Marked in Hatred crowned in power

The dream always came the same way.

It began with silence.

Not the peaceful kind that followed a quiet night but a heavy silence that pressed against my chest and made it difficult to breathe. In the dream I stood alone in the center of an endless field of dark flowers that glowed faintly under a silver sky. The moon above was larger than normal, close enough that I felt its light crawling over my skin like invisible fingers.

I never saw faces in that dream. I only felt presence.

Tonight the presence felt closer.

A deep vibration rippled through the ground beneath my bare feet. The flowers bent away from me as if something powerful was moving beneath the soil. My heartbeat accelerated. I tried to turn around but my body refused to obey.

A whisper drifted across the air.

It is time.

The words did not come from outside me. They exploded from somewhere inside my chest, vibrating through my ribs like thunder.

The sky cracked open.

Light poured down through the fracture, golden and blinding. From within the brightness emerged a massive silhouette. It was not fully wolf. It was not fully human. Its outline shifted between forms, power radiating from it in waves that pushed the flowers flat against the ground.

The figure lowered its head toward me.

And then I felt it.

A surge of energy exploded from my spine and spread through my veins like molten fire. My bones shifted painfully. My fingernails sharpened. My vision expanded beyond normal sight. I saw energy lines connecting everything around me. The air. The soil. The distant silhouette.

You are waking.

The voice echoed again.

My body lifted off the ground without me commanding it. Silver markings appeared across my arms glowing brighter with every passing second. The power inside me grew stronger, but instead of fear I felt recognition.

As if something lost long ago had finally found its way back to me.

The figure in the sky stepped forward.

When it moved, the light around it formed into a crown of flames that hovered above its head.

Then everything shattered.

I woke up gasping.

My chest was rising and falling rapidly as if I had just run for miles. Sweat covered my skin and my hands were shaking.

The darkness of my room slowly replaced the glowing field.

The wooden ceiling above me looked ordinary. The faint scent of herbs from the small lantern beside my bed filled the air. Outside my window I could hear the soft howling of wolves guarding the perimeter of the pack territory.

It was only a dream.

But the heat still burned beneath my skin.

I pressed my palm against my chest.

My heartbeat was louder than usual. It was pounding with an unfamiliar rhythm that matched the pulse I had felt in the dream.

Something was changing.

I swung my legs off the bed and stood. The movement triggered a sharp tingling sensation along my arms. I glanced down and froze.

Faint silver lines were visible under my skin.

They were not tattoos.

They were not bruises.

They shimmered for a second before fading back into invisibility.

My breath caught in my throat.

This had never happened before.

A quiet knock sounded at my door.

I quickly pulled my sleeves down and forced my expression to calm.

“Come in,” I said.

The door opened slowly.

Lina stepped inside. She was one of the younger wolves assigned to monitor my safety since the recent attack near the training grounds. Her eyes scanned my room first before landing on me.

“You are awake early again,” she said carefully.

“Bad dream,” I replied.

Her gaze lingered on my face.

“Was it the same one?”

I hesitated before nodding.

She approached me and lowered her voice.

“Your temperature spiked during the night. The healer sensed an unusual energy surge coming from your room.”

My stomach tightened.

They had felt it.

“Energy surge?” I asked casually.

Lina nodded. “It was brief. But strong. The elders asked me to check on you.”

My fingers curled slightly.

The elders were watching me.

They had been watching me more closely ever since the attack three days ago when masked wolves tried to drag me out of the forest boundary.

At first they claimed it was random rogue activity.

But I had seen the symbol carved into the dagger one of the attackers dropped.

A symbol that belonged to someone inside this pack.

“I am fine,” I told her.

She studied me again like she was trying to detect a lie.

“You should report to the training hall later. The Alpha requested your presence.”

My chest tightened.

Hearing his title still caused a strange reaction inside me.

The Alpha.

The man who was also my mate.

Or at least that was what the bond inside my soul insisted.

“Why does he want me there?” I asked.

Lina shrugged. “He did not say.”

She turned toward the door but paused before leaving.

“Be careful today.”

The tone in her voice carried warning.

After she left, I stood alone again.

My gaze shifted to the mirror hanging on the wall.

I walked toward it slowly.

The girl staring back at me looked familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. My dark hair fell loosely over my shoulders. My eyes were the color of deep amber. But today they looked brighter.

There was a faint glow inside them.

I leaned closer.

The silver markings appeared again beneath my skin, spreading across my collarbone like invisible roots searching for something.

I touched the surface of the mirror.

The glass vibrated.

For a second the reflection did not copy my movement.

