Chapter 5: The Inheritance

POV: GUINE

The estate everyone told me was worthless was hiding enough wealth to make me independent of every person who had ever controlled me.

By the morning following the rejection, rumors had already spread like wildfire through the highest aristocratic circles. The high-born ladies and pack nobility whispered behind their lace fans, claiming I had suffered a nervous breakdown. Kael’s supporters were vocal and mocking, loudly declaring across the district that I would regret abandoning an Alpha’s protection the moment reality set in. They assumed I would come crawling back once I found myself penniless and socially ruined.

They had no idea where I was going.

Shortly after dawn, my carriage pulled up in front of the quiet, grey-stone office of sir. Thaddeus, the senior solicitor responsible for managing the dormant Ravenshade legal affairs.

In my first life, my mother and Uncle Reginald had persuaded me to ignore the Ravenshade inheritance entirely. They had insisted that Eclipse Hollow was nothing more than an isolated, decaying ruin in the far northern mountains, a worthless piece of land rumored to be cursed, not even worth the administrative taxes required to claim it. Foolishly, I had believed them and never looked twice at the paperwork.

Now, sitting in Sir Thaddeus’s candlelit study surrounded by towering wooden shelves of leather-bound ledgers, I listened as the truth finally unspooled.

"Lady Guine," Sir Thaddeus began, adjusting his thick spectacles as he spread a series of heavy parchment deeds across his mahogany desk. "Your late distant relative left no direct descendants, leaving you as the absolute, undisputed heir to the Ravenshade estate."

He tapped a finger on a golden-sealed document. "Contrary to what your family may have assumed, Eclipse Hollow is far from a decaying ruin. The estate spans over three thousand acres of dense timberland, fertile mountain valleys, silver-rich stone deposits, a heavily fortified gothic manor, and several outbuildings. Furthermore, there is a substantial reserve of gold held in the royal vault under the Ravenshade name."

I stared at the maps and financial ledgers, my heart hammering against my ribs.

"More importantly," Sir Thaddeus continued, his voice dropping to a solemn tone, "the legal records establish your claim to an ancient bloodline territorial right. Under old imperial law, Eclipse Hollow does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Moonstar Pack or any neighboring territory. It is an independent sanctuary with sovereign rights that predate the current pack hierarchy."

It was not just a house. It was a fortress. An independent realm where neither Kael nor the noble houses could touch me.

"Why was I never informed of the full scope of this estate earlier?" I asked, keeping my voice cool and steady. "Why did my family claim it was worthless?"

Sir Thaddeus sighed, leaning back in his leather chair. "Because, Lady Guine, shortly after your marriage to Alpha Kael, your uncle Lord Reginald and your mother submitted several formal requests seeking control over the property. They attempted to persuade me to sign over the management rights to your uncle, claiming you were preoccupied with your duties as Luna."

A cold spike of fury pierced my chest, though I remained calm on the outside.

"I rejected their applications," Sir Thaddeus added firmly. "The Ravenshade charter strictly dictates that the bloodline inheritance can only be claimed by a direct heir who comes forward in person. I refused to hand it over to men who wished to strip its timber and sell its silver to clear their personal debts."

As he spoke, my new mind-hearing gift quietly flared to life. Beneath his measured, professional tone, the solicitor’s unspoken thoughts floated clearly into my mind.

(Thank the Heavens the girl finally woke up), Sir Thaddeus thought, a deep wave of relief washing through his mind. (If she had waited another month, her greedy uncle would have found a corrupt magistrate to forge her signature. Now, the ancient bloodline is finally protected.)

A faint, genuine smile touched my lips. "Thank you for holding the line, Sir Thaddeus"

He blinked, looking slightly surprised by my sudden warmth, but bowed his head respectfully. "It was my solemn duty to your lineage, My Lady."

"I am here to claim every scrap of my inheritance today," I said, leaning forward. "I want all gold reserves, land deeds, and property records transferred directly under my name immediately. No one, not my mother, not my uncle, and certainly not Alpha Kael Draven, is to be granted access or information regarding my assets."

"Consider it done," Sir Thaddeus replied without a moment's hesitation. He pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment, dipped his quill in black ink, and prepared the final transfer papers. "I will dispatch private couriers to the crown bank by noon."

I signed my name firmly across the official transfer documents: 

“Guine Ravenshade.”

With every stroke of the pen, the heavy chains of my past life were broken. I was no longer a provider for ungrateful parasites. I was a sovereign Lady with a fortune and a fortress of my own.

Before standing up to leave, I looked at the solicitor. "Sir Thaddeus, I require one more thing. I want every surviving document, book, and record connected to the original Ravenshade bloodline and the history of Eclipse Hollow."

Sir Thaddeus paused, his hand hovering over his desk. His expression turned guarded and distinctly uneasy.

He stood up silently, walked over to a heavy iron safe built into the stone wall behind him, and unlocked it with a bronze key. From the dark interior of the safe, he pulled out a thick, yellowed scroll wrapped in black leather and bound with a unbroken wax seal.

He returned to the desk and placed the old document carefully before me.

Across the faded front of the leather binding, written in dark, ancient ink, were the words:

THE ECLIPSE LINE MUST NEVER BE ALLOWED TO FALL.