Chapter 3 - Alice Discovered Why the Wolves Had Been Hunting Her
The next three days were a blur.
Alice was examined by royal healers.
Blood tests were performed.
Old genealogies were opened.
Records were dragged from vaults.
Everything pointed toward one conclusion.
Alice was the last surviving descendant of the Moonblood line.
The line had once ruled the northern packs.
Her mother, Queen Elara, had been the final legitimate heir.
But Elara disappeared before Alice was born.
Someone had erased her.
Alice read the records late one night.
Her mother's name appeared only twice.
The second reference had been crossed out.
She traced the line with her finger.
“Why did they erase her?”
Kalin stood behind her.
“Because someone wanted the throne.”
She turned.
“Who?”
“That's what we're finding.”
“You knew my mother?”
“No.”
“But your father did.”
“Yes.”
“Did he know I existed?”
Kalin hesitated.
“That is the problem.”
“What problem?”
“According to the records, he believed Elara died.”
“And you believe that?”
“No.”
Alice looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because my father never stopped searching.”
That surprised her.
“What?”
“He sent riders toward Blackwater for six years.”
She frowned.
“Then why did nobody find me?”
Kalin stared at the records.
“Because someone kept redirecting them.”
A terrible thought formed.
“Gareth?”
“Maybe.”
Alice shook her head.
“Gareth was cruel, but he isn't clever enough.”
Kalin nodded.
“Agreed.”
“Then who?”
Before he answered, a royal messenger rushed inside.
“Your Majesty.”
Kalin turned.
“We found the Blackwater archive.”
“Alive?”
“No.”
“What?”
“The archivist is dead.”
Alice closed her eyes.
Another dead man.
Another erased witness.
Kalin clenched his fists.
“Where?”
“Blackwater monastery.”
They left before dawn.
The monastery had burned partially years earlier.
Inside were charred records.
Alice walked through the ruins.
Something tugged at her memory.
A smell.
Smoke.
Lavender.
Her mother's perfume.
She stopped.
“Here.”
Kalin turned.
“Why?”
“I remember this place.”
“You've never been here.”
“I was.”
“How?”
“As a child.”
Alice closed her eyes.
A memory surfaced.
A woman in white kneeling beside her.
“Never tell them your name.”
A man shouting.
“Take the child.”
Her mother's arms around her.
Then a wolf howling outside.
Alice opened her eyes.
“She brought me here.”
Kalin crouched beside her.
“Your mother?”
Alice nodded.
“She hid me.”
“In the monastery?”
“Yes.”
They searched the ruined chapel.
Behind a stone statue was a hidden chamber.
Inside lay a wooden chest.
Alice opened it.
A red blanket.
A child's shoe.
Her mother's journal.
Alice sat down.
Her fingers trembled.
The first page read:
For my daughter, if I do not survive.
Alice swallowed.
She read.
You were not born to be hidden.
You were born because this realm needed someone who could unite it.
Your father is King Rowan.
But your blood belongs to both Moonblood and Lycan.
That combination makes you dangerous to anyone who depends on division.
Alice looked at Kalin.
He was silent.
She continued.
Rafael will come for you.
Alice frowned.
“Who is Rafael?”
Kalin's face changed.
“My father's brother.”
“The uncle you never mentioned?”
“He disappeared before I took the throne.”
“Why?”
“Because he attempted a coup.”
Alice read the next line.
He believes the Moonblood heir can be controlled if she is raised without knowledge of her blood.
Then:
If Gareth gets hold of you, he will use the debt contract to hide your identity.
Alice stopped.
Kalin read over her shoulder.
“He knew.”
“Yes.”
“He knew who you were.”
“Yes.”
“And enslaved you anyway.”
Kalin's expression became terrifying.
Alice turned the page.
There was one final note.
Never trust the king's council.
Especially Theron.
Kalin stared.
“The council.”
Alice remembered the smiling elder.
Lord Theron.
The man who had looked pleased.
“We have a traitor in the palace.”
Kalin nodded.
“Now we know where to look.”
They returned to Ironwood.
Gareth was waiting in prison.
Kalin entered the cell.
“Tell me why you took her.”
Gareth laughed.
“Because I was told to.”
“Who?”
“You'll never reach him.”
Kalin grabbed his collar.
“I don't need to reach him.”
He pulled him closer.
“I need a name.”
Gareth smiled.
“Rafael.”
Kalin released him.
“Where?”
Gareth's smile widened.
“He is already inside the palace.”
Kalin's wolf surged.
Alice stepped beside him.
“Who is he?”
Gareth looked at her.
“The man sitting at your king's table.”
Alice remembered.
A royal advisor.
Lord Theron.
No.
Gareth shook his head.
“Not Theron.”
Alice's blood ran cold.
“Then who?”
Gareth laughed.
“Your king's most trusted captain.”
Victor.
Alice turned.
Victor stood in the doorway.
His face was expressionless.
Then he closed the door behind him.
Kalin looked at him.
“Victor.”
The captain bowed.
“Your Majesty.”
Gareth smiled.
“You finally found him.”
Victor looked at Alice.
She saw tears in his eyes.
May you like
Then he whispered:
“I'm sorry.”
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