CHAPTER 10 — THE RESTLESS REALM
1839 Words
A Night That Refused to Leave Her Alone
A Night That Refused to Leave Her Alone
Andra couldn’t sleep.
The human world was too quiet, too thin, too painfully normal. No hum of magic. No pulse of the moon. No whisper of the realms she was born to rule. Vampire blood and werewolf blood both hated this silence—her father’s legacy craving the night’s power, her mother’s lineage aching for the moon’s presence.
But none of that was what kept her awake.
It was him.
Kaelan.
His voice. His presence. The way he stepped between her and those men like it was instinct. The way her breath betrayed her.
She pressed her palms to her eyes. “Why am I thinking about him?”
Aria stirred, warm and restless, pacing just beneath her skin. Her wolf’s voice was low, thoughtful. “Because something in him calls to something in us.”
“He’s not our mate,” Andra snapped.
“I know. There was no bond.” Aria’s certainty was steady, unshaken. “No pull to the soul. No recognition.”
“Then why—” Andra’s voice cracked with frustration.
“Because are not made of stone,” Aria murmured. “And because as a hybrid you feel deeply.”
Andra groaned and flopped onto her back. “I don’t want this.”
“You don’t want confusion,” Aria corrected gently. “But confusion is not weakness. It’s instinct. And instinct is ours.”
Andra swallowed hard. “Do you feel it too? That… whatever it is?”
Aria hesitated—rare for her. “Yes. Not a mate bond. Not even close. But something… familiar. Like a spark brushing fur. Like a scent we should know but don’t.”
“That’s not helpful,” Andra muttered.
“It wasn’t meant to be,” Aria said dryly. “I’m confused too.”
Andra blinked. “You? Confused?”
“We are waiting for our mate,” Aria reminded her. “We always have been. And this—this is not that. But it is something. And ignoring it won’t make it disappear.”
Andra hated that she had no argument. Hated even more that her wolf was right.
Aria’s tone softened. “Just because he is not our mate doesn’t mean he cannot stir something in us. Attraction is not betrayal. Curiosity is not fate.”
Andra exhaled shakily. “Then what do I do?”
“Breathe,” Aria said. “And stop pretending you didn’t like the way he looked at you.”
Andra covered her face with a groan. “I really hate you sometimes.”
“No,” Aria said, smug and warm. “You hate that I’m honest.”
Andra had no comeback for that either.
Thalia’s Summons — Andra’s Heart Drops
A soft shimmer of silver light flickered in the corner of the room.
“Andra.”
Thalia’s voice carried through the magic, strained and urgent.
Andra sat up. “Thalia? What happened?”
“We need to speak. Come home.”
The light vanished.
Aria whispered, “This is not ordinary.”
Andra’s pulse quickened. “I know.”
The Truth She Was Never Told
Thalia stood in the living room, her silver hair dimmer than usual, her aura flickering from exhaustion. Concealment magic clung to her like a second skin, frayed and trembling.
“You’re draining yourself,” Andra said softly.
“I will rest when the realm does,” Thalia replied, though her voice wavered.
Andra sat, dread curling in her stomach. “Tell me.”
Thalia hesitated.
Thalia never hesitated.
“Andra… there are things I have kept from you.”
Andra’s breath caught. “What things?”
“About the realm. About what happened after your parents died.”
Her heart pounded, sharp and uneven. “Thalia… what happened?”
Thalia exhaled shakily. “A new king sits on the throne.”
Andra froze.
“A king?” she whispered. “Who?”
Thalia’s voice softened. “Someone your mother trusted. Someone she loved dearly.”
Andra blinked, memories stirring. “Mama talked about him all the time… Fenric.”
Thalia nodded.
Andra’s voice cracked. “She said he was loyal. She said he kept the realm stable. She said he would protect us. I never met him but… she made him sound like someone who would always be there.”
Thalia’s expression softened with grief. “He adored her. Losing her shattered him.”
Andra swallowed hard. “He’s King now?”
“Yes.”
The word hit her like a blow.
Andra stared at Thalia, the room suddenly too small, too quiet.
“Fenric…” she whispered. “My uncle. The Alpha Regent. King.” The words felt wrong together, like pieces from different puzzles forced into one shape.
Thalia’s shoulders sagged. “I never wanted you to learn it like this.”
“Then how?” Andra’s voice cracked. “How was I supposed to learn that the man Mama trusted most—her own brother—is ruling the realm I’m supposed to inherit?”
Thalia closed her eyes, pain flickering across her face. “Your mother believed you would grow up beside him. She thought he would guide you, teach you, protect you. But fate… fate was cruel.”
Andra swallowed hard. “She talked about him all the time. She made him sound like a legend. But I never saw him. Not once.”
