Sera's POV
The silver light finally faded, leaving me gasping on the floor of the training sanctum.
Every nerve in my body screamed. The blessing had surged through me like wildfire, burning away my control, testing my limits. I'd felt my power grow—and felt how easily it could consume me.
"Breathe," the Alpha King commanded. He stood over me, not even winded. "The first lesson is always the hardest. Your body is adjusting to channeling that much energy."
"You could have warned me it would feel like dying," I gasped.
"Would you have done it if I had?"
I glared at him. "No."
"Exactly." He offered his hand. "Up. We're not finished."
"I can barely move!"
"Then you'll learn to fight while exhausted. Your enemies won't wait for you to be rested." His masked face tilted. "Up. Now."
I wanted to refuse. Wanted to stay on the floor until my body stopped shaking.
But the baby kicked—Elena kicked—reminding me why I was here.
I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet. My legs wobbled but held.
"Good." He released me and stepped back. "The power training taught your blessing to flow. Now you need to learn how to fight while channeling it. Come with me."
He led me from the sanctum down more corridors until we reached a massive outdoor courtyard. The space was enormous—easily a hundred feet across—with weapon racks lining the walls and training dummies scattered throughout.
Dawn light was just breaking over the horizon, painting everything gold and pink. It would have been beautiful if I wasn't so exhausted.
"The training courtyard," the Alpha King said. "Every warrior in Crown City trains here. Today, you join them."
"I'm pregnant and barely standing. How am I supposed to—"
"You survived three weeks in the Outcast Lands while pregnant. You have instincts." He removed his cloak, revealing a powerful build beneath—broad shoulders, muscled arms, a warrior's body despite his age. "Those instincts kept you alive. Now we refine them."
He moved to the center of the courtyard with deadly grace. Every step was precise, controlled, dangerous.
"The blessing gives you power," he said. "But power without skill is useless. You need to learn how to channel it into combat. How to defend yourself and your child."
"By fighting you?" I laughed bitterly. "You're the Alpha King. I'll be dead in seconds."
"I'll hold back. Mostly." Was that amusement in his voice? "Attack me."
"What? No! I can't—"
He lunged.
Pure instinct made me dodge. I threw myself sideways, rolling across the courtyard floor. Silver light sparked from my hands as the blessing reacted to the threat.
The Alpha King stopped where I'd been standing, looking at where I'd landed. "Good. Your body knows how to survive. Now let's teach it how to fight."
He came at me again. This time I didn't just dodge—I threw up my hands defensively, and the silver light exploded outward in a shield.
His fist hit the shield and stopped. He pulled back, nodding. "Better. The blessing protects you instinctively. But that drains energy. You need to learn when to shield and when to dodge."
"How do I know the difference?"
"Experience. Again."
We trained for what felt like hours. He'd attack, I'd defend or dodge, and he'd critique every move. When I channeled too much power, he'd tap my shoulder—hard—to break my concentration. When I didn't channel enough, he'd slip past my defenses and stop his fist inches from my belly.
"Protect the child at all costs," he said every time. "Everything else is secondary."
My body screamed for rest. Sweat soaked through my dress. My pregnant belly made balance difficult, and my still-healing leg throbbed with every movement.
But I kept going.
Because he was right. My enemies wouldn't wait for me to be ready. They'd come when I was weakest, and I needed to survive.
"You're favoring your left side," the Alpha King observed. "The leg they broke when you fell."
"It hurts."
"Pain is information. Use it." He circled me like a predator. "Your enemies will target that weakness. You need to make it a strength."
"How is a broken leg a strength?"
"Because they'll expect you to be slower on that side. So you train until you're not." He lunged again, aiming low.
I spun on my good leg, using my bad leg to sweep at his feet. He jumped, avoiding it easily, but the move surprised him.
"Better," he said. "You're learning."
The sun climbed higher. Other wolves began appearing in the courtyard—warriors coming for their own training. They stopped and stared when they saw their Alpha King sparring with the new Luna Queen.
I felt their judgment. Saw them whispering.
She's pregnant. She can barely stand. Why is she training?
"Ignore them," the Alpha King said quietly. "Their opinions don't matter."
"Easy for you to say. You're not the pregnant outcast they're gossiping about."
"I'm the king who chose you. That makes their gossip about my judgment, not yours." He held up his hand. "Break. Drink water."
I stumbled to a water barrel at the courtyard's edge, gulping down liquid desperately. My whole body shook with exhaustion. The baby kicked, protesting the exertion.
"I'm sorry," I whispered to my belly. "I know this is hard. But we have to learn."
"You did well for your first session," a male voice said.
I turned. Theron—the Beta who'd met us last night—stood nearby. He held out a towel. "Most wolves would have quit after the first hour. You lasted three."
"Three hours?" I took the towel, wiping sweat from my face. "It felt like ten."
"His Majesty is a demanding teacher. But effective." Theron glanced at where the Alpha King spoke with some warriors. "He hasn't trained anyone personally in years. Not since Elena."
The name hung between us.
"Did you know her?" I asked. "Elena?"
"I did. She was—" Theron paused, searching for words. "She was everything good about leadership. Strong but kind. Powerful but merciful. When she died, we all lost something."
"And now she's coming back. In my baby."
"Yes." Theron looked at my belly with something like awe. "The realm has waited ten years for her return. Many will celebrate. But some will see her rebirth as a threat."
