CHAPTER TWO: THE SECRET MY FAMILY BURIED

The journey back to the Vale estate felt longer than it had any right to be. Elias sat rigidly inside the carriage, staring through the window at the dark streets of the capital while the events of the evening continued to replay inside his mind.

He could still feel the spirit warmth of the mate bond beneath his skin, even though Cassian had rejected him before the entire royal court. His wolf had recognized the Alpha King without hesitation, and that recognition had been so powerful that Elias could not convince himself it had been a mistake. Whatever existed between them was real, yet Cassian had looked at him as though their bond was something dangerous that needed to be destroyed.

What troubled Elias even more was the expression he had seen in the king’s eyes. Cassian had not looked disgusted when he rejected him. He had looked afraid. There had been something almost desperate beneath his cold expression, something that made Elias wonder whether the king knew a truth that everyone else had been deliberately keeping from him. Cassian had told him to leave the capital and never return, but then he had warned Elias that people would come looking for him. The warning made no sense if Cassian truly wanted nothing to do with him.

The carriage finally slowed, and Elias immediately noticed that they were not approaching the main gates of the Vale estate. Instead, they had stopped on a deserted road several miles away from the city center. His father was waiting beside the carriage, his normally composed face unusually tense.

Elias stepped down and looked at him with confusion. “Father, why are we stopping here? I thought you were at the palace.”

His father glanced toward the road before answering. “Get back into the carriage. We are going home, and I will explain everything once we are there.”

Elias studied his father’s face. “The king told me to leave the capital, and you were waiting here before I even arrived. You knew something was going to happen tonight, didn’t you?”

His father looked away, and that small gesture confirmed what Elias had already suspected. There was a secret between his parents and the royal family, and somehow, Elias was at the center of it.

“You need to trust me,” his father said quietly.

Elias gave a bitter smile. “I trusted you when you told me that I was an ordinary Omega. I trusted Mother when she told me that my scent was weak because of my bloodline. I trusted both of you when you said there was nothing unusual about me, yet tonight the Alpha King looked at me like my existence could destroy his kingdom. You cannot ask me to trust you without giving me a reason.”

His father’s expression tightened, but he said nothing more.

Elias climbed back into the carriage, and the journey continued in silence.

When they finally reached the estate, Elias noticed that every servant had been dismissed from the main house. The normally warm windows were dark, and the gates had been locked behind them almost immediately. His mother was waiting in the sitting room, and the moment she saw Elias, she rushed toward him and pulled him into a trembling embrace.

Elias froze in her arms.

His mother was crying.

She pulled away and touched his face as though making certain he was really alive. “Thank the Moon Goddess. You came back safely.”

Elias stared at her. “Why wouldn’t I come back safely?”

His mother’s expression faltered.

That was enough.

“Mother, what is happening?”

She looked toward his father.

His father closed the door behind them and locked it before approaching the fireplace. “There are things about your birth that you have never been told.”

Elias felt his anger returning. “I already know that. What I don’t know is why everyone seems terrified of me.”

His mother sat down slowly, her hands clasped tightly together. “Because we were afraid this day would come.”

“What day?”

“The day the royal family discovered who you really are.”

Elias’s stomach tightened. “Who am I?”

Neither parent answered immediately.

His father walked to an old cabinet and removed a small box covered with dust. He placed it on the table between them and stared at it for several seconds before finally opening the lock.

Inside was an old pendant, a folded piece of black fabric, and several yellowed documents.

Elias looked at the pendant first.

It carried the image of a silver wolf standing beneath a crown.

He had never seen the symbol before, but something about it felt strangely familiar.

His mother noticed his expression and whispered, “That belonged to my family.”

Elias looked at her. “Your family?”

She nodded slowly. “My real family.”

His father unfolded one of the documents and placed it on the table. “Twenty-three years ago, before you were born, your mother belonged to one of the oldest bloodlines in the kingdom. Her family was believed to have been completely wiped out during the War of the First Crown.”

Elias stared at him. “Why have I never heard of them?”

“Because everyone who survived was hunted.”

His mother’s tears began falling again. “Your father and I spent years hiding your identity because we believed the royal family would eventually discover that you were alive.”

Elias looked from one parent to the other. “Why would they care about me?”

His father hesitated.

Then he gave him the answer that made Elias’s blood run cold.

“Because you are the last living descendant of the First Bloodline.”

Elias stared at him.

He tried to laugh, but no sound came.

“That makes no sense. The First Bloodline disappeared centuries ago.”

“That is what the kingdom has been taught to believe.”

His mother reached for his hand. “The truth is that the bloodline survived through my family. Your grandfather was the last known male descendant, and when he died, everyone believed the line had ended. But then I discovered that I was carrying you.”

Elias slowly pulled his hand away.

“You knew?”

“We knew before you were born.”

“Then why did you lie to me?”

His mother lowered her head. “Because if anyone discovered what you were, they would kill you.”

Elias thought about Cassian standing in the throne room and ordering the guards to kill him.

His chest tightened.

“You mean the king?”

His father shook his head. “Not necessarily Cassian.”

“But he knew something.”

“Yes.”

Elias stared at him. “What does he know?”

His father looked toward the pendant.

“He knows enough to be afraid.”

Elias reached toward the pendant, but before his fingers could touch it, his mother grabbed his wrist.

“Don’t.”

Her reaction startled him.

“Why?”

“Because you must not wear that pendant.”

Elias looked at the silver wolf carved into the metal. “Why?”

His mother hesitated before answering. “Because that symbol belongs to the bloodline the royal family spent generations trying to erase.”

Elias felt a strange pressure building inside his head. The moment he touched the pendant, an unfamiliar warmth spread through his fingers and traveled up his arm. He gasped and stumbled backward.

His father caught him before he fell.

For a brief moment, the room disappeared.

Elias saw a massive stone throne surrounded by kneeling wolves. He saw a young man wearing a silver crown, and behind him stood hundreds of warriors carrying banners marked with the same wolf symbol. Then the vision changed, and the palace was burning. Wolves were running through the streets while screams filled the air.

A voice echoed through the flames.

“Protect the heir.”

Another voice answered.

“He must never be found.”

Elias suddenly opened his eyes.

His mother was holding his face.

“What happened?”

Elias struggled to breathe. “I saw something.”

His father went completely still. “What did you see?”

“A palace. It was burning. There were wolves everywhere, and someone was talking about an heir.”

His parents exchanged a frightened glance.

Before Elias could demand an explanation, a loud knock shook the front door.

Everyone froze.

A second knock followed, harder than the first.

Then a man’s voice came from outside.

“By order of King Cassian Draven, open the door.”

Elias’s heart began pounding.

His father immediately moved toward the window and carefully pulled the curtain aside. After looking outside, his face drained of color.

“How many?” his mother whispered.

“Too many.”

Elias stepped closer. “What is happening?”

His father turned toward him.

“The king’s guards have surrounded the estate.”

Elias stared at the locked door. “Cassian told me to leave the capital. Why would he send his men here?”

His father looked at the pendant on the table.

“Because he may have changed his mind.”

The voice outside came again, louder this time.

“Elias Vale, His Majesty commands you to come outside immediately.”

Elias’s blood ran cold.

Then the voice changed.

It was deeper, colder, and unmistakably familiar.

Cassian himself had arrived.

“Elias, open the door.”

His mother’s grip tightened around Elias’s hand.

His father looked at him with an expression Elias had never seen before.

Fear.

Not fear for himself.

Fear for Elias.

And suddenly, Elias understood that whatever secret his parents had buried for twenty-three years was much more dangerous than being the Alpha King’s rejected mate.