_Leah's POV_
Once we had finished eating, Tariq turned to me, his expression thoughtful. “Did you sleep well last night?” he asked. “I did,” I said, nodding. “Better than I have in a long time. Thank you, Tariq. And thank you, Susan, for your hospitality.” Susan smiled warmly at me, but I noticed Tariq’s eyes lingered on me, as if he was trying to figure something out. Finally, I couldn’t hold back the question that had been nagging at me since last night. “Tariq,” I began hesitantly, “last night, you said something about me being... a queen. What did you mean by that?” Tariq’s expression shifted, growing more serious. He cleared his throat, glancing at his mother before turning back to me. “Leah, there is something that you need to know. You are the last descendant of a powerful bloodline. A royal bloodline, in fact.” I stared at him, my heart skipping a beat. “What? No, that can’t be right. I’m... I’m an omega. My mother was an omega, and my father.....” “Your mother was royalty,” Tariq interrupted gently. “She was the rightful heir to a throne, but she chose to walk away from it. She gave up her crown when she mated with your father, an ordinary man.” I shook my head, unable to process what he was saying. “No, that’s impossible. My mother never told me any of this.” “She couldn’t,” Susan interjected softly. “Your mother went to great lengths to protect you. You see, there’s an ancient curse on your bloodline, placed by a rival Alpha long ago. Your mother hid your identity to keep you safe. She even sealed your powers with the help of a witch.” I blinked at her, feeling completely overwhelmed. “Sealed my powers? What are you talking about?” “Your mother was powerful, Leah, and so are you. But she used magic to suppress your wolf, to make you appear weaker. She did it to protect you from those who might seek to harm you because of the curse.” My mind was spinning. “But... if she sealed my powers, how will they come back? How do you know all of this?” Tariq and Susan exchanged a glance, and it was Tariq who spoke first. “My mother is a seer, Leah. She has psychic gifts. She foresaw this long ago.” Susan nodded. “And the seal on your powers has already started to break. When Kayden rejected you, it triggered the return of your abilities. They will come back gradually, and when they do, you will be stronger than you have ever imagined.” I sat there, stunned, trying to wrap my mind around everything they were telling me. I was supposed to be... royalty? Me? An omega who had spent her entire life being told she was worthless? “I... I don’t understand,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Why are you helping me? Why do you care?” Susan’s eyes softened, and she reached across the table to take my hand. “Your mother saved our lives once, Leah. When the Alpha of the Emerald Pack accused my husband, we were all going to be executed. But your mother used her royal status to lighten our sentence. Thanks to her, we were only banished. We owe her everything.” She looked me in the eyes, her gaze full of warmth and sincerity. “Now, I will do whatever it takes to protect her daughter. You.” My chest tightened. This was all so much to take in. My mother… a royal? And me, too? I felt like I was caught in a whirlwind. How could this be possible? All my life, I had been treated as nothing more than an omega. The lowest of the low. And now, they were telling me I was of royal blood? I glanced between Susan and Tariq, my mind reeling. “This has to be a joke. There is no way this is true. I can’t be… I am just…” I struggled to find the words. I was feeling utterly overwhelmed. “I am just an omega. I can’t accept this.” Tariq’s eyes were gentle as he looked at me. “Leah, I know that this is hard to believe. But you don’t have to take our word for it. Wait a few more days. Your powers are returning, and when they do, you’ll feel it. Then, you’ll know we’re telling the truth.” Could it really be true? I shook my head, trying to push away the doubt creeping in. It didn’t feel real. It felt impossible. But deep down, there was a small part of me that wondered… What if they were right? We finished breakfast in relative silence. My thoughts were a chaotic storm of confusion, disbelief, and a strange sense of hope. When Susan stood to clear the dishes, I felt guilty just sitting there. “Let me help,” I offered. I stood up quickly. “I can wash the dishes.” Susan gave me a kind smile and shook her head. “No, dear. You have been through enough. You rest. Let me take care of it.” I hesitated, feeling useless, but I finally nodded and sat back down. I was still too sore to argue much, anyway. Tariq stood up as well. “I need to check your wounds,” he said. “Let me help you change the bandages and see if they are healing properly.” I felt a strange flutter in my stomach at his words, but I nodded. “Okay." He led me back upstairs to the small room where I had slept. The air felt cooler here, the light softer, but my heart was racing. I sat on the bed, pulling up my shirt to expose the bandages on my back. Tariq's touch was gentle as he began unwrapping the fabric. “Does it hurt much?” he asked quietly. “Not as much as before,” I admitted. “You did a good job.” His lips curved into a small smile, but his focus remained on my wounds. I watched him as he worked, noticing the way his brow furrowed slightly in concentration. His hands were so careful, treating me as if I were something fragile. I wasn’t used to this kind of care. Not from anyone. The bandages finally came off, revealing the gashes that ran down my back. “They’re healing,” Tariq said softly, his fingers brushing lightly over the edges of the wound. “But you will need to rest for a few more days.” I nodded, unable to find the words. There was something about being this close to him, with his hands on me, that made my heart race. He was so calm, so focused. And it made me feel safe. Maybe, I was romantically attracted to Tariq. “Thank you,” I whispered. He glanced up at me, his eyes locking onto mine. “You don’t have to thank me, Leah.” But I did. I felt like I owed him everything. He had saved me when I had no one