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Yara’s POV

The sound of Raven's wedding drums filled the air.

I pressed my hands over my ears, but it didn’t help. The wedding was happening. The words were being spoken. The bond was being sealed.

Raven was becoming Jaxon’s wife. My betrothed and my sister.

Tears slid down my cheeks as I curled up on the bed. I had imagined this moment so differently. I was supposed to be the one standing beside him. I was supposed to be the one dressed in white, looking into his eyes as he called me his forever mate. But she had taken everything.

The door opened behind me, but I didn’t move to check who it was.

“Enough crying,” my father’s voice rang out. “Get up.”

I wiped my face and slowly turned to him. My father stood in the doorway, arms folded, his eyes filled with impatience.

“You need to start preparing,” he announced to me. “As soon as Raven and Jaxon leave, you will be on your way to Stormgate.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

I scrambled to my feet. “Father, I... I need time. I cannot just walk into Stormgate without preparation. I need to learn how to fight. I need to...”

He laughed in mockery. “You do not tell me what you need. I make the decision here, and I have decided that you must go.”

“But Father...”

“You will do as you are told,” he said flatly, then turned to the guards by the door. “Go and bring what I asked for.”

One of them nodded and left. I stared at him, my stomach twisting. “Father, please.”

His expression didn’t change.

“I will go,” I said quickly. “I am not refusing to leave, I swear. But not today. At least give me a little time. Stormgate is the most dangerous pack in the area. I need to train and fortify myself."

My father stared at me coldly. "There is no time for that, Yara. From the last reports we got, Alpha Malachi is preparing to raid some villages close to our borders. You will do fine without a training."

I dropped to my knees and clutched the fabric of his coat. “Father, please! I am your daughter.” My voice broke. “You cannot send me off like this.”

"Yara," The door opened, and my mother peered inside. A frown descended on her face when she spotted me on my knees. “What is going on here? Viktor...”

I turned to her, grasping her hands. “Mother, help me. Father is sending me away today. I cannot go now. I am not ready.”

She reached out and helped me to my feet. Her hands tightened around mine, then she looked at my father. “Viktor, she has no training. If Malachi finds out who she is, you know he will kill our daughter.”

I half expected my father to agree with Mother; he always did. But his next words shocked me to my core.

Lifting his head in a haughty move, he replied. “Do not speak unless I ask you to, Elinor. Begging for her will change nothing.”

Mother flinched but said nothing more. The guard had not returned yet, but I knew it didn’t matter. My bags were already packed.

I was out of time.

The door creaked open again and the guard returned, carrying a set of luggage. My luggage. He set it down near my feet and stepped back.

Father nodded toward the bags. “Take it.”

I stood frozen. My heart pounded hard, but it wasn’t from fear anymore. It was from anger.

“You will go,” Father continued. “Our kingdom will not survive if Alpha Malachi comes for us. We need every advantage we can get, and you will be one of them.”

My father placed his hands on my shoulders. I knew he meant to comfort me, but all that touch did was make me even angrier.

"Listen to me, Yara." He implored. "Right now, the fate of Silver Moon pack Is in your hands. You are our last hope to infiltrate Stormgate and get useful intel. You cannot afford to waste any more time."

His words should have broken me, but instead, something inside me shifted.

Silently I reached down, grabbing the bag. I lifted my chin and met his cold eyes. “If I go, I will not go as a weak little girl.” My voice was steady and my tears were gone. “I will conquer. And when I return, everyone will know my name.”

For the first time in my life, Father smiled at me. It was not the tight, disapproving look he usually gave Raven. His smile made my heart swell with unnameable emotions.

He stepped closer, and before I could react, he pressed his thumb against my cheekbone. His touch was rough, but not painful. His fingers traced a slow, deliberate mark against my skin.

It burned slightly, but I didn’t flinch.

“This will remind you of home,” he murmured.

I reached up, touching my cheek. The mark was small and not very noticeable, but I could feel it. A silent promise that I would always belong here, even if I never came back the same.

Without another word, Father turned and left the room. As soon as the door shut behind him, my mother pulled me into her arms. She was shaking.

“My sweet girl,” she whispered. Her fingers dug into my back as if she could hold me in place, as if that would stop me from leaving. “This is all your stepsister's fault.”

I stiffened at the mention of Raven.

“She should be the one going,” Mother continued. “Not you. She took your mate, and now she has taken your life too. She should pay for what she has done.”

I stayed silent. Mother pulled back just enough to cup my face in her hands. “Do not forgive her,” she whispered. “Make sure she suffers for this. Make sure she begs for mercy, and make sure she never gets it.”

Mother wasn’t wrong. Raven had always been the strong one. She was the one who could fight, who could handle herself in any situation. I had spent my whole life believing she would protect me.

And now she had thrown me to the wolves.

I forced a small smile and wiped my mother’s tears away with my thumb. “Do not worry, Mother,” I replied. "I am already coming up with a plan to do just that."