"Why?"
"Because Elena knew things. Secrets about who betrayed the Alpha King, who helped Darius. Her death buried those secrets." He lowered his voice. "If she returns with her memories intact, people will die."
A chill ran through me. "People in Crown City? People close to the Alpha King?"
"I don't know. But someone does, and they'll do anything to prevent her rebirth." Theron straightened as the Alpha King approached. "Be careful, Luna Queen. Not everyone who smiles at you wishes you well."
He walked away before I could ask more questions.
"What did Theron tell you?" the Alpha King asked.
"That my baby is a threat to people who helped murder Elena." I met his masked gaze. "Is that true?"
He was silent for a moment. "Yes. But I'll find them before they find you."
"And if you don't?"
"Then I'll kill anyone who tries to harm you or Elena." His voice held absolute certainty. "That's a promise."
The bond between us pulsed, and I felt his determination. His willingness to destroy anything that threatened us.
It should have scared me. Instead, it made me feel safe for the first time in months.
"Come," he said. "One more exercise before breakfast."
I groaned but followed him back to the courtyard center. The watching warriors had dispersed, giving us privacy.
"You've learned defense," the Alpha King said. "Now learn offense. Channel the blessing into an attack. Aim for me."
"I'll hurt you—"
"You won't. I'm stronger than your untrained power. Try."
I took a breath, feeling for the blessing inside me. It responded immediately, silver light gathering in my palms.
"Good. Now release it. Fast and controlled."
I pushed the energy toward him. Silver light shot from my hands in a beam.
He deflected it with one hand, the power scattering harmlessly. "Too slow. You telegraphed the attack. Again."
We practiced offensive strikes. I shot light, he blocked, corrected my form, made me try again. Over and over until my arms felt like lead and my belly cramped from exertion.
"Enough," he finally said. "You're exhausted."
I collapsed to my knees, gasping. "I can't do more."
"You already did more than I expected." He approached, offering his hand. "You have potential, Sera. Raw, untrained, but there. A few more weeks of training, and you'll be formidable."
I looked up at him—this powerful king who'd spent his morning training a pregnant outcast. "Why are you doing this? You could have servants train me."
"Because you carry Elena. Because you're connected to me through the blessing. Because—" He paused. "Because you're stronger than you believe, and someone needs to show you that."
He pulled me to my feet, but this time he didn't release my hand immediately. We stood close, our joined hands glowing where the marks connected us.
Through the bond, I felt something from him. Not grief or determination.
Warmth. Interest. Something that felt almost like—
He dropped my hand and stepped back. "Go. Eat breakfast, rest. We train again this afternoon."
"This afternoon? I can barely move!"
"Then you'll learn to fight while barely moving. Dismissed."
He walked away, leaving me standing in the courtyard, confused by what I'd felt through our bond.
Luna appeared from somewhere, grinning. "Rough morning?"
"He's insane. Three hours of combat training while pregnant."
"He's thorough. There's a difference." She linked her arm through mine, supporting me as we walked. "How do you feel?"
"Like I was hit by a mountain. But also—" I paused, searching for the right word. "Alive. For the first time since the exile, I feel alive."
"That's the blessing responding to proper use. You're finally becoming what you were meant to be." Luna squeezed my arm. "I'm proud of you."
We walked back toward my chambers. Servants bowed as we passed, but I barely noticed them. My mind was still on the training courtyard.
On the Alpha King's hands catching me when I stumbled. His voice praising my progress. The moment our hands glowed together and I'd felt his warmth through the bond.
"Luna," I said quietly. "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"The bond between me and the Alpha King. Is it just because of the blessing? Or is it something more?"
Luna was quiet for a long moment. "Why do you ask?"
"Because sometimes when we touch, I feel things from him. Emotions that don't seem like they're just about Elena or the blessing. Like he feels—" I stopped, not sure how to explain it.
"Like he's starting to see you as more than a vessel?" Luna finished gently.
"Yes."
"That's the bond deepening. The more time you spend together, the more you'll feel each other's true emotions." Luna looked at me seriously. "The blessing bonded you because it sensed compatibility. Not just for Elena's sake, but for both of you."
"But he loved Elena. Still loves her."
"Love isn't finite, Sera. You can love someone you lost and still develop feelings for someone new." Luna smiled sadly. "Whether either of you will admit those feelings is another question entirely."
We reached my chambers. The guards opened the doors, and I stepped inside gratefully. My body was screaming for rest.
"Eat, bathe, sleep," Luna ordered. "You've earned it."
She left, and I collapsed on the bed, not even bothering to remove my sweat-soaked dress.
The baby kicked gently. Elena. The reincarnated soul of the woman the Alpha King had loved for centuries.
How could I compete with that? How could I ever be more than just the vessel carrying his true mate back to him?
But as I drifted toward sleep, I remembered the warmth I'd felt through our bond. The way he'd caught me when I stumbled, his hands gentle despite his strength. The pride in his voice when he said I had potential.
Maybe I didn't need to compete with Elena's memory.
Maybe I just needed to become someone worth seeing in my own right.
The marks on my arms pulsed with silver light, and through them, I felt him—somewhere in the palace, thinking of me.
I fell asleep with his presence surrounding me through the bond, and for the first time since my exile, I didn't dream of betrayal.
I dreamed of silver light and masked kings and the feeling of being caught before I could fall.