Instead, it showed a different version of me.

I was standing in a large hall wearing a crown made of black metal and glowing symbols. Wolves bowed before me.

I stumbled back in shock.

The image vanished.

My heart raced.

What was happening to me?

A knock sounded again.

This time the door opened without waiting for permission.

He entered.

The Alpha.

Even after everything, seeing him still stole my breath for half a second.

He was taller than most wolves in the pack. His presence filled the room instantly with an intensity that made the air heavier. His dark hair was slightly messy as if he had not slept properly. His eyes locked onto mine immediately.

Those eyes.

They used to make my chest warm.

Now they made my emotions unstable.

“Why were you not in the training ground this morning?” he asked calmly.

His tone carried authority.

I crossed my arms.

“I was resting.”

His gaze dropped briefly to my arms before returning to my face.

“I felt the energy surge again.”

Of course he did.

The mate bond connected us whether we acknowledged it or not.

“Your power is unstable,” he continued. “It is drawing attention.”

“From who?” I asked.

His jaw tightened.

“From those who fear change.”

I stared at him carefully.

“You mean from your council.”

Silence stretched between us.

He did not deny it.

That confirmation told me everything.

The council saw me as a potential threat.

Not because I had done anything.

But because the bond between us and the strange power awakening inside me disrupted their control.

“You should learn to suppress it,” he said quietly.

My eyes narrowed.

“Suppress my power?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because they believe it is dangerous.”

“And what do you believe?” I asked.

His expression shifted.

For a moment something raw flashed across his face.

“I believe it is connected to something bigger than either of us understand.”

His words hung in the air.

He stepped closer.

The distance between us shrank.

My body reacted instantly to his proximity. The mate bond pulsed violently inside my chest. Heat spread through my skin. His gaze darkened slightly as if he felt the same response.

“You felt it in the dream,” he said softly.

My breath caught.

“How do you know about the dream?”

“Because I saw the same vision.”

Shock hit me.

“You saw it?”

“Yes.”

His hand slowly lifted.

Not to touch me.

But to reveal something hidden in his palm.

A small crystal shard glowed faintly with silver light.

“When I woke up,” he continued, “this was beside my bed.”

I stared at the shard.

It resonated.

The energy inside it matched the pulse vibrating through my veins.

“What is that?” I whispered.

“I do not know.”

The room suddenly trembled.

The crystal in his hand cracked.

A sharp pulse of light exploded outward, forcing both of us to shield our eyes.

When the light faded, the shard was gone.

And the air inside the room felt different.

He looked at me intensely.

“Something is activating.”

Before I could respond, loud alarms echoed across the pack territory.

Attack.

The sound of wolves howling in warning spread through the forest.

The Alpha turned toward the door immediately.

“Stay here.”

I grabbed his arm before he could leave.

“I am coming with you.”

His eyes snapped back to mine.

“It could be a diversion.”

“And if it is?” I asked. “Then they want me isolated.”

He studied my face for a second.

Then he nodded once.

“Stay close.”

We rushed out together.

As we ran through the corridor, I felt the silver markings under my skin flare brighter than before.

The power inside me responded to danger.

When we reached the open training ground, chaos had already erupted.

Wolves were fighting.

Smoke rose from burning structures near the outer wall.

And standing in the center of the destruction was someone wearing the same symbol I had seen on the dagger.

He smiled when his eyes landed on me.

“Finally,” he said.

His gaze shifted to the Alpha.

“She is waking faster than we expected.”

My blood ran cold.

The man lifted his hand.

Dark energy swirled around his fingers.

“And now,” he continued calmly, “we finish what was started years ago.”

He directed the attack straight toward me.

The Alpha moved to block it.

But before either of us could react further, something inside me snapped open.

The silver markings exploded across my body.

Power burst outward violently.

The ground cracked beneath my feet.

Wolves nearby were pushed back by the shockwave.

My vision turned golden.

The attacker’s smile faded as he felt the force of my awakening power locking onto him.

For the first time, I did not feel fear.

I felt control.

The energy inside me roared like a creature that had been waiting for permission to exist.

The man stepped back slowly.

He whispered something that sent chills through my spine.

“She has the blood of the lost crown.”

And then the battlefield fell silent around me.

Everyone was staring.

At me.

The power had revealed itself.

And in that moment I understood something terrifying.

The dream was not a dream.

It was a warning.

And my true identity had just begun to awaken.

The attacker dropped to one knee suddenly.

Not from defeat.

But from respect.

He bowed his head and said,

“Welcome back, Your Highness.”