the rejected mate: special awakening

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Felice sat at the royal dining table like a proper guest. Which was a challenge, considering her brain was spiraling, her powers were twitching, and Crown Prince Lysander was sitting directly across from her with that stupidly handsome smirk like he knew exactly how weird he was making her feel.

"Would you like more fruit, Miss Felice?" he asked innocently, holding up a silver tray of strawberries like they weren't loaded weapons.

"No, thank you," Felice said very calmly—while mentally screaming.

Because her wolf was pacing.

Her vampire was purring.

And her witch magic? It was literally sparking from her fingertips like she was about to short-circuit the royal waffle iron.

She discreetly tucked her hands under the table and whispered to herself, Get it together, Felice. You're a storm, not a sprinkle.

Liora, meanwhile, was happily dunking toast in honey like nothing chaotic was happening.

"SO," she chirped with a mouthful of sugar. "Guess what next week is?"

"The apocalypse?" Felice muttered.

"My birthday ball!" Liora beamed. "And you have to come, Felice. We'll wear matching dresses! No—WAIT. Suits. Or armor. Glitter armor!"

Felice blinked. "You plan birthday parties like you're assembling an elite battle unit."

"I like a dramatic entrance," Liora shrugged.

The Queen, seated at the head of the table with an unreadable expression, finally cleared her throat.

"Felice," she said gently, "there's something important we want to share with you. About your mother. Seraphina."

Felice straightened, trying not to let her nerves show. "You knew her?"

"She was my best friend," the Queen said, her voice trembling just slightly. "And… we thought you both were lost forever."

The King set down his cup. "She disappeared during the final phase of the Nightfall War. She told no one where she went. Not even me."

"She was protecting something," the Queen added softly. "Someone. You."

Felice's breath caught.

"She was powerful," the Queen continued. "A witch of celestial descent. But your father…"

"A vampire," Felice said, nodding slowly.

The Queen looked surprised. "Yes. And not just any vampire. A rogue lord with Alpha blood."

"So that's how I'm… all of this," Felice mumbled, gesturing vaguely at herself. "A genetic smoothie."

Lysander chuckled under his breath.

She side-eyed him. "You laugh now, wait until I start glowing and levitating the breakfast table."

Liora gasped. "Can you do that?! Please do that. Flip it. Flip it right into Dad's lap."

"No one is flipping any tables," the King grumbled.

But Felice's fingers twitched again under the table, and a spoon on her plate vibrated with soft golden light.

She casually smacked a napkin over it. "Soooo. About that birthday ball…"

"Seven days," Liora grinned. "We're going to plan the most epic party this palace has ever seen. And no one—no one—is allowed to reject you again."

Felice smiled, even as magic buzzed beneath her skin.

Because things were just starting to get interesting.

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