Chapter 5

Yara

The first thing I felt was warmth — real, gentle warmth, not the bone-chilling dampness of the dungeon floor or the freezing forest earth where they had discarded me like rotting meat. Soft silk sheets cradled my aching body, and the faint, soothing scent of lavender mixed with healing herbs filled my lungs with every shallow breath. My eyelids fluttered open slowly, heavy as if they had been sealed shut for centuries by the poison that should have ended me.

I was in my old chambers in the royal palace. The high vaulted ceilings stretched above me, adorned with intricate carvings of ancient wolves howling at the moon. Golden tapestries embroidered with the royal crest hung on the walls, and large arched windows overlooked the blooming palace gardens where flowers I once tended as a child swayed in the breeze. Everything was exactly as I remembered from before I ran away to be with Ian. The familiarity hit me like a fresh wound.

Ronan was slumped in a heavy oak chair beside my bed, his large, calloused hand enveloping mine protectively. His head rested on the edge of the mattress, dark circles shadowing his usually sharp eyes, and his normally neat black hair was disheveled, as though he hadn’t slept or groomed himself in days. My strong, fierce brother looked utterly exhausted.

The slight movement as I stirred woke him instantly.

“Yara!” Ronan’s head shot up, his grey eyes, so similar to mine widen with overwhelming relief and lingering fear. He squeezed my hand tighter, almost desperately, as if afraid I might vanish again. “You’re awake. Thank the Goddess.”

I tried to sit up, but a sharp wince escaped me as pain radiated through my body. The rejection wound in my chest throbbed violently — a constant, raw, burning ache where the mate bond had been violently severed. It felt like part of my soul had been ripped away and left bleeding.

Ronan immediately helped me prop up against the mountain of pillows, his touch surprisingly gentle for someone radiating such fury beneath the surface. I leaned into his broad chest, burying my face in his shoulder like I was a little girl again seeking comfort after a nightmare. Only this nightmare had been real.

“You scared us half to death, little sister,” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. “That faint mind-link… it nearly made me lose my mind. Hearing you apologize and beg to come home while I was powerless to reach you faster…”

“Ro… I was so stupid,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “I should have listened to you and Father. I gave up everything for him — my title, my family, my safety. And for what?”

He stroked my long silver hair with careful fingers, his touch soothing some of the raw agony tearing through me. “Shh. It's okay. You’ve learned your lesson now, haven’t you?”

Before I could respond, the heavy chamber door opened. Father, the Alpha King strode in, his powerful presence instantly filling the entire room like an approaching storm. His golden robes bore the royal crest, and his face was etched with deep exhaustion and simmering fury, but his hard eyes softened the moment they landed on me.

Fresh tears burned my eyes as the memories crashed over me again in merciless waves. The decorated bedroom filled with red rose petals for our anniversary. Ian’s proud voice announcing Mira’s pregnancy to the entire pack. The public humiliation. His cruel words calling me barren. The way he unleashed his full Alpha aura on me, forcing blood from my nose. The cold white porcelain bowl. Drinking the poison while reaching out desperately to my brother.

“I should have listened to you both,” I said, my voice hoarse and broken. “When you disapproved of the marriage. I lowered my status, lied about my family, hid who I was… all for a man who threw me away the moment someone else could give him a child faster.”

Father’s jaw clenched tightly, his powerful Alpha aura flaring around him and making the air feel heavier. “You’re home now, Princess. That is all that matters.” His voice was low and dangerous. “As for Ian… he will answer for what he did to my daughter. No one touches the Alpha King’s blood and lives peacefully.”

I wiped the tears from my cheeks, feeling strength slowly returning to my limbs. My royal wolf, which I had suppressed and hidden for three long years to play the perfect, humble Luna, was stirring deep inside me. She was no longer content to stay quiet. She was angry. Vengeful. Hungry for justice.

“What do you want, Yara?” Ronan asked, his eyes burning with the same fire I felt boiling in my veins. “We can march on Shadowveil right away. Burn it to the ground. Make Ian watch as we take everything from him.”

I shook my head slowly, the pain in my heart hardening into something colder, sharper, and far more calculated. “No. Not yet. A quick war is too merciful for him. I want him to suffer the way I suffered — publicly, humiliatingly. I want him to feel the same betrayal and shame he inflicted on me in front of the entire pack.”

A dangerous, vengeful smile tugged at my lips for the first time since my return. “Send a formal royal delegation first. Invite him to the grand banquet celebrating the return of the long-lost princess. My true identity will be revealed publicly there. Then we demand justice for the attempted murder of the Alpha King’s daughter. Let every pack in the realm witness his shame. And when he comes begging… or fighting… I’ll be waiting. Not as the weak, barren Luna he discarded. But as Princess Yara — the one who will bring his entire world crashing down.”

Father studied me for a long, intense moment. Then he nodded, visible pride gleaming in his eyes. “You have grown, daughter. We will prepare. The kingdom will soon learn what happens when someone betrays royal blood.”

As they finally left me to rest and began making preparations, I rose slowly from the bed and walked to the balcony on unsteady legs. The evening breeze caressed my face, carrying the familiar scents of the kingdom I had abandoned for a false love. Somewhere far away in Shadowveil, Ian was probably holding Mira in my room, celebrating what he believed was my death.

He had no idea I was alive.

A soft knock sounded behind me. Ronan stepped back into the room, holding a sealed golden scroll.

“The delegation has already been sent,” he said, his voice low and intense. “Father didn’t want to waste any time. Ian and his pack, including that white Mira, have been formally invited to the Grand Banquet — the celebration of the long-lost Princess’s return.”

My heart beat faster as I took the scroll from him, the royal seal heavy in my hands.

Ronan’s eyes gleamed with dark anticipation. “In three days, Ian will stand in this palace, face-to-face with the woman he rejected, poisoned, and left for the beasts… without knowing it’s you until the moment your identity is revealed.”

A cold, dangerous smile curved my lips as I stared out into the darkening horizon.

Let the games begin.

Ian… I hope you enjoy these last few days of peace.