REJECTED BY THE WOLF KING

Chapter 3: Beneath the Castle

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

I stared at the warrior as though his words had been spoken in a language I didn't understand. My mother's name kept repeating inside my head, each repetition more painful than the last.

Queen Elara.

My mother.

Dead beneath the Wolf King's castle.

It made no sense.

My mother had never been a queen. At least, that was what I had been told. She had been a healer from a small village, a gentle woman who supposedly died from an illness when I was six.

That was the story I had grown up believing.

Now, in a single night, everything I knew about my family had begun falling apart.

"Say it again," I whispered.

The warrior looked uncomfortable.

"My Queen—"

"Don't call me that."

He lowered his head.

"We found a woman's remains beneath the eastern wing of the castle. The royal historians identified the jewelry beside the body. It belonged to Queen Elara."

My hands began trembling.

"How long has she been there?"

The warrior glanced at Kael.

"Approximately eighteen years."

My heart stopped.

Eighteen years.

The exact amount of time since my mother supposedly died.

I slowly turned toward Kael.

He had become completely still.

"You knew."

His eyes met mine.

"I suspected."

"You suspected my mother was buried beneath your castle?"

"No."

His voice was quiet.

"I suspected she had been taken there."

The answer made my stomach twist.

"Taken?"

Kael nodded.

"Your mother didn't die from an illness."

I climbed out of the bed despite the dizziness.

"Then how did she die?"

Kael looked away.

"I don't know."

"You always say that."

My voice cracked.

"You know everything else. You knew my father. You knew my name the moment you saw me. You knew something was wrong with the mate bond. And now you're telling me you don't know what happened to my mother?"

Kael's jaw tightened.

"You think I wanted any of this?"

"I don't know what you want."

That silenced him.

The warrior quietly left the room, closing the door behind him.

For the first time, Kael and I were completely alone.

I should have been afraid.

Instead, I was angry.

"You rejected me because of my family."

"Yes."

The answer came without hesitation.

"Why?"

Kael stared at the floor.

"Because everyone connected to you has died."

I frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"Your father disappeared. Your mother vanished. The people who protected you were murdered. Every person who ever tried to uncover the truth about your family ended up dead."

I felt a chill move through me.

"You're saying someone is killing anyone who gets close to me?"

"I believe someone has been protecting a secret for eighteen years."

"And you think I'm the secret?"

Kael slowly looked at me.

"I think you're the key."

A strange silence settled between us.

"The key to what?"

"I don't know yet."

I laughed bitterly.

"Of course."

Kael's eyes narrowed.

"You think this is amusing?"

"No."

I wiped the tears from my cheeks.

"I think I'm tired of everyone knowing pieces of my life except me."

Something softened in his expression.

For a moment, he looked less like the terrifying Wolf King and more like a man carrying a burden too heavy for one person.

"I didn't reject you because I hated you."

I looked at him.

"You rejected me because you were afraid."

His eyes flickered.

"Yes."

The honesty caught me off guard.

"Afraid of me?"

"Afraid of what would happen if I accepted you."

I stepped closer.

"What would happen?"

Kael didn't answer.

I waited.

Finally, he whispered, "The last person who shared your blood nearly destroyed this kingdom."

My heart sank.

"My father?"

"No."

He looked directly at me.

"Your mother."

I froze.

"My mother?"

Kael nodded.

"Queen Elara was never a healer."

My mind went blank.

"She was the most powerful Luna our kingdom had ever seen."

I shook my head.

"No."

"She wasn't born a royal. She wasn't even born into an Alpha family. But her wolf carried an ancient bloodline that had disappeared generations ago."

"What bloodline?"

Kael's expression darkened.

"The Moonborn."

The word meant nothing to me.

"What's that?"

"An old bloodline believed to be connected directly to the Moon Goddess."

I stared at him.

"You expect me to believe my mother was some kind of magical queen?"

"I'm telling you what I know."

"And what about me?"

His silence answered before his words did.

I swallowed.

"You think I inherited it."

