CHAPTER 9: THE HIDDEN KINGDOM
1399 Words
"Selene!"
Kael's roar shook the forest.
His claws dug deep into the crumbling earth as he held onto Selene's wrist.
Below them...
The chasm stretched endlessly into darkness.
Ancient stone buildings lined a forgotten city hidden beneath Black Hollow.
Silver rivers flowed between towering ruins.
Thousands of glowing eyes stared upward.
Watching.
Waiting.
Selene's fingers slipped.
"Kael!"
"I've got you."
His grip tightened.
The wolfsbane wound in his side tore open again.
Fresh blood soaked his shirt.
Captain Nadia rushed forward.
"Alpha!"
She grabbed Kael's arm while Ethan seized Selene's other hand.
"Pull!"
The ground continued collapsing.
Large chunks of earth crashed into the abyss below.
With one final effort—
Selene was pulled back onto solid ground.
She collapsed against Kael, struggling to breathe.
For several seconds...
Neither of them spoke.
Kael rested one hand against the back of her head.
His heartbeat thundered beneath her ear.
"You almost fell."
His voice was unusually quiet.
"I know."
"I told you..."
"...I won't let anything happen to you."
Selene looked up.
For the first time since they'd met...
She saw genuine fear in his eyes.
Not fear for himself.
Fear of losing her.
---
A slow clap echoed through the forest.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
Every guard immediately raised their weapons.
The silver mist drifted apart.
A lone figure stepped onto the broken road.
He looked no older than thirty.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Long silver hair reached past his shoulders.
His black coat swayed gently despite the still air.
His eyes...
Burned a brilliant sapphire blue.
He smiled.
"So."
"The mighty Lycan King..."
"...still risks everything for one girl."
Kael immediately moved in front of Selene.
"Ronan."
The newcomer bowed mockingly.
"Your Majesty."
Selene frowned.
This was Alpha Ronan?
The man responsible for kidnapping her mother?
He looked... calm.
Almost charming.
But something about his smile made her skin crawl.
---
Ronan's gaze shifted to Selene.
"There you are."
"I've searched for you for twenty-one years."
Selene's stomach tightened.
"I don't know you."
"No."
"You wouldn't."
He chuckled softly.
"But I knew your parents."
Her world stopped.
"My..."
"...parents?"
"You knew my father?"
"And my mother?"
Kael's voice turned dangerously cold.
"Enough."
Ronan sighed.
"You always ruin the interesting conversations."
His eyes returned to Selene.
"The people you call your parents..."
"...aren't your whole story."
Selene stared at him.
"What are you talking about?"
"Eleanor raised you."
"She loved you."
"That much is true."
"But..."
He paused deliberately.
"...she didn't give birth to you."
The words struck harder than any blow.
Selene shook her head.
"No."
"You're lying."
"Ask Kael."
Slowly...
She turned toward him.
His silence said everything.
Tears filled her eyes.
"...Kael?"
He closed his eyes briefly.
"I was going to tell you."
"When?"
"When you were ready."
A tear rolled down Selene's cheek.
"So..."
"...everything I believed about myself..."
"...was a lie?"
Kael stepped toward her.
"No."
"Eleanor is your mother in every way that matters."
"But..."
"...Ronan is telling the truth about one thing."
"You were adopted."
The world tilted.
Memories flashed through Selene's mind.
The old family photographs.
The way people sometimes said she looked nothing like her father.
The questions she'd ignored for years.
Her knees weakened.
Kael caught her before she fell.
"I'm sorry."
She looked at him with tear-filled eyes.
"You knew..."
"...and you still didn't tell me."
Before Kael could answer—
Ronan laughed.
"This is exactly why she belongs with me."
He spread his arms toward the glowing ruins below.
"Welcome home..."
"...Princess Selene."
Selene's tears fell silently
She couldn't breathe.
She couldn't think.
One question echoed through her mind.
"Who am I?"
Kael gently steadied her before she could collapse.
"Listen to me."
She pulled away.
"You knew."
Her voice trembled.
"You knew all this time."
"I did."
"And you let me believe a lie."
"It wasn't my secret to tell."
She looked into his eyes.
For the first time...
She saw regret.
Real regret.
"I promised Eleanor," he said quietly. "That if the truth ever came out... it would come from the people responsible for hiding it—not from me."
Selene clenched the necklace in her hand.
