chapter eight
793 Words
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE FORBIDDEN CHAMBER
The council meeting began at sunset.
Liana sat quietly beside Kael while the elders filled the long table.
Every face was turned toward her.
She could feel their suspicion.
One elderly man finally spoke.
“The Omega cannot remain here.”
Kael's expression hardened.
“She is my wife.”
“She is also connected to the Moonstone.”
Another elder leaned forward.
“That makes her a danger to the pack.”
Liana's hands tightened in her lap.
Kael stood.
“Anyone who threatens my wife threatens me.”
The room fell silent.
Then the doors opened.
A guard rushed inside.
“Alpha, we found the intruder's trail.”
“Where?”
“The old wing.”
Kael immediately turned toward Ethan.
“Take the council to safety.”
Then he looked at Liana.
“You stay here.”
Liana shook her head.
“No.”
“Liana.”
“I found something in the archive.”
Kael's eyes narrowed.
“What?”
She pulled the black ring from her pocket.
His expression changed.
“Where did you get that?”
“On the floor.”
Ethan examined it.
“This symbol…”
“You recognize it?” Liana asked.
He nodded slowly.
“It belongs to the old royal bloodline.”
Liana stared at him.
“Royal?”
Before anyone could explain, a loud crash came from the old wing.
Kael's attention shifted toward the corridor.
“Stay with Ethan.”
This time, Liana nodded.
But when Kael disappeared, she looked at Ethan.
“What is the old wing?”
“A part of the estate that hasn't been used for years.”
“Why?”
Ethan hesitated.
“Because of what happened there.”
“What happened?”
“A former Alpha disappeared.”
Liana's eyes widened.
“Disappeared?”
“Twenty years ago.”
The same year her parents vanished.
Liana looked toward the corridor.
“I need to see it.”
Ethan immediately shook his head.
“No.”
“Ethan…”
“Absolutely not.”
But before he could stop her, a strange warmth spread through her pendant.
The silver symbol began glowing.
Liana followed the light.
It led her toward a hidden door beneath the staircase.
Ethan stared.
“I've lived here for years. I never knew that was there.”
Liana placed her hand against the door.
It opened.
Beyond it was a narrow staircase leading underground.
Ethan looked alarmed.
“Liana, we should wait for Kael.”
“We need answers.”
They descended.
At the bottom was a circular chamber filled with ancient symbols.
In the center stood a stone pedestal.
Liana's pendant began glowing brighter.
On the wall was a carved inscription.
THE HEIR SHALL OPEN WHAT THE ALPHA CANNOT.
Liana stepped toward the pedestal.
“What does that mean?”
Ethan didn't answer.
She placed her hand on the stone.
The entire chamber shook.
A hidden section of the wall opened.
Inside was a small wooden box.
Liana carefully removed it.
On top was a familiar symbol.
She opened the box.
Inside was a folded letter.
Her mother's handwriting.
Liana's heart raced.
She opened it.
“If you are reading this, then the Moonstone has awakened.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Your father and I didn't abandon you. We hid you because someone inside the Black Moon Pack betrayed us.”
Liana stopped reading.
Ethan looked at her.
“Someone inside the pack?”
She continued.
“The person who betrayed us still lives among them.”
A sound came from the staircase.
Both of them froze.
Footsteps.
Someone was coming down.
Ethan moved in front of Liana.
“Who's there?”
No answer.
The footsteps continued.
Then Kael appeared.
His eyes immediately went to the letter.
“Liana.”
She stepped backward.
“You knew.”
Kael shook his head.
“Not everything.”
“But you knew there was a traitor.”
“Yes.”
“And you brought me here anyway.”
“I brought you here because it was the safest place I could find.”
Liana looked at the letter.
Then she noticed something written at the bottom.
A single name.
She whispered it.
“Ethan.”
Ethan froze.
Kael's eyes immediately turned toward his Beta.
The chamber became completely silent.
Ethan stared at the name.
“I swear I don't know why my name is there.”
Liana looked between them.
Someone had betrayed her parents.
And now her mother's letter seemed to point directly at the one person Kael trusted most.
But Liana wasn't convinced.
Because there was something else hidden beneath the letter.
A second message.
And this one had only three words.
TRUST THE BETA.
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