THE MOONLIT PACK

Chapter three:Bloodline of secrets

THE MOONLIT PACK

A Dark Paranormal Romance Novel by Ambrosia Naidoo

CHAPTER THREE: BLOODLINE OF SECRETS

The howl echoed through the forest long after the sound should have faded, leaving the entire Moonlit Pack estate wrapped in an uneasy silence. I stood beside Shayna in the entrance hall, watching Xavier stare through the tall windows as though he could see something moving between the trees. His expression had changed completely. The teasing arrogance I had grown accustomed to was gone, replaced by a cold intensity that made him seem older than his twenty-three years. Edward stood beside him, his arms folded across his chest, while Jeremiah spoke quietly into a small communication device. Jake, for once, had stopped smiling. “What was that?” Shayna whispered, gripping my hand. “I was hoping you would tell me,” I whispered back. “Wonderful. We’re both completely useless in a supernatural emergency.” Normally, I would have laughed, but my attention remained fixed on Xavier. There was something about the way he listened to the forest that unsettled me. It was as if he could hear a conversation happening somewhere beyond the reach of ordinary people. Suddenly, he turned toward us. “Everyone needs to move away from the windows.” “Why?” I asked. “Because I said so.” I raised an eyebrow. “And there goes the progress we made earlier.” His jaw tightened, but before he could answer, Jeremiah approached. “Alpha, the eastern patrol has reported movement near the ruins. Two guards saw a figure standing between the trees, but when they approached, it disappeared.” “Did they recognise the scent?” Xavier asked. “They believe it belonged to a Blackthorn wolf.” Edward exchanged a look with his brother. “That’s impossible. The Blackthorns haven’t crossed this boundary openly in years.” “Apparently, someone has decided the old rules no longer apply,” Jake said. “Or someone wants us to believe that,” Jeremiah replied. His words settled over the room like a warning. I glanced at Shayna, who looked as confused as I felt. “Can someone explain why a bunch of mysterious wolves are suddenly interested in the woods near our house?” I asked. “And why everyone keeps looking at us as if we’re about to explode?” Xavier approached, his gaze softening slightly when it reached me. “Because we believe their arrival may be connected to you.” “That still doesn’t explain anything.” “I know.” He paused, apparently choosing his next words carefully. “There is a meeting tonight. The elders will be present, and some of them may recognise the symbols on the pendants your parents gave you. If you want answers, that is where we should begin.” I hesitated. Every instinct told me that the pack was hiding something, but leaving would mean returning to a house filled with unanswered questions and frightened expressions. “Fine,” I said. “But I want Shayna with me, and I want honest answers.” “Agreed.” Xavier turned to Edward. “Make sure Shayna has everything she needs.” Edward glanced at Shayna. “I’m capable of doing that without supervision.” “Then try not to annoy her before the meeting,” Xavier replied. Shayna scoffed. “That would require him to stop breathing, and I’m not sure the pack would appreciate the consequences.” Jake burst out laughing. Even Edward looked as though he was struggling not to smile. For a brief moment, the tension in the room loosened. Then another howl rose from the distant forest, and every wolf in the entrance hall turned toward the sound. This time, I felt something strange stir beneath my skin. It began as a faint warmth in my chest before spreading into my fingertips. I pressed a hand against my heart, startled by the sudden sensation. The room seemed to sharpen around me. I could hear the faint ticking of a clock somewhere down the corridor, the rustling of leaves beyond the windows, and the distant footsteps of people moving through the estate. Beneath all those sounds was something else: a low, unfamiliar rhythm that seemed to answer the howl. I stumbled slightly. Xavier reached toward me but stopped just before touching my arm. “Lisa?” His voice sounded unusually gentle. “What’s happening?” I whispered. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I think your bloodline is beginning to awaken.” I hated those words. They made me feel as though my own body had become a mystery that everyone else was trying to solve. “And what happens when it awakens?” “We’ll find out together.” I studied him suspiciously. “That sounded almost reassuring.” “I can be reassuring.” “You can also be insufferable.” “I’ve been told.” “By whom?” “Mostly my brother.” Edward called from across the room, “And I stand by every word.” Despite myself, I smiled. Xavier noticed, and something in his expression shifted, becoming unexpectedly warm. The moment lasted only a second before Jeremiah returned with a message from the patrol. “The grounds are secure for now,” he announced. “But the elders have requested that the girls attend the council meeting immediately.” Xavier nodded. “Then we won’t keep them waiting.” He offered me his hand, palm open, leaving the decision to me. I looked at it for a moment before choosing to walk beside him instead. His expression revealed the smallest flicker of amusement, as if he had expected exactly that. “You’re learning,” I told him. “So are you,” he replied. I decided not to ask what he meant. The council chamber stood at the far end of the mansion, behind two enormous wooden doors carved with twisting vines, crescent moons, and wolves running beneath