The Name In The Letter
1224 Words
I read the letter again.
Then again.
The words didn’t change.
Your father is not the man you were told he was.
I looked at Rowan.
“What does this mean?”
He didn’t answer.
“Who is my father?”
The elder lowered his eyes.
“I don’t know.”
I almost laughed.
“You don’t know?”
“Your mother never told us.”
“But you said my identity was sealed.”
“Yes.”
“Then somebody had to know who my father was.”
Rowan remained silent.
Kael stepped closer.
“Was my father involved?”
The elder looked at him.
“Arthur knew more than I did.”
“How much more?”
“I can’t tell you.”
Kael’s voice hardened.
“He’s dead.”
“I know.”
“Then whatever you were protecting is already gone.”
Rowan looked at me.
“No. It isn’t.”
Those three words made the room feel colder.
I folded the letter carefully.
“Where did my mother live before she came to Mooncrest?”
Rowan hesitated.
“Near the eastern mountains.”
The same direction as the forest.
I looked at Kael.
“That’s where those people were heading.”
“Yes.”
“What was she running from?”
“We never knew.”
I shook my head.
“Then I need to find out.”
Kael nodded.
“I’ll help.”
I looked at him.
“I don’t need you to protect me.”
“I know.”
His answer surprised me.
“I’m not offering because I think you’re helpless.”
He looked at the letter in my hand.
“I’m offering because whatever happened to your mother is connected to my family too.”
For once, I didn’t argue.
We left the council chamber together.
Selene was waiting outside.
The moment she saw our faces, her expression changed.
“What happened?”
I hesitated.
Kael glanced at me.
I wasn’t ready to tell her everything.
Not yet.
“We found some old records about my mother.”
Selene’s eyes softened.
“Are you okay?”
“I don’t know.”
She took my hand.
“You should have told me.”
I looked at her.
There was genuine concern in her eyes.
That made everything harder.
“I didn’t know what to tell you.”
She squeezed my fingers.
“You can tell me anything.”
I wanted to believe her.
I really did.
But the letter was still in my hand.
And somehow, I felt that if I showed it to Selene, everything would change.
“I’m just confused,” I said.
She nodded.
“Then we’ll figure it out together.”
I smiled weakly.
“Together.”
But as we walked away, I noticed Kael watching Selene.
There was guilt in his eyes.
I knew exactly why.
He was keeping something from her too.
That night, I couldn’t sleep.
I kept thinking about my mother’s letter.
Eventually, I got out of bed and went to the library.
The old pack records were kept there.
If my mother had come from the eastern mountains, there had to be something else.
I searched through several books before finding an old map.
The eastern mountains were marked with a symbol I didn’t recognize.
A crescent surrounded by three lines.
The same symbol from the black cloth.
My heart started beating faster.
I traced the symbol with my finger.
Someone had written a word beneath it.
Lunaris.
I had never heard of it.
“You’re not supposed to be here.”
I turned.
Kael stood behind me.
“What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
He walked toward the table.
His eyes went to the map.
“Where did you find this?”
“In the old records.”
I pointed to the symbol.
“Do you know what Lunaris is?”
He stared at it.
“No.”
I frowned.
“You don’t?”
“No.”
I watched him carefully.
“You’re lying.”
His eyes met mine.
“I wouldn’t lie to you about this.”
Something in his voice made me believe him.
I pushed the map toward him.
“Then we need to find out.”
He nodded.
“We’ll go tomorrow.”
“Where?”
“The eastern mountains.”
My stomach tightened.
“You think that’s where my mother came from?”
“I think that’s where we’ll find answers.”
He folded the map.
Then he looked at me.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“The letter.”
I stiffened.
“What about it?”
“Your mother said your father wasn’t the man you were told he was.”
“Yes.”
“Who were you told he was?”
I looked away.
“My whole life, I was told he died before I was born.”
Kael frowned.
“Did you ever see his name?”
“No.”
“Not even once?”
I shook my head.
“Selene’s father used to say my mother was young and alone when she came to Mooncrest. That’s all I knew.”
Kael’s expression changed.
“What if he wasn’t dead?”
I stared at him.
“You think my father is alive?”
“I don’t know.”
He paused.
“But your mother’s letter makes me think we shouldn’t assume anything.”
I sat down.
For twenty years, I had believed I knew my own story.
Now every answer created another question.
Kael sat across from me.
“You don’t have to figure everything out tonight.”
“I know.”
“You should sleep.”
“I can’t.”
He smiled slightly.
“Neither can I.”
For the first time, I laughed.
It was small, but real.
The silence that followed wasn’t uncomfortable.
I looked at him.
“Why did you come here?”
He didn’t pretend not to understand.
“I wanted to check on you.”
“Because I’m your mate?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
The answer caught me off guard.
“Then why?”
He looked at me for a moment.
“Because you’re scared.”
I swallowed.
He wasn’t talking about the bond.
He had simply noticed.
That somehow meant more.
Before I could answer, a loud howl echoed from outside.
Kael immediately stood.
Another howl followed.
Then a guard shouted from the courtyard.
“Alpha!”
Kael rushed toward the door.
I followed.
A warrior came running toward us.
“Someone broke into the eastern records room.”
Kael’s expression hardened.
“What was taken?”
The guard looked at me.
“Nothing.”
I frowned.
“Then why break in?”
The guard swallowed.
“Because they left something behind.”
He handed Kael a small piece of paper.
Kael opened it.
His face changed.
“What does it say?” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
I took the paper from his hand.
There was only one sentence.
Stop looking for the truth about Liana Rose.
My blood ran cold.
At the bottom was the same crescent symbol.
The same symbol from the forest.
Someone wasn’t just watching us.
They knew exactly what we were searching for.
And they wanted us to stop.
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