Chapter 3: The Lost Prince

Kael stared at the kneeling man, convinced he had misheard.

“My… prince?”

The words echoed in the silent forest.

The stranger lowered his head even further, his fist pressed firmly against his chest.

“Forgive me for failing to find you sooner.”

Kael took an uneasy step backward.

“You’ve made a mistake.”

“I’ve never been a prince.”

“My parents were ordinary wolves.”

“They died when I was a child.”

“I grew up with relatives who barely tolerated my existence.”

He forced a bitter smile.

“If I were royalty, I doubt I’d have been rejected in front of an entire kingdom.”

The stranger slowly rose to his feet.

“Everything you believe about your past was carefully arranged.”

Kael frowned.

“What does that mean?”

Instead of answering, the man removed his hood.

Silver hair streaked with black fell over his shoulders, and a long scar crossed his left eye. Though age had touched his face, his posture remained straight and proud.

“My name is Rowan.”

“I was once Captain of the Moon Guard.”

Kael’s eyes narrowed.

“I’ve never heard of the Moon Guard.”

“Because history erased us.”

Rowan’s voice carried neither anger nor sorrow.

“Twenty years ago, the Moon Kingdom was destroyed in a single night.”

“The royal family was slaughtered.”

“The surviving records were burned.”

“The victors told the world no heir had escaped.”

Kael folded his arms.

“And you expect me to believe I’m that heir?”

“I don’t expect it.”

Rowan lifted the silver crescent pendant.

“I can prove it.”

The pendant floated into the air.

A pale silver light spilled across the abandoned shrine.

Before Kael could react, his cracked mate mark began glowing again.

A second mark slowly appeared beneath it.

It wasn’t a mate mark.

It was an elegant crown encircled by a crescent moon.

Kael gasped.

“What is this?”

“The Royal Crest of the Moon Kingdom.”

The light vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Kael stared at the faint symbol still etched into his skin.

His heart pounded.

“This can’t be real.”

“It is.”

Rowan stepped closer.

“Your parents hid you in Black Fang Kingdom before the massacre.”

“They sealed your royal blood so no one could sense it.”

“They hoped you would survive as an ordinary omega.”

Kael shook his head.

“No…”

“If that’s true…”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“Because everyone who knew the truth died protecting you.”

Silence settled between them.

The weight of Rowan’s words pressed heavily against Kael’s chest.

Memories he had never questioned suddenly resurfaced.

His mother’s gentle voice.

A silver lullaby she used to sing.

The crescent-shaped pendant she always wore.

The strange dreams of a palace bathed in moonlight.

Dreams he had dismissed as childish fantasies.

“What if you’re wrong?” Kael whispered.

“What if those are only memories I’ve imagined?”

Rowan smiled sadly.

“I prayed you would ask that.”

He reached into his cloak and produced a small wooden box.

Its surface was carved with delicate moonflowers.

The moment Kael touched it…

The box unlocked by itself.

Inside rested a tiny silver ring.

Its center held a pale blue gemstone that shimmered beneath the moonlight.

Without thinking, Kael picked it up.

The ring slipped onto his finger as though it had been made for him.

A burst of silver light exploded around him.

The earth trembled.

The ruined wolf statue behind them cracked down the middle.

A voice echoed through the night.

“Blood of the Moon Crown… at last, you have returned.”

Kael stumbled backward in shock.

The ring refused to come off.

Far away, in the royal palace of Black Fang Kingdom, the High Elder dropped the ancient scroll he had been reading.

His face turned ghostly white.

“The Royal Seal…”

“It’s been broken.”

At the same moment, Lucien looked up from his chamber window.

For reasons he couldn’t explain, his chest tightened painfully.

He glanced at the fading mate mark on his wrist.

For the first time since the ceremony…

He felt afraid.