Chapter Two The Wolf That Recognized Her

Aria couldn’t move.

The howl still echoed through the palace.

It wasn’t an ordinary howl.

She had heard wolves before. Every pack member had.

But this one felt different.

It seemed to vibrate through her bones.

Her fingers tightened around the mop.

“What was that?” one of the maids whispered.

“I don’t know.”

“Everyone, move!”

A royal guard stormed into the hallway.

“All servants are to return to their quarters immediately. Nobody is permitted near the western wing.”

The servants hurried away.

Aria remained frozen.

Her eyes drifted toward the portrait.

The strange glow was gone.

The pendant looked completely normal.

Maybe she had imagined it.

She shook her head and picked up her bucket.

She had more important things to worry about.

If the head maid found out she had stopped working again, she would be in trouble.

At the other end of the palace, the Alpha King stood in the throne room.

King Darius had ruled Mooncrest for twenty-five years.

He was feared by enemies and respected by his pack.

But tonight, his expression was unusually tense.

Beside him stood his eldest son, Prince Kael.

Kael had inherited his father’s golden eyes and intimidating presence.

“What happened?” Kael asked.

Darius looked toward the western wing.

“The wolves sensed something.”

Kael frowned.

“What?”

“I don’t know.”

The King turned toward the guards.

“Bring the royal wolf.”

The guards exchanged nervous looks.

Nobody questioned the Alpha King.

Within minutes, a massive silver wolf entered the throne room.

He was old.

Older than Kael.

Older than most wolves in the kingdom.

He had served beside Darius since the King’s youth.

The moment the wolf stepped into the room, he stopped.

His ears lifted.

His head turned toward the servants’ corridor.

Then he began walking.

“Where is he going?” Kael asked.

Darius followed.

Aria was carrying a basket of folded clothes when she heard footsteps behind her.

She turned.

The enormous silver wolf stood at the end of the corridor.

She froze.

Everyone knew who he was.

The King’s wolf.

Aria slowly lowered the basket.

The wolf stared directly at her.

Then he walked closer.

One step.

Two.

Three.

Aria backed away.

“Easy…”

The wolf stopped inches from her.

He lowered his head.

And sniffed her.

His entire body suddenly became rigid.

His eyes widened.

Then—

He bowed his head.

Aria stared at him.

Why was the King’s wolf bowing to her?

She didn’t understand.

The wolf lifted his head and released a low, trembling sound.

Not a growl.

Something closer to recognition.

Behind him, footsteps approached.

Aria’s eyes widened.

The Alpha King entered the corridor.

Prince Kael walked beside him.

Aria immediately dropped to her knees.

“Your Majesty.”

Darius barely looked at her.

His attention was fixed on the silver wolf.

“What is wrong with him?”

The wolf didn’t move.

He kept staring at Aria.

Darius stepped closer.

The moment he did, Aria felt something strange in her chest.

Her heart began beating painfully fast.

She looked up.

Their eyes met.

For one brief second, Darius felt something he hadn’t experienced in eighteen years.

A scent.

Soft.

Familiar.

Impossible.

His breath caught.

He stared at the young maid.

“What’s your name?”

Aria lowered her gaze.

“Aria, Your Majesty.”

“Aria…”

He repeated the name quietly.

Something inside him twisted.

He didn’t know why.

But his wolf was suddenly restless.

Mate?

Darius’s wolf whispered inside his mind.

Darius immediately rejected the thought.

Impossible.

It wasn’t his mate.

It couldn’t be.

His mate was Queen Elara.

And yet…

Why did this girl smell faintly like his lost daughter?

He stepped closer.

“Who are your parents?”

Aria hesitated.

“I don’t know, Your Majesty.”

Darius’s expression hardened.

“You don’t know?”

Aria shook her head.

“I was told I was abandoned when I was a baby.”

Silence.

Kael glanced at his father.

The King’s face had gone pale.

“Who told you that?”

“My guardian.”

“Where is she?”

“She died when I was twelve.”

Darius stared at her.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Before he could ask another question, a servant came running down the corridor.

“Your Majesty!”

Darius turned.

“What?”

“Queen Elara has collapsed.”

Everything changed.

Darius immediately rushed toward the Queen’s chambers.

Kael followed.

The silver wolf remained behind.

He looked at Aria one last time.

Then he slowly lowered his head against hers.

Aria’s eyes widened.

A strange warmth spread through her body.

And for the first time in her life, she heard a voice inside her mind.

Little one.

She gasped.

“Who are you?”

The wolf looked directly into her silver eyes.

I have been waiting for you.

Aria’s blood ran cold.

Inside the Queen’s chamber, Elara lay unconscious.

Darius stood beside her bed, terrified.

“What happened?”

The royal healer shook his head.

“I don’t know, Your Majesty. She simply collapsed.”

Darius looked toward the window.

His wolf suddenly growled inside him.

She is here.

Darius froze.

“Who?”

The wolf answered with a single thought.

Our daughter.

Darius stopped breathing.

Across the palace, Aria stood alone in the corridor.

She looked down at her hands.

Her eyes had changed.

For the briefest moment, they had turned silver-white.

And somewhere deep within her, something ancient had awakened.

The White Wolf had finally remembered who she was.

But before she could understand what was happening—

A woman’s voice whispered from behind her.

“Don’t let the King discover who you really are.”

Aria spun around.

Nobody was there.

Only an empty corridor.

And a single black rose lying on the floor.

The same flower that had been placed beside her crib the night she was stolen.