Silver Blade On Mom's Neck

Chapter 7

Isabella

"Your younger brother?"

The words came out of my mouth in a whisper.

I stared at Richard, waiting for him to take them back. But he didn't.

Alexander stood beside the desk, his expression unreadable. Sebastian had stopped leaning against the wall, while Adrian looked between his father and me.

My entire world had just shifted.

"You mean…" I swallowed. "Alexander, Sebastian and Adrian are my cousins?"

"No," Richard answered immediately.

I blinked.

He rubbed a hand over his face. "Lucian was my brother in every way that mattered, but he wasn't my biological brother. We were raised together in the same pack. He was the son of my father's closest friend, and after his parents died, my family took him in."

A breath escaped my lungs.

"So you lied to me?"

"I didn't tell you everything."

"That is the same thing!"

My voice echoed through the room.

For nineteen years, I had believed my father was dead. Now I had discovered that he was a powerful Alpha, that people were hunting me because of his bloodline, and that the man who had promised to protect me had been keeping secrets.

I was tired of secrets.

"Why did my mother say nothing?" I demanded.

Richard glanced towards the door. "Catherine was trying to protect you."

"Everyone keeps saying that. Protect me from what?"

Nobody answered.

I turned to Alexander. "You knew about my father?"

"No."

"Did you know about this room?"

His jaw tightened. "I knew it belonged to Lucian. I didn't know you could open it."

"Then why did you order me out?"

"Because you were touching things that could be dangerous."

I laughed bitterly. "Of course. Another person telling me what I can and cannot do."

"Isabella," Adrian began gently.

"Don't."

I stepped away from the desk.

Something about the photograph on the table caught my attention. It showed my mother standing beside Lucian. They looked happy, but there was something strange about the background.

Behind them stood a young Richard, and beside Richard was a woman holding a baby.

I picked up the photograph.

"Who is she?"

Richard's expression changed.

"Put that down."

"Why?"

"Isabella, give it to me."

His voice had become dangerously firm.

I looked at the photograph again. The woman was beautiful, with long silver-blonde hair and unusual golden eyes.

The baby in her arms had a tiny crescent-shaped birthmark on its wrist.

My wrist.

I turned my hand over.

The mark that had appeared after the rogue attacked me was glowing faintly.

"Who is she?" I repeated.

Richard reached for the photograph, but I moved away.

"Her name was Seraphina," he said quietly. "She was Lucian's mate."

My stomach tightened.

"Was?"

“She disappeared shortly before Lucian vanished.”

"Was she my mother?"

"No. Catherine is your mother."

"Then why does that baby have my birthmark?"

Sebastian moved closer and examined the photograph.

"That doesn't make sense," he muttered.

Richard looked at him. "Some things about the Moon Bloodline are not what you think."

Before I could ask another question, a loud crash came from downstairs.

Adrian immediately turned towards the door.

"What was that?"

A second crash followed.

Then came a scream. It was my mother's scream.

"Mum!"

I dropped the photograph and ran.

"Isabella, wait!" Alexander shouted.

I ignored him.

I raced down the staircase, my heart pounding. At the bottom, I found two guards lying unconscious on the marble floor.

My mother stood near the entrance, one hand pressed against her chest.

A man dressed in black stood behind her.

His face was hidden beneath a dark hood.

"Let her go!" I screamed.

The stranger slowly turned towards me.

Even from a distance, I could feel something unnatural coming from him. His scent was bitter, like burnt wood and blood.

He smiled.

"Finally," he said. "The little princess has come out of hiding."

My mother's face went pale.

"Isabella, don't come closer!"

The stranger tightened his grip around her.

"Where is the key?" he asked.

"What key?" I demanded.

"The key your father left behind."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He laughed.

"Of course you don't. They have kept you ignorant."

Alexander appeared behind me, followed by Sebastian and Adrian.

"Release her," Alexander ordered.

The stranger tilted his head.

"Three Blackwood princes protecting one little girl. How touching."

Sebastian's eyes flashed.

"Say another word and I'll rip your throat out."

"Still the angry one," the stranger mocked.

Then his gaze returned to me.

"But I didn't come for them. I came for you, Isabella Sullivan."

My hands began to tremble. Golden light flickered beneath my skin.

The stranger noticed and grinned.

"There she is. The Moon Queen's daughter."

He pulled a small silver blade from his coat and pressed it against my mother's neck.

"Mum! Do not hurt my mother!"

"Don't!" she cried. "Isabella, don't use your powers!"

The warning confused me.

Why was she more afraid of my powers than the man holding a knife to her throat?

The stranger leaned towards her ear.

"Tell her what happened nineteen years ago."

My mother shook her head.

"Please..."

"Tell her who betrayed Lucian."

Richard finally reached the bottom of the staircase.

"Nightfang!" he growled.

The stranger laughed.

"You remember us, Richard. Then you should remember what you did."

Richard's face hardened.

"Let Catherine go."

"Give me the key first."

"I don't have it."

The stranger's smile disappeared.

"Then perhaps her daughter does."

He suddenly released my mother and lunged towards me.

Everything happened too quickly.

Alexander moved in front of me, but the stranger threw him aside with a force that sent him crashing into a pillar.

Sebastian attacked next.

Adrian grabbed my mother and pulled her away.

I stood frozen.

The stranger was coming straight for me.

His blade flashed.

Something inside me snapped.

A wave of golden energy exploded from my body.

The windows shattered, the chandelier trembled. The stranger was thrown across the entrance hall, crashing against the front doors.

For a moment, nobody moved.

Then I heard a voice. It wasn't my mother's, neither was it Richard's.

A deep, unfamiliar voice whispered inside my head.

"The seal is breaking."

I staggered backwards.

"What seal?" I whispered.

The stranger slowly pushed himself up. Blood ran down his forehead, but he was still smiling.

"You don't even know what you are," he said.

Alexander rose from the floor, his eyes glowing fiercely.

"Get out of my house."

The stranger looked past him and stared directly at me.

"Ask your mother about the night your father disappeared. Ask her what she buried beneath this mansion."

Then he pressed something against his chest.

A flash of black smoke filled the entrance hall.

When it cleared, he was gone.

I turned towards my mother, she was crying now.

"Mum," I whispered. "What did he mean?"

She shook her head.

"Isabella, please..."

"What did you bury beneath this mansion?"

Richard looked at her sharply.

For the first time since I had met him, he looked genuinely afraid.

My mother covered her mouth. Then she whispered the words that made my blood run cold.

"Your father didn't disappear, Isabella."

I stared at her. "What?"

She looked towards Richard before returning her gaze to me.

"He was murdered."

My heart stopped.

"Who killed him?"

Her lips trembled.

Then she pointed towards the staircase.