Chapter 3: The Warning
894 Words
"Your six mate marks aren't a blessing."
Kael's words echoed in my head.
"They're a warning."
I stared at the glowing marks on my wrist.
Six silver symbols.
Six bonds.
Six Alpha Kings.
I didn't understand any of it.
"What kind of warning?"
Kael's expression remained unreadable.
"One that could get you killed."
My heart sank.
Before I could ask another question, an explosion rocked the castle.
The windows rattled.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Outside, hundreds of soldiers raised their weapons.
The man wearing the black crown stepped forward.
"Last chance!"
His voice carried across the grounds.
"Bring me the girl!"
Kael's eyes hardened.
"No."
The king laughed.
"Then everyone dies with her."
I looked at Kael.
"He's really going to attack?"
"Yes."
"Because of me?"
"Because of what you are."
I swallowed.
I was beginning to hate those words.
What you are.
Everyone seemed to know something about me except me.
I stepped forward.
"Then tell me."
Kael looked at me.
"Tell me everything."
His jaw tightened.
"Not here."
"Then when?"
He didn't answer.
I grabbed his arm.
"I've spent eighteen years being lied to. I'm done."
His eyes dropped to my hand on his arm.
Something strange passed between us.
Heat spread through my fingers.
The mark on his palm glowed.
Kael stiffened.
I immediately released him.
"Sorry."
He stared at his hand.
"No."
His voice was quieter.
"Don't apologize."
Before I could respond, Zayne walked over.
"Are you two finished staring at each other?"
Kael glared at him.
Zayne smiled.
"I was only asking."
I looked between them.
"You six really are brothers?"
"Not by blood," Rowan explained.
"We were chosen as Alpha Kings together."
Lucian leaned against a pillar.
"And we've spent years trying not to kill each other."
Zayne laughed.
"Some of us are more successful than others."
Despite everything happening around me, a small smile escaped.
It disappeared quickly.
I looked toward the army outside.
"What happens now?"
Darius finally spoke.
"We fight."
I shook my head.
"There are too many of them."
Cassian stepped closer.
"Then we make sure they never reach you."
His words were simple.
But there was something in his expression that made my chest tighten.
Protection.
I wasn't used to it.
Not from anyone.
A horn sounded outside.
The gates began to shake.
Kael turned toward his brothers.
"Positions."
The six Alphas moved immediately.
I watched them prepare.
Weapons were brought in.
Warriors filled the courtyard.
The castle transformed into a battlefield.
I stood helplessly in the middle.
Then I heard a whisper.
Lyra.
I froze.
My wolf.
Wake me.
My eyes widened.
"What?"
You've been sleeping for eighteen years.
Pain suddenly shot through my chest.
I dropped to my knees.
The six Alphas rushed toward me.
"Lyra!"
I couldn't answer.
My body burned.
Silver light exploded from my skin.
The floor beneath me cracked.
Everyone froze.
My hair lifted in the strange wind surrounding me.
Then my wolf appeared in my mind.
She was enormous.
Her fur was silver-white.
Her eyes were violet.
She looked exactly like the woman in the photograph.
I stared at her.
"Who are you?"
She lowered her head.
I am Luna.
My breath caught.
"Luna?"
Your mother named me.
I felt tears in my eyes.
"Why couldn't I hear you before?"
Because someone sealed me away.
"Who?"
My wolf growled.
The man outside.
The enemy king.
My uncle.
I opened my eyes.
"Kael!"
He was already beside me.
"What happened?"
"My wolf knows him."
Kael's face changed.
"Knows who?"
"The king."
Silence.
I looked toward the gates.
"He sealed my wolf."
Rowan stepped forward.
"Are you certain?"
I nodded.
Then the castle doors suddenly burst open.
A man walked inside.
He wasn't one of the soldiers.
He wore a long black coat.
His face was hidden beneath a hood.
Every warrior raised a weapon.
The stranger laughed.
"Still protecting her?"
Kael stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The stranger pulled down his hood.
My blood froze.
I knew that face.
Not personally.
But from the photograph.
He stood beside my mother.
He had been holding me as a baby.
My uncle.
The man who had supposedly killed my mother.
He smiled.
"Hello, little princess."
My legs weakened.
"You..."
He looked at my glowing wrist.
"You're finally awake."
Kael moved in front of me.
"Stay away from her."
My uncle laughed.
"You still don't understand."
He looked at the six Alphas.
"Those marks aren't mating marks."
Kael's expression changed.
My uncle's smile widened.
"They're seals."
The room fell silent.
"Six seals," he continued.
"Six Alpha Kings."
He pointed toward the marks on my wrist.
"And when the sixth seal breaks..."
His eyes locked onto mine.
"...the Moon Queen will return."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
He smiled.
"Not your mother."
A cold chill ran through me.
"Something much older."
The six Alphas exchanged worried glances.
My uncle raised his hand.
The marks on my wrist suddenly burned.
I screamed.
Six beams of silver light shot toward the Alpha Kings.
Each man staggered.
Kael fell to one knee.
Rowan grabbed his chest.
Zayne's eyes turned completely silver.
Lucian's wolf roared.
Darius's body shook.
Cassian stared at me in horror.
Then my uncle whispered:
"The first seal has broken."
A crack appeared across the silver mark on my wrist.
I looked down.
And beneath the broken seal...
Something began to move.
- Writer
