Chapter 3 - The Secret Blood of the Forgotten Omega
The first howl came from the mountain ridge.
The second came closer.
The third came from directly beyond the lodge.
I stood frozen beside the fireplace, listening to the creatures outside move through the snow.
Not ordinary wolves.
I knew the difference.
Ordinary wolves hunted because they needed to survive.
These wolves hunted because they had been ordered to.
Five years of running had taught me one thing.
The most dangerous predators were never the ones with claws.
They were the ones who could speak.
Adrian stood near the window, watching the darkness beyond the glass.
His entire presence had changed.
The man who had knelt before me moments ago was gone.
The Alpha King had returned.
His shoulders were tense.
His jaw was locked.
His eyes had become the cold gray of a winter storm.
But something about him was different now.
He wasn't angry.
He was protecting.
I hated noticing that.
Because it made everything harder.
"How many?" I asked.
Adrian did not look back.
"At least twenty."
My stomach tightened.
"Twenty wolves came here because of me?"
"No."
His answer was immediate.
"They came because of what you are."
I looked at him.
"I still don't understand."
"You will."
His voice softened slightly.
"But first, you need to understand something."
He turned toward me.
"The Glacier Claw elders did not hide your identity because they wanted to protect you."
The fire reflected in his eyes.
"They hid you because they were afraid of what would happen if you discovered the truth."
I shook my head.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
"Because everyone knows pieces of the story."
"And you know the whole thing?"
A pause.
Long enough to tell me the answer before he spoke.
"No."
That surprised me.
The Alpha King admitted he didn't know something.
"I know what my father taught me," he continued. "I know what the royal records say. But someone erased parts of your history."
"My history?"
"Your bloodline."
The word felt strange.
Heavy.
I had spent my entire life believing I was ordinary.
An omega.
A woman born with less power than everyone around her.
A woman people could control.
But now this man was telling me my blood was the reason an entire pack had manipulated my life.
I wanted to believe he was wrong.
I needed him to be wrong.
Because the alternative was terrifying.
"What is the Moon Bloodline?"
Adrian looked toward the fireplace.
Toward the ancient wolf carving above it.
"The first wolves."
I frowned.
"That sounds like a legend."
"It was supposed to."
The storm outside grew louder.
"The first wolves were different from us. They weren't divided by rank. There were no alphas, betas, or omegas."
I listened carefully.
"They believed power was not meant to control others. It was meant to protect them."
"Then what happened?"
Adrian's expression darkened.
"People became afraid."
"Of them?"
"Of losing control."
The answer was quiet.
"The original Moon Bloodline had one ability no other wolves possessed."
"What ability?"
He looked directly at me.
"They could awaken."
I felt a chill.
"My wolf awakened tonight."
"Yes."
"Because the poison stopped working."
"No."
His answer was firm.
"Because you stopped running."
The words hit harder than I expected.
I looked away.
Because he was right.
For five years, I had done everything possible to silence myself.
My wolf.
My scent.
My instincts.
My emotions.
I had survived by becoming someone else.
Adrian stepped closer.
Slowly.
Carefully.
"You didn't poison yourself because you were weak."
My eyes lifted.
"You poisoned yourself because you were trying to survive."
Something tightened in my chest.
No one had ever said that.
Not once.
The elders called me defective.
Strangers called me cursed.
Even I had started believing I was broken.
But Adrian looked at me like I had fought a war.
Not lost one.
A sudden growl came from outside.
Adrian immediately turned.
"They're moving."
I felt my wolf react.
A pressure in my chest.
A warning.
"They're afraid."
Adrian looked at me.
"You can sense them?"
I nodded.
"Their fear."
His expression changed.
"That's another ability."
"What?"
"Most wolves sense threats."
He moved toward the table.
"Moon Bloodline wolves sense intentions."
I stared at him.
"You mean I can read emotions?"
"Not exactly."
He picked up his dagger.
"You feel what people hide."
A strange fear moved through me.
Because if that was true...
What had I missed all my life?
How many lies had people told me while my own instincts screamed the truth?
The front door suddenly shook.
Once.
Twice.
The entire lodge trembled.
I stepped backward.
Adrian moved between me and the entrance.
"Stay behind me."
"I can fight."
His eyes glanced at me.
"You can barely stand."
"I survived five years alone."
"I know."
There was something almost like respect in his voice.
"But surviving and fighting are different things."
I wanted to argue.
Then the door exploded inward.
Snow rushed into the lodge.
Three wolves entered.
Not transformed.
Not human.
Something between both.
Their eyes glowed.
Their movements were unnatural.
Adrian stepped forward.
The air changed.
His wolf pushed forward.
Power filled the room.
"Leave."
His voice wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
The wolves froze.
Because they knew who stood before them.
The Alpha King.
But then the largest wolf stepped forward.
A man shifted back into human form.
I recognized him immediately.
Even after five years.
Because some faces never leave your nightmares.
Elias Voss.
The Glacier Claw elder's son.
The man who had signed my name onto the ceremonial list.
The man who had smiled when Mara Quinn screamed.
His eyes moved to me.
Not Adrian.
Me.
"There she is."
My blood turned cold.
Adrian's voice dropped.
"You don't get to look at her."
Elias smiled.
A cruel, satisfied smile.
"Still protecting her?"
I looked at Adrian.
Confusion filled me.
Elias laughed softly.
"Interesting."
"What?"
He looked between us.
"You really didn't tell her."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"Choose your next words carefully."
Elias ignored him.
"You spent five years searching for her, and you never told her why."
My heart started pounding.
"Why?"
Neither man answered.
That was when I knew.
There was something bigger.
Something neither of them wanted me to know.
Elias stepped closer.
"The Alpha King didn't hunt you, Evelyn."
I held my breath.
"He was searching for the only person who could destroy the throne."
Silence.
The fire cracked.
The storm screamed.
I looked at Adrian.
"Is that true?"
His face gave away nothing.
But his silence was enough.
Elias smiled.
"Ask him what happened to the last Moon Bloodline omega."
My fingers tightened.
"Adrian."
The Alpha King looked at me.
For the first time since I entered the lodge…
I saw fear in his eyes.
Not fear of the wolves outside.
Not fear of Elias.
Fear of telling me the truth.
"My mother was the last Moon Bloodline omega before you."
I froze.
"Your mother?"
Adrian nodded slowly.
"She died because people wanted her power."
The room became painfully quiet.
Elias continued.
"And now history is repeating itself."
Adrian moved instantly.
His wolf surged.
A warning.
"Enough."
But Elias only smiled.
"She deserves to know."
He looked at me.
"The reason Glacier Claw let you escape..."
My heart stopped.
"The reason Adrian could never find you..."
A cold feeling spread through my body.
"The reason your blood matters..."
Elias took one final step.
"Is because you are not the hidden omega."
His eyes narrowed.
"You are the rightful heir to the Moon Throne."
The words echoed.
Moon Throne.
Heir.
Power.
Everything I had spent five years running from suddenly became something else.
Not a curse.
Not a weakness.
A legacy.
I looked at Adrian.
The Alpha King.
The man I feared.
The man who had knelt before me.
And I finally understood why the world had been so desperate to keep me hidden.
Because if I survived...
If I awakened...
If I claimed what was mine...
The entire wolf kingdom would change.
Outside, the wolves waited.
Inside, the truth finally arrived.
And for the first time in five years...
May you like
I wasn't running from my destiny.
My destiny was coming for me.
