The Alpha's Last Witness

Chapter 4 - The Portrait

Chapter Four

The Portrait

I woke up with the taste of fear in my mouth.

For several seconds, I didn't know where I was.

Then the ceiling of my bedroom came into focus.

My curtains.

My bookshelf.

The small wooden desk beside my bed.

Home.

I sat up too quickly.

A sharp headache pulsed behind my eyes.

The ceremony.

The altar.

The symbol.

My father's voice.

And Cassian.

I pressed my fingers against my temples.

It had been a memory.

Hadn't it?

But how could I remember something I'd never lived?

And why had I seen Cassian as a child?

I threw the blanket aside and stood.

There was only one place I could find answers.

The archives.

---

The Moon Archives were almost empty when I arrived.

Perfect.

I didn't want questions.

I walked straight to the restricted section and pulled out the oldest catalog.

The symbol had seven marks surrounding a crescent moon.

I drew it quickly on a scrap of paper.

Then I began searching.

One record.

Nothing.

Another.

Nothing.

An hour passed.

Then two.

My frustration grew.

I was about to give up when I noticed a reference buried beneath a damaged entry.

Witness Records — First Succession Era.

My heart jumped.

I pulled the corresponding volume from the shelf.

Dust filled the air.

I opened it carefully.

Most of the pages were damaged.

But near the middle, I found it.

The symbol.

Exactly as I'd seen it on the Moon Altar.

My pulse quickened.

Beneath it was a handwritten note.

The Witness does not serve the Alpha.

I read the sentence again.

Then the next.

The Witness serves the truth.

I turned the page.

Nothing.

The following pages had been removed.

Someone had deliberately cut them from the book.

"Why?"

I whispered.

Then I noticed something else.

A small reference number written in the margin.

A-17.

I knew the archive numbering system.

A-17 wasn't a book.

It was a portrait.

---

The oldest portraits were kept in a forgotten gallery beneath the western wing.

Very few people ever went there.

I unlocked the door.

The hinges groaned.

Rows of enormous paintings disappeared into the darkness.

I walked slowly between them.

Ancient Alphas stared down at me.

Some were familiar.

Others had names I'd never heard.

I searched for the reference number.

A-14.

A-15.

A-16.

Then—

A-17.

I stopped.

The portrait was enormous.

An Alpha stood at its center, dressed in black ceremonial clothing.

Dark hair.

Sharp jaw.

Gray eyes.

My breath caught.

It was Cassian.

Not similar to Cassian.

Not someone who merely resembled him.

Cassian.

Except the portrait was hundreds of years old.

I stepped closer.

The name beneath it read:

Alpha Elias Rowe — First Alpha of the Seventh Era.

My skin prickled.

That was impossible.

I studied the man's face.

The same eyes.

The same mouth.

Even the small scar above his left eyebrow.

Cassian had that scar.

I remembered seeing it when we spoke in the Council chamber.

I reached toward the portrait.

Then stopped.

Something was terribly wrong.

No man could live for centuries.

Unless...

I shook my head.

No.

There had to be another explanation.

Behind me, the door creaked.

I spun around.

Cassian stood in the doorway.

I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"What are you doing here?"

He folded his arms.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I work here."

"Do you?"

"Yes."

He glanced around.

"Because this doesn't look like the section where ordinary archivists work."

"I was looking for something."

His eyes moved to the portrait.

Then back to me.

"You found it."

I turned toward the painting.

"You know him?"

Cassian walked closer.

"Of course."

"Who is he?"

"My ancestor."

I looked at the portrait again.

"He looks exactly like you."

Cassian gave me a slow, amused look.

"I've been told I have a familiar face."

"Don't joke."

"I'm not."

I turned toward him.

"You have the same eyes."

"So?"

"The same scar."

His expression changed.

Only for a moment.

Then he smiled.

"Are you studying my face now, Mara?"

I blinked.

"What?"

He leaned slightly closer.

"You've been staring at that portrait for several minutes."

"I'm trying to understand why your ancestor looks exactly like you."

"Perhaps you simply find my face memorable."

My cheeks warmed.

"You're impossible."

"And yet you keep looking."

"I am looking at the painting."

"Of course."

I glared at him.

He smiled.

It was irritating.

And unfairly attractive.

I hated that I noticed.

His eyes softened as he looked at me.

For one brief moment, neither of us spoke.

The teasing disappeared.

Something quieter took its place.

Then I looked away.

"Your ancestor was connected to the Witness system."

Cassian's expression hardened immediately.

"Where did you find that?"

"In an old record."

"What record?"

I pointed toward the portrait.

"The one that led me here."

He stepped closer.

"Show me."

I pulled the book from my bag.

He read the note.

His jaw tightened.

"The Witness does not serve the Alpha."

"Yes."

"It serves the truth."

"Yes."

He stared at the page.

"Why was this removed from the official records?"

"I don't know."

A silence settled between us.

Then—

A voice came from behind us.

"Mara Vale."

We turned.

An elderly Council official stood at the entrance.

His face was expressionless.

He looked at the book in my hands.

Then at the portrait.

"Give me that record."

I hesitated.

"Why?"

His voice became colder.

"Because it should never have been found."

My stomach dropped.

"What is it?"

He stepped toward me.

"You are ordered to destroy it."

I stared at him.

"Destroy it?"

"Immediately."

Cassian's expression darkened.

"On whose authority?"

The man's eyes shifted to him.

"The Council."

He looked at me again.

"And if you value your position, Miss Vale, you will make sure there is nothing left of that record by sunrise."

Then he turned and walked away.

I looked down at the ancient book in my hands.

My heart was pounding.

Someone was afraid of what was written inside it.

And suddenly, I knew one thing for certain.

Whatever my father had been investigating, I had just stepped directly into it.