The Alpha beneath my shadow

Chapter Five

Chapter Five — The Hidden Diary

The morning after Elena and Kael's kiss, Elena woke with a strange feeling in her chest.

For the first time since arriving at the castle, she felt hopeful.

She had spent days believing that Kael would always see her as the daughter of his greatest enemy. She had expected hatred, rejection, and perhaps even death.

But last night had changed everything.

Kael had admitted that he loved her.

And she had kissed him.

For one perfect moment, there had been no hunter and no Alpha. There had only been Elena and Kael.

Perhaps they could overcome the past.

Perhaps their families' hatred did not have to determine their future.

But when Elena returned to her father's house that morning, something felt different.

The house looked exactly as it always had.

The old wooden table stood beside the window.

The fireplace was covered with ashes.

Her father's worn chair remained in the corner.

Everything looked familiar.

Yet Elena no longer trusted what she saw.

Her father had lied to her about being a farmer.

What else had he hidden?

She slowly walked through the house.

She entered the kitchen.

Nothing.

She checked the small storage room.

Nothing.

Then she entered her father's bedroom.

Elena looked around carefully.

Her father's bed was still neatly made.

An old hunting knife rested on the table.

Several books stood on a wooden shelf.

She remembered how often her father had told her never to touch those books.

At the time, she had thought he was simply being protective.

Now she wondered if he had been hiding something.

Elena searched the shelves but found nothing unusual.

She turned toward the fireplace.

Suddenly, she remembered something.

When she was younger, her father had always warned her never to move the stones behind it.

"Why?" she had once asked.

"Because some things are better left hidden."

Those words suddenly sounded different.

Elena walked toward the fireplace.

She ran her fingers across the stones.

One of them moved.

Her heart skipped.

She pushed it again.

The stone came loose.

Behind it was a small opening in the wall.

Elena stared at it in disbelief.

She reached inside.

Her fingers touched something cold and hard.

She pulled it out.

It was a small wooden box.

She placed it on the bed and opened it.

Inside were several old items: a silver necklace, a child's bracelet, a small key, and an old leather-bound diary.

Elena's breath caught.

She recognized the handwriting on the cover.

Her father's.

She picked up the diary with trembling hands.

Dust covered its surface.

Slowly, she opened the first page.

There was only one sentence.

"If Elena ever discovers the truth, the entire kingdom will fall."

Elena froze.

Her heart began pounding.

"What truth?"

She turned the page.

The first entries were dated more than twenty years ago.

Her father's words described the royal palace.

He wrote about the old Alpha King.

He wrote about the war between the werewolves and the hunters.

Then Elena saw a date.

Twenty-three years ago.

The same year she had been born.

Her eyes moved across the page.

That night, the royal palace had been attacked.

The palace had been surrounded by enemies.

Guards had fought through the corridors while flames consumed parts of the building.

People screamed.

Children cried.

The royal family was trying desperately to escape.

But something else had happened that night.

Two baby girls had been born.

One was the daughter of the Alpha King.

The other was the daughter of the leader of the hunters.

Elena's hands began to shake.

She continued reading.

During the chaos of the attack, the two newborn girls had been accidentally switched.

No one realized it immediately.

By the time the truth was discovered, one of the babies was already gone.

The hunter had escaped with her.

Elena's breathing became faster.

She turned the page.

Her father explained that he had not kidnapped a royal child.

He had rescued one.

The baby had been in danger.

He believed that if the royal family discovered her identity, she would be killed.

So he took the child and disappeared.

He abandoned his former life.

He became a farmer.

He raised the child far away from the kingdom.

Elena stared at the diary.

A terrible thought entered her mind.

If her father had rescued one of the babies...

Which baby had he taken?

The hunter's daughter?

Or the Alpha King's daughter?

She continued reading.

"I have spent twenty-three years protecting her."

Elena's eyes filled with tears.

"She believes I am her father."

She covered her mouth.

Another page.

"She must never know what happened that night."

Elena's hands trembled violently.

Everything she remembered about her childhood suddenly felt uncertain.

Her father had always been loving.

