Chapter 4
379 Words
The Bloodline Secret
They traveled before dawn.
Lucian insisted.
Or rather, he announced they were leaving.
Then simply expected her to follow.
The arrogance was infuriating.
Yet somehow she found herself doing exactly that.
Hours later they reached the base of a mountain.
Massive cliffs rose toward the sky.
Ancient forests surrounded them.
The place felt strange.
Powerful.
Alive.
As if the mountain itself was watching.
Lucian stopped before a stone archway hidden among vines.
"Enter."
Isabella frowned.
"Why?"
"Because answers are inside."
That got her attention.
For the first time since her rejection, answers sounded more valuable than pride.
She stepped through the arch.
The world exploded.
Silver light engulfed everything.
Power rushed through her body.
Ancient symbols illuminated the stone walls.
Thousands of them.
Glowing.
Awakening.
Reacting.
To her.
The mountain trembled.
A deep voice echoed from nowhere.
And everywhere.
"The heir has returned."
Isabella froze.
No.
Impossible.
The symbols brightened.
The mountain shook harder.
"The heir has returned."
Lucian remained calm.
As though this was expected.
As though he had known all along.
The silver light gathered around Isabella.
Her skin glowed.
Her eyes burned.
Memories flashed through her mind.
A queen.
A throne.
A war.
Blood.
Fire.
Death.
Then a crown.
A magnificent silver crown.
Floating above her head.
Waiting.
The vision vanished.
Isabella collapsed to one knee.
Breathing hard.
"What..."
Her voice trembled.
"What was that?"
Lucian's expression softened.
Only slightly.
Enough for her to notice.
"The truth."
"The truth about what?"
His answer changed everything.
"You are the last surviving heir of the Lunar Throne."
Silence.
The words made no sense.
Heir?
Throne?
What throne?
The world didn't have kings anymore.
At least not werewolf kings.
Lucian knelt before her.
For the first time, his golden eyes revealed genuine emotion.
Not arrogance.
Not power.
Relief.
"You are not an ordinary wolf, Isabella."
Her heart pounded.
"What am I?"
Lucian held her gaze.
"You are royalty."
The mountain trembled again.
Ancient power surged through the chamber.
And far away, in a distant kingdom hidden from the world, old enemies felt the awakening.
One by one, powerful figures rose from their thrones.
They sensed it.
The return of a bloodline they thought extinct.
The return of a queen.
And they immediately began planning her death.
- Writer
