Chapter 16 Prophecy
ARYA
“No.” I shook my head and let out a nervous laugh. “No, I’m just—I’m nobody. I’m just a rejected Luna who couldn’t even keep her husband interested. I can’t be some prophesied savior.”
“You’re not nobody,” Ryker said fiercely. “You’ve never been nobody.”
“The Lycan King’s guards are already on their way,” Bardon continued. “They’ll be here by nightfall. He wants to meet you. To… assess whether you’re truly the one from the prophecy.”
“And if I’m not?”
Bardon’s silence was answer enough.
“They’ll kill her,” Cyrus said flatly. “Won’t they? If she’s not what they’re looking for, she becomes a loose end. A potential threat.”
“The Lycan King is not cruel,” Bardon said carefully. “But he is… pragmatic. Eight hundred years of war between our kinds has made him cautious. Ruthless when necessary.”
“Then I’ll fight them.” Ryker’s voice was steel. “I won’t let them take her.”
“You can’t fight the Lycan King’s guard,” Bardon said gently. “None of us can. They’re the strongest warriors in existence. Trained for centuries.”
“Then what do we do?” Helena asked, her hand finding Cyrus’s.
I stood abruptly, my chair scraping against the floor. Everyone looked at me.
“I’ll go with them.”
“Arya, no—” Ryker started.
“I’ll go,” I repeated, my voice stronger now. “If this king wants to meet me, let him. Maybe he can tell me what all this means. Why did my grandmother hide me? What this prophecy really says.” I touched the amulet. “I’m tired of running. Tired of hiding. If I’m really this important, then I need to know why.”
“You don’t know what you’re agreeing to,” Bardon warned. “The Lycan King is ancient, powerful, and used to getting exactly what he wants. If he decides you’re the one from the prophecy, he’ll never let you go.”
“And if I’m not?”
“Then pray he’s in a merciful mood.”
The weight of it settled over me. Either way, my life was about to change irrevocably.
But maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. My old life had been slowly killing me. At least this way, I’d die—or live—on my own terms.
“When do they arrive?” I asked.
“Sunset.” Bardon checked his watch. “Which gives us about eight hours.”
“Then I have eight hours to prepare.” I looked at each of them. “Tell me everything. About the Moonbornes. About the prophecy. About this king who’s been waiting eight hundred years. I need to know what I’m walking into.”
Cyrus gestured for everyone to sit. “It’s a long story.”
“We have time.”
For the next several hours, they told me everything.
How the Moonborne line had been the ruling family before the Great Divide when Lycans and wolves had been one species, living in harmony. But power corrupts, and a faction led by a Lycan named Thaddeus had challenged Moonborne rule, claiming they were too weak, too compassionate and too human, to lead.
The resulting war had lasted decades. Thousands died. Eventually, the Moonbornes were hunted down, slaughtered one by one until none remained.
Except my grandmother, who’d escaped with my mother, then eventually with me.
“Your mother was killed when you were two,” Bardon said softly. “The assassins found her. Your grandmother barely escaped with you.”
I had no memory of my mother. My grandmother had always said she died of a long illness but she loved me very much. Another lie to protect me.
“The Lycan King, Luca Varyn, ended the war by dividing the territories. Lycans in one kingdom, wolves in scattered packs. Separate but with trade agreements and treaties to maintain peace.” Cyrus continued the story. “But it’s not true peace. It’s a ceasefire. Both sides remember the war. Both sides are still angry.”
“And the prophecy says I can fix this?”
“The prophecy says a Moonborne heir with the blood of both wolves and Lycans will emerge and unite the kingdoms through either conquest or compassion.” Bardon’s expression was grave. “The concerning part is that it doesn’t specify which method will be used.”
“Both wolves and Lycans?” I frowned. “But I’m just a wolf. My grandmother was a wolf, my mother—”
“Your father wasn’t.”
The room went silent.
“What?” My voice was barely a whisper.
“Your father was a Lycan,” Bardon said gently. “High born Lycan. Your mother’s mate, forbidden love during the war. When your grandmother found out your mother was pregnant with a hybrid child, she knew you were either the prophecy fulfilled or the greatest target ever born.”
Hybrid.
I was a hybrid.
Half-wolf, half-Lycan.
No wonder my wolf had never emerged. No wonder I’d always felt different, wrong, not quite fitting in.
I wasn’t purely either species. I was both.
“Does the Lycan King know this?” Ryker asked.
“He suspects. The amulet’s suppression magic hid her true nature, but now that it’s weakening…” Bardon looked at me. “He’ll know the moment he sees you. He’ll feel what you are.”
“And then what?”
“Then he’ll claim you’re his key to fulfilling the prophecy. He’ll want to use you to unite the kingdoms under his rule.”
“Use me how?”
Another significant silence.
Helena was the one who finally said it. “Marriage, most likely. The prophecy speaks of unity through bloodline. The Lycan King has no mate, no heir. If he married you, any children would carry both royal Lycan blood and Moonborne wolf blood. The ultimate bridge between species.”
I laughed. Actually laughed, the sound bordering on hysterical.
“So I escape one unwanted marriage only to be forced into another? Is that what you’re telling me?”
“We’re not going to let that happen,” Ryker said fiercely. “I don’t care how powerful he is—”
“Ryker, you can’t fight the Lycan King. None of us can.” I rubbed my temples, trying to process everything. “But maybe… maybe I don’t have to marry him. Maybe I can negotiate something else.”
“Negotiate what?” Cyrus asked. “What could you possibly offer that would satisfy an eight hundred year old king who’s been waiting for this prophecy his entire life?”
“I don’t know yet.” I stood, pacing to the window. “But I’m not just going to roll over and accept whatever fate he decides for me. I’ve spent five years doing that with Jaime. I’m not doing that again!”
The determination in my voice surprised me, but I wasn’t going to change anything. I sat and nodded and accepted fate with Jaime, this time, I will fight for what I want. For my voice and my freedom.