The voice from the past
1643 Words
The world stopped.
My heart stopped.
Even the air seemed to vanish from my lungs.
"Bring me my daughter."
The words echoed through the territory.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Every instinct inside me screamed.
Run.
Hide.
Survive.
Yet I couldn't move.
I couldn't even breathe.
Because somehow...
I knew that voice.
Not from a memory.
Not from a dream.
From somewhere deeper.
Somewhere buried.
Like a wound that had never healed.
Rowan cursed under his breath.
A curse so unlike the calm warrior I'd come to know that it immediately terrified me.
"That's impossible."
His face had gone pale.
Actually pale.
The fearless Beta looked shaken.
"No," he muttered. "No, no, no..."
I forced myself to speak.
"Who is he?"
My voice barely worked.
Rowan didn't answer.
Outside, another explosion rocked the building.
The walls trembled.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
A howl erupted from somewhere nearby.
Then screams.
Lots of screams.
The battle was getting closer.
Too close.
"Rowan."
This time my voice was sharper.
Demanding.
"Who is he?"
The Beta finally looked at me.
Something inside my stomach dropped.
Because the look in his eyes wasn't fear.
It was dread.
Pure dread.
"The man who destroyed the Mooncrest Bloodline."
My blood ran cold.
The room suddenly felt freezing.
"What?"
"He was supposed to be dead."
The words came out strained.
As if Rowan could barely force them out.
A terrible silence followed.
Then realization slowly crept into my mind.
The stranger.
The wolves.
The attack.
Everything connected back to him.
My throat tightened.
"Why is he calling me his daughter?"
Rowan looked away.
And immediately I knew.
He didn't know.
Or worse.
He did.
And wasn't telling me.
Again.
Another secret.
Another lie.
Another piece of my life everyone seemed determined to keep from me.
The frustration exploded.
"Stop doing that!"
Rowan blinked.
"What?"
"That!"
I pointed at him.
"The silence."
My voice cracked.
"The secrets."
Tears burned my eyes.
"I'm tired of it."
Years of pain poured into those words.
Years of being ignored.
Being lied to.
Being treated like I wasn't worth the truth.
"My whole life has been one giant secret!"
I shouted.
The room fell silent.
Even Rowan looked surprised.
I laughed bitterly.
The sound hurt.
"First my father isn't my father."
I swallowed hard.
"Then I find out I'm some lost heir."
Another laugh.
This one more broken than the last.
"And now some psycho is outside claiming to be my father."
The absurdity hit me all at once.
I started laughing.
Actually laughing.
The kind of laugh that bordered on tears.
Because what else could I do?
My life had become ridiculous.
Completely ridiculous.
Rowan stared.
Then, to my complete shock—
He laughed too.
A short laugh.
A surprised laugh.
Then another.
Soon we were both laughing.
Not because anything was funny.
Because everything was insane.
For one brief moment...
The fear disappeared.
Then another explosion shook the building.
Reality returned immediately.
The laughter died.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Painful.
I looked down at the papers in my hands.
At my mother's signature.
At Kael's promise.
Protect my daughter at all costs.
A strange ache settled inside my chest.
Why had she trusted him?
Why him?
Out of everyone in the world...
Why Alpha Kael?
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
One that made my heart skip.
"What was my mother's name?"
Rowan froze.
I frowned.
"What?"
The Beta stared at me.
Then something like sadness crossed his face.
"You don't know?"
The question hit harder than it should have.
Of course I didn't know.
Nobody ever told me.
The woman who raised me died when I was little.
The man I thought was my father never talked about her.
Never answered questions.
Never shared stories.
Nothing.
I slowly shook my head.
Rowan cursed quietly.
Then sat down across from me.
For the first time since meeting him...
He looked genuinely sympathetic.
"Her name was Selene."
The name hit me like a punch.
Selene.
My mother had a name.
A real name.
Not just "Mother."
Not just a memory.
Selene.
I repeated it silently.
Trying it out.
Holding onto it.
The tears returned instantly.
Because somehow...
Hearing her name made her feel real.
And losing her hurt all over again.
"She was kind."
Rowan smiled slightly.
"And stubborn."
I blinked.
"Kael said that too."
A genuine smile appeared on Rowan's face.
"Then he wasn't lying."
That earned a small laugh from me.
Just a tiny one.
The kind that comes between tears.
"Was she really that stubborn?"
Rowan groaned.
"Oh, you have no idea."
Something warm flickered inside my chest.
For the first time...
Someone was giving me memories of her.
Not secrets.
Not warnings.
Memories.
"Tell me."
Rowan looked surprised.
"Tell you what?"
"About her."
My voice softened.
"Please."
For a moment, the battle outside disappeared.
The fear disappeared.
Everything disappeared.
There was only me.
And the desperate need to know the woman who gave me life.
Rowan sighed.
Then smiled.
And slowly...