"My mother..."
"Does she know?"
Kael nodded once.
"Yes."
A fresh wave of tears blurred her vision.
"So she's been carrying this alone all these years..."
---
Ronan watched the exchange with an amused smile.
"Touching."
"But we're running out of time."
He looked at Selene.
"Come with me."
"I'll answer every question."
"I'll tell you who your real parents were."
"I'll explain why the Moon Goddess marked you before you were born."
Selene froze.
"Before... I was born?"
Ronan nodded.
"You weren't abandoned."
"You were hidden."
"Protected."
"Because the night you were born..."
"The royal family was slaughtered."
The forest fell silent.
Captain Nadia's grip tightened around her sword.
Even Ethan lowered his head.
Ronan continued.
"Only one child survived."
He pointed directly at Selene.
"You."
---
"No."
Selene whispered.
"This can't be real."
Ronan took another step forward.
"Your father was the last Moon King."
"Your mother was the Moon Queen."
"They ruled every werewolf kingdom before civil war tore our people apart."
He sighed.
"They died protecting you."
Kael's jaw tightened.
"Stop twisting history."
"I'm telling her the truth."
"Only half of it."
Ronan's smile faded.
"Half-truths are still truths."
---
Suddenly...
The silver light from the ruins intensified.
Selene's necklace grew warm.
Very warm.
She gasped.
The pendant floated into the air.
Everyone stared.
A thin beam of moonlight connected the necklace to the glowing altar deep below.
Ancient symbols appeared across the pendant's surface.
Symbols that hadn't been there before.
Ronan smiled.
"The royal seal."
"It recognizes its owner."
Selene reached toward it instinctively.
The moment her fingertips touched the pendant—
A blinding flash exploded around her.
---
She wasn't in Black Hollow anymore.
She stood inside a magnificent palace.
Moonlight streamed through crystal windows.
Silver banners hung from towering pillars.
Laughter echoed through the halls.
A little girl—about five years old—ran across polished marble floors.
She had long black hair.
Bright silver eyes.
And around her neck...
The very same necklace.
The little girl laughed as a beautiful woman chased after her.
"You'll fall if you keep running!"
The child giggled.
"You have to catch me first, Mother!"
The woman finally scooped her into her arms, laughing.
A tall man approached them, wearing a silver crown.
He kissed the little girl's forehead.
"Our little moon."
Selene's heart ached.
She knew these people.
Not by memory...
But by feeling.
The little girl looked directly toward Selene.
Their eyes met.
Then—
The palace shook violently.
A horn echoed outside.
Soldiers shouted.
"Your Majesties!"
"They've breached the eastern gate!"
The smiling king's face hardened instantly.
He handed the little girl to the queen.
"It's time."
The queen's eyes filled with tears.
"No..."
"We knew this day would come."
She hugged the child tightly.
"I love you more than the moon itself."
The little girl didn't understand.
"Mother?"
The king knelt before his daughter.
"If anyone ever asks who you are..."
He smiled sadly.
"Tell them you're loved."
Those were the last words Selene heard.
The vision shattered.
---
She stumbled backward into Kael's arms.
Her breathing was ragged.
"They..."
She whispered.
"I saw them."
Kael's expression softened.
"What did you see?"
"My parents..."
Tears streamed freely down her face.
"They died..."
"...trying to save me."
Silence swept across Black Hollow.
Ronan bowed his head for a brief moment.
"They were good rulers."
"But they were weak."
Kael's crimson eyes blazed.
"They chose love over power."
"And that's why they lost."
Ronan answered coldly.
"No."
"They lost because they trusted the wrong people."
He slowly drew a long silver sword from behind his back.
Its blade shimmered with strange blue markings.
"The same mistake you're making now."
He pointed the sword at Kael.
"So tell me, Lycan King..."
"If you have to choose..."
"...between saving Selene..."
"...or saving her mother..."
"...who dies?"
The question hung in the cold night air.
Before Kael could answer—
A woman's scream echoed from deep beneath the ruins.
"Selene!"
It was Eleanor's voice.
"Run!"
The scream ended abruptly.
Selene's eyes widened in horror.
"Mom!"
She broke into a sprint toward the ancient staircase leading into the hidden kingdom.
"Selene, wait!" Kael shouted.
But she didn't stop.
And from the shadows below...
Hundreds of glowing eyes slowly opened.
- Writer
