The world seemed to stop. Lily stood frozen beneath the silver moonlight, her fingers trembling as she stared at the enormous black wolf standing before her. His crimson eyes glowed like burning embers, and every other shifter in the courtyard had fallen silent. Behind her, Kael stood rigid, his expression caught somewhere between shock and disbelief. Riven, who had followed them from the palace, slowly stepped forward, his golden eyes fixed on Lily as if he were looking at a ghost. “Princess,” the black wolf repeated. Lily swallowed. “I'm sorry… what did you just call me?” The wolf lowered his head, his enormous paws sinking slightly into the soft grass. “The Keeper of the First Bond. The lost heir of Elarion. The girl whose existence was erased from every royal record.” A few people gasped. Lily let out a nervous laugh. “Okay, that's actually insane. I'm not a princess. I'm just Lily. I live in a house where nobody remembers to ask if I've eaten dinner, and yesterday I had to apologize to a chair because my stepmother blamed me for breaking it.” Nobody laughed with her. Kael's expression changed. He remembered the countless nights Lily had spent curled up beside him when he and Riven were still puppies. He remembered how she had shared her food with them even when she barely had enough for herself. He remembered the way she whispered that she wished somebody would choose her first. And now the entire royal court was staring at her as if she were the most important person alive. “Lily,” Kael said quietly, stepping toward her. “We need to talk.” She immediately turned to him. “Oh, NOW you want to talk? You disappeared into a palace, turned into two ridiculously handsome people, and somehow became royalty. I've been trying to figure out why my dogs have better hair than me for three days!” Riven almost smiled. Almost. Then a sharp voice sliced through the courtyard. “WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?” Autumn Vale came storming down the marble staircase, wearing a glittering silver dress and the furious expression of someone who had just discovered that the universe had made a decision without asking her permission. Ace followed behind her. His dark hair fell messily over his forehead, and his golden-brown eyes searched the courtyard until they landed on Lily. He stopped walking. For a moment, the anger disappeared from his face. His expression softened into something so unfamiliar that Autumn actually looked behind herself to see whom he was staring at. “Lily?” Autumn snapped. “Why is everyone looking at you?” “Apparently, I'm a princess,” Lily answered weakly. Autumn stared at her. Then she laughed. “Oh, that's hilarious. Seriously, Lily, you couldn't even pretend to be royal if someone handed you a crown.” The black wolf growled. The sound echoed through the courtyard, making the guards immediately lower their heads. “Silence, Autumn Vale.” Autumn's smile vanished. “Excuse me? Do you know who my family is?” “Yes,” the wolf replied. “And that is precisely why you should be careful.” Autumn glanced at Ace, expecting him to defend her. He always did. He was her shifter, her protector, the boy everyone assumed she would eventually bond with. Their families had discussed the possibility since childhood. But Ace wasn't looking at her. He was looking at Lily. And when Lily took one frightened step backward, Ace moved instinctively toward her. Autumn noticed. Of course she noticed. “ACE.” He barely seemed to hear her. Something inside his chest had awakened the moment Lily entered the courtyard. He had spent his entire life believing that the bond between him and Autumn was a matter of destiny, but standing near Lily made every assumption he had ever held feel like a lie. Lily looked up at him. “Why are you staring at me like that?” Ace opened his mouth, then closed it. Because the truth was impossible. His instincts recognized her. His heart recognized her. And the ancient mark hidden beneath his collarbone had begun to burn for the first time in his life. “You,” he whispered. Lily frowned. “Me?” Ace took another step toward her. Autumn grabbed his wrist. “Don't you dare.” He looked down at her hand. “Let go.” The courtyard fell silent again. Autumn had never heard him speak to her that way. “I'm your chosen girl,” she whispered, her voice suddenly uncertain. “Everyone knows that.” Ace slowly pulled his wrist free. “I never chose you.” The words struck harder than any slap could have. Autumn's face drained of color. She stared at him, waiting for him to laugh, to tell her he was joking, to take her hand and explain that everything was fine. He did none of those things. Instead, he turned back toward Lily. And Lily, who had spent her