The Alpha's lost heir

chapter 10

★𝕽𝖔𝖓𝖆𝖓

The revelation from Elder Elias had settled deep within me, a cold, heavy stone in my gut. Olivia was not just my mate, but the lost heir of the Moonstone Pack, a secret carefully guarded by my parents. Every interaction with her now was a battle against my instincts, a desperate attempt to act as a brother while my wolf screamed for its Luna, for its other half.

The weight of my parents' betrayal was a bitter poison. A memory flashed in my mind: my father, holding me on his lap as a boy, telling me that Olivia was a "gift to our pack." At the time, I'd beamed with pride. Now, the words felt like a venomous lie. And the more I watched Olivia, the more I saw the subtle signs of her dormant power stirring, the faster I knew I had to act. The 'skirmishes' reported by the border patrols were growing more frequent, more aggressive not random incidents, but probes from a predatory enemy. Someone was looking for something. Or someone.

I knew Olivia sensed the shift, even if she couldn't name it. She looked more tired, her eyes holding a deeper, troubled shadow. Her healing was unnaturally fast; I’d deliberately watched her after the small burn she sustained, and the speed of her recovery was astonishing. Her resistance to my Alpha command, that flicker of defiance before she submitted, was undeniable proof. She was awakening, and with her awakening came grave danger.

My mother, Luna Freya, had been unnervingly calm since my return, her silver eyes holding a familiar warmth that now felt... guarded. I needed to speak to her, to understand the full scope of their deception, but I couldn't risk shattering Olivia's world prematurely. The timing had to be perfect, or the consequences could be catastrophic.

I decided I couldn't wait any longer to speak with Olivia, not truly. Not about the mate bond, not yet about her heritage, but about the overwhelming tension between us. I found her in the communal library, a rare moment where she wasn't in the kitchen. She was tracing a finger over an old map of the territories, her brow furrowed in thought, unaware of my presence.

Her scent hit me first, that intoxicating mix of fresh spring earth and wild flowers, now laced with an undeniable undercurrent of fear. My wolf pulsed. Mate. Comfort her. Claim her.

I stepped forward, making my presence known. "Olivia."

She startled, her hand flying from the map. She turned, her eyes wide, that immediate prickle of awareness flowing between us. "Ronan," she breathed, her voice a little shaky.

"You've been avoiding me," I stated, my voice low, cutting through the strained politeness. It wasn't a question.

Her cheeks flushed. Her lips parted to deny it, but before a sound could escape, the Alpha within me asserted his authority. "Don't lie to me," I commanded, a growl that wasn't quite human creeping into my voice. I closed the distance between us, placing my hands on either side of her, pinning her gently against the heavy wooden map table. Her eyes widened further, fixed on mine.

For a moment, her body went rigid, a flicker of that same unnatural resistance from the training grounds, her core fighting the involuntary submission. Then, she gave in, her muscles relaxing against her will. "Something has changed between us, Liv. You feel it. I feel it. Tell me what you think it is."

Her breath hitched, and she pressed her palms flat against the map. I watched her gaze dart frantically between my eyes and my lips, and I could practically feel her mind grasping for a memory of Drax , of a time when a touch felt safe, not this terrifying, primal.

"I... I don't know what you mean, Ronan. You're my brother. Nothing has changed." Her denial was fierce, but the tremor in her voice, the frantic thudding of her pulse beneath my fingertips,I could feel it, even through the wood of the table, betrayed her.

My gaze dropped to her throat, where her pulse beat wildly. My wolf roared, a possessive growl that fought to escape my human throat. The desire to mark her, to soothe her fear, to claim her, was almost unbearable. I leaned closer, my voice dropping to a raw whisper. "Your wolf knows, Liv. Your body knows. Why do you fight it?"

Her eyes snapped up to mine, filled with a primal terror, mixed with a flash of something wild, something defiant. She tried to push past me, but I held firm, my muscles tensing. "Ronan, stop! This is wrong!" she pleaded, her voice rising, bordering on a panicked whimper.

I held her gaze, my own darkening with a possessiveness I could no longer fully control. "Wrong?" I challenged, my thumb tracing the line of her jaw, feeling the delicate tremor beneath my skin. "Or simply... unknown?"

A sudden, sharp pain flared in my head, a jarring mental intrusion. It was Liam, my wolf, through our mind-link, his mental voice tight with urgency. Alpha! Patrol reports! A large scouting party of Shadow Wielders, heavily armed, deep within the old Moonstone borderlands. They're not just probing anymore. They're looking for something. We need to deploy immediately.

The words sliced through the charged air between Olivia and me, a brutal reminder of the world outside our intense bubble. The immediate danger to the pack, to her, slammed into me. I pulled back, the mate bond still a burning inferno, but the Alpha within me taking control.

Olivia stumbled away, her chest heaving, staring at me with a mixture of confusion and fear. I didn't give her a chance to speak.

"Stay here," I commanded, my voice flat, devoid of warmth, but with an underlying Alpha authority that brokered no argument. "Do not leave the palace. Do not leave the main grounds. Understood?"

Her chin lifted slightly, a flicker of that unfamiliar defiance in her eyes, but her body gave a slow, jerky nod, her wolf bowing to my command.

I didn't wait for more. I turned and strode out of the library, the scent of fear and her intoxicating essence clinging to my senses. The pieces were almost all in place. Her awakening was undeniable. The enemy was closing in. And the truth, which would shatter her world, could no longer be kept hidden for much longer.