Secrets Beneath the Moon
804 Words
The carriage rolled steadily through the capital.
Outside, citizens filled the streets, completely unaware that the kingdom's future had just changed forever.
Inside the carriage, silence lingered.
Luna's heart pounded.
"Tell me, Lady Luna... what exactly happened to make you hate Damien Blackwood?"
Lucien's question echoed in her mind.
For a moment, she feared he could somehow see through her.
See the memories.
The betrayal.
The prison.
The death.
But that was impossible.
No one could know she had lived this life before.
Luna forced herself to remain calm.
"I don't hate him."
Lucien raised an eyebrow.
"You rejected him at the altar."
"I simply changed my mind."
The Shadow Alpha laughed softly.
"That's quite a dramatic change of mind."
Luna looked away.
The less she revealed, the better.
Every secret was a weapon.
And in this life, she intended to keep hers hidden.
The carriage entered the wealthy district.
Tall mansions lined the streets.
As they passed through the city, Luna's eyes widened slightly.
Something caught her attention.
A familiar building.
A familiar sign.
Her heart skipped.
The Silver Crescent Bank.
In her previous life, she had discovered something there.
Something important.
Something that had eventually cost her everything.
Deep beneath the bank's vaults was a collection of documents proving that Seraphina's family had been secretly stealing royal funds for years.
At the time, Luna had discovered the evidence too late.
Seraphina had destroyed it before anyone could investigate.
But now...
The documents still existed.
And nobody knew.
Not yet.
A spark ignited in Luna's eyes.
The game had begun.
Lucien noticed the sudden change in her expression.
"What are you thinking about?"
Luna smiled faintly.
"Opportunities."
That answer only made him more curious.
Who was this woman?
Just hours ago she had been a bride.
Now she looked like a strategist planning a war.
The more Lucien observed her, the more intrigued he became.
Meanwhile, back at the palace...
Chaos reigned.
The royal advisors gathered inside the council chamber.
Everyone was talking at once.
"The kingdom is laughing at us!"
"The wedding disaster is already spreading!"
"We must issue a statement immediately!"
Damien ignored them all.
His attention remained fixed on one thing.
The empty altar.
The place where Luna should have been standing.
For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about her words.
"Marrying you was the greatest mistake of my life."
The sentence replayed endlessly.
Why?
What had he done?
Why had she looked at him as if he were a stranger?
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
"Your Highness."
A guard entered.
"We've received reports."
Damien frowned.
"What reports?"
The guard hesitated.
Then spoke carefully.
"Lady Luna left the palace with Lucien Ravencrest."
The room became silent.
Every advisor froze.
Damien slowly stood.
A dangerous aura filled the chamber.
"Repeat that."
The guard swallowed.
"She left with Lucien."
Crack.
The wooden armrest of Damien's chair shattered beneath his grip.
Elsewhere, Seraphina sat alone in her chambers.
A servant hurried inside.
"My Lady."
"What is it?"
The servant bowed.
"Our spies have reported unusual activity."
Seraphina narrowed her eyes.
"What kind of activity?"
"Lady Luna appears to be moving differently than expected."
The servant lowered her voice.
"Almost as if she knows things she shouldn't."
For the first time all day, genuine alarm appeared on Seraphina's face.
Because she had noticed it too.
Luna was acting like someone who already knew the future.
Impossible.
Yet deeply unsettling.
As evening approached, Lucien's carriage finally stopped.
Luna stepped outside.
Her eyes widened.
This wasn't her estate.
It wasn't even close.
Towering black gates stood before them.
A magnificent fortress stretched toward the horizon.
The headquarters of the Northern Territories.
Lucien's residence.
She turned sharply toward him.
"I thought you were escorting me home."
A small smile appeared on his lips.
"I am."
Luna frowned.
"This isn't my home."
"No."
Lucien's gray eyes gleamed.
"But I have a feeling it might become important to your future."
Before Luna could respond, a guard rushed toward them.
His face was pale.
Panicked.
"My Lord!"
Lucien immediately became serious.
"What happened?"
The guard dropped to one knee.
"The royal treasury was attacked."
Luna froze.
Attacked?
That wasn't supposed to happen for another six months.
The timeline had changed again.
Then the guard delivered the final blow.
"The thieves escaped with a list."
"What list?" Lucien asked.
The guard looked terrified.
"The list containing the names of every secret royal heir in the kingdom."
Silence.
Dead silence.
Luna felt her blood run cold.
Because her name was on that list.
And if the wrong people got their hands on it...
They would discover the truth.
The truth she had spent her entire life hiding.
Luna Nightshade was not merely a future queen.
She was the lost Princess of the Northern Kingdom.
And now someone knew.
To Be Continued...
- Writer
