The Lost Beta Chapter 11 - Beneath the River, Beyond the Lie

The river covered Emily's head in an instant and she became frightened. The rushing water drained her of her strength and the cold took her breath away. Lungs burned, arms thrashed, and the cut at her side throbbed with pain. Alexander was yelling her name somewhere above, but the sound was rapidly diminishing.

She kicked upward, desperate to find the surface. However, the water showed no mercy. Like a doll in the hands of fate, she was flipped deeper by the undercurrent. Panic fought its way into her chest as her limbs became heavier by the moment. She made an effort to recall the inhale, glide, and kick rhythm that Alexander had taught her. However, there was only anguish and no air.

Deep inside the water a glimmer of silver light appeared. She briefly believed that she was going to die. However, she was drawn toward the surface by warm arms that looped about her waist. She was protected from the river like an invisible dome by a ripple of heat that surged through the water.

She gasped as they broke through. Water sprayed from her mouth and nose. Coughing violently, she turned to see Selene beside her, eyes glowing faintly. “You've a lot to achieve,” Selene rasped.

As the river calmed they drifted to the shadows. Emily collapsed onto the muddy shore, shaking and bloodied. She looked around wildly. “Alexander?”

“He was right behind you.” Selene scanned the river. “No, this can't be happening.”

---

Emily became afraid, her heart beat rapidly. She stumbled up, disregarding the intense pain in her side, her eyes scanning the riverbank. Alexander was nowhere to be seen. The storm had fully arrived, drenching the forest and cloaking the water in sheets of grey.

“He went under,” Selene said grimly. “The current’s stronger than it looks.”

“No,” Emily whispered, already limping toward the water again. “He wouldn’t leave me.”

“He didn’t,” Selene replied, grabbing her arm. “But if we don’t move, neither of us will make it. We need shelter.”

Emily nodded with her teeth chattering. “We can’t just…”

“Emily.” Selene’s voice was low and steel-edged. “If he’s alive, he’ll find us. If he’s not, you better survive long enough to kill Lucien yourself.”

Those words slapped her back into motion. Holding the pain in with shallow breaths, she followed Selene through the trees, each step a punishment. But in the agony, she found her answer. Alexander wasn’t dead. She would feel it if he were. She would know.

---

They took refuge in an abandoned hunting post that was partially covered in moss and decay. Despite creaking with each wind gust, it remained sturdy. Selene pulled a rusty medical kit and dry cloth from under loose floorboards, and Emily fell against the wall within.

“You’ve done this before,” Emily said, watching Selene move with clinical precision.

“Many times,” Selene answered. “Too many.”

Emily had a serious wound at her side. Selene stitched it up with experienced hands, but her eyesight was blurry since the blade had cut deep. Everything else was muffled by the intensity of the ache. She bit into a strip of leather to keep from screaming.

When it was done, Selene pressed a hand to Emily’s cheek. “Sleep. You’ve done enough.”

But Emily couldn’t sleep. Not with the storm still howling and Alexander out there somewhere. Rather, she clutched the ledger that had almost cost them everything and gazed at the fire.

She whispered, "I should have died in that river."

Selene's eyes were unreadable as she looked up. “You didn’t. That means something.”

---

Emily's fever had subsided by morning and the storm had moved on. Sunlight rays fell on the roof's slats. Selene was up but her brow wrinkled as she huddled over the ledger. Emily sat up because of something in her posture.

"What is it?"

Selene took a while to respond. Then, pointing to a name scrawled in the margins of one page, she turned the book to Emily: Alaric Duskbane. Heir of the forgotten blood was the statement that had been circled in crimson ink underneath.

Emily’s pulse stuttered. “That’s... my father’s name.”

“I know,” Selene whispered. “And this phrase... it doesn’t refer to him.”

Emily stared at it, heart thudding. “Then who?”

“You,” Selene said. “You are the forgotten blood. You’re not just rogue royalty. You’re something older. Something the Council buried.”

Emily felt the weight of centuries press into her chest. Her whole life, she had thought she was a survivor. But now, she realized she was a legacy.

---

They covered the ledger with earth and ash and buried it in a dry hole under the fire pit. If Lucien caught them now, it wouldn’t matter what they carried, only what they knew. And what Emily now knew changed everything.

She walked around the cabin in an attempt to clear her mind then she noticed the sunlight dancing on dew-drenched petals. She stood for a moment admiring nature.

Memories surged. Not hers, someone else’s. Standing atop a moonlit battlefield is a woman with violet eyes and silver hair. In her palm was a crown of thorns. Wolves kneeling before her.

Emily gasped in shock. “What was that?”

Selene appeared beside her, eyes wide. “You saw her?”

“Yes. Who is she?”

“The First Queen,” Selene whispered. “She’s in your blood. And she’s waking up.”

---

They weren’t alone. Hidden among the trees, someone moved with practiced silence. Eyes the color of slate watched the ruined outpost from a distance. The figure remained still until Emily and Selene retreated inside. Then he stepped forward.

Alexander.

Bruised all over, wet but still alive, it was like a miracle.

He was swept downstream unconsciously and washed up against the river's bend afterwards. Every stride was agonizing due to the pain in his leg, yet he had followed their lead out of love and instinct. Seeing the cabin ahead felt like salvation.

Inside, he saw Emily getting warm by the fire. He stood, savouring the moment. In that moment he noticed something different about her.

It wasn’t just her blood or injury. Something ancient curled beneath her skin now, subtle but powerful. A shift. An awakening.

He stepped inside quietly. They looked at one other as her head jerked up.

She leaped for joy and whispered, "Alexander."

---

She dashed to him and hugged him affectionately, her arms wrapping around him giving him all its warmth. Her tears wet his collar, but neither spoke right away.

“I thought I lost you,” she murmured into his shoulder.

“I would’ve found you. Even if it killed me.”

Selene stood back, watching with something like quiet awe. “He’s bound to you. Not just by love. By fate.”

Emily pulled back, eyes wide. “What are you saying?”

Selene’s expression darkened. “When you awakened, something changed. You’re not just bonded as mates. You’re marked by prophecy.”

Alexander’s brow furrowed. “What does that mean?”

“It means the war isn’t just about revenge anymore,” Selene said. “It’s about the throne of wolves and who gets to inherit it.”

---

A howl shattered the silence that night. It wasn't a rogue’s. Nor one of Lucien’s. Something older, deeper. It shook the earth and its foundation sending every bird screaming into the sky.

Selene’s face went pale. “He knows.”

Emily turned to her. “What?”

“Lucien knows you survived. He’s calling the Old Blood to him. Ancient lines thought dead. He wants to force a coronation.”

Alexander moved to Emily’s side. “Then we go now.”

“No,” Selene said. “If we move too fast, we walk into a trap.”

Emily looked between them, her heart hammering. “Then we need allies. Ones strong enough to challenge the Old Blood.”

Selene nodded slowly. “There’s one pack. Hidden. Broken. But they might follow you, only if you can prove you’re worthy.”

---

Emily stepped into the moonlight, blood humming with a power older than the forest itself. Far off, a second howl echoed in answer. It was low, female, and unmistakably royal.