Forest Claiming

(Neva’s POV)

Shame burned through my chest, and I broke into a run.

I could not bear the cold detachment in Kaelen's voice, nor could I stomach the way he treated me like an utter stranger before the entire school. He had made his indifference clear for everyone to witness, leaving me exposed to their ridicule.

My vision blurred with tears as I shoved through the heavy double doors leading outside. My legs felt heavy and numb, but I kept pushing across the courtyard until I reached the far boundary of the grounds. Sinking onto the damp grass beneath the Old Oak tree, I pulled my knees against my chest and buried my face. The sobs broke free, hot and bitter against my skin.

I hated feeling this helpless. It was agonizing enough that Kaelen, who had once been my entire world, now looked right through me. But watching him parade his contempt alongside Sloane cut deeper than any physical blow.

Lying in the dirt, past memories rushed back to torment me.

Most people at the academy only knew me as an outcast, but there was a time when I lived inside the royal palace. Back then, I believed I was an adopted princess, cherished by King Vane and Queen Liora as their own flesh and blood. Kaelen and Thalia were my constant companions. I had harbored a secret affection for Kaelen since childhood, a tender warmth that grew into something far deeper with every passing year. I knew it was dangerous. Even if we shared no blood, he was raised as my brother, so I locked those feelings deep within my chest and prayed they would fade. They never did. I loved him with a quiet desperation, content simply to exist in his orbit.

Everything shattered on our sixteenth birthday.

It was the night of our first shift, the night my true heritage tore its way into the light. When my demon and wolf emerged, the palace elders recognized the dark aura instantly. I was not an ordinary stray taken in out of charity. I was the biological daughter of King Draven, the bloodthirsty tyrant whose brutal reign had slaughtered countless innocents across the realm.

The revelation turned the royal family to ice. Overnight, the people who had kissed my forehead called me a monster. The Council demanded my immediate execution, eager to wash away the bloodline of their greatest enemy. King Vane and Queen Liora cast me aside without hesitation. I still remembered kneeling on the cold marble floor, clutching their robes and begging them to remember that I was still the daughter they had raised. They pulled away, their faces carved from stone. Only Aunt Vespa intervened, risking everything to pull me from the palace steps and shelter me in her small home on the outskirts of town.

The shrill ringing of the afternoon bell jarred me back to reality. I wiped my wet face with the sleeves of my shirt, drawing in a shuddering breath to steady my racing pulse. After smoothing down my clothes, I walked back toward the school building.

To my relief, the corridor was no longer focused on my humiliation. The hallway buzzed with frenzied chatter, the girls huddled by the lockers in tight clusters.

"The King and Queen arranged the entire ball tonight so Prince Kaelen can find his mate," one girl whispered, her eyes wide with excitement.

"Imagine if one of us turns out to be his mate," another girl giggled, clutching her books to her chest. "Do you think he would dump Sloane on the spot?"

"He would have no choice, because the mate bond overrides everything," a third chimed in. "Whoever she is, she will be the luckiest female alive."

I lowered my gaze and walked past them, keeping my shoulders hunched and pretending I heard nothing.

The rest of the school day passed in a blur of ringing bells and silent torment. When I finally walked up the narrow gravel path leading to our cottage, Aunt Vespa was waiting on the wooden porch with a gentle smile.

She stepped forward and wrapped me in a warm embrace before pulling back to extend a thick cream envelope.

"A royal courier brought this for you an hour ago," Aunt Vespa said.

My breath hitched in my throat when my gaze fell upon the crimson wax bearing the royal seal. With trembling fingers, I broke the wax and unfolded the thick parchment. Bold, gold lettering stared back at me: an official invitation to the Prince's eighteenth birthday ball.

Aunt Vespa looked at me with tender concern. "There will be a grand celebration for Kaelen at the palace tonight. Will you be attending?"

Fear coiled tightly around my ribs. A small, foolish part of me yearned to go, desperate to catch a glimpse of Kaelen in his element. Yet terror warned me that showing my face would only invite fresh scorn. The last thing I wanted was to give the court another reason to mock my existence. But looking down at the crest, the urge to see him overpowered my fear.

