Chapter 7:The Truth He Hid

“The King has been searching for you for years.”

The words crashed through the room like lightning.

Lyra froze.

For one terrifying second, she genuinely thought she misheard him.

“What?” she whispered.

Outside the door, Rowan gave a humorless laugh.

“You really didn’t tell her?”

Kael’s expression turned lethally cold.

“Leave,” he ordered again.

But this time, there was something dangerous beneath the command.

Not just anger.

Warning.

Rowan ignored it.

“For years, royal wolves have been quietly searching the northern territories for a girl with a rare scent signature.” His voice sharpened bitterly. “And suddenly Kael arrives at our ceremony the exact night you’re rejected?”

Lyra’s pulse thundered violently.

Slowly, she looked toward Kael.

His silence terrified her more than denial would have.

“…Is he lying?”

Kael’s jaw tightened.

“Yes,” he said finally.

But the hesitation before the answer made doubt crawl instantly through her chest.

Rowan noticed too.

“You’re a terrible liar, Your Majesty.”

A dangerous growl vibrated through Kael’s chest.

The entire room shook faintly beneath the force of his Alpha pressure.

“Last warning.”

Outside the door, Lyra heard movement.

Royal guards approaching quickly through the hallway.

Apparently Rowan heard them too.

His voice dropped lower.

“Ask him why royal scouts were watching Moonridge territory for the past three years.”

Lyra’s breath caught sharply.

Three years?

That couldn’t be coincidence.

Could it?

Kael remained silent.

And that silence answered everything.

Hurt twisted painfully through her stomach.

“You knew about me?” she asked quietly.

Kael finally looked at her fully.

His gray eyes had darkened almost black now.

“It’s complicated.”

“That’s not an answer.”

Footsteps thundered outside the room suddenly.

Then multiple royal guards stopped in the hallway.

“Your Majesty,” one guard called carefully. “The intruder escaped the eastern cells.”

Kael’s expression became murderous instantly.

“What?”

“We found two unconscious guards and a breached security gate.”

Silence.

Deadly silence.

Then Kael spoke with terrifying calm.

“Seal the castle.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The guards rushed away immediately.

Lyra’s heart pounded harder.

Everything was spiraling out of control too fast.

Kael looked toward the door one final time.

But Rowan was already gone.

Only silence remained beyond the hallway now.

The Alpha King shut his eyes briefly like he was controlling violent anger beneath his skin.

Then he turned toward Lyra.

She stepped back immediately.

The movement made him freeze.

Pain flickered across his face for the first time since she met him.

Only for a second.

“You lied to me,” she whispered.

Kael’s expression hardened again.

“I withheld information.”

“That’s literally the same thing.”

“No.”

Frustration exploded inside her chest.

“Then explain it!”

The room fell silent.

Rain crashed violently outside while tension coiled tightly between them.

Finally, Kael spoke.

“Years ago, royal trackers detected traces of an ancient bloodline awakening somewhere within the northern packs.”

Lyra stared at him.

“What bloodline?”

“We didn’t know.”

The answer came carefully. Controlled.

Like every word mattered.

Kael continued slowly, “The scent appeared briefly every few months before disappearing again. Weak at first. Unstable.”

Her stomach twisted uneasily.

“You’re talking about me.”

“Yes.”

The single word changed everything.

Lyra’s mind reeled.

“No,” she said immediately. “That’s impossible.”

“You think your wolf is normal?”

The question caught her off guard.

Kael stepped closer slowly.

“You heal faster than ordinary wolves.”

Her pulse quickened.

“You suppress pain unusually well.”

Another step.

“You survived rejection damage that should’ve incapacitated an omega completely.”

Lyra’s breathing became uneven.

“How do you know all this?”

“Because I’ve been tracking the changes for years.”

Years.

The word echoed painfully inside her head.

This wasn’t random.

Kael didn’t accidentally find her.

He came looking for her.

A horrible thought suddenly hit her.

“Was tonight planned?”

Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“No.”

“But you were already watching my pack.”

“Yes.”

The honesty hurt more than another lie would have.

Lyra turned away sharply, trying to process everything.

“So what?” she asked bitterly. “I’m some experiment to you?”

“No.”

“Then what am I?”

Silence stretched heavily.

Then Kael said quietly:

“A mystery.”

The answer snapped something inside her.

Lyra spun around angrily.

“I am not some object for you to study!”

Her voice echoed across the room.

Kael didn’t react.

Didn’t flinch.

Which only frustrated her more.

“You took me away from my home because of some stupid prophecy or bloodline or whatever this is?”

“Your home rejected you.”

The words landed brutally.

Lyra’s anger faltered slightly.

Kael moved closer again.

This time she didn’t back away.

His gaze held hers intensely.

“If I left you there tonight,” he said quietly, “you would’ve become vulnerable immediately.”

“To who?”

A long pause followed.

Then:

“Everyone.”

A chill crawled slowly down her spine.

Kael’s expression darkened further.

“You don’t understand what you are yet.”

The way he said it made fear bloom inside her chest.

“What does that mean?”

Before he could answer—

A sudden scream echoed somewhere deep inside the castle.

Both of them froze instantly.

Another scream followed.

Closer this time.

Kael’s entire posture changed immediately.

Predatory. Alert. Lethal.

Then the castle lights flickered.

Once.

Twice.

And went out completely.

Darkness swallowed the room.

Lyra’s heartbeat spiked.

“What’s happening?”

No answer.

For one terrifying second, the only sounds were the storm outside and distant shouting echoing through the castle halls.

Then—

Kael grabbed her suddenly.

One arm wrapped tightly around her waist as he pulled her against his chest.

“Stay behind me.”

The deadly seriousness in his voice made panic explode through her instantly.

Heavy footsteps thundered somewhere outside the room.

Fast.

Too fast.

Kael’s wolf surfaced violently beneath his skin.

Lyra could feel the power radiating from him now like a storm barely contained.

Then a deep crashing sound echoed from downstairs.

Glass shattering.

Walls shaking.

Screams.

Kael cursed under his breath.

“They breached the castle.”

Lyra’s blood ran cold.

“Who breached the castle?”

Kael’s eyes turned silver-black in the darkness.

And for the first time since meeting him…

She saw genuine concern in his face.

“The Bloodfangs.”