Chapter 5 - The Daughter Hidden From The Alpha King
The little girl holding Kora’s hand looked at Arthur and whispered: "Are you my father?"
Arthur stopped breathing.
The question was simple.
Innocent.
But it destroyed the last piece of certainty he had left.
Because for five years, Arthur had believed he had lost everything.
Now the woman he buried stood in front of him.
And beside her was a child who carried his eyes.
Nobody in the cathedral moved.
Not the guests.
Not the guards.
Not even Arthur’s closest friend.
Everyone waited for the Alpha King to react.
But Arthur could not.
His mind was trapped between two impossible realities.
Kora was alive.
And she had a daughter.
His daughter.
The little girl looked up at him again.
Her small hand remained wrapped around Kora’s fingers.
She was nervous.
Confused.
But she was not afraid.
That hurt Arthur more than anything.
Because she looked at him like she had spent years waiting for him.
"Kora..."
His voice was barely a whisper.
Kora stepped forward slowly.
Tears filled her eyes.
"I wanted to tell you."
Arthur looked at her.
"Then why didn't you?"
The question was not angry.
It was worse.
It was broken.
Kora lowered her head.
"Because every time I tried to come back, someone stopped me."
Arthur's jaw tightened.
"Who?"
Kora looked around the cathedral.
At the people who had watched him suffer.
At the people who had protected the lie.
Then she looked back at Arthur.
"The same person who made you believe I was dead."
Arthur's eyes moved toward his friend.
The man immediately looked away.
Arthur noticed.
Everyone noticed.
The little girl looked between them.
"Mom..."
Kora kneeled beside her.
"It's okay."
"No."
Arthur's voice stopped the room.
He looked at the child.
"What is her name?"
Kora hesitated.
That hesitation cut deeper.
"Her name is Lily."
Arthur looked at the girl.
"Lily."
The child smiled slightly.
She had his eyes.
The same intense gray eyes he had seen every morning in the mirror.
Arthur took a step closer.
But Lily moved behind Kora.
Not because she feared him.
Because she did not know him.
That realization broke something inside him.
Five years.
He had missed five years.
First words.
First steps.
First memories.
Everything.
Arthur turned away for a moment.
The strongest Lycan in the world looked like a man who had just realized how much time had been stolen from him.
Kora watched him silently.
"I never wanted this for you."
Arthur turned back.
"What?"
"I never wanted you to find out this way."
"How did you want me to find out?"
Kora had no answer.
Arthur stepped closer.
"You let me mourn you."
"I was trying to protect you."
"Everyone keeps saying that."
His voice rose.
"Everyone keeps telling me they lied because they wanted to protect me."
The entire cathedral became silent.
"But nobody asked me if I wanted to live with a lie."
Kora looked down.
Arthur regretted the words immediately.
Because he saw the pain on her face.
The same pain he carried.
But before he could speak, a sound came from the back of the cathedral.
A slow clap.
Everyone turned.
A man stepped forward from the crowd.
Arthur recognized him.
A senior adviser from his father's old council.
Someone who had attended every major event in Arthur's life.
Someone who had known Kora before she disappeared.
"Beautiful reunion."
Arthur's expression hardened.
"What are you doing here?"
The man smiled.
"Watching the truth finally come out."
Arthur's wolf reacted instantly.
Danger.
"Did you know?"
The adviser looked at Kora.
"I knew everything."
Arthur's eyes became cold.
"Explain."
The man walked closer.
"Kora was never supposed to return."
The guards immediately surrounded him.
Arthur raised his hand.
They stopped.
"Continue."
The adviser smiled.
"Five years ago, Kora discovered something she should never have discovered."
"What?"
"A secret about the Alpha bloodline."
Arthur frowned.
"What secret?"
The adviser looked at Lily.
"Her existence."
The room went silent.
Arthur stared.
"What does that mean?"
Kora's face changed.
"Don't listen to him."
But the adviser continued.
"Lily was born with something rare."
Arthur looked at Kora.
She avoided his eyes.
"What are you hiding?"
Kora remained silent.
Arthur's heart sank.
Not again.
Not another secret.
"Tell me."
Kora whispered:
"Lily is different."
Arthur looked at the child.
"Different how?"
The adviser answered.
"She carries two ancient bloodlines."
Arthur's expression changed.
The Lycan world had legends about rare descendants.
Children who could change the balance between powerful families.
But Arthur had never believed those stories.
Until now.
"Why would that matter?"
The adviser smiled.
"Because there are people who would kill for that power."
Arthur immediately stepped between them and Lily.
Nobody touched his daughter.
Nobody.
"Who?"
The adviser looked toward the cathedral ceiling.
"The same people who ordered Kora's disappearance."
Arthur's eyes darkened.
"Who ordered it?"
The adviser did not answer.
Instead, he reached into his coat.
The guards reacted.
But before anyone could stop him, he placed an old envelope on the table.
Arthur recognized the handwriting immediately.
His father's.
Impossible.
His father had died years ago.
Arthur picked up the envelope.
There was one sentence written on the front.
"To my son, when he finally learns the truth."
His hands tightened.
Nobody spoke.
Arthur opened it.
Inside was a letter.
Only a few lines.
But they changed everything.
Arthur,
If you are reading this, then Kora survived.
And if Kora survived, then I failed to protect you both.
Do not trust the council.
Do not trust the person who stands closest to you.
The enemy has always been inside our family.
Arthur slowly lowered the letter.
His eyes moved toward his friend.
Then toward the adviser.
Then toward Kora.
"Who knew about this?"
Kora looked terrified.
"Arthur..."
"Who knew?"
She whispered:
"Your brother."
The room froze.
Arthur's face changed.
"My brother died."
Kora shook her head.
"No."
Her voice trembled.
"He wanted everyone to believe he was dead."
Arthur stepped back.
Impossible.
His brother.
The person whose funeral he attended.
The person whose grave he visited every year.
Another lie.
Another ghost.
Another person who had been alive while Arthur suffered.
Then Lily suddenly grabbed Kora's hand.
Her face became frightened.
"Mom."
Kora looked down.
"What?"
The little girl pointed toward the cathedral window.
"That man is here again."
Arthur immediately turned.
Outside the glass was a figure standing in the rain.
Watching.
Waiting.
Arthur moved closer.
The figure disappeared.
But something remained on the window.
A message written into the fog.
Three words.
"ASK YOUR BROTHER."
Arthur stared at the words.
Then his phone vibrated.
A new message appeared from an unknown number.
One picture.
One location.
One name.
His dead brother's private residence.
Arthur looked at Kora.
May you like
And then the cathedral doors slowly opened by themselves...
Because someone who should have been dead was standing outside, waiting for him.
