2

The night Lena Marcellus died, the forest held its breath.

Not her actual body – that was still alive, shaking and wrecked. But the Lena who used to whisper sorry, who believed love was all you needed, who lived in Damon Voss’s shadow… that Lena breathed her last as the moon seemed to mourn.

She walked barefoot in the dark, her ripped dress dragging on the ground. Bruises from her old life marked her skin. His cold, mean voice still echoed in her head:

You were never enough.

Each step hurt, but she kept going. Something called to her – pulled her – something old, something basic, something before wolves or kings.

A whisper in the wind. A beat under the ground.

A pull in her veins.

She got to the old shrine hidden deep in the woods, and the moon cut through the clouds like a light sword.

A big stone altar, cracked and covered in moss, stood in front of her. The air above it glowed silver.

A voice, womanly and old, echoed through the trees.

Moon child.

Lena stopped. She gasped.

Who's there?

Someone your blood remembers.

A figure appeared in the moonlight. A woman with silver hair like smoke and eyes like stars.

Lena backed away. A… ghost?

An ancestor, the spirit said. The first Silver Queen.

Lena's heart skipped.

The Silver Queen. The lost leader of the royal family. A legend elders whispered, but no one proved.

The spirit came closer, not touching the ground.

You have her blood. My blood. Hidden for your own good.

My good…? Lena whispered, bitter. No one ever cared about me.

The spirit softened. Your powers were tied at birth. Your husband wanted you because he knew what you were – before you did.”

Lena went cold.

Damon knew?

He knew she had a queen's blood?

He knew she was stronger than any Alpha?

She trembled.

And he still—

He feared you. The spirit's voice broke into her thoughts. He feared what you'd become when you woke up.

Lena swallowed. Memories hit her – Damon's coldness, his control, his cheating. The divorce papers he threw at her like a last punch.

The shame. The pain. The leaving.

The night he left with someone else.

Tears stung her eyes, but she held them back.

No more, she whispered. I won't be weak again.

The spirit smiled, proud.

Then kneel, child of the moon.

Lena hesitated, then knelt before the altar.

The forest breathed out.

The air moved.

The moonlight shook.

Silver energy wrapped around Lena like fire and ice vines. Her body arched. A scream came from her as her bones burned, her blood turning to hot metal.

She saw flashes – wolves bowing, kingdoms burning, Damon on his knees, chained, begging…

Power filled her lungs, her heart, her soul.

This was what was inside her.

This was what Damon feared.

This was who she should've been.

When the light died, Lena fell on the altar, gasping.

Her hair covered the stone – now silver in the moon.

Her eyes glowed.

Her aura showed raw power.

Not a Luna.

Not an ex-wife.

Not a broken woman.

A Queen.

The forest bowed to her.

The wind whispered her new name:

Silver Queen.

Lena rose, shaking but not broken.

She looked at the moon and made a promise of blood and fire.

Damon Voss took everything, she whispered.

My love. My dignity. My respect.

Her fingers curled, silver claws flickering.

I'll take everything back.

The spirit spoke one last time.

Take your throne, child. All kingdoms will bow.

Then the moonlight went out, and Lena Marcellus – now Lena the Silver Queen – left the forest, wanting revenge like a star exploding.

Three Weeks Later — Voss Tower

*******

Voss Industries' HQ was a monument to Damon's power, gleaming with steel and glass.

Inside, you could cut the tension with a knife. The staff was buzzing with the same concerns:

“The Alpha’s slipping.”

“He’s been deprived of sleep.”

“He won’t stop dwelling over her scent.”

Damon Voss sat at his desk, head down, hands gripping the edge like he'd fall apart without it.

He hadn't slept since Lena disappeared that night.

Not because he missed her, or because he felt bad. It was because he couldn't get her scent out of his head.

It was stronger than it used to be— sharper, wilder, and commanding. A trait only a Silver-blooded wolf could display.

That couldn’t be right. He saw Lena as weak, kind and breakable. At least, that's what he told himself.

His fist slammed into the desk, leaving a crack in the corner.

Kane, his second-in-command, came in.

“Alpha, got bad news.”

Damon didn’t look up. “Is that unusual?”

Kane hesitated. “Someone bought fifteen percent of our stock today.”

Damon was stunned. “No way.”

Kane shook his head. “They're still buying, too. Fast and aggressively.”

Damon looked up. “Who?”

Kane's voice was low. “Someone using the name L. Marcellus Holdings.”

Damon stood up slowly.

His pulse raced. His wolf growled. He felt like his mouth was full of cotton.

This couldn't be real.

Lena was gone. She was weak, without power, and heartbroken.

But Kane wasn’t done.

“Alpha, there’s more.”

“Tell me.”

“The board got a request for an emergency meeting. It says a new majority shareholder is coming to take over.”

Damon's jaw tightened. “When?”

Kane's voice shook. “Ten minutes.”

Damon walked toward the elevators, anger boiling in his blood.

If some Alpha is messing with her name, I'll take them out.

The elevator doors opened, and he stepped into the lobby.

Damon froze.

He couldn't breathe.

Stepping through the entrance—dressed in black, with silver hair and moonlight eyes—was the woman he thought he destroyed.

Her heels clicked on the marble, and her energy filled the place.

Raw power, authority, and dominance.

The Silver Queen, restored.

Lena stopped in front of him, eyes like ice.

“Hey, Damon,” she said, soft but dangerous. “Miss me?”

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

He could barely stand under the weight of her presence.

Lena stepped closer so he could feel her breath on his face. “I’m here to get what’s mine, and then I'm coming for you.”

His throat went dry. “What do you mean?”

Lena smiled. “I'll put you where you belong.”

Her eyes flashed silver. “On your knees.”

Before Damon could even think—

A wave of power hit the lobby. The windows cracked, the lights flickered, and wolves fell to their knees.

Damon Voss felt the impossible happen— he submitted. If only for a second.

Lena's smile grew. “Good,” she said. “You still know how to bow.”

She turned toward the boardroom as every wolf in the building bowed.

Damon stumbled back, grabbing the wall, gasping for breath.

“What did you become?” he whispered.

Lena didn’t turn. But he heard her voice in his head – a promise and a threat:

“Your Queen.”

Shadows moved behind her and the floor shook. A cold wind blew through the building.

Damon felt something big and dangerous wake up inside her.

And then, a scream came from upstairs, with another and another behind it.

Lena stopped.

Damon’s eyes went wide. “Lena, what’d you do?”

Lena’s face went hard. “That wasn’t me.”

Before they could move, the emergency lights turned on.

Something old and deadly followed Lena out of the woods.

Something that wanted her crown, and Damon dead.

Something that wasn't supposed to be alive.

The alarms went off and the building shook.

The last thing Lena heard before the floor fell out from under them was a voice she knew way too well:

“Queen or not, you're mine.”