Chapter 4 - The Woman Who Raised Alera Had Been Hiding the Final Secret
They escaped to a remote mountain sanctuary.
For three days, Alera barely slept.
She had learned too much.
Her bloodline.
Her mother's sacrifice.
Lucian's father's secret.
The council's betrayal.
And the prophecy.
But one thing remained impossible to understand.
Why had Evelyn hidden the truth for twenty-six years?
Lucian found Alera sitting outside before sunrise.
“You should sleep.”
“I've slept enough.”
“You've slept two hours in three days.”
“That's still two more than you.”
He sat beside her.
They watched the mountains slowly become gold.
“Do you regret the bargain?”
Alera looked at him.
“The bed?”
“The whole night.”
She smiled faintly.
“No.”
“Even after everything?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Alera took his hand.
“Because I met you.”
Lucian looked away.
The Alpha King was uncomfortable with tenderness.
That made her smile.
“You really don't know what to do with affection, do you?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“Why?”
“Because neither do I.”
He kissed her forehead.
Then someone screamed.
Alera ran toward the sanctuary.
Elara stood in the doorway.
She was holding a letter.
“For you.”
Alera opened it.
Her mother's handwriting.
My daughter,
If you are reading this, then the Moon Blood has awakened.
I am sorry.
Alera's vision blurred.
I lied because truth would have gotten you killed.
I allowed you to believe you were ordinary because ordinary girls survive wars that princesses cannot.
Your father did not abandon you.
He gave his life protecting you.
And the man you were taught to fear was raised by the same man who saved you.
Trust Lucian.
But do not trust the crown.
Alera stared.
“What does that mean?”
The letter continued.
There is another throne.
Beneath the kingdom.
A throne built before the Alpha Kings.
A throne the council has searched for for centuries.
The person who sits upon it controls every royal bloodline.
That person is not the king.
It is the First Guardian.
Alera looked at Lucian.
“Who is the Guardian?”
Elara looked frightened.
“We don't know.”
Then the sanctuary doors exploded.
Warriors stormed inside.
Lucian shifted.
Alera felt his wolf explode outward.
The battle was brutal.
But one warrior slipped past him.
He grabbed Alera.
She screamed.
Lucian roared.
Then the warrior whispered into her ear.
“Your mother told you to trust the wrong man.”
Alera froze.
“What?”
The warrior smiled.
“The throne beneath the kingdom belongs to Lucian.”
Lucian reached them.
The warrior stabbed himself before he could be captured.
Alera stared at the blood spreading across the floor.
“Why would he say that?”
Lucian was silent.
“You knew.”
“No.”
“Lucian.”
“I didn't know.”
“Then why did he mention your name?”
Lucian shook his head.
Alera stepped away.
The first real fear between them had appeared.
The bond did not disappear.
But doubt entered it.
That afternoon, they returned to the sanctuary's underground archive.
There, Alera found a book.
The First Crown.
Inside was a picture.
A man seated on a hidden throne.
He had golden eyes.
Black hair.
A scar beneath his jaw.
Lucian.
Alera stared in horror.
“This is you.”
Lucian stepped closer.
His expression became unreadable.
“I've never seen this.”
“But it's you.”
“I know.”
The book opened by itself.
A line appeared.
The King who remembers becomes the King who destroys.
Alera's blood ran cold.
Lucian looked at her.
“Do you believe I'm the enemy?”
She hesitated.
That hesitation hurt him more than any blade.
“No.”
“You paused.”
“I don't know what to believe.”
He nodded.
“I understand.”
He turned away.
Alera grabbed his arm.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
“I need answers.”
“So do I.”
They stood facing one another.
Then Alera pulled him closer.
“If you become the enemy, I will stop you.”
Lucian's eyes softened.
“I know.”
“And if I'm the one who becomes dangerous?”
“I'll stop you.”
She smiled weakly.
“Then we understand each other.”
He kissed her.
This time, the bond flared so violently that the entire sanctuary shook.
The hidden throne beneath the mountain responded.
Alera heard a voice.
Not Lucian's.
Not her mother's.
A voice older than the kingdom.
Alera Vale.
Come home.
The floor split open.
Beneath them waited a staircase.
Lucian looked down.
May you like
Alera took his hand.
“Let's find out what we're supposed to be.”
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