“You didn’t,” Thalia said softly, “because he was never still. As Alpha Regent, he lived on the road—mediating pack disputes, calming tensions, enforcing treaties. And when Liora married Theron, her responsibilities doubled. She became Queen of the Werewolves by birth… and Queen of the Vampires by marriage. Two crowns. Two realms. Two worlds that had never been united before.”
Thalia continued, voice low and reverent.
“So Fenric became her strength in the werewolf realm. Her right hand. Her trusted man. He carried the weight she could not carry alone.”
Andra’s chest tightened. “So he wasn’t avoiding me.”
“No,” Thalia whispered. “He was protecting everything your mother loved—including you.”
A long silence stretched between them, heavy and fragile.
Only then did Thalia reach for the scrolls.
She unrolled them — reports from allies scattered across the realm.
“Packs are restless,” she said. “Some feel ignored. Others feel favored. Old rivalries are resurfacing.”
Andra frowned. “Fenric wouldn’t do that intentionally.”
“He is overwhelmed,” Thalia said. “He was never meant to rule. He stepped in because he believed it was his duty — to honor your mother’s legacy.”
Andra’s chest tightened. “He’s trying.”
“He is,” Thalia whispered. “But he is blind to the danger around him.”
Andra’s voice dropped. “What danger?”
Thalia hesitated — then spoke the name like a curse.
“Morgana.”
Morgana — The Shadow Behind the Throne
Andra frowned. “Who is Morgana?”
“Fenric’s mate,” Thalia said quietly. “And once… your mother’s rival.”
Andra’s breath caught. “Rival? Where?”
“At the Lunar Academy,” Thalia replied. “It’s where elite werewolves are trained—future alphas, heirs, and the children of powerful bloodlines. Your mother and Morgana studied there together.”
Andra blinked. “Mother never mentioned her.”
“She wouldn’t have,” Thalia murmured. “Liora didn’t see Morgana as a real threat. She didn’t want to worry her parents… or yours. Even when Morgana tried to hurt her at the Academy, Liora kept it to herself.”
Andra stared. “She hid all of that?”
“She thought it was petty jealousy,” Thalia said. “She never imagined Morgana would one day stand beside your brother as queen. And Fenric… I don’t think he knows even now.”
Andra’s stomach twisted. “He has no idea who he’s married to.”
“No,” Thalia said. “He doesn’t.”
Andra swallowed. “Why would Morgana hate my mother so much?”
“Because Morgana is of royal blood too.”
Andra froze. “That’s impossible. My mother’s line is the only royal line.”
“It wasn’t always,” Thalia said. “Long ago, the werewolf kingdom was divided into two. One ruled by Morgana’s family… and the other by your mother’s. Two thrones. Two bloodlines.”
Andra’s pulse quickened. “What happened to her family’s kingdom?”
“The rogue wars. The vampire attacks. Morgana’s kingdom fell first. Their borders collapsed. Their warriors died. To survive, they submitted themselves to your family’s rule.”
“So my mother’s line became the only ruling line,” Andra whispered.
“And Morgana grew up watching her kingdom bow to yours,” Thalia said. “Watching Liora rise while her own mother faded into obscurity. She has carried that resentment for decades.”
Andra felt anger coil inside her—sharp, cold. “And now she finally has power again.”
“She is clever,” Thalia said. “Manipulative. And she benefits from your mother’s death.”
A heavy silence settled.
Thalia’s voice softened, troubled. “Andra… there is something else.”
Andra’s heart thudded. “What?”
“I only discovered Morgana’s past recently,” Thalia admitted. “Since the attack… since your parents and the entire royal pack were murdered by rogues and vampires… I’ve been monitoring the kingdom from the shadows. Reaching out to old friends and allies, but carefully—so carefully. I had to make sure no one traced the messages back to me. No one could know I survived. No one could know you survived.”
Andra’s breath caught. “So you didn’t know about Morgana before?”
“No,” Thalia said. “Morgana hid well. Too well. I only learned she was Liora’s rival at the Lunar Academy after digging through old records. I only learned she came from the fallen royal line after decoding letters from allies who risked everything to send word.”
Andra’s voice trembled. “Why does that matter?”
“Because now I’m trying to connect the dots,” Thalia whispered. “The attack that killed your parents… it was too coordinated. Too precise. Rogues and vampires working together? That doesn’t happen without someone powerful pulling strings.”
Andra’s voice cracked. “You think Morgana—”
“I don’t know,” Thalia said, though fear shadowed her eyes. “But she had motive. She had ambition. And she had every reason to remove the last obstacle between her and the power her family lost.”
Andra’s hands curled into fists. “So she might not just be a shadow behind the throne.”
Thalia met her gaze, steady and grim.
“She might be the reason your family was slaughtered.”
- Writer
