Chapter 3

I dropped from the balcony like a shadow made flesh.

The medical cart flipped before anyone saw me move, instruments scattering across blood-stained concrete.

I put myself between Lyra and the needle.

"Touch her again," I said softly, "and I'll rip your throat out with my teeth."

Every head turned.

Cole recovered first, his sneer spreading. "Who the hell—"

"Raven Ashborne."

The name fell like a stone into deep water.

For one perfect second, no one breathed.

Then Cole started laughing. "You? You're Raven Ashborne? That's fucking hilarious."

"If you're Raven," Serena chimed in, voice dripping honey and poison, "then I'm the Moon Goddess herself."

"Raven Ashborne died at sea," Silas called from the back. "Everyone knows that."

"Grab her," Mara ordered her enforcers. "Let's see how this imposter bleeds."

They actually think I'm lying.

The first one who grabbed me lost three teeth when my elbow connected with his jaw.

The second one got a knee to the solar plexus that left him vomiting.

But there were too many, and I'd been gone too long—my body wasn't what it used to be.

They swarmed me like wolves on wounded prey, hands tangling in my hair, fingers digging into my throat.

I hit the ground hard, concrete scraping my cheek.

"Raven!" Lyra screamed, trying to crawl toward me despite the chains. "Leave her alone!"

Serena grabbed a fistful of Lyra's hair and yanked her head back. "Stay down, bitch."

She slapped my sister so hard blood flew from Lyra's split lip.

Rage turned my vision red.

I thrashed, trying to break free, but they had me pinned—three full-grown Alphas holding me down like I was nothing.

"Please!" Lyra was sobbing now, pressing her forehead to the filthy floor. "Please don't hurt her! I'll do anything! I'll cooperate! Just please—"

"Lyra, don't—" I choked out.

But she was already kowtowing, knocking her head against the platform in desperate supplication.

She's protecting me. My little sister is protecting me.

Something in my chest cracked.

Mara crouched down, tilting her head like a curious predator. She had a silver blade now, thin and cruel.

"You know what I think?" She pressed the flat of the blade against my cheek. "I think you're just some desperate omega trying to play hero."

"And this face..." The blade's edge bit into my skin, just below my cheekbone. "This pretty face is the only thing you have."

Hot blood trickled down my neck.

"Let's see how convincing you are without it."

The blade moved, and I felt my skin split—

"STOP!"

The iron door exploded inward.

Silas Crowhurst strode in, flanked by armed guards.

Finally.

Lyra's voice broke with relief. "Uncle Silas! Thank the Moon—help us! They're trying to—"

"Shut UP, Lyra."

His voice was pure contempt.

Lyra froze, confusion bleeding into her features.

Silas looked at her like she was a stain on his shoe. "You shame the Stormfang name with your presence."

"But—I'm family—"

"You're a bastard branch nobody wanted," he sneered. "Your bloodline is dirt."

He walked past her without another glance and stopped in front of Serena, taking her hand with disgusting tenderness.

"The REAL crest belongs to Serena Vale," he announced to the room. "She is Stormfang's acknowledged heir."

Serena's smile was triumphant. "See, Lyra? Some of us are actually legitimate."

Lyra looked like her soul was being torn out.

Then Silas's eyes landed on me.

For just a flash—one microsecond—I saw recognition flicker in his gaze.

He knew.

He knows exactly who I am.

But instead of acknowledging me, instead of showing even a shred of pack loyalty, he reached down and grabbed my chin roughly.

"This one looks like Raven," he mused, tilting my blood-streaked face toward the light. "Could almost be a convincing fake."

"Almost," he repeated. "But Raven Ashborne died in international waters three years ago."

Liar.

"And this..." He ran his thumb over the cut on my face, making me hiss in pain. "This damaged goods has no value."

He released me like I was rotting meat.

"Mara, dispose of her. She's wasting my time."

"With pleasure." Mara's grin turned feral.

She snapped her fingers, and her enforcers moved in, hands already reaching for my collar—

A blade sang through the air.

Three men dropped, throats opened before they could scream.

Kieran Wolfsbane materialized from the shadows, thirty Shadow Guard warriors spreading through the room like death given form.

He went down on one knee before me, fist to heart.

"Your Majesty," he said clearly. "Forgive my delay."

Perfect timing, old friend.

I lifted my head and smiled through the blood.

"Right on schedule, Kieran."

---