"Yes, I will go," I said softly.

Aunt Vespa smiled with bright approval, ushering me inside to begin the preparations.

Over the next two hours, she worked tirelessly to transform me. She washed my hair and set it into loose, cascading curls that draped over one shoulder. She applied light powders and oils to my skin, highlighting the curve of my cheekbones and drawing out the green flecks in my hazel eyes. When she finished my face, she produced a dress she had kept carefully preserved in a garment box. It was a floor-length gown made of liquid champagne silk. When I slipped it on, the fabric hugged my waist and flowed over my hips like water, leaving my collarbones bare.

I stared into the mirror, hardly recognizing the girl looking back at me.

"You look breathtaking, my dear," Aunt Vespa whispered from behind me.

"Thank you, Aunt Vespa," I replied, blinking back tears as I smoothed my hands over the silk.

Outside, the purr of an engine announced the arrival of my transport. A sleek black limousine sat waiting on the dirt lane. The driver opened the rear door, bowing politely as I gathered my skirts and slid onto the leather seat.

The drive through the capital was silent, the setting sun casting long shadows across the cobblestones. When the limousine cleared the wrought-iron gates of the royal estate, the massive stone walls of the palace loomed before me, bathed in the glow of hundreds of lanterns.

I stepped into the grand ballroom, and the splendor of the court struck me all at once. Massive crystal chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceilings, showering brilliant light over the hundreds of nobles gathered in velvet and silk. The air was rich with the scent of spiced wine and heavy perfumes.

My gaze drifted toward the elevated dais at the back of the hall. King Vane and Queen Liora sat proudly on their gilded thrones, the very picture of majestic authority. Beside them sat Thalia in an elegant sapphire gown, resting her chin on her palm with an expression of faint boredom.

The Queen kept turning her gaze toward the grand entrance, her fingers tapping the arm of her throne in restless anticipation. When her eyes swept toward my section of the floor, I lowered my head and shrank behind a group of towering lords to avoid her sight.

A sharp horn blast silenced the room, cutting through the chatter of the nobility.

The royal herald stepped onto the landing of the grand twin staircase, his voice echoing over the quiet hall. "Announcing His Royal Highness, Prince Kaelen!"

Every head turned toward the staircase, and the collective breath of the crowd vanished.

Kaelen stepped out onto the marble landing.

He was devastating. A midnight-black suit had been tailored to fit his muscular, athletic frame, accentuating his broad shoulders and narrow waist. His dark hair was brushed back, framing the sharp angles of his jaw and his high cheekbones. He radiated an aura of pure, predatory power that commanded unconditional submission from everyone present.

Beside me, several debutantes swayed in place, their breath catching in collective admiration.

Then, Kaelen's head shifted. His ocean-blue gaze swept across the crowd, cutting through the sea of silk and jewels until it landed directly on me.

Our eyes locked across the cavernous room.

The noise of the hall faded into complete silence. A sudden wave of heat slammed into my chest, carrying a scent so rich and intoxicating it made my knees buckle. Crisp mountain pine, dark cedar, and the sharp electricity of an approaching storm flooded my senses. Deep inside my consciousness, Lyra and Xylia reared up and threw their heads back, their voices harmonizing in a deafening howl.

*Mate.*

The realization struck me like a bucket of ice water.

Terror flared through my veins. Kaelen's pupils dilated on the staircase, his knuckles whitening as his hands gripped the marble balustrade. He had sensed it too.

*No. This cannot happen.*

I was the daughter of the monster who had soaked this kingdom in blood. Kaelen was the prince born to lead it. The pack would never accept me, and the hatred of the court would tear me apart.

Panicked, I whipped around to escape the ballroom. My vision was clouded with fear, and my sudden movement sent me crashing directly into a passing servant. A silver tray laden with crystal flutes went flying, shattering against the polished marble floor. Dark red wine splattered across the stone like blood.

Sharp gasps and alarmed cries rippled through the guests around me.

I did not stop to apologize. Bundling the champagne silk of my gown into my fists, I darted toward the side terrace and sprinted out into the darkness.