He began telling me stories.
Stories about Selene.
Stories about how she once punched a warrior twice her size for insulting a healer.
Stories about how she snuck out of royal meetings because she hated politics.
Stories about how she loved reading beside rivers.
Stories about how she would spend hours helping injured wolves.
I listened to every word.
Every single one.
Hungry for more.
For years I'd thought I had nobody.
Now I was discovering pieces of someone who had loved me enough to die protecting me.
The realization was overwhelming.
By the time Rowan finished, tears streamed down my face.
But these tears felt different.
Not painful.
Not entirely.
They felt...
Warm.
Like grief mixed with love.
A loud knock interrupted the moment.
Both of us immediately tensed.
The door burst open.
A warrior stumbled inside.
Covered in blood.
My stomach dropped.
His breathing was ragged.
His eyes wide with panic.
"Beta."
Rowan immediately stood.
"What happened?"
The warrior swallowed hard.
Then delivered the words that changed everything.
"The eastern wall has fallen."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Fear exploded inside me.
No.
No.
No.
The enemy was inside.
Inside the territory.
Inside the pack.
Rowan's expression darkened.
"Where's the Alpha?"
The warrior hesitated.
And immediately my heart began racing.
Because hesitation was never good.
Never.
"Where is Kael?"
The warrior looked down.
My pulse thundered.
"Answer him."
The warrior swallowed.
Then finally spoke.
"The Alpha is fighting him."
The room went still.
Rowan froze.
I froze.
Everyone froze.
Because nobody needed to ask who him was.
We already knew.
The ghost.
The monster.
The man outside claiming to be my father.
Fear gripped my chest.
Kael.
For some reason, the thought of him being hurt made it hard to breathe.
I hated that.
Hated how much I cared.
Hated how worried I suddenly felt.
Because caring meant vulnerability.
And vulnerability always ended in pain.
Didn't it?
Another roar shook the territory.
The sound was so powerful that every window shattered completely.
The warrior flinched.
Rowan swore.
My heart nearly stopped.
That roar...
It wasn't Kael's.
It was someone else's.
Someone stronger.
Older.
More terrifying.
The warrior's face turned white.
"He's winning."
The words echoed through the room.
No.
Not possible.
Kael couldn't lose.
Could he?
The question terrified me.
Because for the first time...
I realized I didn't want to find out.
Another explosion.
Closer.
Much closer.
The floor cracked beneath us.
Everyone stumbled.
And then—
A scream echoed through the pack house.
A woman's scream.
Followed by dozens more.
The enemy had broken through.
Panic erupted.
Warriors ran through the halls.
Orders were shouted.
People screamed.
The entire territory had descended into chaos.
Rowan grabbed his sword.
"We need to move."
I stood.
My legs felt weak.
"What about Kael?"
The question slipped out before I could stop it.
Rowan looked at me.
A strange expression crossed his face.
Then he smiled.
Just a little.
"You're worried about him."
Heat rushed to my cheeks.
"No."
His smile widened.
"Right."
I glared.
"Now is not the time."
That only made him look more amused.
"Sure."
"Rowan."
"I'm just saying."
"Rowan!"
A laugh escaped him.
A real laugh.
Then his expression became serious again.
"The Alpha can take care of himself."
I wanted to believe that.
I really did.
But something felt wrong.
Terribly wrong.
A cold sensation settled deep inside my chest.
Like a warning.
Like fate whispering in my ear.
Run.
My breathing quickened.
The feeling intensified.
Stronger.
Stronger.
Stronger.
Then suddenly—
Pain exploded through my body.
I gasped.
The agony was instant.
Violent.
Unbearable.
My knees hit the floor.
A scream tore from my throat.
Every muscle tightened.
Every nerve burned.
"Aria!"
Rowan rushed forward.
But I couldn't hear him properly anymore.
Because something was happening.
Something impossible.
Silver light burst from beneath my skin.
The room glowed.
The papers flew from my hands.
Wind exploded around me.
The entire building shook.
Warriors screamed.
Furniture shattered.
And through the pain...
I heard a voice.
Soft.
Gentle.
Familiar.
A woman's voice.
"My daughter."
Tears filled my eyes.
"Mom?"
The silver light intensified.
And for the briefest moment...
I saw her.
A woman made of moonlight.
Standing before me.
Smiling.
Then her expression changed.
Fear replaced it.
Real fear.
She looked behind me.
At something.
Or someone.
And the last words she spoke before disappearing made my blood run cold.
"He's here."
The light vanished.
The room fell silent.
And a slow clap echoed from the doorway.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
My heart stopped.
Because standing there...
Watching me...
Was a man with silver eyes.
The exact same silver eyes staring back at me from every mirror.
He smiled.
And suddenly I understood why even Rowan was afraid.
"Hello, Aria."
His smile widened.
"After all these years..."
He took a step forward.
"...I've finally found my daughter."
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