Kael nodded.

Before I could ask another question, the castle shook.

A loud explosion echoed from somewhere below us.

The windows rattled violently.

Kael immediately moved toward the door.

"What was that?"

"Stay here."

"No."

"Lyra."

"I am done being left behind."

He turned.

For a moment, our eyes locked.

Then another explosion shook the castle.

This time, the floor beneath us cracked.

Kael grabbed my waist and pulled me away just as a piece of stone fell from the ceiling.

I stumbled against his chest.

His arms tightened around me instinctively.

The mate bond reacted.

Heat rushed through my body.

Kael felt it too.

His breathing changed.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

His face was inches from mine.

I could hear his heartbeat.

Fast.

Uneven.

Nothing like the cold, controlled King everyone feared.

His eyes dropped briefly to my lips.

Then he stepped away.

"We need to leave."

I nodded.

He opened the door.

Chaos greeted us.

Guards were running through the hallway. Servants were screaming, and smoke was beginning to fill the lower levels.

"What happened?" Kael demanded.

A wounded warrior rushed toward him.

"My King, the eastern wing has been breached."

Kael's expression hardened.

"By whom?"

"We don't know."

"Where are they?"

The warrior pointed downward.

"They're heading toward the underground chambers."

Kael went pale.

I remembered the voice from my vision.

I'm beneath his castle.

My mother.

"Take me there."

Kael immediately shook his head.

"No."

"My mother is down there."

"Exactly."

I grabbed his arm.

"If there's any chance she's alive, I'm going."

Kael stared at my hand.

Then at me.

Something changed in his expression.

He nodded once.

"Stay beside me."

We ran down the stone staircase.

The deeper we went, the colder the air became.

Strange symbols covered the walls.

I had never seen them before, but somehow they felt familiar.

My fingers brushed one of the markings.

It glowed silver.

Kael stopped.

"Don't touch them."

I pulled my hand back.

"What are these?"

"Protection seals."

"Protecting what?"

Kael looked toward the darkness ahead.

"I don't know."

A distant scream echoed through the corridor.

We hurried forward.

At the end of the passage stood an enormous iron door.

It was covered in silver symbols.

And in the center was a handprint.

My handprint.

I stared at it.

"How is that possible?"

Kael didn't answer.

My heart pounded as I slowly placed my palm against the door.

The entire castle seemed to hold its breath.

Then the door opened.

A wave of cold air swept over us.

Beyond it was a hidden chamber.

Candles burned along the walls.

Ancient books covered the shelves.

And in the center of the room stood a large stone altar.

Someone was lying on it.

A woman.

My breath caught.

"Mom?"

I rushed forward.

Kael grabbed my wrist.

"Wait."

The woman slowly lifted her head.

Her face was pale.

Her long dark hair fell over her shoulders.

And despite the years that had passed, I recognized her instantly.

My mother.

She looked at me with tears filling her eyes.

"Lyra."

I stopped breathing.

"Mom?"

She smiled weakly.

"You've grown so beautiful."

I pulled away from Kael and ran to her.

I fell beside the altar, crying as I reached for her hand.

"You're alive."

"For now."

Her eyes shifted toward Kael.

The warmth disappeared from her expression.

"You brought him here."

Kael stepped forward.

"Elara."

My mother stared at him with hatred.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance."

Kael's face tightened.

"I didn't know you were alive."

"You knew enough."

I looked between them.

"What is happening?"

My mother squeezed my hand.

"Lyra, listen carefully."

Her voice weakened.

"You cannot stay in this castle."

"Why?"

She looked at Kael.

Then back at me.

"Because the man you call the Wolf King isn't the one who rejected you."

I frowned.

"What do you mean?"

My mother's eyes filled with fear.

"The man standing in front of you is not Kael."

The room went silent.

I stared at the Wolf King.

Kael didn't move.

My mother whispered the words that changed everything.

"Your real mate was murdered eighteen years ago."

Kael's eyes suddenly turned completely black.

And he smiled.