The lost daughter of the wolf king

The bells of the Mooncrest Palace rang twelve times.

Across the kingdom, wolves lifted their heads toward the palace as the sound traveled through the night.

A child had been born.

Not just any child.

The firstborn of the Alpha King.

Inside the royal chambers, Queen Elara lay exhausted against the pillows, her newborn daughter sleeping peacefully beside her.

The baby was different.

Her tiny body was covered in soft, snow-white fur.

Even her little ears were white.

And when she opened her eyes, they glowed an unusual silver.

The old midwife froze.

She had delivered hundreds of pups during her lifetime, but she had never seen anything like this.

“Your Majesty…” she whispered.

Queen Elara looked at her daughter.

“What is it?”

The midwife swallowed.

“She is a White Wolf.”

The room went silent.

The Alpha King, who had been standing beside his mate, stared at the baby.

“A White Wolf?”

The midwife nodded slowly.

“According to the old legends, a White Wolf is born with extraordinary power. And this one…”

She hesitated.

“What?”

“She is royal blood.”

The Alpha King’s expression changed.

For the first time that night, fear crossed his face.

He walked toward the baby and gently touched her tiny forehead.

“My daughter,” he whispered.

Queen Elara smiled weakly.

“She is beautiful.”

The Alpha King leaned down and kissed his mate’s forehead.

“She will be protected.”

Neither of them knew those would be the last peaceful words they would speak that night.

Three hours later, the palace was strangely quiet.

The guards stood outside the royal chambers.

The servants had been ordered to remain in their quarters.

Only the sound of the baby’s occasional cry could be heard through the corridor.

Then—

A shadow moved past the window.

One of the guards frowned.

“Did you see that?”

His companion turned.

“See what?”

Before he could answer, something struck the back of his head.

He collapsed.

The second guard reached for his weapon.

He never got the chance to use it.

The palace doors opened silently.

A cloaked figure stepped inside.

Then another.

They moved through the corridor with frightening familiarity.

They knew exactly where they were going.

The nursery.

Inside, the baby stirred.

Her tiny silver eyes opened.

The cloaked figure approached her crib.

For a moment, they simply stared at her.

“You shouldn’t have been born,” the figure whispered.

The baby began to cry.

The figure picked her up.

“Quiet.”

But the baby cried louder.

The figure quickly wrapped her in a dark blanket and headed toward the hidden passage behind the nursery wall.

Then—

“STOP!”

The voice echoed through the corridor.

The figure froze.

The Alpha King stood at the end of the passage.

His eyes had turned bright gold.

His wolf was close to the surface.

“Put my daughter down.”

The cloaked figure tightened their grip around the baby.

“You’re too late.”

The Alpha King charged.

The figure disappeared through the passage before he could reach them.

“NO!”

His roar shook the palace.

He ran after them, but the hidden door slammed shut.

By the time the guards arrived, there was no sign of the intruder.

Only a tiny white blanket remained on the floor.

The Alpha King picked it up with trembling hands.

His daughter’s scent was still on it.

“Search the kingdom!”

His voice thundered through the palace.

“Seal every border!”

Queen Elara arrived moments later.

The moment she saw the empty nursery, she collapsed.

“My baby…”

The Alpha King caught her.

“She’ll be found.”

But his voice broke.

He didn’t know whether he was trying to reassure his mate or himself.

Far beyond the palace walls, a horse raced through the forest.

The cloaked stranger held the baby tightly.

The baby’s cries had finally stopped.

She was asleep.

The stranger looked down at her.

“Your parents will never find you.”

A second person riding beside them laughed quietly.

“What will you do with her?”

The stranger looked toward the distant palace.

“Hide her.”

“For how long?”

The stranger’s eyes hardened.

“Until the kingdom forgets she ever existed.”

The horse disappeared into the darkness.

Behind them, the palace bells began ringing again.

The Alpha King’s daughter was gone.

And nobody knew where she had been taken.

Eighteen years later…

A bucket of dirty water splashed across the marble floor.

“Faster!”

A girl’s voice shouted.

Aria flinched.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She grabbed the mop and continued scrubbing.

Her knees hurt.

Her hands were rough from years of work.

She had been awake since before sunrise, cleaning the servants’ quarters, preparing breakfast and carrying laundry through the palace.

She had never known another life.

As far as she knew, she was simply Aria.

A maid.

Nothing more.

She glanced toward the enormous portrait hanging at the end of the hallway.

The painting showed the Alpha King, Queen Elara and their two sons.

Aria had always found herself staring at it.

Especially at the Queen.

There was something strangely familiar about her face.

“Stop daydreaming!”

Aria immediately lowered her head.

“Sorry.”

She returned to cleaning.

But as she passed the portrait, something strange happened.

The royal wolf pendant around Queen Elara’s neck suddenly began to glow.

Aria stopped.

Her heart raced.

She reached toward it.

The moment her fingers touched the painting—

A sharp pain shot through her head.

She gasped.

And somewhere deep inside her, a voice whispered:

Mine.

Aria stumbled backward.

“What… was that?”

She looked around.

Nobody was there.

Then a howl echoed through the palace.

Every wolf in the building went silent.

Aria’s heart pounded.

She didn’t know it yet…

but for the first time in eighteen years, the White Wolf had returned home.

And the Alpha King was about to meet his stolen daughter.

Without knowing who she was.