Reborn As The Twin Wolves True Luna

The Secret They Know

Chapter 3

I couldn't breathe.

The words I'd heard through the door kept repeating in my head.

The True Luna.

How did they know?

My fingers tightened around my sleeve, covering the strange silver mark that had appeared on my palm.

In my first life, I had never seen it.

At least, not until the very end.

I remembered the execution platform.

The moon above me.

The pain.

The moment my blood touched the stone.

The ancient symbol had appeared on my skin only seconds before Max and Bruce killed me.

At the time, I hadn't understood what it meant.

Now I did.

Or at least, I thought I did.

The True Luna.

The Queen of the wolves.

The woman whose blood carried an ancient power.

And somehow, the three men outside my bedroom knew about it.

I stepped away from the door.

My mind raced.

Clarence knew.

Max knew.

Bruce knew.

But why?

The door suddenly opened.

I jumped backward.

Max stood there.

His expression was unreadable.

Bruce was behind him.

And Clarence stood several steps away.

All three men looked at me.

My heart pounded.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

Max's eyes narrowed.

"We need to talk."

My gaze moved to Clarence.

He smiled.

"Lilly, don't look so frightened."

I almost laughed.

Frightened?

I had already died once.

There was very little left in this world that could frighten me.

But I couldn't let them know that.

I stepped back.

"What do you want?"

Bruce looked at me carefully.

"We heard something."

My heart skipped.

"What?"

"About you."

I forced myself to remain calm.

"About me?"

Max stepped into the room.

"Yes."

His eyes moved to my hand.

I immediately hid it behind my back.

He noticed.

Of course he did.

"What are you hiding?"

"Nothing."

Max's gaze sharpened.

"Lilly."

I shook my head.

"It's nothing."

Clarence suddenly spoke.

"Maybe we should leave."

I looked at him.

That surprised me.

In my first life, Clarence always wanted to be involved whenever something concerned me.

He never left me alone.

But now he was trying to leave.

Why?

What was he afraid of?

Max turned toward him.

"You're not going anywhere."

Clarence stopped.

His jaw tightened.

Bruce looked between them.

"What exactly were you telling her earlier?"

Clarence smiled.

"I wasn't telling her anything."

"You said the True Luna had returned."

My blood ran cold.

Clarence looked at Max.

Then at me.

"I said nothing."

"You did."

Bruce's voice was firm.

"I heard you."

Silence.

Clarence's expression hardened.

I stared at all three of them.

There was something they weren't telling me.

Something important.

"What is the True Luna?" I asked.

Nobody answered.

My heart pounded harder.

"Why are you all looking at me?"

Still nothing.

I took a step forward.

"I asked a question."

Max's eyes remained on me.

"The True Luna is an old legend."

"I know."

"Do you?"

I nodded.

"Every child in Moonshadow knows the story."

That wasn't completely true.

Most wolves knew the legend of the first Luna Queen.

But very few knew the details.

The first Luna had supposedly united the wolf packs centuries ago.

She had possessed power unlike any ordinary wolf.

Her blood could strengthen a pack.

Heal wounds.

Command wolves.

And, according to some legends, control the ancient moon magic itself.

But the power disappeared generations ago.

Or so everyone believed.

Max studied me.

"Then you know the legend says the True Luna can only be recognized by the sacred mark."

I swallowed.

"Yes."

His eyes dropped to my hidden hand.

My heart stopped.

He knew.

I stepped backward.

Bruce moved closer.

"Lilly."

I shook my head.

"Don't."

He stopped.

His expression softened.

"We aren't going to hurt you."

I almost laughed.

Those words were cruel coming from him.

Because in my first life, he had been the one standing beside me when I died.

But he didn't remember.

He couldn't.

I forced myself to breathe.

"What do you want from me?"

Max answered.

"The truth."

My chest tightened.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Liar."

The word was quiet.

But it came from Clarence.

I turned toward him.

