The Choice

Draven POV

The smell of the cabin was wrong. It smelled like ancient forests and a man I had only heard of in legends. But under that, there it was, the scent I had tried to drown in whiskey and work for weeks. Nyxara.

I stared at her. She was thinner, but her eyes were different. They weren't the eyes of the quiet omega who used to scrub my floors. They were sharp. And her stomach... my heart stopped. The bump was small, but to an Alpha, it was like a lighthouse in the dark.

"Nyxara," I growled, my voice cracking. "What is this? Who did this to you?"

"Did what, Draven?" she snapped. She didn't flinch. She didn't hide. She stood taller than I had ever seen her. "You threw me away. You sent me into the woods to die. Did you think I would just stop existing because you didn't want me?"

"You were an omega!" I roared, the windows rattling in their frames. "I had a pack to lead. I had to protect our bloodline!"

"And look at you now," a new voice interrupted.

Riven Ashenfell stepped forward. He was taller than me, his shoulders broader. He didn't have a pack, yet he carried more authority than any Alpha I had ever met. He placed a hand on Nyxara’s shoulder. The sight of his fingers on her skin made my wolf howl in pure, murderous jealousy.

"You're the traitor king," I hissed, my claws sliding out. "You're the one who stole her."

"I didn't steal anything," Riven said, his voice calm and deadly. "I found something you were too stupid to keep. And now, she belongs to the Ashenlands."

"She is my fated mate!" I lunged forward, but Riven was faster. He caught my throat in a grip of iron.

"You rejected the bond, Blackmoor," Riven whispered. "You broke it in front of your people. You don't get to claim the prize after you throw it in the trash."

I thrashed against him, but his power was suffocating. It felt like the earth itself was holding me down. I looked past him at Nyxara. I expected to see fear. Instead, I saw cold, hard satisfaction. She was enjoying this. She wanted to see me lose.

The realization hurt worse than Riven’s grip.

Nyxara POV

I watched the two most powerful men I had ever known prepare to kill each other. Five weeks ago, I would have been crying on the floor. Now, I felt a strange, cold strength.

"Stop it!" I shouted.

Both men froze. They looked at me, their eyes glowing, one pair ice-blue, the other molten gold.

"Draven, leave," I said, my voice steady. "You chose your pack. You chose your crown. Go back to them."

"Nyxara, please," Draven rasped, his human eyes returning. He looked broken. "The bond... it didn't fully break. I feel you every night. I made a mistake. The Elders, they told me."

"I don't care what they told you," I cut him off. I walked right up to him, stopping inches from his chest. "You looked me in the eyes and called me nothing. You watched me walk into a death trap. Whatever is in my womb has nothing to do with you."

Draven’s gaze dropped to my stomach again. His face went pale. "Is it his?"

I looked at Riven. Riven didn't say a word, but he stepped closer to me, his presence wrapping around me like a shield. He didn't demand an answer. He just waited for me to decide.

"It’s mine," I said firmly. "That’s all you need to know."

Draven shook his head, his hands shaking. "I'm the Alpha of Blackmoor. If those are my children, they are the future of my pack. I won't let a traitor raise them in the dirt."

"Try to take her," Riven warned, his body rippling as his wolf pushed to the surface. "And I will make sure Blackmoor has no Alpha left to lead it."

The tension was so thick I could taste it. Draven looked like he was going to shift and fight, but then he heard it, the sound of more trucks approaching. My heart sank. His scouts were coming. If they saw me like this, if they saw Riven, there would be a massacre.

"Go, Draven," I whispered. "If you ever truly cared about me, give me this one thing. Leave us alone."

Draven looked at me for a long time. The regret in his eyes was so deep it almost moved me. Almost. He backed away toward the broken door.

"This isn't over, Nyxara," he said, his voice low. "I will find out the truth. And when I do, I'm coming back for what’s mine."

He turned and vanished into the trees just as the first of his men arrived.

Riven POV

I watched the Blackmoor trucks drive away. I knew Draven wouldn't stay gone for long. He was a man driven by duty, and now he was a man driven by obsession.

I turned to Nyxara. She was leaning against the table, her face white as a sheet. The golden glow in her eyes was fading, leaving her exhausted.

"You did well," I said, reaching out to steady her.

She pushed my hand away. "Don't. I'm not a prize, Riven. Not for him, and not for you."

I smiled. She was prickly, even when she was tired. "I know that. But we can't stay here. He knows this spot now. We have to move deeper into the mountains."

"Why are you still helping me?" she asked, her voice small. "You know those children are a threat to everyone."

I walked to the window, looking out at the dark peaks of the Ashenlands. "Because those children aren't just wolves, Nyxara. And neither are you."

She frowned. "What are you talking about?"

I turned back to her, my expression serious. "The birthmark under your ribs. The crescent moon. It’s not a mark of an omega. It’s the seal of the True Luna. The one the Alphas killed so they could rule alone."

Nyxara gasped, her hand flying to her side. "That’s impossible. My parents were nobody."

"Your parents were murdered to keep this a secret," I said. "And now, the secret is out. Draven suspects it, and the Council will know soon."

I grabbed my gear. We had to move fast. But as we stepped out of the cabin, a strange, silver mist began to roll in from the trees. It wasn't natural. It smelled like incense and old blood.

A figure emerged from the mist, an old woman in white robes. A high priestess of the Moon.

"The prophecy is moving," she croaked, pointing a bony finger at Nyxara. "Two kings, one crown, and a bloodline that will burn the world."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. A massive crack opened in the earth between us and the mist, and a terrifying roar echoed from the depths.

Riven grabbed my waist and jumped just as the cabin behind us was swallowed by the expanding hole in the ground. From the darkness below, dozens of glowing red eyes stared up at us.

"Run!" Riven yelled. "The Ancients are awake!"