Cold night air whipped against my face as I crossed the palace gardens and hurled myself into the dense forest surrounding the royal grounds. Roots caught at my heels and low-hanging branches scraped my bare shoulders, but I kept running. My chest burned with every ragged breath, tears streaming down my cheeks as the sheer horror of the bond pressed upon my mind.

A low, thunderous growl vibrated through the trees behind me.

Before I could leap forward, a pair of thick, unyielding arms hooked around my waist and jerked me backward off my feet. My back collided hard with a broad, solid chest. The scent of pine and ozone enveloped me completely, suffocating every rational thought in my head.

Kaelen spun me around in his grip, slamming me back against the trunk of a massive pine tree.

His eyes were no longer ocean blue; they were pitch black, devoured entirely by his wolf. His nostrils flared as he drank in the scent of my skin, his chest heaving against my breasts. There was a dangerous, ravenous hunger carved into every line of his face, an animalistic desire that made the air between us crackle with unbearable tension.

My own body traitorously responded, heat rushing directly between my thighs. The scent of my slick arousal rose into the cool air, impossible to conceal.

Kaelen raised his chin, sniffing the scent of my wetness, and a dark smirk pulled at his lips.

Before I could form a single word, his hand clamped around my jaw, his fingers biting into my flesh as he yanked my face up. His mouth crashed onto mine in a ruthless kiss.

It was a fierce, bruising invasion. His tongue parted my lips and shoved into my mouth, claiming every inch of my heat with demanding, ravenous strokes. He tasted of mint and raw dominance. I whimpered against his lips, my fingers clawing at his lapels as the mating bond flared between us, melting away my resistance.

Kaelen broke the kiss only to drag me down to the forest floor, bearing me onto the thick bed of moss. He trapped my body beneath his heavy frame, pinning my wrists above my head before freeing one hand to shove the champagne silk of my gown roughly up to my waist. The cold night air washed over my bare thighs, but my cunt was burning, slick and dripping with pure need.

He lowered his head between my parted legs, his hot breath fanning across my bare pussy.

I let out a sharp cry as his tongue dragged over my swollen clit, licking me with long, hungry strokes. He held my hips down with an iron grip, eating my cunt thoroughly, his mouth sucking at my wet flesh until my back arched off the ground. Wave after wave of liquid heat surged through my core, building an unbearable pressure within me.

Just as I hovered on the edge of breaking, Kaelen pulled his mouth away.

The harsh sound of tearing fabric echoed through the dark clearing as he ripped away my underwear. Within seconds, his hands moved to his trousers, unfastening them to free his thick, rock-hard cock. He parted my thighs wider with his knees, pressing the hot, swollen head of his shaft directly against my dripping pussy.

Without a word of warning, Kaelen thrust his hard cock deep inside me.

"Ahhh!" A sharp scream tore from my throat.

The initial burn of being stretched open ripped through me, quickly overtaken by a blinding rush of raw pleasure. My tight cunt gripped his thick shaft as he pushed deeper, burying his cock all the way to the hilt. He growled against the skin of my throat, his teeth grazing my collarbone as he filled me entirely.

Kaelen gave me no time to breathe. He grabbed my thighs, yanking them wide apart, and began to slam his cock into my tight cunt ruthlessly.

He pulled back until only the tip remained, then drove forward with savage power, bottoming out inside me over and over again. The wet, rhythmic slapping of his pelvis against my ass echoed loudly between the trees. Every brutal thrust hit my deepest nerves, stretching me open and claiming me with an unyielding, animalistic force.

"Kaelen... please!" I cried out, my nails digging into the muscles of his arms as he fucked me relentlessly.

He only thrust harder, his breath hot and ragged against my ear as he drove his hips into mine with punishing speed. The raw friction between his hard cock and my dripping cunt pushed me past all control. Heat coiled violently in my belly, tightening with every slamming impact of his body against mine.

The forest blurred into a haze of moonlight and shadows. My cunt clamped down hard around his thick shaft, pulsing around him in violent waves as an overwhelming orgasm ripped through me, leaving me convulsing helplessly beneath his ruthless thrusts.