else. And as much as I wanted to deny it, a part of me wanted to believe him. To believe that I wasn’t just the broken omega I had always thought I was. Maybe… just maybe… I was something more._Leah's POV_I woke to a hand on my shoulder. “Leah,” Kayden said. “Get up. It’s nearly noon.”My eyes snapped open. Light cut through the curtains. The room smelled faintly of smoke and pine. For a second I did not know where I was. Then the memory of the night fell back on me like wet cloth. The dream. The fire. Kayden on the couch. The smoke in my mouth.I groaned and pulled the blanket over my head. “Go away,” I mumbled. “Leave me alone.”He laughed softly. It was a low sound that held no mockery. “You said that two hours ago. You said it when I brought you tea and when I put out the small embers.” He kissed the top of my head like it was a small thing and like he was afraid of hurting me. “You can’t hide forever. The pack is eating downstairs and the food will not wait.”I curled into the blankets more. My face was hot. My throat was raw. My body ached in places that had nothing to do with sleep. The dream left a pulse behind the ribs. The shame of what I had done when I had slep
_Leah’s POV_The night was heavy. Silence wrapped around the mansion, but inside me there was no rest. My body lay on the bed but my mind was a mess. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to breathe slowly, to convince myself that I was safe.But safety was only a shadow. The Seer’s words lingered like smoke in my chest. Tariq will come. Susan is a witch. He will not stop until he has you.Athena paced restlessly in my mind. Her claws scraped the inside of my skull.You shouldn’t close your eyes, she warned. He waits for us in the dark. Don’t let him in.“I have to sleep,” I whispered to her. My voice trembled even in my own head. “I need strength.”Athena growled but she eventually got quiet. Sleep came suddenly like a rope around my neck.I opened my eyes and I was no longer in the pack house. I stood in a cold and endless hall made of stone. The air smelled of rust and roses. It was sweet and rotting. The walls bled with shadows, and at the end of the hall, a torch burned blue.And the
_Leah's POV_I swallowed and began. The words felt rusty in my mouth, but once I started, they flowed like a broken river finding a path.“I was born to a princess,” I said. “My mother was a princess, of the Emerald Pack. She left the crown and married a common man. They raised me quietly. When I was small, they suddenly died. I remember nothing of them. I then remember staying at the BloodMoon pack. I don't know how I got there. Kayden and the others always treated me badly since I was an omega. When he learnt that I was his mate, he rejected me and threw me in the cellar. Tariq then came and saved me. I thought that he was kind.""He told me lies but I trusted him. I read his phone once and found messages. He had someone saved as ‘honey’ and he lied about it. I found a chest in Tariq’s place. It had his diary. In it, I read that he had planned to marry and sacrifice me to lift a curse. He even waited all these years until I got my wolf at eighteen. He had been waiting. He planned it
_Leah's POV_I woke to a sky full of stars and a sound like a hundred held breaths.My body felt hollow and heavy. My limbs were numb. I blinked and the light stabbed behind my eyes. For a moment I did not know where I was. Then the clearing came back in pieces—the circle of salt, torch flames and faces blurred into a ring. There were so many people. I tried to sit up and the world tilted. Someone’s strong hands steadied me.Kayden.He carried me like I was the smallest thing in the world. He held me bridal-style and I lay against his broad chest. His heartbeat was slow. The smell of him, pine smoke and sweat and something warm, made my head swim.“Easy,” he murmured. His voice sounded very far away. “Just rest.”I wanted to speak and I could not find my voice. Confusion curled thick in my chest. My mind was empty of the last few hours. How did I get here? What had happened? The clearing moved around me like a dream.Athena unclenched from the back of my ribs and hissed in my mind. Yo
_Kayden's POV_ I called the pack to the south clearing at dusk. The air smelled of pine and wet earth. The moon was high in the sky. It hung like a pale coin over the trees. We moved as one pack. Their faces were lit by torch fire. They watched Leah on the stretcher. She lay wrapped in thick blankets. The IV drip still ran at her arm. She looked calm. She looked very fragile. The doctor had protested against bringing her out. His hands trembled when he spoke. “Alpha, she could deteriorate,” he warned. “The cold, the night, the open air...she will not tolerate it in this condition.” I turned to him. “I know. But the Seer says that the moon is the key. The ritual must be done beneath the moon. We need to take the risk since there is no other way.” Fred stood by me. He had gathered the ropes and the blankets. He had also collected the night-amber. The herb smelled faintly bitter. The Seer had already warned me about its taste. “Alpha,” Fred said quietly, “the pack is ready. They
_Kayden’s POV_The Seer did not waste time. She moved quickly back to the small table where the doctor had left a silver bowl and a clean cloth. Her eyes were still on Leah. Her fingers trembled only a little as she reached for the bowl.“You will need to give me her blood,” she said without preamble. Her voice was soft. It had no question in it.I looked at Leah. Her skin was pale as milk. Her breath came in small and shallow rises. Time felt thin and fragile in the room. I swallowed. My mouth was dry.“Her blood?” I echoed. I could not imagine piercing her for any reason. But the Seer’s face was absolute. There was no doubt in her.“Yes,” she said. “A drop. It will tell me what binds her. It will open the path to a vision. I must see the origin of the dark magic.”Fred bent and checked Leah’s arm. He looked at me. “Alpha,” he said quietly, “it is the only way.”My hands felt clumsy. I thought of the knife at my belt. I thought of the last time I had touched her like this—when she wa