Chapter 9: The Secret My Father Died For
We escaped the fortress before sunrise.
The Alpha King’s army had collapsed the moment the Shadow Wolf abandoned his body.
Hundreds of soldiers fled.
Some surrendered.
Others simply ran.
The king himself was missing.
But nobody believed he was dead.
We reached an abandoned mountain cabin several miles from the fortress.
My mother sat beside the fire.
I couldn’t stop looking at her.
She looked older than the woman in my childhood memories.
There were silver strands in her hair.
A scar crossed her cheek.
Her hands trembled slightly whenever she thought no one was watching.
I finally asked the question I had carried for twelve years.
“Why did you leave me?”
She closed her eyes.
“Because your father was dead.”
“I know.”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“You don’t know how he died.”
I remained silent.
“He wasn’t murdered by the Blackthorn Alpha.”
“What?”
“He was killed by the Alpha Council.”
My heart tightened.
“Why?”
“Because he discovered the truth.”
“What truth?”
My mother stared into the fire.
“The first Alpha King didn’t create the werewolf hierarchy.”
She looked at Kael.
“He stole it.”
Kael nodded.
“The original packs were free.”
My mother continued.
“The Black Moon bloodline protected that freedom.”
“And the Alpha Council?”
“They wanted control.”
My hands curled into fists.
“My father found out.”
“Yes.”
“He tried to stop them.”
“Yes.”
“And they killed him.”
My mother nodded.
“Then they blamed him for the murder of the previous Alpha.”
I remembered Damon.
The accusation.
The council.
The lies.
Everything had been built on the same foundation.
A lie.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because they were watching you.”
“Who?”
“The council.”
My mother looked at Kael.
“And he helped me hide you.”
I stared at him.
“You knew?”
Kael nodded.
“From the beginning.”
“How?”
“Your father asked me.”
“Why you?”
Kael looked away.
“Because I owed him my life.”
I stepped closer.
“What did he save you from?”
Kael didn’t answer.
My mother did.
“Your father saved Kael from the Shadow Wolf.”
The room became silent.
Kael’s expression hardened.
“It tried to possess me when I was eighteen.”
I stared at him.
“How did you survive?”
“Your father performed the old Black Moon ritual.”
“And that’s why you can resist it?”
“Partly.”
Kael looked at me.
“But the Shadow Wolf left a piece of itself inside me.”
My heart dropped.
“What?”
“It has been sleeping inside my blood for years.”
I stared at him.
“Then you’re a vessel.”
“Not yet.”
“But you could become one.”
“Yes.”
I took a step toward him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t want you to see me as a monster.”
I shook my head.
“I don’t.”
He looked at me.
“Why?”
I didn’t know how to answer.
Because somewhere between the forest and the mountains…
I had started trusting him.
Maybe more than I should.
My mother watched us silently.
Then she spoke.
“The Moon Gate can remove the Shadow Wolf from Kael.”
Kael turned.
“What?”
“But there is a price.”
“What price?”
My mother looked at me.
“The Black Moon heir must enter the gate.”
My blood went cold.
“And?”
“If the ritual fails…”
She paused.
“The Shadow Wolf will take both of them.”
Kael immediately shook his head.
“No.”
My mother looked at him.
“Kael—”
“No.”
He turned toward me.
“You’re not doing it.”
I stared at him.
“I haven’t agreed.”
“You don’t have to.”
“But what if it’s the only way?”
“I’ll find another.”
“What if there isn’t one?”
“I’ll make one.”
His voice broke slightly.
“I’ve already failed your family once.”
He stepped closer.
“I’m not failing you.”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak.
Then I whispered:
“Maybe you don’t have to protect me.”
He looked at me.
“Maybe we protect each other.”
His eyes softened.
My mother looked away.
For the first time, she smiled.
—
