Chapter 18: The Wolves Who Came Back

They arrived after midnight.

Three people.

Three survivors from a Pack I had spent my entire life believing was dead.

The first was an elderly woman named Mireya.

She walked with a cane but carried herself with the kind of dignity that made everyone instinctively move aside.

The second was a broad-shouldered man named Garrick, perhaps forty, with scars along one side of his face.

The third was a young woman only a few years older than me.

Her name was Lyra.

She had pale blonde hair and the same unusual golden eyes as Cassian.

The moment she saw me, she stopped.

Her lips parted.

"Alpha Aurelius."

I froze.

"I'm Nessa."

Her eyes filled with tears.

"You have his eyes when you're angry."

I looked at Mom.

She was already crying.

Mireya reached me.

For a few seconds, she simply studied my face.

Then she touched my cheek.

"Selene's child."

Her voice trembled.

"We thought we'd never see you grown."

Emotion tightened my throat.

"Did you know me as a baby?"

"I delivered you."

I stared at her.

Mom laughed through tears.

"She did."

Mireya smiled.

"You screamed for two hours and then refused to sleep unless someone carried you."

"That tracks," Rowan muttered.

I elbowed him.

Mireya's gaze shifted to Rowan.

Something unreadable passed over her face.

"Nightvale heir."

Rowan inclined his head.

"Lady Mireya."

"Your grandmother would have found this amusing."

"Why?"

"Because she spent years arguing that Lunaris and Nightvale should never mix politics with marriage."

Rowan looked at me.

"Good thing this isn't political."

Mireya's eyes sharpened.

"See that it stays that way."

"Yes, ma'am."

I liked her instantly.

Garrick approached next.

He didn't bow.

He studied me critically.

"Too thin."

I blinked.

"Excuse me?"

"Lunaris Alphas need strength."

Rowan covered a smile with his hand.

I glared at him.

Garrick continued.

"You've been overtraining."

"How do you know?"

"Your scent."

He pointed toward my wrist.

"And your wolf energy fluctuates because your body isn't adequately fueled."

My embarrassment turned into irritation.

"Everyone has opinions about my body."

Garrick immediately shook his head.

"Not appearance. Function."

That stopped me.

"You can weigh whatever you want. But an Alpha who collapses during training is useless."

I stared.

"You and Rowan are going to get along annoyingly well."

"Good."

Lyra finally approached.

Unlike the others, she looked nervous.

"Can I hug you?"

The question caught me off guard.

"Sure."

She wrapped both arms around me.

The instant we touched, my wolf surged.

Not like the mate bond.

Different.

Familial.

Pack.

Lyra inhaled sharply.

"You feel it."

"Yeah."

"I haven't felt that since I was little."

Her voice broke.

I hugged her tighter.

Something inside me shifted.

Until now, Lunaris had been history.

A mystery.

A political problem.

Standing with Lyra in my arms, it became real.

People had survived.

People had lost homes.

Families.

Names.

A future.

And somehow, whether I wanted it or not, I had become connected to what came next.

We spent hours talking.

Mireya told me about my grandfather.

Aurelius had apparently been stubborn, sarcastic, and incapable of admitting when he was wrong.

"So she inherited all three," Mom said.

"Hey."

Everyone laughed.

Garrick explained Lunaris training traditions.

Lyra told me what it had been like growing up under different names.

"I changed schools six times," she said.

"Every time Cassian thought someone was getting too curious, we moved."

I looked at Cassian.

"That must've been exhausting."

"It was necessary."

Lyra rolled her eyes.

"He once moved us because a grocery store cashier asked where our accent came from."

"She was suspicious."

"She was eighty."

"Excellent cover."

For the first time, Cassian looked almost embarrassed.

I laughed.

Hours later, Mireya asked the question nobody else had.

"Will you claim Lunaris?"

The room quieted.

I looked down at my hands.

"I don't know what that means yet."

"A wise answer."

"Everyone keeps calling me Alpha like it's already decided."

"Blood can make you heir," Mireya said.

"It cannot make you worthy."

I appreciated that more than blind loyalty.

"What would I have to do?"

"Learn."

"That's it?"

"Learn our history. Learn our failures. Learn our laws. Train your wolf. Meet whoever remains connected to the old territory."

"And Moon Court?"

"Eventually."

"Could they reject me?"

"Yes."

"Could Lunaris survivors reject me?"

"Yes."

Cassian frowned.

"Mireya."

"She deserves truth."

She looked directly at me.

"Being born from an Alpha doesn't make people owe you obedience."

"Good."

"Good?"

"I don't want obedience I didn't earn."

Mireya smiled.

"Then perhaps Aurelius would have liked you."

A knock sounded at the door.

One of Rowan's security officers entered.

"Sir."

Rowan stood.

"What happened?"

"We intercepted someone photographing the residence."

The room instantly changed.

Cassian rose.

"Who?"

"Silvercrest student."

My stomach tightened.

"From Hollowcrest?"

"Yes."

"Name?"

The officer checked his phone.

"Dorian Snowe."

Lyra frowned.

"Snowe again."

Rowan looked at me.

"Elodie's family."

We went downstairs.

A young man sat inside the security room.

He looked perhaps twenty-one.

Unlike Elodie, he wasn't polished or elegant.

His jacket was torn from apparently trying to escape.

When he saw me, his expression changed.

"You're Nessa."

"And you're spying on me."

"I wasn't spying."

"You were photographing a private residence at midnight."

"I was trying to warn you."

Cassian laughed coldly.

"With a camera?"

"I needed proof of who was here."

"For who?" Rowan asked.

Dorian swallowed.

"Myself."

"Bad answer," Garrick said.

Dorian looked around the room.

"You don't understand. My family isn't united on this."

I stepped closer.

"On what?"

"You."

"Fantastic."

"Mara has been feeding my uncle information for years."

"Your uncle is Silvercrest's Alpha?"

"Yes."

"And Elodie's father."

"Yes."

I crossed my arms.

"Keep going."

"He knew rumors about surviving Lunaris before your wolf photo appeared."

Rowan's gaze sharpened.

"How?"

"Mara."

"What does he want?"

Dorian hesitated.

"Lunaris territory."

Cassian swore quietly.

Dorian continued.

"Silvercrest borders the eastern Lunaris lands. If the Moon Court redistributes the territory, Silvercrest has the strongest geographic claim."

"So if I don't become Alpha, Elodie's family gets richer."

"Potentially."

"And if I do?"

"They lose that chance."

"Then why date Knox?"

"Because Stormridge has influence with the Council."

The pattern became clearer.

Silvercrest alliance with Stormridge.

Lunaris resurfaces.

Nightvale heir finds Lunaris mate.

Everything becomes unstable.

"Did Elodie know?" I asked.

Dorian looked uncomfortable.

"Not at first."

"And now?"

"Yes."

My stomach tightened.

I remembered her posts.

Her challenges.

Her aunt leaking my messages.

"How much does she know?"

"Enough to understand that if you bond Rowan and claim Lunaris, her father's plans collapse."

Rowan's voice turned cold.

"Has Silvercrest ordered her to do anything?"

"I don't know."

"Why warn me?" I asked.

Dorian looked away.

"Because my mother was Lunaris."

Silence.

Cassian stepped forward so quickly that security tensed.

"Name."

Dorian looked at him.

"Aelia Snowe. Born Aelia Lunaris."

Mireya gasped behind us.

"Aelia survived?"

Dorian's face crumpled slightly.

"Until five years ago."

Cassian's expression changed.

"She was my sister."