SOLD TO SIX ALPHA'S

Chapter 5: The First Alpha

The words on the wall refused to disappear.

THE FIRST ALPHA HAS AWAKENED.

I stared at them, unable to breathe.

First Alpha?

I slowly turned toward the six men.

They were all staring at the symbols too.

Even Kael looked shaken.

"What does it mean?" I asked.

No one answered.

I stepped closer to the wall.

The first silver symbol was glowing brighter than the other five.

Then I looked at Kael.

"Is it you?"

His expression hardened.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"No."

For the first time since I had met him, Kael looked genuinely uncertain.

Rowan moved closer to the wall.

"The prophecy said the seals would awaken one at a time."

Zayne frowned.

"And we always assumed the first seal would belong to the Moon Queen."

Lucian shook his head.

"Apparently, we were wrong."

I looked between them.

"Can someone please explain what you're talking about?"

Kael sighed.

"We need to leave."

"Again?"

"The castle isn't safe."

I crossed my arms.

"I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me the truth."

Kael stared at me.

"You want the truth?"

"Yes."

"Then you'll have to trust us."

I almost laughed.

"Trust you?"

The bitterness in my voice surprised even me.

"My family sold me. I was brought here like an object. You six bought me without telling me why. Then I discovered I'm supposedly a princess, my mother was a queen, and something inside me has six mysterious seals."

I pointed toward the wall.

"And now you're asking me to trust you?"

Kael didn't respond.

Rowan stepped forward.

"She's right."

Everyone looked at him.

"We should tell her what we know."

Kael's jaw tightened.

"We don't know enough."

"But keeping her ignorant is exactly what put her in danger."

Silence.

Finally, Kael nodded.

"Fine."

We moved into a private room.

The six Alphas sat around a large table.

I remained standing.

Kael looked at me.

"Eighteen years ago, the Moon Kingdom was destroyed."

I listened carefully.

"Your mother, Queen Elara, ruled the kingdom. She was one of the most powerful Luna Queens in history."

My fingers tightened around my necklace.

"She had one daughter."

Me.

Kael continued.

"When the kingdom was attacked, your mother disappeared. So did you."

"Everyone believed you were dead."

"Until now."

I swallowed.

"Who attacked the kingdom?"

Kael looked at his brothers.

"Your uncle, King Malric."

My stomach twisted.

"He wanted the throne."

"Yes."

"But if he wanted me dead, why did he let my adoptive family keep me?"

"He didn't know where you were."

I frowned.

"Then who hid me?"

No one answered.

"Who?"

Rowan spoke softly.

"We believe your mother had help."

I remembered the woman from my vision.

The silver cloak.

"An older woman."

Everyone looked at me.

"What?"

"I remember someone taking me from my mother."

Kael leaned forward.

"Can you remember her face?"

I closed my eyes.

The memory was blurry.

"Not clearly."

"Try."

I concentrated.

Fire.

Smoke.

My mother crying.

The silver-cloaked woman taking me.

Then...

A symbol.

A crescent moon surrounded by six stars.

I opened my eyes.

"I remember the symbol."

Kael went still.

"What symbol?"

I drew it on the table with my finger.

His expression changed.

"That's the seal of the First Guardians."

"Who are they?"

"The six bloodlines that swore to protect the Moon Queen."

I stared at the six men.

"Your families?"

Kael nodded.

"We are their descendants."

My heart began racing.

"So that's why you bought me?"

"Partly."

"What's the other reason?"

Silence.

I looked at each of them.

"Tell me."

Zayne leaned back.

"Because the moment we saw you, we felt the bond."

My cheeks warmed.

I looked away.

"Mate bonds."

He nodded.

"Except there's something strange about yours."

"What?"

"Most wolves have one mate."

I looked at the six men.

"And I have six."

"That's what makes you dangerous."

I frowned.

"How can love make someone dangerous?"

Kael's expression darkened.

"Because your bonds aren't ordinary."

Suddenly, the door opened.

A warrior rushed inside.

"Your Majesty!"

Kael stood.

"What happened?"

"The northern gate has been breached."

Everyone reached for their weapons.

"By Malric?"

The warrior shook his head.

"No."

He looked at me.

"We don't know what they are."

A deep roar echoed through the castle.

I felt Luna stir inside me.

Lyra.

"What?"

They're here.

"Who?"

She growled.

The ones who remember what you are.

The lights flickered.

Then every window shattered at once.

Dark creatures poured into the courtyard.

They weren't wolves.

They weren't human.

Their bodies were covered in black scales, and their eyes burned red.

The six Alphas shifted immediately.

"Stay behind me!" Kael ordered.

But something inside me rebelled.

I was tired of hiding.

Tired of being protected.

Tired of everyone deciding what I could and couldn't do.

I stepped forward.

"Lyra!"

Kael grabbed my arm.

I pulled away.

"No."

His eyes widened.

"I can fight."

"You don't know how."

"Neither did I know I had a wolf."

My wrist began glowing.

The first silver seal burned across my skin.

A wave of energy rushed through me.

I raised my hand instinctively.

The creatures stopped.

Every single one of them turned toward me.

Then they bowed.

My heart stopped.

Kael stared.

"What..."

The creatures spoke together.

Their voices sounded like hundreds of whispers.

"Moon Queen."

I couldn't move.

One creature lifted its head.

"Your crown awaits."

Then every creature vanished into smoke.

Silence filled the courtyard.

I looked at my hands.

"What just happened?"

No one answered.

Then Kael's mark began glowing.

He suddenly dropped to one knee.

"Kael!"

I rushed toward him.

His eyes were completely silver.

He looked at me.

And for the first time, his voice wasn't the voice of an Alpha King.

It was the voice of my mate.

"I remember."

My heart stopped.

"Remember what?"

Kael stared at me as if he had seen a ghost.

"Your mother."

He swallowed.

"And I remember the night she died."

I froze.

"What happened to her?"

Kael's eyes filled with something I couldn't understand.

Guilt.

"She didn't die."

My breath caught.

"What?"

He looked toward the six glowing symbols.

"Your mother is alive."