Chapter 20: Chapter Twenty
Chapter 20
Lia’s POV
The bookstore’s dim light felt like a cage, the shelves looming like silent sentinels as I stood in the hidden room Quinn had shown me weeks ago. Dust hung in the air, tickling my nose, but my wolf senses were sharper now, picking up the faint scent of old leather and ink and something else, something familiar, like my mother’s perfume, faint but unmistakable. My heart thudded, the moonbound mark on my shoulder pulsing in time with it, a reminder of the bond with Edgar that had saved my life and changed me forever. But it was Quinn’s betrayal, her jealous attack, that had driven me here, searching for answers she wouldn’t give.
The fight in the alley last night played over in my mind, Connor’s chilling challenge, Quinn’s claws aimed at my throat, and Edgar’s rage as he pinned her down. The Ironclad had taken her away, but her words about my mother, she was Ironclad, tied to the curse, had rooted me to this spot, my claws itching to tear through the secrets she’d kept. My wolf was restless, pacing inside me, its strength both thrilling and terrifying. I wasn’t just Lia anymore. I was something more, something the clan didn’t trust, and I needed to know why.
I pulled a worn journal from the shelf, its leather cover cracked, the pages yellowed with age. My fingers trembled as I opened it, my eyes scanning the faded ink. Most of it was Ironclad history names, dates, battles with the Frostclad Knights but then I saw it: a photograph tucked between the pages, creased but clear. My breath caught. It was her, my mother, her amber hair loose, her smile soft but guarded, standing beside a man who looked so much like Edgar it made my chest ache. His arm was around her, his eyes fierce but warm, like he’d protect her from the world.
“Who were you?” I whispered, my voice breaking in the quiet. The mark on my shoulder burned, the bond with Edgar tugging at me, urging me to find him, to show him this. But I couldn’t, not yet. Not until I understood what it meant.
I flipped through the journal, my heart racing as I found her name, Katherine Mason, scrawled in elegant script. My mother. The words blurred as I read, piecing together fragments of a story I’d never known. She’d been Ironclad, born into the clan, tied to its curse. A moonbound, like me, mated to an alpha Edgar’s father, if the resemblance was true. But there was more, whispers of betrayal, of a secret she’d taken to her grave, something that had torn the clan apart. The journal didn’t say what, but the words, traitor and curse kept appearing, underlined with angry strokes.
My wolf growled, low and fierce, as the pieces fell into place. My mother hadn’t just warned me about the woods to keep me safe, she’d been hiding from this world, from the Ironclad, from whatever she’d done. But why? And why had she never told me? I slammed the journal shut, my claws scratching the cover, my breath ragged. The wolf wanted to run, to fight, to demand answers from someone, anyone, but all I had were these pages and a photograph that felt like a lie.
The door to the hidden room creaked open, and I spun, my claws out, my wolf ready to strike. Edgar stood there, his broad frame filling the doorway, his dark eyes locking onto mine. The bond flared, his worry and anger flooding me, making my own emotions harder to sort. “Lia,” he said, his voice low, urgent. “What are you doing? You shouldn’t be here alone.”
“I had to know,” I said, holding up the journal, my voice shaking with anger and hurt. “Quinn was telling the truth. My mother was Ironclad. Moonbound, like me. Mated to… your father?” I thrust the photograph at him, watching his face as he took it, his jaw tightening.
He stared at the image, his eyes darkening, a storm of emotions flickering through the bond, shock, pain, something deeper I couldn’t name. “This is her,” he said, his voice rough. “Katherine, I was a kid when she left. I didn’t know… I didn’t know she was your mother.”
“You didn’t know?” I snapped, my wolf pushing my voice to a growl. “How could you not know? She was part of your clan, Edgar! And now the Frostclad is after me, the Ironclad doesn't trust me, and Quinn tried to kill me because of it. What did she do? Why does everyone call her a traitor?”
He stepped closer, his hand reaching for me, but I pulled back, the journal clutched to my chest like a shield. “Lia,” he said, his voice softer now, almost pleading. “I don’t know the whole story. My father… he never talked about her after she left. There were rumors about her breaking the bond, about a betrayal that weakened the clan. But I was too young to understand. I swear, I didn’t know she was your mother.”
I wanted to believe him, but the bond was a tangle of emotions, his, mine, the wolf’s making it hard to think. “Then help me find out,” I said, my voice steady despite the ache in my chest. “Because I’m not just fighting for myself anymore. I’m fighting for her, for whatever she was running from. And I need to know why the clan hates me for it.”
His eyes searched mine, the bond humming with his resolve. “We’ll find the truth,” he said, his voice a promise. “But not here. The Frostclad are still out there, and Connor’s challenge is tomorrow. We need to prepare you to learn to control your wolf, fully, before we face him.”
I nodded, my claws retracting, but the journal felt heavy in my hands, its secrets a weight I couldn’t shake. The clan’s distrust was a wall I’d have to break, and Connor’s challenge was a storm waiting to hit. But the wolf in me was awake, fierce and unyielding, and for the first time, I felt ready not just to fight, but to uncover the truth about my mother, about me, about the bond that tied me to Edgar. Whatever came next, I’d face it head-on, because I wasn’t just moonbound anymore. I was Ironclad, and I’d make them see it.