The Alpha's Forgotten Daughter

The Promise She Made

I couldn't breathe.

They know she's awake.

Mara's words echoed through my mind long after she'd disappeared into the crowd.

She.

Not me.

Not my wolf.

She.

The distinction should have been small.

Instead, it settled beneath my skin like a splinter I couldn't reach.

Who was she?

My wolf?

Someone in the forest?

Or someone else entirely?

The square had erupted into movement.

Warriors hurried toward the armory.

Mothers gathered frightened pups into their arms.

Questions spread through the crowd faster than anyone could answer them.

"What found the village?"

"Was it rogues?"

"Did anyone see them?"

No one knew.

The uncertainty frightened me more than any answer could have.

I watched the Alpha issue orders with the calm precision everyone expected from him.

"Double the northern patrol."

"Keep the eastern watch in pairs."

"No one enters the forest alone."

Every warrior answered immediately.

"Yes, Alpha."

His voice never wavered.

His expression never changed.

Only someone watching as closely as I was would have noticed the way his eyes kept drifting toward the northern tree line.

Toward the overlook.

Toward me, standing only a short distance away.

For the briefest moment, our eyes met.

Something passed between us.

Not affection.

Not anger.

Recognition.

As though he finally understood that whatever was happening beyond the village had somehow become tied to me.

He looked away first.

I hated that.

He always looked away first.

"Aria."

I turned.

Mara had returned.

"You need to come with me."

"Why?"

"Because I asked."

Normally, that would have been enough.

Today, it wasn't.

"I want answers."

"So do I."

She reached for my hand.

I didn't pull away.

Not because my anger had disappeared.

Because I could feel hers.

Not anger at me.

At herself.

At the situation.

At years of silence that were beginning to collapse around us.

She led me back toward the den.

Neither of us spoke.

The village felt different now.

Every wolf we passed glanced toward the forest.

Conversations had become whispers.

Even the children seemed quieter.

Fear had a scent.

I'd lived beside it my whole life.

I'd just never recognized it until now.

Sharp.

Restless.

Like the air just before lightning split the sky.

Inside the den, Mara closed the door behind us.

The familiar room suddenly felt too small.

She walked to the window and looked out without speaking.

I waited.

Finally...

"Mara."

She didn't turn around.

"I know."

"No."

I stepped closer.

"You don't."

She faced me.

"I've spent my whole life accepting half-answers because I didn't know there was anything else."

I swallowed.

"I can't do that anymore."

Pain flickered across Mara's face.

"I know."

"You keep saying that."

"Because it's true."

"No."

My voice cracked.

"You know things."

"I don't."

"You know more than I do."

She closed her eyes.

"Yes."

The honesty surprised me.

It also hurt.

"Then tell me."

She walked slowly to the fire and rested one hand on the mantel.

"I was there the night your mother came to me."

The room went still.

I barely breathed.

"She arrived after midnight."

Mara's voice had grown distant.

As though she were no longer standing in front of me.

As though she were seeing another night entirely.

"She was soaked from the rain."

I pictured Talia standing exactly where I stood now.

Cold.

Afraid.

Alone.

"She wasn't injured."

Mara frowned.

"But she looked..."

She searched for the word.

"...hunted."

A chill swept over me.

"Hunted?"

Mara nodded.

"I'd never seen fear like that before."

She looked at her hands.

"They were shaking."

My chest tightened.

"What did she say?"

Mara's eyes filled with tears.

"Very little."

"Why?"

"Because she kept looking toward the door."

As though she expected someone...

Or something...

To come through it.

"She asked me to promise her something."

I took another step.

"What?"

Mara looked directly into my eyes.

"If anything happened..."

Her voice faltered.

"...I was to protect you."

The words settled heavily between us.

"Not Ashley?"

The question escaped before I could stop it.

Mara's silence lasted only a heartbeat.

"No."

My heart pounded.

"Only me?"

"Only you."

Every instinct inside me screamed that there was more.

"So she knew."

Mara nodded once.

"She believed something was coming."

"What?"

"I don't know."

I frowned.

"You were there."

"I was."

"Then what aren't you telling me?"

Mara looked away.

For a long moment, I thought she wouldn't answer.

Then she whispered,

"She said your name."

I blinked.

"My name?"

"Over and over."

Mara swallowed hard.

"'Protect Aria.'"

She closed her eyes.

"'Whatever happens... protect Aria.'"

My throat tightened painfully.

"Why?"

"I asked her that."

Hope flared inside me.

"What did she say?"

Mara's lips parted.

For the first time since I'd known her...

She looked genuinely afraid.

"She said..."

A thunderous pounding shook the front door.

"Mara!"

A warrior's voice echoed from outside.

"The Alpha needs you immediately!"

The moment shattered.

Mara closed her mouth.

The answer vanished.

Again.

She let out a slow, frustrated breath.

"I'll be right there."

The warrior hurried away.

I stared at her.

"No."

She met my gaze.

"I have to go."

"You were about to tell me."

"I know."

"No."

Anger rose hot inside me.

"You were about to stop keeping secrets."

Her shoulders sagged.

"I wasn't keeping this one."

She reached for my hand.

"I promise."

I wanted to believe her.

I almost did.

Then another shout came from outside.

"Mara!"

Urgent.

Desperate.

She squeezed my hand once.

"I'll come back."

Then she was gone.

The door closed behind her.

Silence settled over the den once more.

I stood exactly where she'd left me.

Alone.

Again.

My eyes drifted toward the small storage room.

Toward the shelves where I'd found my mother's unfinished letter.

Toward the answers everyone kept trying—and failing—to give me.

A promise.

A letter.

A hidden birthmark.

A wolf that had finally stirred.

And now...

A mother who had begged someone to protect only one of her daughters.

I looked toward the window.

Beyond the glass, the northern forest stood silent beneath a sky growing darker by the minute.

Somewhere beyond those trees...

The truth was waiting.

And for the first time...

I had the unmistakable feeling...

It wasn't waiting for someone to find it.

It was waiting...

For me.