Chapter 5: A Wolf With a Secret
1128 Words
Alessia sat in front of the mirror, brushing her hair slowly. The candlelight flickered beside her, casting long shadows on the walls of her room. Her fingers trembled slightly, though she tried to hide them from herself.
She could still feel the scroll hidden in the bottom of her dresser, wrapped tightly in cloth. The proof. The order. Kael’s signature.
The man she had been forced to marry… had ordered the death of her pack.
Her parents.
Her people.
Her past.
Everything.
And now, she had to look him in the eye and pretend she didn’t know.
She met her own eyes in the mirror. "You are a Silvermoon wolf," she whispered. "You are not his Luna. You are a spy."
But her heart… her heart wasn’t listening.
At breakfast the next morning, Alessia sat beside Kael at the head table, dressed in her Luna robes. The dining hall was filled with warriors, omegas, and young pack members.
She forced herself to smile politely.
Kael leaned in. “You look tired.”
“I didn’t sleep well,” she answered truthfully.
He looked concerned. “Nightmares again?”
She nodded, but didn’t tell him what she had dreamed of her parents lying in a pool of blood, Kael’s shadow standing over them.
“We’ll train harder today,” he said. “It’ll help you sleep tonight.”
She gave him a small smile. “I look forward to it, Alpha.”
His eyes narrowed slightly at her tone, but he didn’t speak.
Good, Alessia thought. Let him wonder.
Later, Alessia walked through the Nightfang garden, the scroll weighing heavily in her pocket. She had made a secret copy and carried it everywhere. She didn't trust anyone, not even the walls of her room.
Birds chirped in the trees, and the flowers bloomed brightly in the morning sun. It was peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Her wolf paced inside her, restless. Angry.
He killed our family, it growled. He destroyed everything.
Alessia stopped at the edge of the fountain and clenched her jaw.
And yet… she couldn’t stop thinking about Kael’s eyes when he looked at her. The way his voice softened when they were alone. The way he touched her was gentle, not cruel.
She hated that she liked it.
In the training yard, Alessia stood with Beta Damon, watching the younger warriors practice.
“You’re picking up things quickly,” Damon said, handing her a scroll. “This is the list of wolves who will be promoted next moon cycle. Alpha Kael asked for your input.”
“Of course,” Alessia replied, scanning the names.
Damon gave her a look. “You know… when you first arrived, I didn’t trust you.”
She glanced up. “And now?”
“I still don’t,” he said bluntly.
Alessia didn’t react.
“You’re hiding something,” Damon continued. “I don’t know what it is yet. But I’ll find out.”
“Then keep looking,” she said coolly. “But don’t waste your time.”
Damon held her gaze for a moment longer before walking away.
Alessia’s heart pounded in her chest.
She had to be more careful.
That night, Kael found her in the library. She had been studying old Nightfang customs, pretending to research for her Luna duties.
He sat across from her, arms crossed.
“Why do you look at me like that?” he asked.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re reading me. Like I’m a puzzle you have already solved.”
She closed the book calmly. “I’m still working on it.”
Kael leaned forward. “You’re different. Smarter than most. Quieter. And strong. But I don’t know who you really are.”
Alessia met his eyes. “Does it matter?”
“It should,” he said. “You’re my mate.”
Her chest tightened at that word.
Mate.
The bond was real. Her wolf felt it. Hungered for it.
But her mind screamed: No. Not with him. Not after what he did.
“You think being mates makes everything easy?” she asked. “That I’ll forget the pain in my past because of a mark on my skin?”
Kael blinked. “What pain?”
Alessia looked down. “We all have things we don’t talk about.”
Kael sat back. “That’s true.”
That night, Alessia couldn’t sleep.
She sat by her window again, the scroll in her hands.
Her fingers traced Kael’s signature, burned it onto the paper. The command had been short. Cold.
“Eliminate the Silvermoon Pack. No survivors. End threat permanently.”
– Alpha Kael Nightfang
She wanted to burn it. But she couldn’t.
It was her only weapon.
Her proof.
Her reason to stay strong.
Over the next few days, Alessia performed her Luna duties as if nothing was wrong.
She helped organize patrols. Attended the healer’s reports. Trained with warrior females. Laughed with the children.
But at night, she cried.
She cried because the pack she had grown to care for was the same one that killed her own.
She cried because Kael, who protected her now, had once ordered her death.
And she cried because part of her wanted to forgive him.
Even though he didn’t know what he had done.
Not yet.
On the fifth night, Kael took her to the top of the mountain behind the packhouse.
“I come here when I need to think,” he said.
The view was stunning. Below, the trees swayed gently in the moonlight. Wolves howled in the distance. The stars shone above them.
Alessia stood beside him, unsure why he had brought her here.
“Why me?” she asked suddenly.
Kael turned. “What do you mean?”
“You could’ve chosen any female to be your Luna. Why me?”
He paused. “Because when I looked at you… I felt peace. And fire. At the same time.”
Her heart thudded.
“And I thought,” Kael continued, “if a woman can make me feel both, she’s either a danger or a miracle.”
“Maybe I’m both,” she whispered.
Kael smiled faintly. “Then I’ll take the risk.”
Alessia looked away.
If only he knew what kind of danger she truly was.
Later that night, she returned to her room, her chest aching with guilt.
She stared at her reflection again.
The wolf in her eyes looked different now.
Wilder.
Conflicted.
And afraid.
Because the more time she spent with Kael… the more she started to question everything.
What if there was more to the attack?
What if he didn’t remember?
What if he regretted it?
What if… she was falling for the very man she had sworn to destroy?
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD