The morning after.
I wake to the sound of shouting in the corridors - not the usual bustle of servants beginning their day, but something sharper. Urgent. Dangerous. Through the tall windows of Kael's chambers, I can see guards moving across the courtyard in formations that speak of crisis.
A thunderous knock at the door makes me freeze. "Open this door immediately!" Prince Damon's voice carries authority I've never heard from him before. "By order of the Queen!"
My hands shake as I pull on a simple dress, the pendant burning against my chest like a brand. When I open the door, Damon stands flanked by six guards in full armor. His face is flushed with wine and excitement, his eyes bright with the fervor of a man who's just discovered he holds the key to everything.
"Your Highness," I whisper, curtsying low.
"Princess," he corrects, and the word hits like a slap. "Or should I say... Princess Lunaria Valenheart, last heir of the werewolf throne."
*****
The great hall has been transformed into something resembling a tribunal. Queen Elenora sits in the high seat usually reserved for King Aldric, her expression carved from ice. Lady Seraphina stands at her right hand, practically vibrating with barely contained glee. Captain Sly and a dozen guards line the walls like silent sentinels.
Every servant in the castle has been assembled - they cluster in nervous groups, whispering behind their hands as I'm marched to the center of the hall. Some look at me with pity, others with fear, and a few with something that might be awe.
"Behold," Prince Damon announces, his voice carrying to every corner of the vast space, "the last daughter of our ancient enemies. The wolf princess who has been living among us like a viper in our breast."
Gasps echo through the hall. Servants cross themselves. Guards shift nervously. I see Mira's face go white as fresh snow, her hand pressed to her mouth in horror.
"That's quite enough theatrics, Damon," Queen Elenora says coolly, but her dark eyes never leave my face. "Though I admit, the revelation is... significant."
"Significant?" Seraphina's laugh is like breaking crystal. "It's treason! She's been deceiving us all, worming her way into Kael's affections, plotting against the crown!"
"I've plotted nothing," I say, finding my voice at last. "I don't even remember-"
"Lies," Damon cuts me off. "Her blood sings with wolf magic. I tasted it myself. Ancient power, just waiting to awaken."
*****
"Show them," Queen Elenora commands. "Show them the mark."
Captain Sly steps forward, and I know resistance is futile. With trembling hands, I lower the neckline of my dress, exposing the crescent moon birthmark on my shoulder blade.
The reaction is immediate. Servants fall to their knees. Guards draw steel. Someone screams. The mark glows faintly in the torchlight - not enough for most to see, but enough to confirm what they already know.
"The royal seal of House Valenheart," Queen Elenora announces. "Proof of direct royal blood. Proof that the line we thought extinct still lives."
"Kill her," Seraphina hisses. "Kill her now before she can summon her wolf allies. Before she can claim what she thinks is hers."
"And start a war with whatever wolves remain hidden in the realm?" The Queen's voice carries cutting pragmatism. "I think not. We'll wait for the King to return. He'll know how to handle this... situation."
"The King is weeks away," Damon protests. "She could escape. Could transform. Could-"
"Could what? Sprout claws and tear through a dozen armed guards?" Queen Elenora's smile is sharp as winter wind. "I think our young princess is rather more helpless than you give her credit for."
*****
"Send word to King Aldric immediately," the Queen commands Captain Sly. "Tell him we've found something that requires his... personal attention. He's to return at once."
"Yes, Your Majesty. And the girl?"
"The dungeons. The deep ones. Silver chains - silver burns wolves, doesn't it?" Her gaze finds mine, calculating and cold. "We wouldn't want our guest to be... uncomfortable."
The guards move forward, but I don't resist. What would be the point? I've survived this long by knowing when to fight and when to endure. This is a time for endurance.
"Wait," Princess Lyra's voice cuts through the murmurs. She pushes through the crowd of servants, her violet eyes bright with tears. "Mother, surely this is unnecessary. She's done nothing wrong."
"Nothing wrong?" Seraphina's voice rises to a shriek. "She's a wolf! An enemy of our house! Her very existence is a threat to everything we've built!"
"She's a girl who's been collared and caged and treated like an animal," Lyra fires back. "Whatever she is, she's no threat to anyone."
"Naive child," the Queen says with something approaching fondness. "You see kindness where others see strategy. It's one of your most endearing qualities."
*****
The dungeon they choose for me is deeper than the one where I found the pendant. Ancient stone, carved from the living rock beneath the castle. The air tastes of centuries of despair, of prisoners who entered but never left.
The silver chains burn against my wrists and ankles, searing the skin with every movement. But it's not just the metal that hurts - it's the way my body reacts to it, as if some part of me is trying to recoil at a level deeper than flesh.
"Silver poisoning," Captain Sly explains with professional detachment as he locks the shackles. "Keeps werewolves docile. Prevents transformation. Very effective, I'm told."
"I've never transformed," I whisper.
"Yet," he corrects. "The King will be very interested to see what happens when you try."
Hours pass in the darkness. I drift in and out of consciousness, the silver burning through my system like acid in my veins. Above me, I can hear the castle stirring with unnatural activity - boots on stone, raised voices, the sound of preparation.
Word is spreading beyond the castle walls. Riders departing in all directions. Messages flying to every corner of the realm. The discovery of a living Valenheart princess is news that will reshape kingdoms.
*****
I wake to the sound of hoofbeats echoing through the castle courtyards above. Not the scattered rhythm of normal traffic, but the thunderous approach of a large party riding hard.
Voices filter down through the stone - commands being shouted, guards snapping to attention, the metallic ring of armor and weapons.
"His Majesty has arrived!" someone shouts, the words carrying even to my dungeon cell. "King Aldric has returned!"
My blood turns to ice. Less than a day since my identity was revealed, and already the King has come. Either way, it means my secret was important enough to demand his immediate attention.
Footsteps echo in the corridor outside my cell - heavy boots, multiple sets, approaching with purpose. Torchlight flickers through the barred window, growing brighter as they near.
"Bring her up," a voice commands - not one I recognize, but one that carries absolute authority. "His Majesty wishes to see the wolf princess immediately."
Keys rattle in the lock. The door swings open. Hands reach for me through the silver haze of pain and exhaustion.
As they drag me from the cell, one thought echoes through my fevered mind: Kael doesn't know. He's still recovering in some distant city, unaware that his world has just been turned upside down.
Unaware that the girl he claimed to love is about to face the man who ordered her family's extinction.
And as I'm hauled up the stone stairs toward whatever judgment awaits, I can hear it in the distance - the howl of wind through the castle's highest towers, sounding almost like a wolf's cry.
Almost like a call to war.