Someone Knows
1869 Words
Chapter 6
Someone Knows
Lilly stopped breathing.
The stranger's words echoed through the darkness.
Come out, True Luna.
No one had ever called her that.
Not in this life.
Not in the life before.
She pressed herself against the cold stone wall and forced her breathing to slow.
Her wolf was restless inside her.
Who is that?
I don't know.
Neither do I.
That frightened Lilly more than the stranger's presence.
She had expected Clarence.
She had expected Margaret.
She had even expected someone from the council to eventually discover the hidden room.
But this person had known before Lilly had even found the parchment.
The footsteps moved again.
Slowly.
The stranger approached the center of the room.
Lilly remained hidden behind the old stone pillar.
She could barely make out the figure.
A tall man.
Dark cloak.
A silver mask covered most of his face.
He stopped beside the table.
His gloved hand brushed across the ancient symbols.
"You shouldn't have awakened yet," he murmured.
Lilly's eyes widened.
Awakened?
What did he mean?
The man turned.
For a second, moonlight slipped through the cracks in the ceiling.
Lilly saw pale eyes.
Not wolf eyes.
Something stranger.
The man suddenly looked directly at her hiding place.
Lilly's muscles tensed.
Then a distant howl sounded outside.
The stranger's head turned.
A moment later, he disappeared through another passage.
Lilly waited.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Then she stepped out.
The room was empty.
She rushed to the secret compartment.
The parchment was still in her hand.
But something else had been left behind.
A black feather.
Lilly picked it up.
The moment her fingers touched it, a strange chill traveled through her body.
Her wolf growled.
Danger.
"I know."
Lilly stared at the passage where the stranger had disappeared.
She wanted to follow him.
But she wasn't stupid.
Not yet.
She needed information first.
She slipped the feather and parchment into her dress and left the hidden room.
The castle corridors were quiet.
Lilly moved quickly.
She didn't notice the person standing at the end of the hall until she nearly walked into him.
Bruce.
He held her shoulders.
"Easy."
Lilly jumped.
Bruce frowned.
"What are you doing wandering around the castle alone at this hour?"
"I couldn't sleep."
"Again?"
She nodded.
Bruce studied her face.
"You look frightened."
"I'm not."
"Lilly."
His voice was gentle.
That almost broke her.
She had spent the entire day pretending to be strong.
Pretending she knew what she was doing.
Pretending the memories of her death didn't still haunt her.
But standing there with Bruce looking at her like that made the walls around her heart weaken.
"I heard something," she admitted.
"What?"
"In the old wing."
Bruce's expression changed.
"What kind of something?"
"Someone was there."
Bruce immediately became alert.
"Where?"
"The hidden room."
"You went back?"
Lilly nodded.
Bruce looked toward the corridor.
"Did you see who it was?"
"No."
"Did they hurt you?"
"No."
"Did they touch you?"
"No."
Bruce's shoulders relaxed slightly.
Then he looked at her more carefully.
"You shouldn't go there alone."
"I know."
"Do you?"
Lilly smiled faintly.
"I'm learning."
Bruce's expression softened.
"You don't have to do everything alone."
The words struck deeper than he knew.
In her first life, she had believed being independent meant refusing help.
Clarence had encouraged it.
He had slowly separated her from everyone who could have protected her.
Now Bruce was offering the opposite.
Trust.
Support.
Family.
Lilly looked down.
"Thank you."
Bruce reached for her hand.
His fingers wrapped gently around hers.
The warmth returned.
Her wolf stirred.
Mate.
Lilly swallowed.
Bruce seemed to feel something too.
His expression changed.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then another voice came from behind them.
"Am I interrupting?"
Max.
Bruce slowly released Lilly's hand.
Max's eyes moved to their hands.
Then to Bruce.
Then Lilly.
His expression remained calm.
But his jaw tightened.
Bruce smiled.
"Maybe."
Max ignored him.
"What happened?"
Bruce explained.
Max's attention immediately returned to Lilly.
"You went into the hidden room again."
Lilly nodded.
"Someone was there."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Did you see their faces?"
"No."
Max was silent.
Then he looked at Bruce.
"Tomorrow, we search for the old wing."
Bruce nodded.
Lilly stepped forward.
"I'm coming."
"No."
Max's answer was immediate.
She frowned.
"Why?"
"Because whoever entered that room knew you were there."
"I can protect myself."
"I know."
His voice softened.
"That's why I'm telling you to stay out of it."
Lilly stared at him.
For a moment, she saw the man from her first life.
The man who had stood on the execution platform.
The man she had betrayed.
But this Max wasn't sentencing her.
He was trying to protect her.
The realization made her chest ache.
"Fine."
Max nodded.
"Good."
He started walking.
Bruce followed.
Then Bruce glanced back at Lilly.
"Come with us."
Max stopped.
"Lilly needs sleep."
Bruce grinned.
"You're not her father."
Max gave him a cold look.
"Neither are you."
Lilly laughed.
The twins both looked at her.
She covered her mouth.
"Sorry."
Bruce smiled.
Max looked away.
But Lilly noticed something.
The corner of his mouth had lifted.
Just slightly.
The following morning, Lilly woke up shouting.
She rushed outside.
Several guards stood around the garden.
Margaret was there.
Clarence was there too.
And in the center of the group was a broken window.
Lilly stopped.
"What happened?"
Margaret turned.
"Lilly!"
She ran toward her.
"Someone broke into your room."
Lilly's heart dropped.
"My room?"
Margaret nodded.
"Nothing was stolen, but the window was shattered."
Clarence stepped closer.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
His eyes searched her face.
"You weren't here?"
"No."
"Where were you last night?"
