SOLD TO SIX ALPHA'S

Chapter 9: The Mother I Lost

The woman standing beneath the silver moon looked exactly like the woman in my memories.

Same violet eyes.

Same long dark hair.

Same silver crown.

My heart seemed to stop.

"Mother?"

The word escaped my lips before I could stop it.

Queen Elara's eyes filled with tears.

"My little Lyra."

I couldn't move.

For eighteen years, I had believed I had no family.

I had spent my childhood wondering why nobody wanted me.

Why I had been abandoned.

Why I had been different.

And now the woman I had mourned without ever knowing her was standing in front of me.

Alive.

I took one hesitant step forward.

Then another.

Kael reached for my arm.

"Lyra, wait."

I pulled away.

"No."

My eyes never left my mother.

"Don't stop me."

Kael looked at Elara.

Something passed between them.

Something I didn't understand.

I walked toward the woman who had haunted my dreams.

She opened her arms.

I stopped only a few feet away.

"Is it really you?"

Elara nodded.

"Yes."

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

"You left me."

Her expression broke.

"I know."

"You let me believe I was unwanted."

"I had no choice."

"You always had a choice!"

My voice echoed through the forest.

The six Alphas remained silent.

Elara lowered her head.

"You're right."

I stared at her.

"I don't want your apologies."

"I know."

"Then why?"

She looked at me.

"Because if I had kept you with me eighteen years ago, you would have died."

I shook my head.

"How do you know?"

"Because Malric wasn't the only one hunting you."

My blood ran cold.

"What do you mean?"

Elara looked toward the six Alphas.

"The prophecy was already known."

Rowan frowned.

"By whom?"

"The High Council."

Silence.

Darius's expression darkened.

"The Council knew about Lyra?"

Elara nodded.

"They knew my daughter would inherit the Moon Goddess's power."

I looked at my wrist.

The two glowing seals pulsed.

"What exactly is this power?"

Elara walked toward me.

"The power to command the six ancient bloodlines."

My heart raced.

"Why me?"

"Because you're my daughter."

"That's not enough."

Elara's eyes softened.

"You were born during a lunar eclipse."

She touched my cheek.

"The Moon Goddess marked you before you took your first breath."

A strange warmth spread through my body.

"You were never an ordinary wolf, Lyra."

I swallowed.

"Then why was I wolfless?"

"You weren't."

I froze.

"What?"

"Your wolf was sealed."

"By you?"

"No."

Elara looked at Kael.

"By him."

My entire body went cold.

I slowly turned toward Kael.

He didn't deny it.

"You?"

His eyes closed briefly.

"I had to."

"You sealed my wolf?"

"To hide your scent."

"From Malric?"

"From everyone."

My chest tightened.

"You had no right."

"I know."

Anger burned through me.

"You decided everything for me."

Kael stepped closer.

"I was trying to keep you alive."

"You don't get to call that protection."

He stopped.

I looked away.

For the first time, Kael had nothing to say.

Then Elara's expression suddenly changed.

"There's no time."

She looked toward the mountains.

"The kingdom has awakened, but Malric knows where we are."

A distant horn sounded.

The wolves behind her became restless.

"How long?" Kael asked.

"Minutes."

Rowan stepped forward.

"Then we move."

Elara shook her head.

"No."

Everyone looked at her.

"The kingdom will only open completely for Lyra."

I frowned.

"Why?"

"Because you're the heir."

She reached into her cloak and pulled out a silver crown.

It was small.

Delicate.

Beautiful.

The moment I saw it, my wrist burned.

The two seals glowed.

Elara held the crown toward me.

"Take it."

I hesitated.

"What happens if I do?"

"You'll remember."

My heart stopped.

"Remember what?"

"Everything."

The forest seemed to grow colder.

I looked at the crown.

For eighteen years, pieces of my childhood had been missing.

Maybe this was the answer.

I reached for it.

The moment my fingers touched the silver crown, the world disappeared.

I saw fire.

The Moon Palace burning.

Soldiers attacking.

My mother fighting.

Six young Alphas standing beside her.

Kael was there.

But he wasn't alone.

Someone stood behind him.

A seventh figure.

A man wearing a black mask.

I heard my mother's voice.

"Protect my daughter."

Then the masked man answered.

"I will."

Kael turned.

"Who are you?"

The masked man removed his hood.

I couldn't see his face.

But I recognized his voice.

It was familiar.

Too familiar.

The vision changed.

I saw myself as a child.

Someone placed a silver mark on my chest.

Then I heard a voice whisper:

"When she turns eighteen, the seals will awaken."

Another voice answered.

"And when they do, one of the six will betray her."

I gasped.

The vision shattered.

I returned to the forest.

The crown fell from my hand.

Kael caught me before I collapsed.

"Lyra!"

I pushed him away.

"I remember."

His face went pale.

"What did you see?"

I looked at the six Alphas.

Then at my mother.

"There was a seventh person."

Everyone froze.

"Who?" Rowan asked.

"I don't know."

My voice trembled.

"But he was there the night the kingdom fell."

Elara's face suddenly went white.

"You saw him?"

"Yes."

She grabbed my shoulders.

"Did you see his face?"

"No."

"What did he say?"

I swallowed.

"He said one of the six would betray me."

Silence.

Then a slow clap came from the mountains.

Everyone turned.

A man stood on the palace balcony.

He wore a black crown.

Malric.

But he wasn't alone.

Standing beside him was a hooded figure.

My heart stopped.

The figure slowly lowered his hood.

I couldn't breathe.

Because I knew that face.

It was the face of one of the six Alpha Kings.

And he was smiling.

Elara whispered:

"No..."

Kael stepped forward.

"Impossible."

The traitor looked directly at me.

Then he said:

"Hello, little sister."

My blood ran cold.