Chapter 6 The Gilded Cage No More

• Anna woke up to the softest sensation she had ever known. It felt surreal, because she always woke up with kicks.
• ​She was buried in sheets made of star-spun silk, the fabric so light it felt like sleeping inside a cloud. For a moment, her mind played its usual morning trick—telling her she was late to scrub the kitchens, that Elena was waiting with a bucket of ice water, and that Alpha Caine would soon pass her in the hall without even seeing her.
• ​Her heart hammered in her chest as she bolted upright, her hand instinctively going to her collarbone to hide her "worthless" Omega mark.
• ​Then she remembered.
• ​The Omega mark was gone. In its place was a pulsing, golden sigil that looked like a blooming sun.
• ​She wasn't in a damp pantry under the stairs. She was in a room of white marble and gold leaf.
• ​"Good morning, my Queen."
• ​Anna gasped, turning to see Hestia standing by the massive windows. The High Priestess pulled back the heavy velvet curtains, letting in a flood of pure, mountain sunlight.
• ​"I... I’m not a Queen," Anna whispered, her voice still thin and uncertain.
• ​"Your blood says otherwise," Hestia said, walking over with a tray of fresh fruits and a glass of something that shimmered like liquid rubies. "And your power? It was humming so loudly last night it woke the entire palace."
• ​Anna took the glass, her fingers trembling. "Where is Silas?"
• ​"The Alpha King is in the war room," Hestia replied, her eyes narrowing slightly. "He has been there since dawn. It seems your old pack is quite persistent."
• ​"Caine," Anna breathed the name like a curse.
• ​"They sent a search party into the Forbidden Woods," Hestia continued, her voice calm but her words cold. "They were looking for a 'runaway slave.' Silas ensured they found something else instead."
• ​"What did he do?"
• ​Hestia smiled, and for the first time, Anna saw the predator beneath the Priestess’s soft robes. "He didn't kill them. He sent them back to Alpha Caine with a gift. He told me he wanted you to see it on the scrying glass later."
• ​Anna finished the juice, feeling a strange, invigorating heat spread through her limbs. She stood up, and for the first time in years, her back didn't ache. Her skin didn't itch from lye burns. She felt... whole.
• ​"We must prepare you," Hestia said, clapping her hands. Two younger Lycan maidens entered, carrying a gown of iridescent gold and silver. "The High Council has gathered. They have heard the rumors of the Sun’s return, and they are skeptical. They expect a goddess. They expect a warrior."
• ​"I am neither," Anna said, looking at the beautiful dress. "I was a servant. I am a girl who was thrown away."
• ​Hestia stepped close, taking Anna’s face in her hands. Her touch was warm, but her gaze was iron.
• ​"Listen to me, Anna. You were thrown away because you were a wolf among dogs. They saw your light and it blinded them, so they tried to bury it in the dirt."
• ​Hestia gestured toward the mirror. "Look at yourself. Really look."
• ​Anna turned toward the silver-framed mirror. The marks on her collarbone were glowing softly now, a rhythmic pulse that matched her heartbeat. Her eyes were no longer the dull brown of a common wolf; they were rings of molten gold.
• ​"They think they can take you back," Hestia whispered in her ear. "They think they can drag you back to that pack house and lock you in a cell until you 'belong' to them again. Is that what you want?"
• ​"Never," Anna growled.
• ​The sound wasn't human. It was a low, tectonic vibration that made the glass in the windows rattle.
• ​"Good," Hestia said. "Then let us show them that the girl they rejected is the woman who will decide if they live or die."
• ​The doors to the Great Hall of the Lycan Citadel were twenty feet tall and made of solid obsidian. As Anna approached them, escorted by four Lycan warriors in silver plate, she felt the "Mate Pull" long before she reached the entrance.
• ​Silas was inside.
• ​The bond was different now. In the Silver Moon pack, the pull toward Caine had felt like a chain—heavy, painful, and restrictive. But with Silas, it felt like a flame. It was warm, empowering, and absolute. It didn't demand her submission; it demanded her presence.
• ​The warriors slammed the butts of their spears against the floor, and the obsidian doors swung open.
• ​The hall was filled with the most powerful Lycans in the world. High Alphas, Generals, and ancient Elders sat in tiered rows of stone seats. The air was thick with their combined scents—leather, ozone, and ancient power.
• ​At the far end of the hall, on a throne of jagged silver, sat Silas.
• ​He was dressed in midnight-black armor, his violet eyes scanning a map projected in light before him. When the doors opened, his head snapped up.
• ​The silence that fell over the room was so heavy it felt physical.
• ​Anna walked down the long aisle, her gold dress trailing behind her like a river of light. She felt the eyes of a hundred predators on her. She heard their whispers—the skepticism, the wonder, the fear.
• ​"Is that her?"
• ​"She looks so small."
• ​"Look at her eyes... it’s the Sun Flame."
• ​Anna stopped at the base of the throne. She didn't bow. She didn't lower her head. She looked straight into Silas’s violet eyes.
• ​Silas stood up slowly. The power he radiated was enough to make the Elders in the front row flinch, but Anna only felt a sense of peace. He walked down the steps of the dais until he was standing inches from her.
• ​"You look beautiful, little star," he murmured, his voice only for her.
• ​He reached out, his hand hovering near her cheek. Anna didn't flinch. She leaned into his touch, and the moment his skin met hers, a shockwave of golden light erupted from her, sweeping through the entire hall.
• ​The Elders gasped. Some shielded their eyes.
• ​"The prophecy is true," a voice croaked from the front row. A wizened Lycan Elder stood up, his eyes wide with awe. "The Golden Lycan has returned."
• ​Silas turned toward the Council, his arm going around Anna’s waist in a move of pure, possessive dominance.
• ​"She has returned," Silas roared, his voice echoing through the mountain peaks. "And she brings with her the end of the Age of Shadows."
• ​He looked down at Anna, a dark, dangerous smile playing on his lips.
• ​"But first, my Queen, we have a guest to attend to. A messenger from your former pack has arrived at the gates. He carries a demand from Alpha Caine."
• ​Anna’s jaw tightened. "A demand?"
• ​"He wants his 'property' back," Silas said, his violet eyes flashing with murderous intent. "He claims your rejection was a mistake of the moon, and that you are legally bound to the Silver Moon Pack."
• ​Anna looked at the rows of warriors, at the High Priestess, and at the King who was currently offering her his kingdom. She thought of the floor she had scrubbed yesterday.
• ​"Bring him in," Anna said, her voice ringing out with a cold authority she hadn't known she possessed. "I want to see the face of the man who thinks he still owns me."
• ​Silas nodded to the guards.
• ​As the doors opened once more to reveal a terrified Silver Moon warrior, Anna felt the golden fire in her blood roar to life.
• ​The training hadn't even begun, but the revenge had.