entire life wishing someone would choose her, suddenly wanted nothing more than to disappear. “Stop it,” she whispered. Ace froze. “Lily—” “No.” Her voice cracked. “You don't get to do this. None of you do. Yesterday I was nobody. I was the girl you forgot to invite to parties, the girl people laughed at, the girl who had to pretend she didn't care when her best friend took everything she wanted. And now suddenly I'm a princess, and you're all looking at me like I'm something special?” Tears blurred her vision. “Where were you before?” Nobody answered. “Where were you when I was alone?” Kael lowered his eyes. Riven clenched his fists. Even Ace looked as though her words had physically wounded him. Lily wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand and turned toward the gates. “I want to go home.” “You can't,” the black wolf said. She spun around. “Watch me.” “The moment your identity was revealed, every kingdom in Elarion would have felt the awakening. If you leave this palace unprotected, those who erased your family will come for you.” Lily's heart began to race. “Erased my family?” The wolf's red eyes dimmed. “Your mother was Queen Seraphina, the last Keeper of the First Bond. She disappeared thirteen years ago, the same night you were born. Your father died protecting you. The royal court was told that you had died with them.” Lily shook her head. “No. My mother died when I was a baby. That's what I've always been told.” “Who told you?” Kael asked. Lily opened her mouth. Then she stopped. Her memories were suddenly filled with fragments: a woman humming beside a window, the scent of roses, a silver pendant hidden inside an old wooden box. Her stepmother had always said the pendant was worthless and had forbidden her from wearing it. But Lily still had it. She reached beneath her shirt and pulled out the thin silver chain. The pendant was shaped like a crescent moon wrapped around a tiny star. The moment it touched the moonlight, the entire courtyard erupted in silver flames. Lily screamed and dropped it. The pendant floated above the marble, spinning slowly as luminous symbols appeared in the air. A wave of silver light swept through the palace, and every shifter in the courtyard dropped to one knee. Every single one. Including Kael and Riven. Ace fell to one knee too, his eyes wide with disbelief. The black wolf lowered his head until his forehead nearly touched the ground. “Your Majesty,” he whispered. Lily stared at them, unable to breathe. Then a woman's voice drifted through the courtyard. My little star. Lily went completely still. She knew that voice. She had heard it in her dreams for as long as she could remember. When the wolves find you, trust their hearts. When the golden cat calls your name, listen carefully. And when the moon turns red… run. The silver light vanished. The pendant fell into Lily's palm. And somewhere high above the palace, the moon began to turn red. Autumn watched from the staircase, her hands trembling. Everyone had forgotten about her. The guards were kneeling. The princes were bowing. Ace was staring at Lily as if she had become his entire world. For the first time in her life, Autumn Vale was not the most important girl in the room. And she couldn't bear it. She hurried away before anyone could notice the tears gathering in her eyes. She ran through the palace corridors until she reached the old eastern wing, where the servants rarely went and the portraits had been covered for years. There was one door she had been forbidden to open. Her mother's study. Autumn pushed it open. Inside, beneath a layer of dust, stood a black wooden desk. She searched the drawers desperately, throwing aside old letters until her fingers brushed against a folded piece of parchment sealed with dark red wax. Her mother's handwriting was unmistakable. To my daughter, Autumn, If the lost princess ever returns, you must never allow her to reclaim the throne. Autumn stopped breathing. She read the next line. Because Lily Hart is not the only child who was born that night. A floorboard creaked behind her. Autumn spun around. A tall figure stood in the doorway, his face hidden beneath a dark hood. Two crimson eyes gleamed beneath it. “Now you understand,” he said. Autumn clutched the letter to her chest. “Who are you?” The stranger stepped into the moonlight. “I am the one who made sure Lily was forgotten.” He held out his hand. “And I can make sure you are chosen instead.” Autumn looked at the letter. Then she looked at him. For the first time in her life, she had a choice to make that could change everything. She took his hand. And far across the palace, Lily's silver pendant suddenly cracked down the middle.

The girl they forgot