Chapter 2 - The Bond That Should Have Been Impossible
The hidden passage beneath the palace was older than the kingdom itself.
Alera knew that the moment she entered.
The walls were carved with ancient symbols.
Wolves.
Moon crowns.
Broken chains.
And women standing with their hands lifted toward the sky.
She ran her fingers across one carving.
"What is this place?"
Lucian didn't answer immediately.
He moved ahead with a silver lantern in his hand.
After a long silence, he said, "The first royal sanctuary."
"Then why is it hidden?"
"Because my ancestors forgot why it was built."
"And you?"
"I remembered."
Alera stared at him.
"How?"
"My father showed me."
The mention of his father changed something in him.
"You loved him."
"I did."
"What happened?"
"He was murdered."
Alera stopped.
Lucian turned.
"By the council."
Her eyes widened.
"Your own council?"
"They needed someone they could control."
"And they couldn't control your father?"
"No."
"They can control you?"
Lucian laughed without humor.
"They've been trying for ten years."
Alera slowly approached.
"Then why do you let them stay?"
"Because six of them control nearly forty percent of the kingdom's military supply."
"So you're trapped."
"Like you."
The words settled between them.
For the first time, Alera realized something.
Lucian had never been free either.
He simply wore a crown over his chains.
They continued through the tunnel.
Eventually, they reached a circular chamber.
At its center stood a stone basin filled with glowing silver water.
Lucian placed his hand above it.
The surface rippled.
Then a symbol appeared.
A wolf wrapped around a crescent moon.
Alera stared.
"I've seen that symbol."
"Where?"
"In my mother's journal."
Lucian looked at her.
"You still have it?"
"No."
"Where is it?"
"Burned."
"Why?"
"When I was twelve, soldiers came to our village."
Her voice became quieter.
"They searched every house."
"What were they looking for?"
"My mother's journal."
Lucian stared.
"Did they find it?"
"No."
"Where was it?"
Alera hesitated.
"She swallowed one of the pages."
Lucian's expression shifted.
"Your mother did what?"
"She tore out a page and swallowed it."
He looked horrified.
"She said information was more dangerous than poison."
Alera laughed bitterly.
"She was right."
A sudden howl echoed from somewhere beyond the tunnel.
Lucian's entire body stiffened.
"What was that?"
"Your wolf?"
"No."
Alera stepped closer.
"What then?"
He looked at the silver water.
"A Guardian."
"What is a Guardian?"
"Something that hasn't appeared in three hundred years."
The chamber doors began to shake.
Alera backed away.
"Lucian."
"I know."
"What do we do?"
He drew his blade.
"We survive."
The door exploded inward.
A creature entered.
It looked like a wolf made from smoke and bone.
Its eyes glowed white.
Alera screamed.
Lucian attacked.
Steel met shadow.
The creature threw him across the chamber.
Alera rushed toward him.
"Lucian!"
"Get back!"
She didn't.
The creature turned toward her.
Then stopped.
Its head lowered.
It bowed.
Alera stared.
The monster made no attack.
Instead, it whispered one word.
"Blood."
Lucian went still.
Alera's stomach tightened.
"What does that mean?"
The creature dissolved.
Silver dust filled the air.
The basin flashed.
A vision appeared.
A woman stood beneath a blood-red moon.
A baby rested in her arms.
Behind her were burning villages.
Then a male voice echoed.
"Hide the heir."
Alera stumbled backward.
"No."
The vision continued.
The woman passed the baby to another woman.
A younger Evelyn Vale.
Alera's mother.
The vision vanished.
Alera was shaking.
"My mother knew."
Lucian approached slowly.
"What did you see?"
"My mother wasn't hiding a journal."
She looked at him.
"She was hiding me."
Lucian said nothing.
Alera's breathing became unsteady.
"Why?"
The answer came from the wall.
Ancient letters illuminated themselves.
THE OMEGA HEIR.
THE LAST BLOOD OF THE MOON QUEEN.
Alera stared.
"I'm royalty."
Lucian looked at her.
"No."
She blinked.
"What?"
"You're more than royalty."
He stepped closer.
"You're descended from the first rulers of this land."
She shook her head.
"That's impossible."
"It isn't."
"Then why did my mother live like a servant?"
"Because your enemies murdered everyone who carried your blood."
"Who?"
Lucian's voice dropped.
"The council."
Alera felt tears fill her eyes.
Her entire life had been built around the belief that she was insignificant.
Poor.
Unwanted.
A nobody.
And now the king was telling her she was the last surviving heir to an ancient bloodline.
"No."
Lucian took her hand.
"You don't have to believe it tonight."
She stared at their joined hands.
The bond between them suddenly pulsed.
Warmth traveled through her veins.
Lucian's eyes darkened.
"What?"
Alera looked up.
"I felt that."
"So did I."
Their wolves stirred.
For the first time, Alera heard a voice inside her.
Not human.
Not entirely animal.
Mine.
She gasped.
Lucian stepped closer.
His forehead touched hers.
"Don't fight it."
"I don't know how."
"Neither do I."
She looked at him.
"You said you fought the bond."
"I did."
"Why?"
"Because every prophecy says an Alpha King must choose duty over his mate."
"And you believe that?"
"I used to."
"What changed?"
He looked directly into her eyes.
"You."
Their lips nearly touched.
Then a horn sounded above them.
Lucian pulled away.
"The palace is under attack."
"By whom?"
May you like
He reached for her hand.
"Everyone who is afraid of what you really are."
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