CHAPTER NINE: THE FORGOTTEN BLOODLINE
1942 Words
CHAPTER NINE: The Forgotten Bloodline
Lila
My fingers trembled.
I couldn't tear my eyes away from the old painting.
The woman in the faded illustration looked no older than I was. Her long black hair cascaded over a silver gown, and her silver eyes seemed almost alive despite the age of the book.
But it wasn't her face that stole my breath.
It was the small crescent-shaped birthmark on the inside of her wrist.
Slowly, almost afraid of what I would find, I pushed back the sleeve of my dress.
There it was.
The same mark.
Perfectly shaped.
Perfectly placed.
My heart pounded painfully against my ribs.
"No..."
The whisper slipped from my lips.
"This can't be real."
Beside me, Alcaide remained unusually quiet.
His sharp blue eyes moved from my wrist to the painting and back again.
For the first time since I had met him...
He looked genuinely shaken.
Neither of us spoke.
The silence inside the royal library became almost unbearable.
Finally, Alcaide reached down and gently picked up the ancient book from the floor.
The leather cover was cracked with age, and the pages were stained by time.
Across the front, faded silver letters were barely visible.
The Chronicles of the Moon Kingdom
Alcaide frowned.
"I've never seen this book before."
"But this library contains every historical record in the kingdom."
His thumb brushed lightly across the worn cover.
"How could something like this remain hidden?"
Before either of us could think further, hurried footsteps echoed through the library.
"My King."
Xander entered, followed by Elder Rowan and an elderly man with snow-white hair.
The old scholar bowed deeply.
"You sent for me, Your Majesty."
Alcaide held up the book.
"Professor Aldren."
The old man's eyes widened the instant he saw it.
His breathing became uneven.
"No..."
His voice trembled.
"I thought it had been destroyed."
"You know this book?"
The old scholar nodded slowly.
"When I was a child..."
"My grandfather told me stories about it."
"They said it disappeared hundreds of years ago."
He accepted the book with careful hands, treating it as though it were more precious than gold.
The library fell silent as he slowly turned the brittle pages.
Dust drifted into the air.
Every page contained detailed drawings of castles, royal families, ancient wolves, and forgotten kingdoms.
Then he stopped.
His old hands began to shake.
"My King..."
"You should see this."
Alcaide stepped beside him.
I followed quietly.
The page displayed a magnificent palace unlike anything I had ever seen.
Its towers reached into the clouds, and a glowing crescent moon floated above the highest spire.
Beneath the illustration were carefully written words.
The House of Selene.
The First Bloodline Chosen by the Moon Goddess.
Elder Rowan frowned.
"I've heard that name before."
Professor Aldren nodded.
"It was once believed that every Alpha King descended from this bloodline."
"But the royal family vanished."
"History says they died during the Great Betrayal."
"Their kingdom disappeared."
"Their name was erased."
My heart beat faster.
"What does that have to do with me?"
No one answered immediately.
Instead, Professor Aldren slowly turned another page.
The illustration that followed stole the air from my lungs.
It was the same young woman.
The one with silver eyes.
Only this time...
She stood holding a newborn child wrapped in white cloth.
Below the painting, elegant handwriting read:
'To protect the last child of the Moon Kingdom, her identity shall be hidden until the stars choose their rightful path.'
Silence filled the room.
I stared at the words.
They blurred before my eyes.
"This..."
I whispered.
"This has nothing to do with me."
"It can't."
Professor Aldren looked toward my wrist.
Then toward the painting.
His expression grew solemn.
"I wish I could say you were right."
My knees suddenly felt weak.
Alcaide noticed immediately.
Without saying a word, he gently placed a steady hand beneath my elbow before I lost my balance.
"You don't have to face this alone."
His voice was quiet enough that only I could hear.
I looked at him.
"So much is happening."
"I don't understand any of it."
"You don't have to understand today."
He gave me a reassuring smile
"We'll uncover the truth."
"Together."
Something inside me relaxed.
Only a little.
But enough for me to breathe again.
Across the room, Xander continued searching the shelves surrounding the hidden bookcase.
His sharp eyes suddenly caught something unusual.
"My King."
Alcaide turned.
"What is it?"
Xander crouched beside one of the shelves.
A thin layer of dust covered the floor.
Except for one place.
A single set of footprints.
Fresh.
Someone had been inside the restricted archives...
Very recently.
Xander slowly stood.
His expression darkened.
"We're not the first people to find this book."
At that exact moment...
Hidden behind the tall shelves at the far end of the library...
A pair of cold eyes watched them in silence.
The palace maid.
She had heard every word.
Without making a sound, she slipped into a hidden passage concealed behind the stone wall.
Her lips curled into a satisfied smile.
"The book has finally been opened."
She whispered into the darkness.
"They're beginning to remember."
Lila
The hidden passage swallowed the palace maid before anyone noticed she had disappeared.
I knew nothing about secret passages.
Nothing about ancient bloodlines.
Nothing about forgotten kingdoms.
All I knew was that my world had changed in a single afternoon.
The library suddenly felt too small.
The walls seemed to close around me as though every ancient book was watching.
"I... I need some air."
No one tried to stop me.
Professor Aldren bowed his head respectfully.
"Take all the time you need, my lady."
I forced a weak smile before quietly leaving the library.
The long corridors of the palace were silent.
Servants stepped aside respectfully as I passed, but I barely noticed them.
My thoughts were racing.
The Last Heir.
The Moon Kingdom.
The birthmark.
It couldn't be true.