Lilly looked at him.
He was watching her too carefully.
"I was in the castle."
"With whom?"
Lilly smiled.
"Why?"
"I'm worried about you."
"No."
Clarence's expression hardened.
"You should answer me."
The words were sharper than he intended.
Several guards looked at him.
Lilly's stomach turned.
There he was.
The real Clarence.
The man underneath the charming mask.
She stepped closer.
"Don't order me around."
His eyes darkened.
"I didn't mean—"
"You did."
Margaret quickly stepped between them.
"Please. Both of you."
Lilly looked at her.
"Why are you defending him?"
Margaret blinked.
"I'm not."
"You always do."
Clarence looked between them.
"Lilly, you're acting strange."
"I've been told."
"What happened to you?"
Lilly smiled.
"Maybe I finally started thinking for myself."
She walked away.
Behind her, Clarence watched silently.
Margaret approached him.
"We need to talk."
"Not here."
They moved toward the side corridor.
Lilly didn't follow.
She didn't need to.
She already knew what they were discussing.
Her.
Later that afternoon, Max called a private meeting.
Lilly entered the council room and found Max and Bruce waiting.
A large map covered the table.
Max pointed to the northern forest.
"There have been reports of unfamiliar wolves near the border."
Bruce nodded.
"Three patrols saw them."
"Could they be rogues?" Lilly asked.
"Possibly."
Max looked at her.
"But there is something strange."
"What?"
"They disappear before our patrols reach them."
Lilly's mind immediately returned to the masked stranger.
"Maybe they're scouts."
Max's eyes narrowed.
"Scouts for whom?"
She hesitated.
"I don't know."
Bruce leaned against the table.
"Could it be the Fox Kingdom?"
Clarence.
Lilly's stomach tightened.
"No."
Both twins looked at her.
She realized her mistake.
"You sound certain," Max said.
"I've heard nothing from the Fox Kingdom."
"But you think they aren't responsible."
"I just..."
Lilly stopped.
She couldn't explain.
Not yet.
Max crossed his arms.
"You're hiding something."
Lilly looked directly at him.
"Yes."
Bruce raised an eyebrow.
Max's expression became serious.
"What?"
Lilly took a breath.
"The truth is..."
She almost told them.
Almost.
Then she remembered the masked stranger.
You shouldn't have awakened yet.
Someone was watching.
Someone knew.
If Lilly told Max and Bruce everything now, she didn't know who might hear.
So she chose another truth.
"I don't trust Clarence."
Silence.
Bruce looked surprised.
Max's expression didn't change.
"Why?"
"Because every time he talks to me, I feel like he's trying to make decisions for me."
Bruce nodded slowly.
"I've noticed."
Max studied her.
"Does he threaten you?"
"No."
"Has he hurt you?"
"No."
"Then why are you afraid of him?"
Lilly looked away.
"Because I know what he's capable of."
Max didn't respond.
Neither did Bruce.
They didn't understand.
But they didn't dismiss her either.
That mattered.
That evening, Lilly went to the library.
She needed information about the black feather.
Old books covered the shelves.
Ancient pack records.
Family histories.
Treaties.
Wars.
Magic.
She searched for hours.
Nothing.
Then she found a book with a faded silver moon on its cover.
The Forgotten Bloodlines.
Lilly opened it.
Most pages were missing.
She turned another page.
Nothing.
Another.
Still nothing.
Then she reached the final chapter.
There was a drawing.
A black feather surrounded by a silver circle.
Her heart stopped.
Beneath it were four words:
The Watchers of the Moon.
Lilly read the paragraph beneath.
The words were faded, but one sentence remained clear.
They appear when the True Luna's awakening begins.
Lilly slowly sat down.
The room seemed to spin.
The stranger.
The feather.
The parchment.
The voice.
It was all connected.
But who were the Watchers?
And why were they waiting for her?
Before she could read further, the library doors opened.
Lilly quickly closed the book.
Max entered.
He looked at her.
Then at the book.
"What are you reading?"
"History."
He walked toward her.
"You're a terrible liar."
She smiled nervously.
"You're getting to know me too well."
Max stopped in front of her.
"I think I'm trying."
Her smile faded.
Those words were simple.
But they meant everything.
He wasn't trusting her yet.
He wasn't forgiving her.
But he was trying to understand her.
Lilly looked down.
"Max..."
"What?"
"If someone betrayed you..."
He waited.
"Would you ever forgive them?"
His expression changed.
"Depends."
"On what?"
"Whether they regretted it."
Lilly's eyes burned.
"And if they did?"
"Then I'd want to know why they betrayed me."
She whispered, "What if they were manipulated?"
Max's gaze sharpened.
"Then I'd want to know who manipulated them."
Lilly looked into his eyes.
For a moment, she wanted to tell him everything.
The execution.
Clarence.
Margaret.
Her death.
Her rebirth.
But she wasn't ready.
Not yet.
Max reached for her hand.
This time, Lilly didn't pull away.
His thumb brushed lightly over her knuckles.
"You don't have to tell me tonight."
She looked up.
"How did you know?"
"I don't."
He paused.
"I'm just giving you time."
Lilly's heart ached.
In her first life, she had wasted every chance he gave her.
This time, she wouldn't.
"Thank you."
Max nodded.
Then he released her hand.
As he walked away, Lilly looked down at the book.
She slowly opened it again.
There was something written on the inside cover.
A sentence she hadn't noticed before.
Her blood ran cold.
The True Luna does not return alone.
Lilly stared at the words.
Then she heard a whisper behind her.
"Neither do her enemies."
She turned sharply.
Nobody was there.
But on the table beside her book...
lay another black feather.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD