CHAPTER 12
865 Words
THE ALPHA WHO FELT HER
Kael Ardent woke before sunrise.
He sat upright in the darkness.
His breathing was steady.
His wolf wasn't.
Mate.
Kael closed his eyes.
The word echoed through his mind.
He had spent thirty years mastering himself.
His instincts.
His emotions.
His temper.
His desires.
Nothing had ever managed to surprise him.
Until now.
He could feel her.
Not clearly.
A distant pulse.
A woman.
Fear.
Exhaustion.
Power.
Kael stood and walked toward the window.
Beyond the glass, the Crimson Vale slept beneath a pale moon.
His territory was the most technologically advanced of the seven great territories.
Black towers rose above ancient stone walls.
Magical barriers surrounded the city.
Shifter vehicles moved silently through the streets.
But beneath all that modernity remained the old laws.
The mate law.
The Alpha law.
The blood law.
Kael had never trusted any of them.
A knock sounded.
"Enter."
His Beta, Elias, entered.
"Alpha?"
Kael remained by the window.
"Prepare the council room."
"At this hour?"
"Immediately."
Elias hesitated.
"Has something happened?"
Kael finally turned.
"I've found my mate."
Elias froze.
"What?"
Kael's expression remained calm.
"The Moon has revealed her."
"Who is she?"
"I don't know."
"Where is she?"
Kael smiled faintly.
"That's the interesting part."
------------------------------------------
Lyra's POV :
Back in the forest, I woke to shouting.
I sat up.
Darian was already standing.
Riven was nowhere in sight.
"What happened?"
Darian grabbed his weapon.
"We're surrounded."
My stomach tightened.
"By who?"
"Rogues."
I looked toward the trees.
Dozens of eyes glowed in the darkness.
Riven emerged from the shadows.
"Relax."
Darian looked at him.
"You knew."
"Obviously."
"You brought them here."
Riven shrugged.
"They're mine."
I stared.
"Your people?"
He nodded.
"Some of them."
A group of wolves stepped forward.
They were different from the pack wolves I'd known.
Their clothing was worn.
Their bodies carried scars.
Some looked barely old enough to survive.
But none lowered their eyes.
Riven walked toward them.
"She's under my protection."
An older woman looked at me.
"Is she the one?"
Riven nodded.
The woman approached.
Her eyes fixed on my pendant.
Then she fell to her knees.
The others followed.
I froze.
"No."
Everyone looked up.
I stepped forward.
"Get up."
The woman shook her head.
"You are the Queen."
"I'm not."
"You carry the mark."
"I'm Lyra."
The woman smiled sadly.
"That is what they called you."
My heart tightened.
"What did they call my mother?"
The woman whispered:
"Queen Seraphine."
The name struck me like lightning.
Seraphine.
My mother had a name.
A title.
A history.
I swallowed.
"What happened to her?"
The woman's expression changed.
"She trusted the wrong people."
"Who?"
"The Moon Council."
Darian moved closer.
"What do you know about them?"
The woman looked at him.
"You served the Alpha."
"Yes."
"Then you know nothing."
Darian's jaw tightened.
She looked back at me.
"Your mother discovered what the Council had done to the mate system."
My pulse quickened.
"What did they do?"
"Changed it."
"How?"
The woman opened her mouth.
A horn sounded in the distance.
Every rogue turned.
Riven's expression hardened.
"They found us."
Darian looked toward the eastern road.
"Council soldiers?"
Riven shook his head.
"No."
He smiled.
"Something much more interesting."
A convoy appeared beyond the trees.
Black vehicles.
Crimson insignia.
Kael's territory.
Riven looked at me.
"Your second mate has arrived."
---
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD