The Alpha beneath my shadow

Chapter three

Chapter Three — The Enemy's Daughter

Elena learned the truth that night.

Or at least, she learned the truth Kael believed.

The room was cold, lit only by the orange glow of the fireplace. Elena sat on the edge of an old wooden chair, her hands trembling in her lap.

Across from her stood Kael.

He hadn't spoken for several minutes.

His golden eyes remained fixed on her, filled with something she couldn't understand.

Anger.

Pain.

And something deeper.

Something that frightened her more than his anger.

"My father is a farmer," Elena whispered again. "He always has been."

Kael's jaw tightened.

"That's what he wanted you to believe."

Elena shook her head.

"No. You're wrong."

"Am I?"

Kael stepped closer.

"Do you know why your village was never attacked by werewolves?"

Elena frowned.

"I thought because the village was protected."

"It was."

Kael's voice became colder.

"By your father."

Elena's heart stopped.

"What are you talking about?"

Kael reached into his coat and pulled out a small, worn piece of leather.

He threw it onto the table.

Elena stared at it.

There was a symbol carved into the leather.

A wolf's head surrounded by flames.

She recognized it.

She had seen that symbol many times.

On an old chest in her father's bedroom.

On the iron box he never allowed anyone to touch.

And once, carved into the handle of his hunting knife.

Her breath caught.

"Where did you get that?"

"It belonged to the Order."

"What order?"

"The werewolf hunters."

Elena stood slowly.

"No."

"Your father was their leader."

The words seemed to echo through the room.

Your father was their leader.

Elena's mind refused to accept them.

Her father had always been a quiet man.

He grew crops.

He repaired fences.

He taught her how to use a bow.

He had never spoken about werewolves.

Never.

Except for the warnings.

Never enter the forest after dark.

Never trust strangers.

Never ask questions about the past.

Suddenly, every memory felt different.

"You're lying," Elena whispered.

Kael's expression hardened.

"Why would I lie?"

"Because you hate my father."

"I have every reason to."

Kael's fists clenched.

"Years ago, your father led an attack against my pack."

Elena stared at him.

"He killed dozens of us."

Her lips parted.

"My mother was among them."

Kael looked away for a moment.

"And my father."

Elena felt tears gathering in her eyes.

"Your father was the Alpha?"

"Yes."

Kael's voice became quieter.

"I was eight years old when he died."

The anger in his eyes briefly disappeared.

For the first time, Elena saw the child hidden beneath the Alpha.

A frightened boy.

A boy who had watched his family die.

A boy who had been forced to become a leader before he was ready.

"I remember that night," Kael continued. "The screams. The fire. The hunters surrounding our territory."

He swallowed.

"I remember hiding beneath the floorboards while my father fought."

Elena covered her mouth.

"I didn't know."

"You weren't supposed to."

Kael turned toward her.

"Your father made sure you knew nothing."

"Why?"

"Because he knew one day the truth might come back for you."

Elena's tears finally fell.

"If my father really did those things, why did he raise me like this?"

Kael didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he looked at the crescent-shaped mark on her wrist.

The same mark that had appeared after he first found her in the forest.

His expression changed.

"The real question is..."

He stepped closer.

"...why does the Moon Goddess have you marked as my mate?"

Elena's heart pounded.

She remembered the first time their eyes had met.

The strange pull.

The warmth in her chest.

The way every part of her body had reacted to him.

She had thought it was fear.

Now she wasn't sure.

"You said you didn't want me," she whispered.

"I don't."

The answer came too quickly.

But his eyes betrayed him.

Elena stared at him.

"Then why are you looking at me like that?"

Kael froze.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

The air between them seemed to disappear.

Kael's instincts screamed at him.

Mine.

His wolf wanted to move closer.

To protect her.

To claim her.

But his mind remembered the blood of his family.

Her father's face.

The flames.

The screams.

He stepped backward.

"I can't."

Elena's voice broke.

"Can't what?"

"Accept you."

She looked down.

"Because I'm his daughter."

Kael said nothing.

Elena wiped her tears.

"I didn't choose who my father was."

"I know."

"Then don't punish me for his sins."

Kael's expression tightened.

"I am trying not to."

She looked directly into his eyes.

"If you hate me so much, why am I still alive?"

Kael's breathing stopped.

Because every instinct inside him screamed that she was his.

Because the moment he had seen her in the forest, something inside him had changed.

Because the Moon Goddess had chosen her.

Because despite everything her father had done, Kael couldn't bring himself to hurt her.

He turned away.

"Because the Moon Goddess has a cruel sense of humor."

Elena lowered her eyes.

Neither of them noticed the shadow standing outside the door.

A man listened silently from the darkness.

He had heard everything.

And unlike Kael, he knew something neither of them knew.

Elena's father had not told her the truth.

But he had not been the only one hiding secrets.

The hunter who had attacked Kael's family had been following an order.

An order from someone far more powerful.

Someone who wanted the werewolves and hunters to destroy each other.

The stranger smiled.

"The Alpha has finally found his mate."

His eyes gleamed in the darkness.

"Now we can begin."

Inside the room, Elena suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

She looked toward the door.

"Did you hear that?"

Kael turned.

"What?"

Elena stared at the darkness.

"I thought someone was there."

Kael immediately moved toward the door.

He opened it.

The hallway was empty.

But on the floor was a single black feather.

Kael picked it up.

His face changed.

"What is it?" Elena asked.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

"The Raven."

"The Raven?"

"A hunter who disappeared fifteen years ago."

He looked at Elena.

"Everyone thought he was dead."

A cold silence filled the room.

Then Kael whispered,

"He has returned."

And this time, Elena knew the danger wasn't coming for her because she was the daughter of an enemy.

It was coming because she was Kael's mate.