a star-filled sky. The symbols reminded me of the silver pendant Eleanor had shown us, and the familiarity sent another uneasy shiver through me. Inside, a long table occupied the centre of the room. Several older men and women sat around it, their faces lined with age and their expressions difficult to read. A large tapestry hung behind the chair at the head of the table, depicting a silver wolf beneath a full moon. When we entered, the conversations stopped. I immediately regretted agreeing to come. Every pair of eyes turned toward Shayna and me, examining us as though we were unfamiliar objects that had suddenly appeared in their home. A woman with silver hair and sharp blue eyes rose from her seat. “So,” she said, “these are the girls.” “Their names are Lisa and Shayna,” Xavier replied firmly. “They are guests of this pack, and they will be treated with respect.” The woman inclined her head, although her gaze remained fixed on me. “Of course, Alpha.” Something about her tone suggested that she did not entirely agree. “I am Elder Seraphina,” she continued. “I have served the Moonlit Pack for longer than either of you has been alive.” Shayna leaned toward me. “I suppose that explains the dramatic entrance.” I pressed my lips together to stop myself from laughing. Seraphina’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You find this amusing?” “Not particularly,” Shayna replied. “I’m just trying to understand why everyone keeps speaking as though we’ve interrupted a funeral.” Jake coughed into his hand, hiding what sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Xavier gave Shayna a warning glance, but Seraphina merely sat down again. “Let us begin,” the elder said. “There are matters that can no longer be postponed.” Xavier took his place at the head of the table, while Edward sat to his right. Jeremiah remained standing behind them. Shayna and I were offered seats opposite the elders. I noticed that one chair had been positioned beside Xavier’s, but I deliberately chose the one next to Shayna instead. Xavier said nothing, although I caught the briefest movement of amusement at the corner of his mouth. Elder Seraphina placed a small wooden box on the table. My breath caught. It was almost identical to the one Eleanor and Michael had shown us the previous night. The wood was dark with age, and a silver crescent moon had been carved into the lid. “This belonged to your biological parents,” she said. “It was recovered after the events that forced them to disappear.” “You have our parents’ belongings?” I asked. “Some of them.” “And you never thought to tell us?” My voice rose before I could control it. “We were babies when we were separated from them,” Seraphina replied. “At the time, we believed secrecy was the only way to protect you.” “Everyone keeps saying that,” I snapped. “Everyone keeps telling us that lies were necessary, but nobody has explained why.” Michael and Eleanor had been trying to protect us. Jeremiah claimed the pack wanted to keep us safe. Now an elder I had met only minutes earlier was telling me that another group of people had made the same decision on our behalf. I was beginning to suspect that the supernatural world had a serious problem with honesty. Seraphina opened the box and removed two silver pendants. One was shaped like a crescent moon, while the other resembled a wolf with its head lifted toward the sky. The moment I saw them, the warmth beneath my skin returned. The wolf-shaped pendant seemed to catch the light, and for an instant, I thought I saw a faint silver glow around its edges. “What are those?” Shayna whispered. “Bloodline pendants,” Edward answered. “They were created for two ancient families whose powers were believed to be connected to the first wolves.” “You mean our families?” I asked. “We believe so,” he replied. Seraphina lifted the crescent pendant. “Lisa, this symbol belongs to the Moonveil bloodline. Shayna, the wolf pendant bears the mark of the Nightshade family.” The names meant nothing to me, yet something about hearing them stirred a strange ache in my chest. “Why were we separated?” Shayna asked. Seraphina looked toward Xavier before answering. “Because your parents discovered that someone intended to use your bloodlines to influence the future of the packs. Your families carried abilities that had not appeared in generations, and there were people who believed those abilities should belong to the Alpha families.” “Abilities?” I repeated. “What abilities?” “We do not know the full extent of them,” Seraphina said. “The old records were incomplete, and several important documents disappeared after the conflict.” “Convenient,” I muttered. Xavier leaned forward. “Lisa, I understand that you’re angry.” “Do you?” I looked directly at him. “Because from where I’m sitting, everyone in this room seems to know something about my life except me.” He held my gaze. “You deserve the truth. I won’t pretend otherwise.” “Then give it to me.” He looked toward Seraphina, who reluctantly reached into the box again and removed a folded sheet of parchment. Its edges were worn, and dark stains marked the bottom. “This was found among the belongings of your biological parents,” she explained. “It contains part of an old prophecy.” I felt Shayna’s hand find mine beneath the table. Seraphina unfolded the parchment and began to read. “When the moon conceals the sun, and the silver blood returns to the forest, two daughters born beneath divided stars shall awaken the promise of the first wolves. One shall stand beside the Alpha beneath a sky of ash, while the other