CHAPTER 10 HIDDEN BLOODLINE
986 Words
The council chamber felt different now.
Quieter.
Heavier.
Only three elders remained, seated in silence as their eyes followed Aria like she was no longer just a stranger—but something far more dangerous.
Kael stood beside her, close enough for her to feel his presence, steady and grounding.
“Speak,” the silver-eyed elder said at last.
Her voice was no longer cold.
It was cautious.
Aria swallowed. “You asked who I am… I told you the truth. I don’t know.”
The elder studied her carefully, as if searching for any sign of deception.
“She’s not lying,” another elder murmured.
“I can see that,” the silver-eyed woman replied.
Silence fell again.
Then—
“Your aura carries royal blood,” the elder said slowly. “A bloodline that should not exist anymore.”
Aria’s chest tightened. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” the elder continued, “you are not what you were raised to be.”
Kael’s jaw hardened slightly. “Explain.”
The elder’s gaze shifted briefly to him before returning to Aria.
“Long before the current packs were formed,” she began, “there existed a ruling bloodline among Lycans. Not chosen by strength alone—but by inheritance.”
Aria listened, her heart beating faster with every word.
“They were powerful,” the elder continued. “Stronger than Alphas. Respected. Feared.”
“What happened to them?” Aria asked quietly.
The elder’s expression darkened.
“They disappeared.”
The word hung in the air.
“Not naturally,” another elder added. “They were hunted. Betrayed. Erased.”
A chill ran down Aria’s spine.
“Why?” she asked.
“Power invites fear,” the elder replied simply. “And fear breeds destruction.”
Aria’s fingers curled slightly at her sides.
“And you’re saying… I’m one of them?” she asked.
The elder didn’t answer immediately.
But she didn’t deny it either.
Kael stepped forward slightly. “Her power is unstable. She doesn’t know how to control it.”
“That is expected,” the elder said. “If she truly carries that bloodline, her awakening has only just begun.”
Aria shook her head slowly. “This doesn’t make sense. My parents—”
“Are not your true parents,” the elder said firmly.
The words hit like a blow.
Aria froze.
Her mind went blank.
“No…” she whispered. “That’s not true.”
But doubt had already begun to creep in.
Memories surfaced—things she had ignored before.
The way she never quite fit in.
The whispers.
The distance.
“They may have raised you,” the elder continued more gently, “but your blood tells a different story.”
Aria felt like the ground beneath her was shifting.
Everything she thought she knew…
Was changing.
“Then who am I?” she asked again, her voice softer this time.
The elder leaned forward slightly.
“That,” she said, “is something we need to uncover.”
Silence followed.
But it didn’t last long.
Another elder spoke, his tone sharper now.
“If this is true, then her existence is a threat.”
Kael’s eyes turned instantly cold.
“To whom?” he asked.
“To balance,” the elder replied. “To power. To everything we’ve maintained.”
Aria felt the tension rise again.
“She stays,” Kael said, his voice firm.
“That is not solely your decision,” the elder countered.
“It is,” Kael replied calmly, but with undeniable authority. “She is under my protection.”
The room stilled.
The weight of his words was absolute.
No one challenged him directly.
But the unease remained.
The silver-eyed elder finally spoke again.
“For now… she stays,” she said. “But she will be watched.”
Aria didn’t like the sound of that.
“She will also be trained,” Kael added.
The elder nodded slightly. “That would be wise.”
Aria blinked. “Trained?”
Kael turned to her. “You need to learn how to control your power.”
She exhaled slowly. “And if I can’t?”
His gaze didn’t waver.
“You will.”
Something about the way he said it—
Made her believe him.
The elder stood, signaling the end of the meeting.
“This discussion is not over,” she said. “There are truths buried deeper than you realize.”
Aria’s heart tightened.
“Then we’ll find them,” she said quietly.
The elder’s eyes lingered on her for a moment.
Then she nodded once.
---
As they stepped out of the chamber, the air felt lighter—but Aria didn’t.
Her thoughts were heavy.
Confused.
Unsettled.
“Kael…” she started.
He stopped walking immediately, turning to face her.
“Yes.”
She hesitated.
Then asked the question that had been weighing on her the most.
“Did you know?”
Silence.
Just for a second.
Then—
“Yes.”
The word hit hard.
Aria stared at him. “You knew I wasn’t just an omega?”
“I knew there was something different about you,” he said. “I didn’t know this much.”
She looked away, her emotions twisting inside her.
“You still didn’t tell me.”
“I needed to be sure,” he replied.
“That’s not fair,” she said.
“No,” he agreed. “It’s not.”
That answer caught her off guard.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Kael stepped closer.
Not threatening.
Not forceful.
Just… there.
“You’re not alone in this,” he said quietly.
Aria looked up at him.
Her chest tightened.
Everything was uncertain.
Everything was changing.
But one thing was becoming clear—
Whether she liked it or not…
Her fate was now tied to his.
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