It simply couldn't.
I was an omega.
An unwanted girl who spent her childhood scrubbing floors and washing other people's clothes.
How could someone like me belong to an ancient royal bloodline?
A laugh escaped my lips.
It sounded empty.
"There has to be a mistake."
"There has to be..."
---
The palace gardens were peaceful.
The fountain sparkled beneath the afternoon sun while butterflies drifted lazily among blooming roses.
I walked toward my favourite marble bench beneath the old willow tree.
For the first time since arriving in the Northern Kingdom...
The garden no longer felt peaceful.
I lowered myself onto the bench and buried my face in my hands.
"What if everything I believed about myself was a lie?"
A familiar voice answered gently.
"Then we'll discover the truth together."
I looked up.
Alcaide stood a few steps away.
He had removed his royal cloak, leaving only a simple black tunic that made him look less like a king and more like an ordinary man.
Yet nothing about him was ordinary.
He slowly sat beside me.
Neither of us spoke for several moments.
The breeze carried the scent of jasmine between us.
Finally, he broke the silence.
"You've been quiet."
"I don't know what to think."
"You don't have to."
I laughed bitterly.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
"Because it's true."
I turned toward him.
"What if I don't want answers?"
"What if the truth makes everything worse?"
He remained silent for a moment.
"When I became king..."
"I was terrified."
I looked at him in surprise.
"You?"
He smiled faintly.
"I was younger than most people realize."
"I thought kings never doubted themselves."
"They do."
"They simply learn not to let fear make their decisions."
His blue eyes met mine.
"Lila..."
"The truth may be frightening."
"But lies never protect us forever."
His words settled deep inside me.
Perhaps...
He was right.
---
At the same time...
Deep beneath the palace...
The palace maid hurried through a narrow underground tunnel.
Water dripped from the stone ceiling as she approached an iron door hidden beneath the castle.
She knocked three times.
The heavy door creaked open.
A hooded figure stood waiting.
"Report."
She knelt immediately.
"They found the Chronicle."
The figure remained silent.
"And?"
"They've discovered the birthmark."
A long silence followed.
Then...
A quiet laugh echoed through the chamber.
"So..."
"It has finally begun."
The maid frowned.
"My lord..."
"The King is protecting her more closely than before."
The hooded figure slowly turned toward an old map hanging on the wall.
"That changes nothing."
"Our warriors are already moving."
"The kingdoms believe they're preparing for war."
He smiled beneath the hood.
"But war was never our true objective."
The maid looked confused.
"Then what is?"
The figure's voice became almost a whisper.
"The girl."
---
Meanwhile...
Xander remained inside the library, studying the footprints near the hidden shelf.
He crouched beside them.
"They're too small."
Professor Aldren looked over.
"A child?"
Xander shook his head.
"No."
"A woman."
His eyes narrowed.
"And whoever she is..."
"She knew exactly where to find this book."
He stood and examined the bookshelf carefully.
His fingers brushed against the carved wooden frame.
Click.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside lay another object.
Not gold.
Not jewels.
A simple silver key.
Strange symbols had been carved into its surface.
Professor Aldren gasped.
"The Moon Key."
Xander looked at him.
"You recognize it?"
The old historian nodded slowly.
"The legends say it opens the entrance to the royal sanctuary of the Moon Kingdom."
"The place where the last secrets of the royal bloodline were hidden."
Xander stared at the key.
"So Black Moon Pack isn't searching for Lila alone."
"They're searching..."
"For whatever this key unlocks."
---
That evening...
The palace gathered for dinner.
Long tables filled the grand hall.
Nobles spoke quietly among themselves while servants moved gracefully between them.
Lila sat beside Alcaide once again.
Unlike before, she barely touched her food.
Her thoughts remained trapped inside the library.
Across the room...
Lady Evelyn watched silently.
She noticed every glance Alcaide stole toward Lila.
Every small gesture.
Every quiet smile.
Something unreadable flashed across her face.
Not jealousy.
Concern.
Because she had begun to realize something.
The King was no longer protecting Lila out of duty.
His feelings were becoming personal.
Very personal.
---
Later that night...
Moonlight poured through Lila's bedroom window.
Unable to sleep, she walked onto the balcony.
The kingdom stretched peacefully beneath the stars.
She rested her arms on the stone railing.
"I wish someone could tell me who I really am."
A cool wind swept across the balcony.
Suddenly...
A voice whispered through the darkness.
Soft.
Gentle.
Ancient.
"Come home..."
Lila froze.
Her heartbeat quickened.
She looked around.
No one.
The palace courtyard was empty.
The voice came again.
"Come home... Lila..."
She stepped backward.
"Who's there?"
Silence.
Then the crescent-shaped birthmark on her wrist suddenly grew warm beneath her skin.
A faint silver glow spread across it.
Lila stared in shock.
"What...?"
Before she could react—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion shook the palace.
The entire room trembled violently.
Glass shattered.
Servants screamed.
Alarm bells rang throughout the kingdom.
War horns echoed across the night.
Lila rushed to the balcony.
Her breath caught.
Flames were rising from one of the outer watchtowers.
Below, warriors raced across the courtyard with swords drawn.
Then she heard the voice she recognized instantly.
"Protect the palace!"
Alcaide.
His command echoed through the chaos.
Another explosion erupted beyond the northern wall.
This wasn't a warning.
This was an invasion.
And hidden among the attacking warriors...
One cloaked figure looked up at the palace balcony.
Straight at Lila.
Then smiled.
- Writer
