Chapter Six - The Claim
972 Words
Chapter Six
The Claim
The howl came again.
Closer.
Closer than the forest.
Closer than the gates.
It came from inside Blackwood territory.
Every warrior in the hall reached for a weapon.
“The eastern wall!” someone shouted.
“They’ve breached it!”
Panic rippled through the remaining guests.
Families scrambled toward the underground shelters while warriors poured from the hall.
Only I couldn’t move.
My mother.
Alive.
The words refused to settle.
“They’re wrong,” I whispered.
“They have to be.”
Ronan watched me carefully.
“They aren’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
My head snapped up.
“You’ve seen her?”
A shadow crossed his face.
“Not for many years.”
“So she really is alive?”
“She was.”
The hesitation didn’t escape me.
“Was?”
“I don’t know if she still lives.”
The hope blooming in my chest withered just as quickly.
“You said you loved her.”
“I did.”
The honesty in his voice was almost painful.
“Then why didn’t you save her?”
Silence.
The Ash King lowered his gaze for the first time since he’d arrived.
“I failed.”
Three simple words.
Yet somehow, they carried decades of regret.
Before I could ask another question, Elder Rowan stepped between us.
“There are things she isn’t ready to hear.”
Ronan’s jaw tightened.
“She’s ready.”
“No,” Rowan replied quietly. “She’s barely survived today.”
I wrapped my arms around myself.
“They’re talking about my life.”
“My family.”
“My blood.”
“And everyone keeps deciding what I can handle.”
The room fell silent.
Ronan took one step toward me before stopping.
“You deserve the truth.”
“Then stop protecting me.”
His eyes searched mine for a long moment.
Finally, he nodded.
“Your mother was the last Moonborn Queen.”
The words landed like a physical blow.
“Queen?”
“She united twelve packs.”
“She ended wars.”
“She was loved…”
His voice hardened.
“…and feared.”
“Then what happened?”
“The Alpha Kings betrayed her.”
A cold chill slid down my spine.
“They wanted her power.”
“When she refused to belong to any of them…”
“They destroyed everything she loved.”
A lump formed in my throat.
“And my father?”
For the first time, Ronan hesitated.
Before he could answer—
The ground shook.
A horn echoed across the valley.
Then another.
Then a third.
Rowan closed his eyes.
“They’re here.”
⸻
Kael shifted back outside the eastern gates.
Blood dripped from a cut across his ribs.
Not his own.
Marcus had escaped.
Again.
But he’d found something else.
The forged photographs.
The ink.
The seal.
Everything pointed to one name.
He looked toward the mountains where three armies now marched beneath different banners.
Marcus hadn’t framed Isla alone.
Someone far more powerful had ordered it.
Someone who wanted Kael to reject her.
Someone who had known exactly what would happen when he did.
His stomach twisted.
He’d handed them everything.
⸻
Back inside the hall…
A warrior burst through the doors.
“My Alpha!”
Kael strode in moments later, his shirt torn, blood streaking his jaw.
The instant his eyes found me, something inside his expression cracked.
Regret.
Raw.
Unfiltered.
He opened his mouth.
“Isla—”
“No.”
The single word surprised even me.
“You don’t get to say my name like nothing happened.”
His shoulders stiffened.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
My voice shook.
“You stood in front of everyone I’ve ever known…”
“…and called me a liar.”
He flinched.
“You looked into my eyes.”
“You heard me beg.”
“And you still rejected me.”
Every word stripped another layer from his confidence.
“I made a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“You didn’t forget my birthday.”
“You destroyed my life.”
The room remained completely silent.
Kael took another tentative step.
“I’ll spend the rest of my life making this right.”
“You might have to.”
Ronan’s calm voice cut through the tension.
“But she’ll decide whether that’s enough.”
Kael’s wolf flashed in his eyes.
“I wasn’t speaking to you.”
“No.”
Ronan folded his arms.
“You were speaking to the woman you threw away.”
For a heartbeat, I thought they were going to fight again.
Instead…
Another voice echoed from outside.
Rich.
Smooth.
Amused.
“So…”
“Which one of you rejected the Moonborn?”
Every head turned toward the doorway.
A man in an immaculate navy suit leaned casually against the broken entrance, one hand tucked into his pocket as if he’d arrived at a cocktail party instead of a battlefield.
Dark blond hair.
Laughing blue eyes.
Perfectly tailored clothes.
Danger wrapped in charm.
He looked directly at me.
Then he smiled.
“Well.”
“You are even more beautiful than the rumours.”
Ronan sighed.
“You’re late.”
“I stopped for whiskey.”
The newcomer grinned.
“You know I hate travelling sober.”
Kael growled.
“And you are?”
The man straightened his cuffs.
“Alpha Cassian Ashcroft.”
He dipped his head toward me.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet the woman every Alpha in the world is prepared to go to war for.”
Then he looked at Kael.
“And if the rumours are true…”
His smile vanished.
“…you’re the i***t who rejected her.”
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