Chapter 3 Banished Before Midnight

Elena stared at Lucien, struggling to understand his words.

Dragon bloodline? Rightful heir? These were things she had only encountered in old legends told to frighten children.

Dragons were supposed to be extinct.

Yet the mysterious man standing before her spoke as though they were real.

"Are you saying I'm a dragon?" she asked.

Lucien studied her for a moment. "I'm saying there's something inside you that you don't understand yet."

"Then explain it to me!"

Her voice cracked with frustration.

"Everyone has spent my entire life telling me I'm weak. My stepmother treats me like a servant, my stepsister humiliates me, and tonight my mate rejected me in front of the entire pack. Now you're telling me I might be something else?"

Lucien remained silent.

Elena laughed bitterly.

"Perhaps I should return to the packhouse. At least there, I understand why people hate me."

She turned away, but Lucien caught her wrist.

"Don't go back."

Elena looked at his hand.

"Let me go."

He released her immediately.

"I'm not your enemy, Elena. But if you return to Dark Moon Pack tonight, you may discover that your rejection was only the beginning of your troubles."

"How could things possibly get worse?"

Before Lucien could answer, a familiar voice echoed from the path behind them.

"There she is!"

Elena's heart sank.

Margaret emerged between the trees, accompanied by two pack warriors carrying torches. Vanessa followed behind her, her beautiful red gown gathered in one hand to keep it from dragging through the dirt.

Margaret's expression twisted when she saw Elena standing beside a strange man.

"So this is where you've been hiding!"

Elena immediately stepped away from Lucien.

"Luna Margaret, I-"

"Don't call me that!" Margaret snapped. "You have disgraced this family enough for one evening."

Vanessa folded her arms.

"I told you she would run away after Kaden rejected her. She probably wanted everyone to chase after her."

"I didn't ask anyone to come looking for me," Elena replied.

Margaret marched toward her.

"Your belongings have been removed from the servants' quarters. You are no longer welcome in my house."

Elena felt the words settle heavily inside her chest.

"Where am I supposed to go?"

"That's no longer my concern."

"But it's night. I have nowhere to stay."

Margaret gave her a cold smile.

"You should have thought about that before embarrassing us at the ceremony."

Elena looked toward Vanessa.

"Please. At least let me collect my things."

Vanessa laughed.

"What things? The clothes Mother gave you? The food you eat? Everything you have belongs to this family."

"That isn't true," Elena whispered.

Margaret's face hardened.

"What did you say?"

Elena took a shaky breath.

"My father left me this home, too. I was his daughter."

For the first time, Margaret's expression changed.

Anger flashed across her face.

"Your father is dead, Elena. Whatever he left behind is no longer yours."

"Why do you hate me so much?" Elena asked. "I've never done anything to you."

Margaret stepped closer.

"Because you are a constant reminder of a man who should never have trusted you with anything."

Elena felt as though the ground had shifted beneath her feet.

Before she could respond, Margaret pointed toward the forest.

"You have until midnight to leave Dark Moon Pack territory. If I find you here after that, the warriors will drag you out themselves."

One of the warriors shifted uncomfortably.

"Luna, perhaps we should-"

"Do you dare question my orders?"

The warrior immediately lowered his head.

Margaret looked at Elena again.

"Go. You are no longer part of this family."

Vanessa smiled triumphantly.

"Goodbye, sister. Try not to get eaten by rogues."

She laughed as she followed her mother back toward the packhouse.

Elena stood motionless, watching their torches disappear between the trees.

She had known Margaret was cruel, but she had never imagined being thrown out of the only home she had ever known.

A tear slipped down her cheek.

Then another.

Lucien stood quietly beside her until she finally spoke.

"Why does everyone want me gone?"

"Because people fear what they cannot control," he answered.

Elena wiped her face.

"I'm not powerful. I can't even turn into a wolf."

Lucien's expression sharpened.

"You have never shifted?"

She shook her head.

"No matter how hard I tried, nothing happened. Everyone said my wolf was too weak to awaken."

For several seconds, Lucien said nothing.

Then he looked at her with an intensity that made her uncomfortable.

"Someone may have suppressed your abilities."

Elena frowned.

"Who would do that?"

"That's what we need to discover."

He glanced at the sky.

"We must leave before midnight."

"Where will we go?"

"To my kingdom."

Elena hesitated.

"I don't even know you."

"That's true."

"And you expect me to follow you somewhere I've never heard of?"

Lucien's mouth curved into the faintest smile.

"Would you prefer to spend the night alone in a forest filled with rogues?"

Elena glanced at the darkness surrounding them.

"No."

"Then come with me."

She looked back toward Dark Moon Pack one final time.

For eighteen years, she had hoped the people there would eventually accept her. She had believed that if she worked hard enough, obeyed every order, and never complained, someone might finally treat her as family.

But tonight had shown her the truth.

She had been waiting for love in a place that had never intended to give it to her.

Elena straightened her shoulders.

"All right. I'll go with you."

Lucien nodded and began walking.

They travelled deeper into the forest, following a narrow path that wound between ancient trees. The farther they went, the stranger their surroundings became. The air grew warmer despite the cold night, and faint golden symbols appeared on the rocks beside the path.

Elena stopped beside one of them.

"What are those markings?"

"Ancient dragon runes."

"Why are they glowing?"

Lucien glanced at the symbol.

"Because you're near."

Elena drew back her hand.

Before she could ask another question, a tremendous roar shook the forest.

Birds scattered from the treetops.

Elena stumbled, and Lucien caught her before she fell.

Above the mountains, a vast shadow swept across the moon.

She stared upward in terror.

Something enormous was flying through the clouds.

"Lucien," she whispered. "What is that?"

He followed her gaze.

"A dragon."

Elena's breath caught.

The creature circled once before disappearing behind the mountain peaks.

She could barely believe what she had witnessed.

Dragons were real.

And somehow, their presence seemed connected to her.

Lucien released her arm and continued along the path.

"Keep moving. We're almost there."

Minutes later, they reached a towering stone archway hidden between two cliffs. Strange symbols covered its surface, and golden light shimmered across the entrance.

Beyond it lay a magnificent valley filled with glowing trees and distant towers.

Elena stared in amazement.

"What is this place?"

"The entrance to the Dragon Kingdom."

She turned toward Lucien.

"Why bring me here?"

He studied her face, and for the first time, she noticed something resembling sadness in his golden eyes.

"Because I believe your life has been stolen from you."

Elena's throat tightened.

"And you think you can give it back?"

"I can help you discover the truth."

She looked through the archway again.

For the first time that night, she felt a small spark of hope.

Then Lucien's expression suddenly changed.

He turned toward the darkness behind them.

"We have company."

Elena followed his gaze.

At the edge of the forest stood a figure wearing a dark hood. A faint red light glowed beneath the hood, fixed directly on Elena.

The stranger raised one hand.

The golden symbols on the archway flickered.

Lucien stepped in front of Elena, his eyes glowing like molten gold.

"Stay behind me," he ordered.

The hooded stranger laughed.

"It's too late, Dragon King."

Elena froze.

Dragon King?

Lucien's entire body went rigid.

The stranger pointed directly at her.

"The last princess has awakened. And before she discovers who she truly is, the bloodline will be destroyed."

A blast of dark energy struck the archway.

The entire mountain trembled.

Lucien extended his arm, shielding Elena as golden fire erupted around them.

"Welcome to your new life, Princess," he said grimly.

"Your enemies have already found you."