Chapter 2: Mine
672 Words
The air trembled.
Five Alpha Kings.
One furious Alpha.
And me...
Caught in the middle.
Noah stepped in front of me, shielding me from their burning stares.
His voice was cold.
"Have all of you lost your minds?"
Damon didn't blink.
"No."
His golden eyes remained fixed on me.
"We found our mate."
A murmur spread through the crowd.
"M-Mate?"
"Did he just say mate?"
"But there are five of them..."
"That's impossible!"
Ryker took another step forward.
"I smelled her first."
"The hell you did," Kieran snapped. "I've been fighting my wolf since she walked over."
Lucian adjusted his cuff, though the tension in his jaw betrayed him.
"Our wolves reacted at the same time. Fighting over who sensed it first is pointless."
Zane said nothing.
He simply stared at me.
His gaze alone made my heart pound.
I had never been afraid of Noah's friends.
Today...
I couldn't breathe.
Noah released a powerful Alpha command.
"Stand down!"
The pressure exploded across the training grounds.
Most wolves lowered their heads instantly.
The five Alpha Kings...
Didn't move.
Damon folded his arms.
"We respect you, Noah."
"But this doesn't concern you."
Noah laughed bitterly.
"Doesn't concern me?"
He pointed at me.
"She's my sister!"
Ryker's eyes darkened.
"And she's my mate."
"No," Noah growled.
"She is not."
Before anyone could speak again, an elderly voice cut through the chaos.
"Enough!"
Everyone turned.
Elder Gideon, the oldest elder of the Silver Moon Pack, slowly approached with his cane.
Even the five Alpha Kings lowered their heads respectfully.
The old man looked from one Alpha to another before stopping in front of me.
His cloudy eyes widened.
"So..."
"It has finally begun."
A chill ran down my spine.
"What has begun?" Noah demanded.
The elder shook his head.
"Not here."
"Bring them all to the council hall."
Without another word, he turned and walked away.
The crowd erupted into whispers.
I swallowed hard.
Something was terribly wrong.
---
An hour later...
The council hall was silent.
Only eight people remained inside.
Noah.
The five Alpha Kings.
Elder Gideon.
And me.
The heavy wooden doors closed behind us.
Noah broke the silence first.
"Elder."
"I want answers."
The old man looked at me with sadness.
"There is an ancient legend older than every pack alive today."
Damon frowned.
"The Moon Queen."
The elder nodded.
"The first Luna."
My stomach tightened.
I had heard bedtime stories about her as a child.
Everyone had.
She was only a myth.
Wasn't she?
Elder Gideon sighed.
"The legend says the Moon Queen's bloodline would one day return."
"When she awakens..."
"Five Alpha Kings will kneel before her."
The room fell silent.
Noah scoffed.
"That's impossible."
"So I believed."
The elder slowly raised his trembling finger.
Until he pointed directly at me.
"Aria Hale..."
"You carry her blood."
My breath caught.
"No..."
"That's impossible."
"I've lived here my whole life."
"I've never left this pack."
The elder's expression remained grave.
"Because your parents wanted it that way."
Every face in the room turned toward Noah.
His expression changed instantly.
"What do you mean?"
"You know something?"
Noah's voice shook.
"I..."
"I was told never to ask."
The elder closed his eyes.
"Twenty years ago..."
"Your real parents were murdered."
The words struck me like lightning.
"What?"
"No..."
"My parents are alive."
The elder slowly shook his head.
"The people who raised you..."
"Were your guardians."
"They adopted you to protect your identity."
The world spun.
Everything I believed...
Everything...
Was a lie.
A sharp pain exploded inside my chest.
I cried out, collapsing onto one knee.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears.
Something warm spread beneath my skin.
Silver light seeped through my fingertips.
The entire hall began to shake.
Cracks raced across the stone floor.
The torches burst into bright blue flames.
Every Alpha instinctively stepped toward me.
Their wolves howled inside their minds.
Mine.
Mine.
Mine.
Before anyone could reach me...
A mysterious female voice echoed inside my head.
"Wake up, my child."
"The Moon Queen has returned."
- Writer
