The Alpha's Forbidden Luna

The Alpha Before Damon

Aria couldn't breathe.

She stared at Damon as though the man standing before her had suddenly become a stranger.

"Say it again."

Damon's jaw tightened.

"I said your father was an Alpha."

"Which one?"

He didn't answer.

Aria's fingers curled around the old letter.

"Which Alpha?"

Cassian stepped forward.

"Aria, you need to understand—"

"No."

Her voice cracked.

"I've spent my entire life believing my father died before I was born."

Damon looked away.

"That is what your mother wanted you to believe."

"Why?"

"To keep you alive."

The words silenced her.

Aria slowly shook her head.

"Alive from what?"

Damon didn't respond.

"From who?"

Still nothing.

Her frustration exploded.

"You keep telling me I'm not ready for the truth, but everyone seems to know something except me!"

Her voice echoed through the study.

Damon remained silent.

Then Cassian spoke.

"Your father was Alpha Adrian Vale."

Aria froze.

The name meant nothing to her.

"Who was he?"

Cassian exchanged a glance with Damon.

"He was the Alpha of Silvermoon Pack."

Aria frowned.

"I've never heard of Silvermoon."

"You wouldn't have."

"Why?"

Cassian hesitated.

"Because Silvermoon no longer exists."

A chill moved through her.

"What happened to it?"

"Twenty-two years ago, it was destroyed."

Aria stared at him.

"By whom?"

Cassian's eyes shifted toward Damon.

"Nightfall."

Silence.

Aria looked at Damon.

"You destroyed my father's pack?"

"It wasn't that simple."

"Then explain it."

Damon walked toward the desk.

"There was a war between Silvermoon and Nightfall. Your father believed the old Luna bloodline belonged to his family. He wanted to overthrow the existing Alpha order."

Aria shook her head.

"That doesn't sound like someone trying to destroy the world."

"He attacked first."

"And you killed him?"

Damon's expression hardened.

"No."

Aria stopped.

"What?"

"I didn't."

"You said Nightfall destroyed Silvermoon."

"I wasn't Alpha then."

She stared at him.

Damon continued.

"My father was."

Aria's stomach tightened.

"Your father?"

"Alpha Marcus Blackwood."

The room suddenly felt colder.

Damon's father.

Aria's father.

Two Alpha families.

One destroyed pack.

And somehow, she was connected to both.

"Did they know about me?"

Damon nodded.

"Your father knew."

"My mother?"

"She knew."

"And your father?"

Damon hesitated.

"We don't know."

Aria looked at the letter again.

Do not let the Alpha find out who her father was.

Her mother's warning suddenly made sense.

She had been hiding Aria from someone.

But who?

"Why did my mother bring me to Nightfall?"

Cassian frowned.

"That's the part we can't explain."

Aria looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"We searched the old records."

Cassian placed several documents on the desk.

"Your mother arrived in Nightfall three days after Silvermoon fell."

Aria stared at the dates.

Three days.

"With me?"

"Yes."

"But I was a baby."

Cassian nodded.

"There is no record of you being born."

Aria's eyes widened.

"What?"

Damon picked up one of the documents.

"According to Nightfall's records, your mother arrived alone."

Aria stared at him.

"Then where did I come from?"

Nobody answered.

A sudden knock interrupted them.

A warrior entered.

"Alpha."

Damon turned.

"What?"

"We found the man from the forest."

Aria's heart jumped.

"Where?"

The warrior looked at Damon.

"At the northern border."

"Is he alive?"

The warrior hesitated.

"No."

Aria felt a chill.

"What happened?"

"He was found beside the river."

Cassian's expression darkened.

"Who killed him?"

"We don't know."

Damon grabbed his coat.

"Take me there."

Aria stepped forward.

"I'm coming."

"No."

"You can't keep me locked away every time something happens."

"This isn't an argument."

"I'm coming."

Damon stared at her.

For several seconds, neither moved.

Finally, he sighed.

"Stay beside me."

They left the packhouse.

---

The forest was silent when they reached the river.

The warriors stood around the area.

Aria stopped when she saw the stranger lying near the trees.

She had only seen him for a few seconds the night before.

But now she recognized him.

"That's him."

Cassian crouched beside him.

"There's something in his hand."

He carefully opened the man's fingers.

A small silver pendant lay inside.

Aria's breath caught.

She knew that pendant.

Her mother had one.

Damon noticed her reaction.

"What?"

Aria stepped closer.

"My mother."

Cassian looked at the pendant.

"You're certain?"

Aria nodded.

"I've seen it before."

Damon took the pendant.

He turned it over.

There was an inscription on the back.

For the daughter who must never know.

Aria's heart sank.

Then she heard a whisper.

Not from anyone standing nearby.

From the forest.

Aria.

She turned.

Nobody was there.

The whisper came again.

You are not Adrian's only child.

Aria's eyes widened.

And somewhere beyond the trees...

A wolf began to howl.