shall walk beside the shadowed heir. Their bonds may unite the broken bloodlines, or their choices may bring the ancient houses to ruin.” Silence filled the room. I stared at Seraphina. “That’s it? A poem?” “It is more than a poem,” she replied. “The prophecy has been preserved for centuries.” “And you believe it refers to us?” Shayna asked. “The symbols on the pendants, your arrival, and the awakening of the bond all suggest that it does.” I looked at Xavier. He seemed troubled, his gaze fixed on the parchment as though he recognised words that he wished he had never read. “You knew about this,” I said. “I knew fragments of it,” he replied. “I didn’t know that you and Shayna were connected to the prophecy.” “But you knew something was different about me from the moment we met.” “Yes.” I pulled my hand away from Shayna’s and stood. “Then why didn’t you tell me?” “Because I didn’t have enough information to be certain.” “You could have told me that much!” My voice echoed through the chamber. “Instead, you let me walk around thinking I was losing my mind while everyone whispered behind my back.” Xavier rose slowly. “You’re right. I should have explained what I knew.” His admission surprised me, but my anger was too strong to disappear. “I don’t want apologies that change nothing. I want the truth.” “And I want to give it to you,” he said. “But some of the answers may put you in danger.” “Then I’ll decide what to do with them.” For a long moment, we stared at each other. I could feel the invisible pull between us, that strange connection that seemed to grow stronger whenever our eyes met. I hated that the bond could make me feel vulnerable when I was trying so hard to remain in control of my own life. At last, Xavier nodded. “Then we’ll find the answers together, at your pace.” Before I could respond, the doors burst open. A young guard stumbled into the chamber, his face pale and his breathing uneven. “Alpha! We found someone near the eastern ruins.” Xavier turned sharply. “Who?” “A woman. She was injured, and she was carrying this.” The guard held out a small silver object. It was a pendant, almost identical to the one in the wooden box, except that its surface was marked with a dark symbol shaped like a thorn. Seraphina stood so quickly that her chair scraped across the floor. “Where did you find that?” she demanded. “Beside the woman, Elder.” “Bring her here,” Xavier ordered. The guard hesitated. “Alpha, there’s something else. She asked for the girls by name.” The entire room went silent. My heart began to pound. Shayna’s fingers tightened around mine. “What do you mean, she asked for us?” I demanded. “She said she had a message from your mother,” the guard replied. “And she said we must find you before the Blackthorns do.” Xavier’s expression turned cold. “Where is she now?” “In the infirmary.” He turned toward Jeremiah. “Secure the grounds. No one enters or leaves without my permission.” Then he looked at Edward. “Come with me.” “I’m coming too,” I said immediately. Xavier opened his mouth, but I lifted my chin. “You promised to stop making decisions for me without explaining them. This woman knows something about my mother, and I’m not staying behind while everyone else decides what I’m allowed to hear.” He studied me for a moment. Then he nodded. “Stay beside Shayna, and let the healers examine her before you approach.” “I can agree to that.” We followed Xavier and Edward through the mansion’s corridors toward the infirmary. The atmosphere had changed completely. Pack members stood in small groups, speaking in hushed voices, and several guards hurried past us carrying medical supplies. Somewhere in the distance, I heard the sound of a door slamming. The woman’s room was at the end of a narrow corridor. Two guards stood outside, their hands resting near the weapons at their belts. Through the open doorway, I could see a woman lying on a bed, her dark hair spread across the pillow. Her face was pale, and one arm was wrapped in bandages. A healer stood beside her, checking the woman’s pulse. When we entered, the woman opened her eyes. They were a striking shade of grey-blue. For one impossible moment, I forgot how to breathe. I knew those eyes. Not because I had seen them in person, but because I had stared at them in old photographs, wondering whether the woman who possessed them had ever held me as a baby. The woman’s gaze moved past Xavier and Edward before settling on me. Tears filled her eyes. “Lisa,” she whispered. Then she looked toward Shayna. “And Shayna.” Shayna stepped forward, her voice barely audible. “Who are you?” The woman struggled to sit up, but the healer gently encouraged her to remain still. “My name is Mara,” she said. “I was a friend of your biological parents. I have been searching for you for years.” My throat tightened. “You knew our parents?” Mara nodded slowly. “I knew them both. Your mother trusted me with something before she disappeared, and I have spent years trying to fulfil the promise I made to her.” “What happened to them?” I asked. Mara closed her eyes briefly. “They were betrayed.” The words seemed to drain the warmth from the room. Xavier stepped closer. “By whom?” Mara looked at him, and fear crossed her face. “I don’t know the name of the person who gave the order. But I know they belonged to one of the ancient bloodlines, and I know they wanted the girls found before their abilities awakened.” Edward’s expression hardened. “Why would anyone want to harm them?” “Because the prophecy was never meant to be a promise of peace,” Mara whispered. “It was a