CHAPTER 9 - The First Crack Appears

I will not wait this time.

“You owe me the truth.”

The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. They sound calm, but they are not. They are sharp. They are heavy. They have been waiting too long.

Damon turns slowly, like he already knows this moment is coming. His face is controlled. Too controlled. That alone makes my chest tighten.

“You shouldn’t have listened to him,” he says. “Lucian is dangerous. He feeds on doubt. He twists old stories until they look like weapons.”

I let out a breath that almost became a laugh. Almost.

“Funny,” I say, my voice low. “Because the doubt was already there. He didn’t plant it. You did.”

His jaw tightens. I know that look. I have seen it during board meetings. During pack disputes. When he chooses power over softness.

“I’m trying to protect you,” he says.

I step closer. Not touching him. Not yet.

“No,” I say. “You’re trying to control the story.”

Silence stretches between us. Not peaceful. Not calm. It presses against my ears.

“I heard you,” I continued. “I heard what you said to her.”

His eyes flicker. Just once. It is enough.

“I can’t lose you again.”

The words echo in my mind like a bruise being pressed.

“Again,” I repeat. “You said again. When did you lose her the first time, Damon?”

He exhales slowly. Too slowly.

“That’s not what matters.”

“It matters to me.”

“You’re emotional,” he says gently. Too gently. “And Lucian knows that. He knows how to poke old wounds.”

“My parents,” I say suddenly. “Why didn’t they trust your family?”

The question hangs between us like a blade.

Damon freezes.

Not for long. Just a second. But I see it. I always see it.

“Aria,” he begins, “your parents were… complicated.”

“No,” I cut in. “They were careful.”

“They were afraid,” he corrects. “Of change. Of alliances.”

“That’s a lie,” I say quietly.

His gaze sharpens. “You don’t know that.”

“I know my parents,” I snapped. My chest aches. “They trusted facts. They trusted the truth. And they trusted me.”

He looks away.

That hurts more than any lie.

“Say it,” I whisper. “Say why they warned me. Say why they hid parts of our history from me.”

“They didn’t hide anything,” he says quickly.

“They hid me,” I fired back. “They hid what I am.”

His shoulders stiffen.

I felt it then. A pressure under my skin. Not pain. Heat. Like waking up after a long sleep.

“I’m not your enemy,” Damon says, stepping closer now. “Lucian is. He wants to tear this pack apart.”

“Then why are you scared of him?” I ask.

He stops.

That fear flashes again. Clear this time. Raw.

“You saw that,” he says softly.

“Yes,” I answered. “I did.”

The heat spreads. My palms tingle. My heartbeat changes. Slower. Deeper.

“Aria,” he says, his voice dropping. “You need to calm down.”

“I am calm.”

The tremor hits without warning.

The floor shudders. Not violently. Just enough to be real.

Damon’s eyes widened.

I stare at my hands. Golden light flickers over my skin. Brief. Bright.

“What is happening to me?” I whisper.

He swallows.

“You’re awakening,” he says.

The words should scare me.

They don’t.

They feel like the truth.

“Why now?” I ask. “Why after all these years?”

He hesitates.

“Because stress can trigger dormant power.”

“That’s another half-truth,” I say. My voice shakes. Not weak. Charged.

He runs a hand through his hair. The Alpha mask cracks. Just a little.

“Your bloodline was sealed,” he admits. “Hidden. Even from you.”

“By who?”

“Your parents,” he answers. “With help.”

“With help from who?” I press.

He meets my eyes.

“My family.”

The crack widens.

“You helped hide me,” I say slowly. “And then you married me.”

“Yes.”

“To protect me?” I ask.

“To keep you close,” he says. Honest now. “To make sure no one else found out.”

“And Lucian?” I ask. “Did you hide me from him?”

His silence screams.

“That’s why he knows my name,” I whisper. “That’s why he called me Vale like it meant something more.”

“He has no right,” Damon snaps. “He was exiled for a reason.”

“What reason?”

“He wanted the old power restored,” Damon says. “He wanted your family back in control.”

My breath catches.

“My family had control?”

“Yes.”

“Over what?”

“Everything,” he says.

The room hums. Not around me. Inside me.

“You let me believe I was ordinary,” I say. “You let me think I was safe because I was small.”

“I wanted you alive,” he replies. “Do you know how many would kill you if they knew?”

Lucian’s voice echoes in my memory.

Ask him why you were hidden.

“Did you destroy my family’s legacy?” I ask quietly.

His eyes darken.

“No.”

“You didn’t answer fast enough,” I say.

“Because it’s complicated.”

“Because it’s ugly.”

He steps closer again. His voice lowers.

“I loved you,” he says. “I still do.”

“That doesn’t erase lies,” I whisper.

The heat surges again. Stronger this time. The golden light stays longer.

Damon steps back.

Fear fills his eyes. Not me. Of what I represent.

I straighten.

“That’s the crack,” I say softly. “That’s where the truth leaks out.”

He shakes his head. “You don’t understand what you’re becoming.”

“Then tell me,” I demand. “Before someone else does.”

A knock interrupts us.

Urgent. Sharp.

Damon turns toward the door, then back to me.

“They found Lucian’s files,” he says. “Encrypted. Old pack records.”

My heart skips.

“And?” I ask.

“And some of them are marked with your name.”

The hum inside me roars.

“Open them,” I say.

His gaze searches mine. Possessive. Afraid.

“If you read those,” he warns, “you won’t look at me the same way again.”

I lift my glowing hand.

“Then stop lying,” I say. “Or move.”

He doesn’t move.

The files begin to unlock on their own.

I did not touch them.

Damon stares at me in shock.

I stare back.

“What else can I do?” I ask.

The screen flashes.

A single line appears.

VALE HEIR - FINAL KEY UNSEALED.

I meet Damon’s eyes.

“Why does it say final?” I ask.

His face drains of color.

Because somewhere deep inside, I already know the answer.