That night, sleep refused me. Lucien had given me a room inside the fortress, but my mind raced. The mark on my neck pulsed softly, a heartbeat of its own.
Lucien entered silently. "We should talk."
I nodded. "I was hoping you'd finally explain things."
He leaned against the wall. "You triggered an Alpha submission wave."
I blinked. "That sounds… bad."
"It is," he said calmly. "No Omega can do that. Not most Alphas. No one."
My chest tightened. "Then what does it mean?"
He studied me carefully. "Legends. About the First Luna. The original mate of the first Alpha."
I laughed nervously. "Why is it always legends?"
"Because no one believed they were real," he replied. "Until now."
"The First Luna?" I whispered.
"Not just a Luna," Lucien said. "She could command wolves. Even Alphas."
Silence. I rubbed my face, heart racing.
"That mark on your neck… it matches the oldest descriptions. I think you're connected to that bloodline."
"Impossible," I whispered.
"Maybe. But tonight, every Alpha within sensing distance felt your power."
My mind snapped back to Kaiden. "That explains him."
Lucien nodded. "He didn't come because of the bond alone."
"Then why?"
"Because if you are what I think you are… every Alpha nearby will want to control you."
My chest tightened further. "Or?"
"Or eliminate you."
Fear wrapped cold fingers around me. "How bad is this?"
Lucien's small, honest smile made my stomach turn. "Word is already spreading."
Outside, a distant howl echoed. Not Kaiden's. Not Lucien's. Someone else.
"How bad?" I asked again.
"Very," he said simply.
For the first time, I realized my story wasn't about rejection anymore.
It was about survival.