warning.” Seraphina, who had followed us into the room, went completely still. “Explain.” Mara looked from the elder to Xavier, then back to me. “The original prophecy contained another passage. One that was removed from the records.” My heart pounded so loudly that I could barely hear her next words. “When the two daughters awaken, the blood of the first wolves will call to them. The Alpha’s bond will open the sealed door, and the shadowed heir will reveal what the moon has hidden. But beware the hand that offers protection, for betrayal will rise from within the house of the faithful.” No one spoke. I looked at Xavier, searching his face for an explanation, but his expression had become unreadable. Edward stood beside the bed, staring at Mara as though he were trying to place a memory he had buried long ago. Shayna looked frightened, and for the first time since we had arrived at the estate, she had no joke to offer. “What sealed door?” I finally asked. Mara shook her head. “I don’t know. Your mother never told me everything. She said the answer was hidden somewhere beneath the old ruins, and that only the daughters could discover it when the time came.” “Then we go to the ruins,” I said. “Not tonight,” Xavier replied. I turned toward him. “You can’t be serious.” “The forest is not secure, and we don’t know who else is searching for you.” “That doesn’t mean we sit around waiting for someone to attack us.” “It means we prepare before walking into danger.” “And who decides when we’re prepared? You?” His eyes flashed, but he kept his voice controlled. “We decide together. I’m not asking you to surrender your choices, Lisa. I’m asking you to help us make a plan that doesn’t put you or Shayna at unnecessary risk.” I hesitated. I still didn’t trust him completely, but I could recognise the difference between a command and a genuine request. “Fine,” I said. “But tomorrow, we start investigating the ruins.” “Tomorrow,” he agreed. A faint sense of relief crossed his face, and I wondered how much of his concern came from his responsibilities as Alpha and how much came from the strange bond connecting us. Mara suddenly reached toward me. Her fingers were trembling as she pressed a small folded paper into my palm. “Your mother wanted you to have this when the time was right,” she whispered. “I have carried it for years.” I unfolded the paper carefully. Inside was a tiny photograph of a woman standing beneath a full moon, holding a baby wrapped in a pale blanket. Beside her stood a man with dark hair and a familiar silver ring. My eyes moved to the woman’s face, and I felt the room tilt around me. She looked so much like me that it was impossible to deny the resemblance. Beneath the photograph, written in faded ink, were six words. The truth lies beneath the moonstone. I read the words again, my pulse racing. “What is the moonstone?” I asked. Mara looked toward the window. Beyond the glass, the forest was darkening beneath the evening sky. “A place your mother believed would reveal the truth about your bloodline.” “Where is it?” Mara’s lips parted, but before she could answer, a sharp crash sounded somewhere outside the infirmary. The guards rushed toward the door. Xavier moved in front of us, instinctively placing himself between the girls and the corridor. Edward drew closer to Shayna, his expression alert. Then the lights flickered. Once. Twice. And went out completely. Someone shouted in the darkness. Footsteps thundered through the hallway, followed by the unmistakable sound of a door being forced open. I reached for Shayna’s hand and held it tightly. “Lisa,” Xavier said from somewhere in front of me. “Stay where you are.” This time, I didn’t argue. A pale silver glow appeared beneath the infirmary door, growing brighter with every passing second. The warmth beneath my skin returned, stronger than before, and I felt an unfamiliar pulse answer the light. Mara gasped. “No,” she whispered. “Not yet.” The door swung open. For one brief moment, a figure stood silhouetted against the silver glow, its face hidden beneath a dark hood. Then a voice drifted into the room, quiet and strangely familiar. “At last,” the stranger said. “The daughters of the moon have awakened.” Xavier stepped forward, his voice low and dangerous. “Identify yourself.” The figure laughed softly. “You still believe you can protect them, Alpha? You have no idea what they are.” Before anyone could move, the silver light flashed across the room. I felt a sudden rush of warmth, heard Shayna cry out beside me, and saw the stranger disappear as quickly as they had arrived. When the lights returned, the corridor was empty. The guards searched the surrounding rooms, but there was no sign of an intruder. Only one thing remained behind: a black feather resting on the floor, marked with the same thorn-shaped symbol as the pendant. Xavier stared at it, his expression grim. Edward looked toward the window, while Jeremiah hurried into the infirmary with several guards behind him. Mara clutched the edge of her blanket, trembling. “They know,” she whispered. “They know the girls have awakened.” I looked down at the photograph in my hand, at the woman who might have been my mother, and at the words that had somehow become the most important clue in my life. The truth lies beneath the moonstone. Somewhere beyond the mansion, the forest waited beneath the rising moon. And for the first time, I understood that discovering who I was might be far more dangerous than remaining ignorant. Because whoever had been searching for us had finally found us. And they were not finished yet.