THE ROGUE ALPHA’S FORSAKEN MATE

Chapter 16

Mara led me to her room and closed the door.

The house was quiet. The pack grounds outside were quiet. Even the night birds seemed to have fallen silent. It was as if the world itself was holding its breath, waiting for the words that were about to be spoken.

Mara gestured for me to sit. I did, lowering myself onto the edge of her bed. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Mara sat across from me. Her expression was serious, more serious than I had ever seen it. She looked older than I remembered. Tired. Worn. As if she had been carrying something heavy for a very long time.

"I've been keeping something from you," she said. "Something I should have told you years ago. But I was afraid. Afraid of what it would mean. Afraid of what it would do to you."

"What is it?"

Mara was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "Your mother was not who you think she was."

I stared at her.

"She wasn't just a human who wandered into the pack," Mara continued. "She was a wolf. A powerful one. From a pack that was destroyed years ago."

I felt the words like a blow. "What?"

"She came to Ashford seeking refuge. She was running from something. She never told me what. She only said that she had to protect her daughter."

I shook my head. "That doesn't make sense. Everyone said she was human. Everyone said that's why I'm—"

"Weak?" Mara finished. "That's what they wanted you to believe. That's what she wanted you to believe."

I didn't understand. "Why?"

"Because if anyone knew the truth, they would have come for you. The wolves who destroyed her pack. The wolves she was running from."

I stared at her. "Her pack was destroyed?"

Mara nodded slowly. "Before you were born. She was one of the last survivors. She came to Ashford because she thought it would be safe. She thought no one would look for her here."

I felt tears prick my eyes. "And now?"

"Now I think you're ready to know the truth." Mara reached for my hand. "But there's more. Something I should have told you a long time ago."

"What?"

"Your wolf is not weak." Mara's voice was quiet but firm. "It was suppressed. By a curse. By a spell your mother cast to keep you hidden. To keep you safe."

I stared at her. "That's not possible."

"It is possible. And it's the truth." Mara squeezed my hand. "You are not half-human, Nova. You are something else entirely. Something powerful. Something your mother died to protect."

I pulled my hand away and stood. "I need to think."

"Nova—"

"I need to think."

I walked out of the room and out of the house. The night air was cool against my skin. I walked to the edge of the pack grounds and found the clearing. Kael was still there, sitting on the fallen log.

He looked up when he saw me. "What happened?"

I sat beside him and told him everything. Mara's words. My mother's true identity. The curse. Kael listened without interrupting.

When I finished, he was quiet for a long time.

"Ilsa told me something once," he said finally. "About a pack that was destroyed years before Thornwood. A pack with an ancient bloodline. She said there were rumors that one survivor escaped. A woman."

I looked at him.

"I never thought much about it," he said. "But now..." He paused. "Nova, I think your mother might have been from that pack. I think you might be the last survivor of a bloodline that was supposed to be extinct."

I didn't know what to say.

Kael reached for my hand. "This doesn't change anything. You're still you. You're still the woman I—" He stopped.

I looked at him. "The woman you what?"

He didn't answer. But he didn't pull away either.

We sat in silence for a long time. The night was quiet, the forest dark around us. For the first time since I had walked into Declan's room and seen Wren smiling at me, I felt like I wasn't alone.

***

I didn't sleep that night.

I lay on the ground beside Kael, staring up at the stars through the canopy of trees. My mind was racing. My mother was a wolf. A powerful one. From a pack that was destroyed. She came to Ashford seeking refuge. She was running from something. She had hidden all of it from me.

I thought about my childhood. The way I had always felt different. The way I had struggled to shift. The way my wolf had always felt distant and weak. I had believed it was because of my human blood. Everyone had told me that. My father. The elders. The other children. Even Mara had let me believe it.

But it wasn't true. My wolf wasn't weak. It was suppressed. By a curse. By a spell my mother cast to keep me hidden.

I thought about my mother. I had only vague memories of her. The sound of her voice. The warmth of her hands. The way she used to sing to me at night. I had always believed she was human. I had always believed she had died because she was fragile. Because she couldn't survive in a wolf pack.

But she wasn't fragile. She was powerful. She was running from something. She had died protecting me.

I felt tears slide down my cheeks. I didn't wipe them away.

Kael stirred beside me. "Nova?"

"I'm fine."

He didn't believe me. I could tell. But he didn't push.

"I don't know what to do," I said.

"You don't have to decide tonight."

"I know." I paused. "But I feel like I've been living a lie my whole life. Everyone knew. Mara knew. My father knew. Everyone except me."

"Your father knew?"

I nodded. "He must have. He was there when she came to the pack. He must have known who she was."

Kael was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "That's why he didn't defend you."

I looked at him.

"He knew the truth. He knew what you were. And he still let the elders treat you like nothing. He still let them plan to marry you off to Garrett."

I felt anger rise in my chest. "He knew."

"Yes."

"He knew, and he did nothing."

Kael didn't answer. He didn't need to.

I sat up. "I need to talk to him."

"Now?"

"Yes. Now."

I stood and walked back toward the pack grounds. Kael followed. I didn't know what I was going to say. I didn't know what I was going to do. But I knew I couldn't wait any longer. I needed answers.

I found my father in the elders' hall. He was alone, sitting at the long table with a cup of tea. He looked up when I walked in.

"Nova."

I stopped a few feet away. "You knew."

He set down his cup. "Knew what?"

"You knew about my mother. You knew she was a wolf. You knew she was from a pack that was destroyed. You knew she was running from something."

He didn't answer.

"You knew," I repeated. "And you never told me."

My father was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, "I was trying to protect you."

"Protect me?" I laughed bitterly. "You let the elders treat me like an outcast. You let them plan to marry me to Garrett. You let everyone believe I was weak and worthless. How is that protecting me?"

"I didn't know what else to do."

"You could have told me the truth."

"Your mother made me promise."

I stared at him. "What?"

"Before she died, she made me promise not to tell you. She said it was the only way to keep you safe. She said if anyone knew what you were, they would come for you."

"What am I?"

My father was quiet.

"What am I?" I repeated.

He looked at me. "You are the daughter of a powerful Alpha. The last survivor of a bloodline that was supposed to be extinct. Your mother came to Ashford because she had nowhere else to go. She trusted me to keep you safe."

"And you did. By making me feel worthless."

"I did what I thought was best."

I shook my head. "You did what was easiest."

He didn't deny it.

I turned and walked out.

Kael was waiting outside. He looked at me.

"Did you get your answers?"

"Some of them."

"What are you going to do?"

I looked at him. "I'm going to leave."

"When?"

"Tonight."