THE ALPHA KING
1983 Words
Aria couldn't remember the last time she had been this confused.
Her hand was still in Darius's.
She should have pulled away.
She wanted to.
But every time she tried, that strange warmth traveled through her fingers and settled somewhere deep inside her chest.
It was comforting.
And that frightened her more than anything.
The forest behind them was still burning when Darius finally released her.
“Stay here.”
Aria stared at him.
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“You keep saying that.”
His eyes met hers.
“And you keep asking questions when we don't have time for them.”
“I think I've earned the right to ask.”
Something flickered in his expression.
Maybe annoyance.
Maybe guilt.
Then he turned away.
“Kael.”
His brother approached immediately.
“Take the remaining wolves and secure the northern road. Make sure no one follows us.”
Kael nodded.
Then he looked at Aria.
“And her?”
Darius's face hardened.
“She stays with me.”
Kael's eyebrows rose slightly.
“Alpha—”
“With me.”
There was something in Darius's voice that ended the conversation.
Kael lowered his head.
“Yes, Alpha.”
Aria watched him leave.
Then she looked back at Darius.
“You really enjoy ordering people around, don't you?”
Darius glanced at her.
“Usually, they listen.”
“I'm not usually.”
“I've noticed.”
She almost smiled.
Almost.
Then she remembered the rogue's words.
She isn't an Omega.
Aria's smile disappeared.
“What did he mean?”
Darius said nothing.
“My mother.”
Still nothing.
“You know something about her.”
He looked away.
That was answer enough.
Aria stepped in front of him.
“You know something.”
Darius stopped.
“Aria—”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You don't get to take me away from my home, tell me I'm your mate, tell me that people are hunting me, and then refuse to explain why.”
His expression remained unreadable.
“My mother disappeared when I was six.”
Darius's eyes changed.
Barely.
But Aria caught it.
“She didn't abandon me,” Aria continued. “That's what he said.”
Darius looked at her.
“What do you remember about her?”
Aria frowned.
“Why?”
“Just answer me.”
She crossed her arms.
“She had dark hair. Like mine.”
Darius listened.
“She used to sing when she cooked. She always wore this little silver pendant around her neck.”
“What did it look like?”
“A wolf.”
His face went still.
“A wolf?”
“Yes.”
“What else?”
Aria thought.
“It had a moon carved behind it.”
Darius looked toward the forest.
For the first time, Aria saw genuine concern in his eyes.
“You know it.”
It wasn't a question.
Darius didn't answer.
“You know that pendant.”
His jaw tightened.
“I've seen it before.”
“Where?”
“On my father.”
Aria's breath caught.
“What?”
Darius turned toward her.
“My father had one exactly like it.”
She stared at him.
That couldn't be possible.
Her mother had owned that pendant.
She remembered it.
She remembered lying against her mother's chest as a child, tracing the tiny moon with her finger while her mother told her stories.
Darius's father had been the previous Alpha King.
The man who had ruled before Darius.
The man who had died years ago.
“What would my mother have to do with your father?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I said I don't know.”
“But you know something.”
Darius stepped closer.
“I know enough to tell you that whatever happened between our families happened a long time ago.”
“Then why are they hunting me?”
“I don't know.”
“Why are you protecting me?”
He went silent.
Aria's heart beat faster.
“Is it because I'm your mate?”
Darius looked directly into her eyes.
“Yes.”
The answer came so quickly that it surprised her.
“But that's not the only reason.”
Aria waited.
He didn't continue.
“What is the other reason?”
“I don't know yet.”
She let out a frustrated breath.
“You're impossible.”
“So I've been told.”
For the first time, the corner of his mouth lifted.
It was barely there.
A tiny almost-smile.
But it changed his entire face.
Aria stared.
Darius noticed.
The smile disappeared.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You were staring.”
“I wasn't.”
“You were.”
She looked away.
“I was just surprised you knew how to smile.”
Darius raised an eyebrow.
“I smile.”
“No, you don't.”
“I just did.”
“That wasn't a smile.”
“What was it?”
“A facial twitch.”
For a second, Darius simply stared at her.
Then he laughed.
It was quiet.
Deep.
Unexpected.
Aria looked at him again.
She had never heard anything like it from him.
And somehow, hearing it made him seem less like the terrifying Alpha King everyone talked about.
More like a man.
A man who had forgotten how to be happy.
The moment didn't last.
A howl echoed from the distance.
Darius's expression immediately changed.
“Stay close.”
They began walking.
The Blackwood wolves moved around them in silence, keeping watch as they traveled deeper into the forest.
Aria had never been this far from Silvermoon territory.
The trees became thicker.
The air colder.
After nearly an hour, the forest opened.
Aria stopped.
A massive black stone castle stood beyond the trees.
It was surrounded by high walls and guarded by dozens of wolves.
Torches burned along the entrance.
The Blackwood estate.
Aria had heard stories about it.
She had imagined something frightening.
She hadn't imagined this.
It looked like a castle from another century.
Beautiful.
Cold.
Untouchable.
