The Alpha's Contract Luna

Chapter 14

By eight the next morning, Nadia had made three decisions.

First, she was done being frightened by things she didn't understand.

Second, she was going to find out everything she could about her mother's bloodline.

Third, if another ancient message appeared on a piece of paper, she was throwing the entire book into a fireplace.

The third decision was probably the least practical, considering the book was currently sitting inside a locked drawer in Roman's study.

Still, it made her feel better.

She stood in front of the bathroom mirror, studying the silver crescent at the base of her thumb. It had faded overnight, leaving behind something that looked like a pale scar.

She pressed it.

Nothing happened.

“Good,” she whispered. “Let's keep it that way.”

Her phone buzzed on the counter.

AMARA: You alive?

Nadia smiled.

NADIA: Unfortunately.

AMARA: That sounds suspicious. Do I need to come rescue you?

Nadia glanced toward the bedroom door.

There were a hundred things she wanted to tell her best friend. The ancient sanctuary. The voice beneath it. Her mother's letter. The fact that her temporary husband was a billionaire werewolf whose wolf apparently considered her the answer to a question nobody had explained.

Instead, she typed:

NADIA: Not yet. I'll call you later. Promise.

Amara responded with a suspicious-looking series of question marks.

Nadia put the phone away.

She had enough problems without adding an interrogation from the one person who could tell when she was lying through a text message.

By the time she reached the kitchen, Roman was already there, speaking to Darius over a tablet. Two cups of coffee sat on the counter.

He pushed one toward her.

“Black, one sugar.”

She stopped.

“You remembered.”

“You complained about the coffee yesterday.”

“I complained about the coffee machine.”

“You said the coffee tasted like burnt cardboard.”

“It did.”

He returned to the tablet. “I had it replaced.”

Nadia took a sip.

It was, annoyingly, excellent.

“Thank you,” she said.

Darius looked between them. “Should I leave you two alone?”

“No,” Nadia and Roman answered together.

Darius raised both hands. “Understood. I'll continue being the only sensible person in this household.”

“Your humility is inspiring,” Nadia told him.

“I work hard at it.”

Roman set the tablet aside.

“The training room is beneath the east wing of Blackthorn Estate. My father sealed it after my mother's death. There are records of Mooncrest rituals down there, along with notes about the original Alpha.”

“Why didn't you mention this before?”

“Because I only learned about it last night.”

Nadia frowned. “Your family really does have a storage problem.”

“It's not storage.”

“Right. Secret rooms, forbidden books, mysterious letters. Much more respectable.”

Darius coughed into his coffee.

Roman ignored him.

“We leave in an hour.”

“Do I get a briefing this time?”

“Yes.”

“Written or verbal?”

“Both.”

Nadia nodded. “Look at us, learning.”

The drive to Blackthorn Estate took just under two hours.

The city disappeared behind them, replaced by highways, bare trees, and stretches of winter-brown countryside. Nadia watched the landscape pass while Roman reviewed a set of documents beside her.

She had noticed something about him over the last few days. When he wasn't issuing orders or hiding information, he worked quietly. No dramatic phone calls. No shouting at assistants. Just a man reading, making notes, and occasionally rubbing the bridge of his nose when something annoyed him.

It made him seem more human.

The thought caught her off guard.

“So,” she said, “what happened to your mother?”

Roman stopped reading.

Nadia almost regretted asking. She knew very little about his family, and the subject seemed to be full of locked doors.

“You don't have to answer,” she added.

“My mother died when I was fourteen.”

“I'm sorry.”

He nodded once.

“She was a member of the Blackthorn Pack, but she wasn't involved in the council's political games. My father kept her away from most of it.”

“Did she know about Mooncrest?”

“I believe she did. But my father never explained how much.”

Nadia looked out the window again.

“Sometimes I think our parents make decisions for us because they believe they're protecting us. Then we spend the rest of our lives dealing with the consequences.”

Roman was quiet for a moment.

“Do you think your mother made the wrong decision?”

“I don't know.” Nadia swallowed. “I don't know why she left. I don't know what she was protecting me from. I don't even know whether she had a choice.”

She looked down at her hand.

“But I'm tired of everyone using protection as an excuse to keep me in the dark.”

Roman closed the folder.

“Then we won't do that.”

She turned toward him.

“That's a promise.”

“Yes.”

She held his gaze for a moment before looking away.

It was easier when he was being irritating.

Blackthorn Estate looked different in daylight.

The old stone building stood among tall trees, its windows reflecting the pale sky. Pack members moved between the main house and the smaller buildings around it. A few paused when Roman's SUV pulled up, their attention shifting immediately to Nadia.

She was getting used to the staring.

She still hated it.

Darius met them at the entrance.

“The east wing is ready. I've also secured the council archives connected to the Hollow Alpha's case.”

“Did Alistair object?” Roman asked.

“Of course.”

“And?”

“I reminded him that you are the Alpha.”

Roman gave him a brief nod. “Good.”

Nadia followed them inside.

They descended a narrow staircase behind an old storage room. At the bottom stood a heavy wooden door reinforced with iron bands. A crescent symbol had been carved into its center.

Her wrist warmed.

She stopped.

Roman noticed immediately. “The mark?”

“It's reacting to the door.”

Darius stepped back. “Should we open it?”

Nadia studied the carving.

“I think that's why we're here.”

