THE LUNA HE WAS FORCED TO REJECT

THE SECRET HE HID

I didn’t sleep at all.

Every time I shut my eyes, I could feel it—Kael’s fear. Not fear of me, but fear of losing me. I couldn't wrap my head around it. What kind of man rejects his mate in front of the whole pack and then spends years protecting her? Nobody does that without a reason.

He was hiding something from me, and honestly, I’d had enough. If he wouldn't tell me the truth, I was going to find it on my own.

So before sunrise, I snuck out of my room. The whole pack slept quietly while I slipped down to the old administrative building. Hardly anyone went there anymore. Most of the records had gone to the royal archives after the King took over Silver Creek.

But something from yesterday kept tugging at my mind—Kael’s guards, his seal, his name. If he’d been watching me, there had to be evidence somewhere.

I pushed open the archive door. Dust swirled. I sneezed. “Great.” Rubbing my nose, I looked around: rows and rows of wooden shelves.

I started digging. Birth records, pack assignments, medical reports, patrol logs. All useless.

I almost gave up when I spotted a locked cabinet shoved into the corner. My heart skipped a beat. Why would anyone need to lock regular pack records?

I rummaged through a few drawers, found an old key, and tried it. It fit. The lock gave way.

Inside, brown folders were stacked tight, most without names. I pulled them out one by one—nothing at first. Then I spotted a silver seal in the bottom corner of a page. A wolf’s head with a crown.

Kael’s royal seal.

Suddenly, I felt sick.

My name stood at the top: ELARA VALE.

I froze.

I made myself read the first line: Subject continues to reside within Silver Creek Pack.

Subject? Are you kidding me?

I flipped the page. Notes about my job, my house, my trips to the market, what time I went to the river—basic details about my life, all written down. Someone had been watching me.

I found another document, then another—more reports, more observations. My hands shook.

Subject remains unaware of royal surveillance.

Turned the page. No signs of awakening.

Another: Continue observation.

Royal surveillance. Kael. The man who looked me in the eye last night and said, “I’m protecting you.” He’d been watching me. For how long?

I tore through the rest of the documents—dozens of them. Some were months apart, others only weeks.

Then one caught my eye, the handwriting familiar. A short note at the bottom: Keep her identity concealed.

My heart hammered in my chest. I knew that handwriting. I’d seen it before, on royal documents—Kael.

I dropped the paper. “No.” My voice barely worked.

I picked it up again, desperate to believe I was wrong, but that silver seal and his signature—Kael Draven—were right there.

He knew. He’d known about me—not just for a few days. Maybe for years.

I scooped up the documents and ran out. I didn’t care who saw me. I needed answers.

I found him in the training yard, talking with two guards. As soon as his eyes landed on the papers in my hand, his face changed.

“Elara,” he said.

I held up the documents. “What are these?”

The guards glanced between us. Kael’s voice turned icy. “Leave us.”

They left, and I walked straight to him. “You were watching me?”

He said nothing.

I felt my anger boiling up. “You were watching me.”

“Yes.”

That single word stunned me. I thought he’d at least try to lie.

“Why?”

“To protect you.”

I laughed, sharp and bitter. “Protect me? Without telling me?”

His eyes hardened. “Yes.”

“You followed me.”

“I had people watching you.”

“For how long?”

He stayed silent.

I pressed, stepping closer. “How long, Kael?”

He looked right at me. “Three years.”

It hit harder than I thought. Three years of this. I looked at the reports. Three years of someone tracking my life, three years of Kael knowing things about me I never thought he’d notice.

“You knew where I worked.” My voice cracked.

“Yes.”

“You knew where I lived.”

“Yes.”

“You knew when I went to the river.”

“Yes.”

My voice nearly broke. “Did you know when I cried?”

His expression shifted. “Elara…”

“Did you?” I asked again.

He didn’t answer. That stung more than anything.

I stepped back. “Why?”

“Because I needed to know you were safe.”

“Safe from who?”

He looked away. “Not yet.”

I stared at him, stunned. “Not yet?”

“You’re not ready.”

I laughed. “I decide when I’m ready.”

Kael looked back at me. “You don’t understand what you’re asking.”

I squared my shoulders. “Then make me understand.”

He shut down, like always. Gave me just enough to keep me hungry, then left me in the dark.

I turned to go. “Elara,” he called after me, but his voice softened. “I never wanted you to find out like this.”

I glanced over my shoulder. “How did you want me to find out?”

He didn’t answer.

I left, but my hands still shook, the papers clenched tight.

My mind spun with one thought: Three years. Why did Kael start watching me exactly three years ago?

I went back to the archives before sunset. I couldn't stop myself. I sorted through every folder again until I found something else, hidden deep at the bottom.

A much older document. My name at the top: ELARA VALE.

My heart pounded as I turned the page. At the bottom—a date.

Three years ago.

My fingers went ice cold. Just below the date, a single line:

The girl has been found.

I forgot how to breathe.