He stared at me.

For the first time, I saw fear in his eyes.

Real fear.

He stepped toward me.

"You've been acting strangely since you woke up."

I smiled.

"Maybe I've finally realized what kind of person you are."

His expression changed.

Max looked at me.

Bruce frowned.

"What does that mean?"

I quickly turned away.

"Nothing."

Clarence's eyes narrowed.

"You know something."

I looked at him.

"Maybe."

He took another step.

"What do you know?"

I smiled.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

His jaw tightened.

In my first life, I had never dared speak to him this way.

I had always been desperate for his approval.

Now I enjoyed watching him become uncomfortable.

Max noticed.

He stepped between us.

"Back away from her."

Clarence looked at him.

"This has nothing to do with you."

"She's my mate."

Max's voice was dangerously calm.

Clarence laughed.

"She doesn't act like your mate."

Bruce's eyes flashed gold.

"Watch your mouth."

The room suddenly became tense.

Two Alpha wolves against a fox shifter.

I knew how this would end.

But before anyone could move, a voice came from the hallway.

"What's happening?"

Margaret.

My stomach dropped.

She entered the room and looked around.

Her eyes immediately went to Clarence.

Then Max.

Then Bruce.

Finally, me.

She smiled.

"Lilly, are you all right?"

I nodded.

"I'm fine."

Margaret walked toward me.

She reached for my hand.

I pulled away.

She froze.

Her expression remained sweet.

But I saw the irritation in her eyes.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

She looked toward the twins.

"Why are you questioning her?"

Max didn't answer.

Margaret turned to Clarence.

"Did you do something?"

Clarence shook his head.

"No."

I almost laughed.

They were all pretending.

Everyone in this room was hiding something.

The difference was that I was the only one who remembered how this story ended.

I walked toward the window.

"I think everyone should leave."

Margaret frowned.

"But—"

"Please."

Something in my voice made her stop.

One by one, they left.

Clarence was the last.

Before closing the door, he looked at me.

There was no love in his eyes.

Only suspicion.

I smiled at him.

The door closed.

I waited.

Five seconds.

Ten.

Then I heard footsteps disappear down the hall.

Only then did I breathe.

That night, I couldn't sleep.

I sat beside my window, staring at the moon.

My hand still burned beneath my sleeve.

I slowly uncovered it.

The silver mark remained.

A crescent moon surrounded by two wolves.

I traced it with my finger.

"What are you?"

A strange warmth spread through my palm.

Then another whisper came.

"Blood remembers."

I froze.

The voice was gone.

I stood quickly.

My heart raced.

Blood remembers.

What did that mean?

I walked toward the old bookshelf.

My mother had left behind several books about Luna history.

I pulled them out one by one.

Most were useless.

Pack politics.

Alpha bloodlines.

Old wars.

Nothing about the True Luna.

Then I remembered something.

A hidden room.

In my first life, Clarence had searched for a room beneath the Luna estate.

I had never understood why.

He had told me there was an ancient treasure hidden there.

I believed him.

I had helped him search.

But we never found it.

Now I wondered if the room had never been meant for him.

Maybe it had been meant for me.

I grabbed a candle and left my bedroom.

The estate was quiet.

Everyone was asleep.

I moved through the hallway, remembering the layout from my first life.

Down the stairs.

Past the library.

Behind the old portrait of the first Luna.

I touched the frame.

Nothing happened.

I pushed it.

The portrait moved slightly.

My heart jumped.

There.

A hidden passage.

I pulled harder.

The portrait swung open.

A narrow staircase descended into darkness.

I lit the candle.

Then stepped inside.

The air below was cold.

Dust filled my lungs.

The stone walls were covered with strange symbols.

Some looked like wolves.

Others looked like moons.

I continued downward.

My heart beat faster with every step.

At the bottom was a wooden door.

There was no handle.

Only a silver symbol carved into the center.

A crescent moon.

I touched it.

