The Alpha's Forbidden Luna

The One Who Watched

Aria couldn't move.

The final words still echoed inside her mind.

It wasn't a stranger.

Someone she had known her entire life was watching her.

But who?

Her mother had been dead for years.

Mira was standing safely inside the packhouse.

The healers, warriors, and servants had known Aria since childhood.

Who could possibly be involved?

Damon released her wrist.

"Come inside."

Aria barely heard him.

"Who is it?"

Damon frowned.

"What?"

"The person watching me."

His expression tightened.

"We don't know."

"You said someone I've known my entire life."

"I said it might be."

Aria looked at him.

"You know something."

"I suspect something."

"Then tell me."

Damon glanced at Cassian.

"Not here."

Aria's frustration returned.

"Everyone keeps saying that."

Damon stepped closer.

"This time, I'm serious."

"About what?"

He lowered his voice.

"Someone in this pack has been helping the hunters."

Aria's stomach dropped.

"How do you know?"

Cassian answered.

"Because the hunters knew exactly where to find you."

Aria looked around.

The eastern boundary was supposed to be heavily guarded.

Yet the attackers had entered easily.

Someone had given them information.

"Who has access to the patrol schedules?" she asked.

Cassian's expression became thoughtful.

"Warriors. Council members. The Alpha's office."

"And the healers?"

"Some."

Aria's mind immediately went to her mother.

She remembered the old letter.

The hidden passage.

The photograph.

Her mother had known far more than she ever admitted.

"Maybe she wasn't hiding me from Nightfall."

Damon looked at her.

"Then who?"

Aria didn't answer.

A sudden noise came from behind them.

Everyone turned.

A warrior was standing at the edge of the trees.

He looked pale.

"Alpha."

Damon approached.

"What happened?"

"We found this near the northern gate."

He handed Damon a small wooden box.

Damon opened it.

Inside was a child's bracelet.

Aria recognized it immediately.

Her breath caught.

"That's mine."

Cassian looked at her.

"Are you sure?"

Aria nodded.

"My mother put it on me when I was little."

Damon lifted it carefully.

There was a tiny inscription inside.

A.V.

Aria stared.

"Adrian Vale."

Her father's initials.

The warrior swallowed.

"There was something else."

He handed Damon a folded piece of paper.

Damon opened it.

His expression changed.

Aria reached for it.

"What does it say?"

Damon didn't stop her.

She read the message.

Ask your mother why she erased your sister from your life.

Aria's fingers went cold.

"My mother?"

Cassian looked at Damon.

"That changes things."

Aria shook her head.

"No."

She folded the note.

"My mother is dead. She can't answer."

Damon looked at her.

"Maybe she left something behind."

Aria remembered the hidden compartment.

The photograph.

The letter.

The secret passage.

She suddenly turned toward the packhouse.

"The healer's quarters."

Damon followed.

"What about them?"

"There may be more."

They hurried back.

---

The room was exactly as they had left it.

Except for one thing.

The photograph was gone.

Cassian immediately noticed.

"Where is it?"

Aria searched the table.

"It was here."

Damon checked the drawers.

Nothing.

Then Aria noticed something on the floor.

A trail of mud.

Someone had entered through the secret passage.

She followed it.

The passage led to an old room beneath the packhouse.

The room was empty.

Except for a wooden chair.

And a mirror.

Aria approached the mirror.

There was writing across its surface.

You were never supposed to remember.

She touched the glass.

A strange warmth passed through her fingers.

The room disappeared.

Aria saw her mother.

Young.

Terrified.

She was holding two babies.

One in each arm.

A man stood in front of her.

Aria couldn't see his face.

"You promised," the man said.

"I can't do this anymore."

"You know what happens if the Alpha finds out."

Her mother looked down at the babies.

"They are sisters."

"They are heirs."

"They are children."

The man stepped closer.

"One must be hidden."

"Both should be safe."

"They won't be."

Her mother began crying.

Then she handed one baby to the man.

"No."

Aria tried to reach her.

But the vision continued.

The man took the baby and disappeared through the door.

Her mother held the other child tightly.

"Forgive me, Lyra."

Aria gasped.

The vision shattered.

She fell backward.

Damon caught her before she hit the floor.

"Aria!"

She opened her eyes.

Tears were running down her face.

"I remember."

Damon crouched beside her.

"What did you see?"

"My mother."

Cassian knelt nearby.

"And?"

Aria looked at both men.

"My mother had two babies."

Silence.

"Me and Lyra."

Damon's face tightened.

"Where was she?"

Aria swallowed.

"She gave Lyra to someone."

"Who?"

"I couldn't see his face."

Cassian looked toward the mirror.

"Anything else?"

Aria shook her head.

Then she remembered the final moment.

"The man said something."

Damon waited.

"He said one sister had to be hidden."

"Why?"

Aria looked at her glowing mark.

"Because both sisters were heirs."

Damon's eyes widened.

"That's impossible."

Aria stood.

"No."

She looked directly at him.

"What's impossible is that everyone has spent twenty-two years telling me I was ordinary."

A long silence followed.

Then someone knocked on the door.

A servant entered.

"Alpha, forgive me."

Damon turned.

"What?"

The servant looked frightened.

"There's someone waiting for you in the main hall."

"Who?"

The servant swallowed.

"She says her name is Lyra."

Aria stopped breathing.

Damon's eyes widened.

Cassian slowly stood.

Nobody spoke.

Then a woman's voice echoed from the hallway.

"Aria."

Aria's heart began pounding.

The voice sounded strangely familiar.

"Come meet your sister."