An old frame caught my attention, hung at an angle on the left side of the room. It was a family frame, back when we were all one big happy family. I hadn’t noticed before but everything looked perfectly in place and it made my heart spike even more.

Was Ronan really the one who ruined everything in my once-happy life? To think I had actually started to feel something for him, despite all my senses screaming at me.

A creak from the floorboard broke my thoughts. By the door, Lucian stood staring straight at me, his ocean-blue eyes filled with so much concern.

I sniffed, the tears threatening to spill, reminding myself of his betrayal.

“Seliene, we need to—”

“I don’t want to hear whatever lies you have to say,” I cut him off.

He didn’t waver. Instead, he lowered his head slightly before looking back up. “I had to,” he said.

“You had to do what?!” I yelled. “Team up with my father behind my back, knowing damn well all the damage he’d already caused? How could you do that to me?”

“I know I messed up, but I had no choice. You were draped around Ronan, despite the fact that he kept treating you like a piece of shit. You deserve so much better, Seliene.”

“And who’s better then? You?”

He didn’t respond.

I scoffed. “I was only doing what I thought was best.”

“Well, you don’t get to decide that!” I dug my hands into my hair, trying to unscramble the entire mess of my life.

“You know what? I messed up! So what! I’d rather that than see you with Ronan your so-called mate who doesn’t even acknowledge you as worthy.” His voice was almost a roar at this point. “He treats you like shit, Seliene, and I can’t stand that. I won’t let you believe there’s a better future with him when that’s all he’ll ever see you as!”

The pieces of my heart that had already been shattered now felt like they were being stomped on by his words.

“So forgive me if I decided to make a deal with your father to save you from that bastard who will never see your worth.”

He took a step closer, the distance between us charged with electricity. I could even feel a spark from my wolf.

“You can put my name in the blacklist If you want, Seliene, but when I see you being treated that way I can’t help but wonder if the moon goddess made a mistake.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words seemed to fall out. He was right, every bit right. Ronan saw me as dirt. He was the cause of the ruins in my life. My moms death thus the entire chaos I called a life.

Lucian’s face softened to concern and only until he wiped a tear from my cheek did I realize I’d been crying.

One by one, tears fell and fell until I was a broken mess underneath his arms. I felt comfortable with him. It was nothing romantic but it still made me feel safe.

“He knew all along didn’t he?” I manage to choke out.

Before he responded the sound of something entering the room broke our hug. The last person I wanted to see standing a few feet away from me, his grey hair falling across his face as he looked at us.

Pulling away, I ask. “So what now? You know what I am? You abandoned me so why are you here?”

“I know you have no reason to listen to me but I’m your Dad and I care!”

“Cut the crap. Dad? You couldn’t represent that word even if you spent a lifetime trying.” My voice weak, but enough to deliver the hate..

He tried to speak but I chipped in almost immediately. “Do I want to hear any more lies from you?”

A gentle squeeze in my wrist silenced me, my eyes meeting Lucian.

“He has something to say, please.”

After another second of internally battling the urge to fight back. I finally kept silent.

He cleared his throat again.

“I always knew you were different the moment you inherited both warlock and wolf genes .Elen,” He started, using the nickname from when I was a child. I hated it. “But it’s dangerous and the older you grow the harder it becomes to control it. It needs to be tamed.”

I shook my head. “What do you mean?”

I wasn’t about to be handed over to any man and be owned.

“What he’s trying to say is you need a mark. We both know you can either be wolf or warlock and you being both is both rare and dangerous.”

“So what does that have to do with you then?” I spat, voice trembling between grief and fury.

My so-called father took a step closer, his voice softer now, almost too calm. “Because, Seliene… you’re destined to rule the pack.”

I blinked. “What?”

“You’re not just some out-of-place hybrid. You were never meant to fit in because you were born to stand above them all.”

I laughed, bitter and sharp. “Is that supposed to make up for what you’ve done? For leaving me? For letting Mom die? Don’t you dare come here spewing some prophecy bullshit—”

“You’re a Lycan, Seliene.”

My breath caught in my throat. The room, for a second, didn’t feel real. Lucian turned to look at him, just as stunned.

“You’re lying,” I muttered.

“You’ve always felt different, haven’t you?” he pressed. “Stronger, faster, angrier. Even your shifting hurts more and lasts longer. You heal faster than any normal wolf, and your warlock power isn’t just random it’s bonded to your beast, making you more powerful than anything this realm has seen in centuries.”

“No…” I whispered. “No. That’s not true. That’s not possible.”

I’d noticed if but I didn’t ever think much about rounding it down to one of the cons of being a hybrid

“It is,” his eyes narrow. “Your mother was a warlock, but she carried the dormant bloodline of Lycans. And me…” He hesitated. “I was born into the royal lineage but lost after falling in love with your mom.. And you… you were born from both.”

“That’s not—” I took a step back, heart pounding in my chest. “That’s not who I am.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. A little necklace pendant I remember having when I was a little girl. Mom had given it to me. Though it looked a little different now, it was glowing softly with blue and silver light. “This is yours,” he said, “forged the night you were born. It recognizes you even if you don’t recognize yourself.”

Before I could speak, it began to glow brighter until suddenly the light surged through the room. A strange warmth wrapped around my body like fire and frost colliding.

My knees buckled. I fell back unconsciously but Lucian caught me just in time..

Pain wrapped around me so deep that a scream ripped from my throat as something inside me burned alive.

“Seliene!” Lucian yelled, holding me tighter.

A growl I didn’t recognize erupted from my throat. As if I was being dipped into something supernatural, another wave of power pulsed through my veins.

Then silence.

I was barely standing when whatever just went through me calmed. Sweat beads had already formed on my forehead. My eyes met my father’s again. He wasn’t lying.

“This is who you are, Elen. You are the true heir of the Lycan line.”

I stared at him, too stunned to speak, trembling from the truth burning in my blood.

Lucian knelt beside me, hand still firm on my shoulder. “Seliene… it’s real,” he whispered. “You felt that. That was your power.”

I looked at my hands, still shivering.

My gaze rose, landing back on him. “What now? You’ve dumped all this on me, told me I’m some royal Lycan hybrid born to rule, and… what? You expect me to just accept it and pretend everything’s fine?”

He nodded once. “ You need to accept it Seliene, but more importantly you need control.”

“Control?”

“You need to be marked.” Lucian corrected

Something about the word “claimed” made my insides twist.

“An arranged bond would stabilize your magic. With Lucian’s mark, you would be able to control it a lot more..”

“This isn’t just a bond, is it?” I whispered. “It’s marriage.”

My father nodded solemnly. “It’s tradition. And it’s protection.”

“No one gets to decide for me..” I screamed, slamming the door shut behind me