The mark on my palm burned.

The door opened.

I froze.

A large chamber stretched before me.

Ancient books lined the walls.

Old weapons hung from stone pillars.

And in the center stood a pedestal.

On it was a silver crown.

Not the Luna seal.

A crown.

A real crown.

Its surface shimmered beneath the candlelight.

I walked toward it slowly.

Something inside me pulled me closer.

I reached out.

The moment my fingers touched the crown, the entire room lit up.

The candles around the chamber ignited by themselves.

My wolf howled inside me.

I gasped.

Images appeared across the walls.

A woman stood beneath the moon.

She wore a silver crown.

Thousands of wolves knelt before her.

Then the image changed.

The woman was holding a newborn baby.

A baby girl.

The same silver mark appeared on the baby's palm.

My breath caught.

The image changed again.

A family tree appeared.

Names.

Generations.

Bloodlines.

Until the final name appeared.

Lilly Starlight.

I stumbled backward.

"No."

The word barely left my mouth.

I looked at the crown.

Then my hand.

Then the name.

I wasn't simply the Luna of Moonshadow.

I was the descendant of the first Luna Queen.

The True Luna.

A sound behind me made me spin around.

Someone was standing at the entrance.

I raised the candle.

"Who's there?"

A familiar voice answered.

"Lilly."

My heart stopped.

Max.

He stepped into the room.

His eyes moved from me to the crown.

Then to the ancient symbols covering the walls.

Bruce appeared behind him.

Both twins stared at the same thing.

The name written across the wall.

Lilly Starlight.

Bruce whispered,

"You're the True Luna."

I couldn't answer.

Max walked closer.

His eyes were fixed on mine.

"How did you know this room existed?"

I swallowed.

"I didn't."

"Then how did you find it?"

I looked away.

"I don't know."

Max stopped in front of me.

"You've been hiding something."

I stared at him.

"So have you."

His expression hardened.

"What do you mean?"

"You already knew about the True Luna."

Silence.

Bruce looked at Max.

Max didn't answer.

I stepped closer.

"You knew before tonight."

Bruce sighed.

"We suspected."

"Why?"

Max's eyes moved toward the crown.

"Because the elders found records."

"What records?"

He hesitated.

"Records saying the True Luna would return after a great betrayal."

My heart stopped.

After a great betrayal.

My betrayal.

My death.

My second life.

Everything suddenly felt connected.

Bruce looked at me.

"And the prophecy said the True Luna would be born into the Starlight bloodline."

I stared at the crown.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Max's voice softened.

"Because we didn't know if it was true."

I looked at him.

"And now?"

He stepped closer.

"Now we know."

His fingers reached toward my face.

I froze.

His hand stopped just before touching my cheek.

He lowered it.

"We need to tell the council."

Fear flashed through me.

"No."

Both twins looked at me.

"If the council learns about this, they'll take the crown."

Max frowned.

"Why would they?"

"Because power makes people greedy."

The words came from experience.

Max stared at me.

Then he nodded slowly.

"You're right."

Bruce looked surprised.

"Max?"

"We keep this secret."

I stared at him.

He looked directly into my eyes.

"No one knows about this room."

I nodded.

"Not even Clarence."

At the mention of his name, Max's expression darkened.

"Especially not Clarence."

I looked at my hand.

The silver mark was still glowing.

For the first time since waking from my death, I felt something other than fear.

Power.

Hope.

A chance.

But then I heard footsteps above us.

Someone was coming.

Bruce immediately drew his sword.

Max stepped in front of me.

"Who's there?"

A voice floated down the staircase.

Soft.

Familiar.

Sweet.

"Lilly?"

Margaret.

My blood ran cold.

Max looked at me.

Bruce tightened his grip on his sword.

And suddenly I understood.

We weren't the only ones who knew about the hidden room anymore.

Margaret had found us.

And if she discovered what was inside...

My second life could end before it even began.