She placed her palm against the wood.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then the crescent beneath her hand began to glow.

A soft click came from inside the door.

The lock turned.

Nadia pulled her hand away.

“I'm going to need someone to explain why my skin has become a universal key.”

“After we get inside,” Roman said.

The door opened with a low groan.

The room beyond was smaller than Nadia expected. Shelves lined the walls, filled with old books and carefully wrapped objects. A long wooden table stood in the center, covered in handwritten notes and faded diagrams.

Unlike the sanctuary, the room felt maintained.

Someone had been here recently.

Darius noticed it too.

“The dust has been disturbed.”

Roman's expression hardened. “Check the exits. Nobody enters without my permission.”

Darius moved toward the far end of the room.

Nadia approached the table.

One document lay open beneath a glass weight. At the top was a name written in dark ink.

THE FIRST ALPHA: CAEL VARRICK.

Beneath it were two smaller names.

THE MATE: LYRA MOONCREST.

Nadia stared at the page.

“Mooncrest,” she whispered.

Roman came to stand beside her.

“Your ancestor?”

“Possibly.”

She began reading.

The notes described an Alpha whose wolf had become unstable after his mate bond was severed. But the details were different from the council's official version. Cael had not simply lost his mate. Someone had deliberately broken the bond during a ritual intended to transfer its power.

The ritual had failed.

Cael's wolf had turned against him, and the resulting violence nearly destroyed his pack.

Nadia felt a familiar pressure behind her eyes.

“Roman.”

He looked at her.

“I think this is happening again.”

The room seemed to grow colder.

She placed her fingers on the document, and a rush of images passed through her mind.

A stone circle beneath a blood-red moon.

A man kneeling with silver chains around his wrists.

A woman screaming his name.

And another figure standing behind them, holding a blade.

Nadia pulled her hand away with a sharp breath.

Roman caught her elbow.

“What did you see?”

“A ritual. Someone was trying to take the bond's power.” She pressed a hand to her forehead. “I couldn't see the person's face.”

“Was it the Hollow Alpha?”

“No. He was the one being restrained.”

Roman looked down at the document.

“Then the council's story was wrong from the beginning.”

“Not just wrong.” Nadia's voice shook with anger. “Someone made him into a monster and then told everyone he was born that way.”

A quiet sound came from the doorway.

“Well,” said a familiar voice, “that depends on which part of the story you choose to believe.”

Alistair Thorne stood at the entrance.

Darius appeared behind him, visibly displeased.

“I told him to wait outside,” Darius said.

“And I declined,” Alistair replied.

Roman stepped away from the table.

“You were not invited.”

“No. But I suspected you would find this room eventually.”

Nadia folded her arms.

“Did you know what happened to Cael Varrick?”

Alistair looked at the open document.

“I know the council's records.”

“That's not what I asked.”

For a moment, the old man's expression softened. He looked tired rather than offended.

“The first Alpha was betrayed by someone he trusted. That much is true. His mate was a Mooncrest keeper, and she died trying to prevent the ritual from destroying them both.”

“Who betrayed him?”

Alistair's gaze shifted to Roman.

“The records name a member of the Veyne family.”

Silence settled over the room.

Roman didn't move.

Nadia looked at him, then back at Alistair.

“Which member?”

“The records are incomplete.”

“Convenient,” Nadia said.

“I understand your suspicion.”

“Do you? Because I think you're leaving out the part where my mother's family has spent centuries cleaning up a mess someone else's family created.”

Alistair's jaw tightened.

“Your mother believed the same thing.”

Nadia felt her stomach drop.

“You knew Elena.”

“I met her several times.”

“Then tell me where she is.”

“I don't know.”

“Is she alive?”

Alistair hesitated.

It was only a second, but Nadia caught it.

“You know something.”

“I know she was alive when she left New York. I cannot tell you what happened after that.”

“Why not?”

“Because the person who helped her disappear may still be watching this family.”

Roman moved closer to Alistair.

“Who helped her?”

The older man glanced at the documents on the table.

“Someone who understood that the truth about Cael Varrick could destroy the council.”

Before Roman could respond, Darius's phone rang.

He answered, listened for several seconds, then looked up.

“We have a problem.”

Roman's expression hardened. “What now?”

“Someone accessed the sealed council archive this morning. They took the original report on Cael's betrayal.”

“Who?”

Darius turned the screen toward him.

The security record showed a name and an access time.

ALISTAIR THORNE — 6:14 A.M.

Everyone looked at the older man.

Alistair's face had gone pale.

“I didn't take it.”

Darius's voice was flat. “Your access code was used.”

“Then someone has stolen it.”

Roman studied him carefully.

“Who knew you had access?”

Alistair didn't answer.

Nadia's mark began to burn.

A whisper brushed the edge of her thoughts, carrying the same cold grief she'd felt in the vision.

The traitor still wears a familiar face.

She gripped the table.

Roman turned toward her. “Nadia?”

She looked at Alistair.

“I think the person who betrayed the Hollow Alpha is connected to someone here.”

Alistair took one step back.

For the first time since Nadia had met him, the old councilman looked genuinely afraid.

Then he said something that made Roman go completely still.

“Before you accuse anyone,” Alistair whispered, “you need to understand one thing.”

His eyes shifted to Roman.

“The Veyne who betrayed Cael Varrick was not your ancestor.”

He paused.

“It was your father.”