He had protected her.

He had taught her how to survive.

He had told her that the world was dangerous.

But why?

Was it because he knew she wasn't really his daughter?

Elena turned another page.

The writing became darker.

"They have begun searching for the girl."

Elena's heart stopped.

Who were they?

The royal family?

The hunters?

Both?

She continued.

"The royal family believes the Alpha King's daughter died during the attack."

Elena stepped backward.

Her eyes widened.

Then she read the next line.

"The hunters believe their daughter was stolen."

Her knees nearly gave way.

Suddenly, the strange events of the past few days came rushing back.

The crescent-shaped mark on her wrist.

The way Kael's wolf reacted to her.

The strange bond between them.

The way certain werewolves seemed to recognize something about her.

Maybe there was a reason.

Maybe she wasn't ordinary.

Maybe she wasn't even who she believed herself to be.

Elena frantically turned through the remaining pages.

Some had been torn out.

Others were damaged by water.

Several entries were almost impossible to read.

Then she found the final entry.

The handwriting was shaky.

It looked as though her father had been afraid when he wrote it.

Elena read the first sentence.

Then the second.

Her face went pale.

The final entry contained only a few words.

"The girl we raised as Elena is not my daughter."

The diary slipped from her hands.

It hit the floor.

"No."

Elena shook her head.

"No, no, no."

She picked it up again.

She read the sentence.

Again.

And again.

Each time, it hurt more.

She wasn't his daughter.

The man she had called Father for twenty-three years was not her biological father.

Tears streamed down her face.

"Then who am I?"

She sank onto the edge of the bed.

Her entire life felt like a lie.

The memories of her childhood suddenly seemed like pieces of a puzzle that belonged to someone else.

She remembered her father carrying her when she was sick.

She remembered him teaching her to read.

She remembered him sitting beside her bed during thunderstorms.

Were those moments real?

Or had he simply been protecting a secret?

Elena wiped her tears.

Then she noticed something beneath the final page.

A small piece of paper had been folded and hidden inside the diary.

She pulled it out.

There were four words written on it.

"Find the second daughter."

Elena stared at the message.

The second daughter.

The other baby.

The girl was born on the same night as her.

A girl who might know the truth.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside.

Elena froze.

Someone was approaching the house.

The footsteps became louder.

She quickly hid the diary beneath her coat.

The door opened.

Kael stepped inside.

His golden eyes immediately fell on Elena's tear-stained face.

"Elena?"

She couldn't speak.

Kael moved toward her.

"What happened?"

She stared at him.

For a moment, she wanted to tell him everything.

But fear stopped her.

If the diary was correct, her identity could change the entire kingdom.

Kael reached for her hand.

"Tell me."

Elena swallowed.

"My father lied to me."

Kael's expression hardened.

"What did you find?"

"I don't know who I am anymore."

Kael looked at her carefully.

Before he could answer, a terrifying howl echoed through the forest.

Kael immediately turned toward the window.

His eyes flashed gold.

Another howl followed.

This one was closer.

Kael stepped in front of Elena.

"Stay behind me."

Elena's heart raced.

Then Kael noticed the small piece of paper on the floor.

He picked it up.

His eyes narrowed as he read the message.

Find the second daughter.

He looked at Elena.

"What does this mean?"

Elena stared at him.

"I think there is another girl."

Kael's face became pale.

"The other baby?"

Elena nodded slowly.

"She may be the only person who knows who I really am."

Silence filled the room.

Neither of them noticed the shadow standing outside the window.

A hooded figure watched them from the darkness.

The stranger smiled.

"So they've found the diary."

The figure turned away.

"But they're still missing one piece of the truth."

A cold wind swept through the forest.

Somewhere in the kingdom, another young woman was living a life she believed was her own.

She had no idea that two powerful bloodlines were connected to her.

She had no idea that her birth had been hidden for twenty-three years.

And she had no idea that Elena and Kael were already searching for her.

But someone else was searching too.

And that person intended to find her first.

Because the identity of the second daughter could decide who would rule the kingdom...

And who would die for it.