tensed.

Cassian stepped forward, his face serious now. "I knew your mother."

Silence fell.

"What?"

He nodded slowly. "She was a healer in the northern territories. Quiet. Kind. But when she was around wolves… her aura flared like wildfire. I never knew who she really was until after her death."

Raina swallowed hard. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because I wasn't sure if it mattered—until I saw the way you faced the Alpha King."

She stood slowly, emotions churning in her chest.

"Tell me everything."

Cassian glanced at the window. "Not here. Theron wants to see you. It's urgent."

In the war chamber, Theron stood over a massive map, his fingers trailing lines drawn in red ink.

"We intercepted a message," he said without looking up. "From the Alpha King's northern general."

Cassian shut the door behind them.

Theron continued, "They're planning to breach our border. Not with soldiers — with emissaries."

"Assassins," Cassian muttered.

"Disguised as allies," Theron confirmed.

He finally looked at Raina.

"They're not coming for me this time. They're coming for you."

Raina didn't flinch.

"Then let them come."