Chapter 13: Stormridge Knows

The room erupted into questions.

"What does that mean?"

"Who has access to that code?"

"Could it be Knox?"

Rowan raised a hand.

"We don't know yet."

Dad looked furious.

"You just said it came from Stormridge."

"An authorization code can be stolen, copied, or used by someone with inherited access."

"Inherited?" I asked.

"Old inter-Pack archives were built before modern security. Some codes remain linked to Alpha families."

My pulse quickened.

"So Knox could use one."

"Potentially."

Mom stood.

"We're leaving Hollowcrest."

"Mom-"

"This is different."

"No."

"Nessa."

"If somebody is searching for me, disappearing won't make them forget I exist."

She stared at me.

"You don't understand what happened to Lunaris."

"Then tell me enough so I can understand."

Silence.

Rowan's phone buzzed.

He opened a file his father had sent.

"The archive request targeted three records."

"Which ones?"

"Lunaris survivors."

Mom's face tightened.

"Your birth registration."

My heart dropped.

"And?"

Rowan slowly looked at me.

"Mate compatibility records."

"Why would anyone care who a dead Pack could mate with?"

Mom looked genuinely frightened now.

"Because Lunaris matings were political."

"I'm not political."

"Your blood is."

I hated the sentence immediately.

"I'm a person, not a bloodline."

"I know that."

Mom reached for my hand.

"But people seeking power won't care."

Rowan's expression became dangerously calm.

"Then they'll learn."

Dad looked toward him.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning nobody touches Nessa."

Alpha authority rolled beneath his words.

Not directed at us.

A promise.

My wolf responded instantly, pushing toward him.

I mentally shoved her back.

This was not the time to become emotionally impressed.

My phone vibrated.

A freshman channel notification.

Elodie had posted.

[Everyone please stop spreading rumors about Nessa's wolf form. Some people are turning a harmless crystal malfunction into ridiculous bloodline theories.]

Tessa, who had finally been allowed into the room, read over my shoulder.

"How generous."

"She thinks she's helping herself," I said.

Another notification appeared.

Knox.

[She's right. Leave Nessa alone.]

I frowned.

"That's unexpected."

Rowan looked at the message.

"Maybe not."

"What do you mean?"

"If Stormridge knows what you are, Knox may have been told to stop attracting attention."

My stomach tightened.

"You think his family already knows?"

"Possibly."

Tessa crossed her arms.

"Why don't we just ask him?"

Everyone looked at her.

"What?"

She shrugged.

"He's dramatic, arrogant, obsessed with Nessa, and incapable of keeping his emotions off his face. Seems easy to interrogate."

I hated that she had a point.

Twenty minutes later, I messaged Knox.

[Meet me behind the west training hall. Alone.]

His reply arrived in less than ten seconds.

[I'm coming.]

Rowan frowned.

"That was fast."

"Jealous?"

"Extremely."

"At least you're honest."

"Trying something new."

He and Tessa stayed far enough away that Knox wouldn't immediately see them.

When Knox arrived, he looked almost hopeful.

"Nessa."

"I need to ask you something."

"Anything."

"Did you access Nightvale's Lunaris records last night?"

His expression blanked.

Just for a fraction of a second.

But I saw it.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't."

"I genuinely don't know what you mean."

"Then why did your face change?"

"Because you just accused me of hacking Nightvale."

I stepped closer.

"Does your family know about Lunaris?"

Knox's jaw tightened.

There.

Another reaction.

"Knox."

"Who told you that name?"

My heartbeat accelerated.

"So you do know."

"Nessa, listen to me."

"How long?"

"It's not what you think."

"How long have you known?"

He looked away.

"Since last night."

"Who told you?"

Silence.

"Your father?"

His gaze snapped back to mine.

That was enough.

"Your father knows who I am."

"He suspects."

"Because of my wolf markings?"

"Yes."

"Did he access the records?"

"I don't know."

"Knox."

"I don't know!"

He ran a hand through his hair.

"He called me after the party. Asked what you looked like, what Pack you were from, whether I'd ever seen your wolf before."

"And what did you tell him?"

"Nothing useful."

"Why?"

Knox looked at me with an expression I didn't expect.

Fear.

"Because he told me to stay away from you."

I froze.

"Why?"

"He wouldn't explain."

"Yet you're here."

"Because I don't take orders well."

That sounded exactly like him.

"What else did he say?"

Knox hesitated.

"That if Rowan Vale has claimed you as his mate, Stormridge should not interfere."

"Claimed me?"

I bristled.

"I'm not property."

"I know."

"Do you?"

He flinched.

Good.

"Did your father mention my mother?"

"No."

"Lunaris survivors?"

"No."

"Mate compatibility?"

Knox's eyes flickered.

I caught it immediately.

"He did."

"Nessa-"

"What did he say?"

Knox clenched his jaw.

"He asked whether you and Rowan had completed a mate bond."

My face heated despite the seriousness of the conversation.

"Why would he care?"

"I asked the same thing."

"And?"

"He said an unbonded Lunaris heir still has choices."

Cold spread through my body.

"Choices about what?"

"He wouldn't say."

A branch snapped behind us.

Rowan stepped out from the trees.

His face was terrifyingly calm.

"I know what he meant."

Knox glared.

"Were you listening?"

"Obviously."

I turned to Rowan.

"Explain."

His eyes remained on Knox.

"Old Lycan law allowed powerful Packs to petition for formal courtship with an unbonded Lunaris heir."

I stared at him.

"Petition who?"

"The Lunaris Alpha."

"There is no Lunaris Alpha."

"Exactly."

Mom's warning suddenly made sense.

"So if the bloodline was considered extinct..."

"The law became irrelevant."

Rowan nodded.

"Until you appeared."

Knox looked between us.

"What happens without a Lunaris Alpha?"

Rowan's expression darkened.

"Authority defaults to the Lycan Council."

My stomach turned.

"You're telling me a council could approve people courting me?"

"They cannot force you to accept anyone."

"But they can turn my life into a political circus."

"Yes."

Knox suddenly laughed once, bitterly.

"My father knew."

We both looked at him.

"What?"

"He wasn't telling me to stay away because he was worried about Nightvale."

His face hardened.

"He was waiting to see whether Rowan had bonded you yet."

My pulse accelerated.

"Why?"

Knox looked directly at me.

"Because I'm Stormridge's heir."

The implication landed immediately.

"No."

"Nessa, I didn't know."

"No."

"I swear."

"Your father wants to petition for you."

Knox looked sick.

"It sounds like it."

Rowan's Alpha presence surged.

The air itself seemed to tighten.

"He can try."

I turned sharply toward Rowan.

"No."

He looked at me.

"What?"

"Neither you nor Knox nor your fathers nor some ancient council gets to turn this into a competition."

My wolf surged beneath my skin.

For a moment, golden light flickered across my wrist.

Both men stared.

"I decide who I love."

The golden glow grew brighter.

"I decide who I bond with."

The ground beneath my feet seemed to vibrate.

Somewhere deep inside me, something ancient awakened.

Rowan's eyes widened.

Knox instinctively stepped back.

And from the shadows behind the training hall, an unfamiliar male voice said quietly:

"Exactly as a Lunaris Alpha should."