CHAPTER 17: THE SECRET INSIDE
1192 Words
The black seal from Lucien Draven remained untouched on the table.
Not because Nova didn't want answers.
Because she knew better than anyone that some answers came with consequences.
The room had emptied hours ago, yet she remained seated in the council chamber, staring at the message.
**THEY KNOW WHAT SHE IS.**
Five words.
Five words that had unsettled her more than an army at the gates.
Because Lucien was not a man who wasted words.
If he warned her, there was a reason.
And if he was afraid enough to send a warning...
Then the threat was far greater than she understood.
---
### NOVA
The candle beside her flickered.
The silence should have been peaceful.
Instead, it felt like the moment before a storm.
Her fingers traced the edge of the black seal.
Lucien had always been honest with her.
Not gentle.
Never gentle.
But honest.
He taught her how the world truly worked.
Power was taken.
Trust was earned.
Weakness was punished.
Yet there had always been one thing he refused to discuss.
Her bloodline.
Whenever Nova asked why her wolf was different, why certain abilities appeared without training, why ancient wolves reacted strangely to her presence...
Lucien always gave the same answer.
"You're not ready."
She hated those words.
Because they sounded too much like a cage.
A knock interrupted her thoughts.
She didn't look up.
"Enter."
The door opened.
Kade.
Again.
She should have been annoyed.
Instead, she simply sighed.
"Do you ever sleep?"
He ignored the question.
"Neither do you."
A pause.
Then he placed a document on the table.
"I found something."
Nova looked at the paper.
"What?"
"Records from before your birth."
That caught her attention.
Slowly, she picked it up.
The documents were old.
Ancient, even.
Silver Moon archives rarely kept information outside official histories.
Which meant whatever was inside had been hidden.
She read the first page.
Then the second.
Her expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Kade noticed.
"What is it?"
Nova didn't answer.
Because the name on the page had frozen her.
**Blackwood Bloodline.**
---
### KADE
He watched her carefully.
For days, he had been searching for answers.
Not just for Silver Moon.
For her.
And he hated how natural it had become.
Protecting her.
Standing beside her.
Trusting her.
Five years ago, he had destroyed her because he thought she was a weakness.
Now he was realizing the truth.
She had never been the weakness.
His inability to see her had been.
"What does it say?"
Nova remained silent.
Kade stepped closer.
"Nova."
Her eyes lifted.
"The Blackwood bloodline was thought to have disappeared."
His brow furrowed.
"Disappeared?"
She nodded slowly.
"Generations ago, wolves with this bloodline were considered dangerous."
"Why?"
A pause.
"Because they were not born to follow."
The answer was simple.
But the meaning behind it was not.
Kade looked back at the document.
"You're saying your family line..."
"Was created to challenge Alphas."
Silence.
---
### NOVA
The truth felt strange.
Not shocking.
Not impossible.
Just... incomplete.
All her life, she had been told she was ordinary.
Weak.
Unworthy.
But what if everyone had been wrong?
What if they had mistaken control for weakness?
Her wolf stirred.
A quiet reminder.
She wasn't ordinary.
She never had been.
Then another thought appeared.
A dangerous one.
"Why did Silver Moon have this record?"
Kade's expression changed.
Because he knew exactly what she was asking.
Someone had hidden it.
Someone had erased her history.
Someone wanted her to believe she was powerless.
Nova looked at him.
"Who knew?"
Kade didn't answer.
That was enough.
Her eyes hardened.
"The council."
"Most likely."
"And you?"
His silence lasted too long.
Nova understood.
"You didn't know."
"No."
For once, she believed him.
And somehow that made it worse.
Because it meant Kade wasn't the only one who failed her.
An entire pack had.
---
### THE COUNCIL CHAMBER
The next morning, Nova demanded answers.
Every elder was present.
Every important figure in Silver Moon watched her enter.
But this time, the atmosphere was different.
They no longer saw the rejected girl.
They saw a woman who could destroy their secrets.
Kade stood beside her.
That alone shocked everyone.
Elder Maeron noticed.
"You stand with her?"
Kade's expression remained cold.
"I stand with the truth."
The words surprised even himself.
Nova noticed.
But she said nothing.
She placed the ancient records on the table.
The elders went silent.
Selia's face changed immediately.
"You found those?"
Nova's eyes narrowed.
"So you knew."
Nobody spoke.
That was all the confirmation she needed.
The room erupted.
Questions.
Accusations.
Denials.
Nova raised her hand.
Silence followed.
"You erased my history."
No one answered.
"Why?"
Elder Selia looked away.
Finally, she spoke.
"Because your bloodline has always been connected to conflict."
Nova laughed softly.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was expected.
"So you decided a child was dangerous?"
Selia looked at her.
"We decided a powerful bloodline without control was dangerous."
Nova's expression became colder.
"And instead of teaching me control..."
A pause.
"You let me believe I was nothing."
No one responded.
Because there was no defense.
---
### KADE
He watched the room.
Watched the elders who had once judged Nova.
Watched the people who had allowed her rejection.
And for the first time, anger replaced guilt.
They had all failed her.
Including him.
But he refused to repeat the mistake.
"The investigation continues," Kade said.
Elder Maeron looked surprised.
"Alpha—"
"No."
His voice carried authority.
"We find every hidden record. Every missing file. Every secret that was buried."
His gaze moved across the council.
"And anyone who helped hide the truth will answer for it."
The room went silent.
Because Alpha Kade Sinclair had finally chosen a side.
Not the pack's pride.
Not tradition.
The truth.
---
That night, Nova stood outside the estate again.
Looking toward the northern mountains.
Kade approached quietly.
"You still don't trust me."
It wasn't a question.
Nova looked ahead.
"No."
He nodded.
"I understand."
That answer made her glance at him.
He continued.
"But I want you to know something."
A pause.
"The person who rejected you five years ago would have ignored all of this."
His eyes met hers.
"I don't want to be that person anymore."
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Nova looked away.
"Wanting to change doesn't erase what happened."
"I know."
"And I won't forgive you because you feel guilty."
"I know."
Silence.
Then softly:
"But I will prove it."
Nova studied him.
The old Kade would have demanded forgiveness.
This one was offering patience.
And that was dangerous.
Because patience was how walls came down.
She turned away.
"We'll see."
But for the first time...
She didn't sound completely certain.
---
Far away, beyond the northern mountains, a figure stood watching the flames of a dying fire.
A messenger knelt before him.
"The truth is awakening."
The figure remained silent.
"And Nova Blackwood is beginning to remember."
A slow smile appeared.
"Good."
The messenger lowered his head.
"What happens now?"
The figure looked toward the south.
"Now..."
A pause.
"...we remind her who she was born to become."
- Writer