Darius walked beside her.
“Welcome to Blackwood.”
Aria looked at him.
“Do I have a choice?”
“No.”
She sighed.
“At least you're honest.”
“I don't lie to people I intend to protect.”
She looked at him.
“And what if I don't want your protection?”
Darius stopped.
His eyes met hers.
“Then you'll have to convince me to stop.”
Aria didn't know why, but the way he said it made her heart skip.
Before she could respond, the castle doors opened.
Several people stepped outside.
The first was an older woman dressed in a dark gown.
Her silver hair was pulled neatly behind her head.
She looked at Darius.
Then at Aria.
The woman's expression changed.
Shock.
Pure shock.
“Alpha…”
Darius walked toward her.
“Lady Seraphina.”
Her gaze remained fixed on Aria.
“Where did you find her?”
“Silvermoon.”
Seraphina's face went pale.
“You shouldn't have brought her here.”
Darius's expression hardened.
“Why?”
Seraphina looked around nervously.
“Because if they know she's here, they'll come.”
“They already came.”
“That wasn't what I meant.”
Aria stepped forward.
“What aren't you telling me?”
Seraphina looked at her.
For a moment, the older woman's face seemed almost sad.
Then she looked at Darius.
“You truly don't know?”
“Know what?”
Seraphina took a slow breath.
“Who she is?”
Darius's jaw tightened.
“No.”
Seraphina looked at Aria again.
“You look exactly like your mother.”
Aria froze.
“You knew her?”
Seraphina didn't answer.
“Please.”
Aria's voice cracked.
“You knew my mother?”
The older woman nodded.
“Yes.”
Aria felt tears sting her eyes.
“Where is she?”
Seraphina looked away.
“I don't know.”
“Then how do you know me?”
“I knew her before you were born.”
Aria stepped closer.
“What happened to her?”
Seraphina's expression changed.
Fear.
“Your mother was running from people who wanted something she carried.”
“What?”
Seraphina looked at Darius.
“The truth.”
Darius's eyes narrowed.
“Seraphina.”
The older woman ignored him.
“She wasn't an ordinary Omega.”
Aria's heart began pounding.
“Neither are you.”
Silence.
The entire courtyard seemed to disappear.
Aria shook her head.
“No.”
“You need to accept that.”
“I am an Omega.”
“You were raised to believe that.”
“Because I am one.”
Seraphina's eyes softened.
“Your mother made sure you believed it.”
“Why?”
“To keep you alive.”
Aria couldn't breathe.
Her entire life had been a lie.
The little things she'd always thought were strange suddenly made sense.
The way her wolf had never behaved like other Omegas.
The strength she'd sometimes felt but couldn't explain.
The strange dreams she'd had since childhood.
The silver eyes she'd occasionally seen in mirrors when she was angry.
She had always blamed the light.
Maybe it wasn't the light.
Darius stepped beside her.
“Seraphina, enough.”
“No.”
Seraphina's voice became firm.
“She deserves to know.”
Darius looked at Aria.
She had never seen him look so conflicted.
“Know what?” she whispered.
Seraphina took a step toward her.
“You aren't an Omega, Aria.”
Aria's eyes filled with tears.
“Then what am I?”
Seraphina looked at her for a long moment.
Then she said the words that would change Aria's life forever.
“You are the last descendant of the Moonblood line.”
Aria stared at her.
The Moonblood.
She had heard the name once.
A story.
A myth.
A bedtime tale people told children to frighten them.
A bloodline said to possess power strong enough to challenge the oldest Alpha families.
A bloodline believed to have disappeared decades ago.
“That isn't real,” Aria whispered.
“It is.”
Darius looked at Seraphina.
“How do you know?”
“Because I was there the night her mother brought her into this world.”
Aria's breath caught.
“You were there?”
Seraphina nodded.
“She gave you to me for one night.”
“Why?”
“To hide you.”
“From who?”
Seraphina's eyes darkened.
“From the same people who attacked your pack tonight.”
Aria felt the ground beneath her feet disappear.
Darius reached for her.
She stepped away.
“No.”
He stopped.
She shook her head.
“No. I can't do this.”
“Aria—”
“I need to be alone.”
She turned toward the castle.
Darius caught her wrist gently.
She looked down at his hand.
Then at him.
“Let go.”
He did.
Immediately.
Aria walked away.
But before she reached the doors, Seraphina spoke again.
“One more thing.”
Aria stopped.
She turned.
Seraphina's face was pale.
“The Moonblood line doesn't just carry power.”
“What does it carry?”
Seraphina looked at Darius.
Then back at Aria.
“It carries a curse.”
Aria's heart sank.
“What curse?”
Seraphina's voice dropped to a whisper.
“Every Moonblood woman is destined to destroy the heart of the Alpha she is bonded to.”
Aria slowly turned toward Darius.
Their eyes met.
And for the first time since their bond had begun, Darius looked afraid.
Not for himself.
For her.
For them.
Because fate hadn't simply given the Alpha King a mate.
It had given him the one woman who might someday destroy him.
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