Chapter 133 Bloodline Revealed
Rowan's POV
Aiden finds us in the suite an hour after leaving McLunar 's office. Cian and I are in the living room, surrounded by printed documents, laptops open, research spread across every available surface.
"It's done," Aiden announces, closing the door behind him. "The expulsion's revoked. Malia stays."
Relief floods through me. "Seriously?"
"Seriously. Lydia confessed to everything. In front of McLunar . On her knees, crying, the whole dramatic production." He drops onto the couch. "I also threatened to sue the school and withdraw all Moonfall family funding."
"You what?" Cian looks up from his laptop.
"You heard me. I told McLunar if Malia was expelled, we'd bury this place in litigation and pull every dollar of funding." He runs a hand through his hair. "Pretty sure that's what actually convinced him. The confession helped, but the money threat sealed it."
"Damn." I lean back in my chair. "Didn't know you had it in you."
"Neither did I." He looks exhausted. Relieved but exhausted. "But for her? I'd burn this whole place down."
"We know." Cian closes his laptop carefully. "Which is actually why we need to talk to you about something. Something important."
Aiden's expression shifts. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. It's just—" I exchange a glance with Cian. "It's about Malia. About what she is. What we think she is."
"What do you mean?"
Cian pulls out the first document. A printed genealogical chart covered in names and dates. "Remember when I said I'd been researching? Trying to figure out why Malia's manifesting abilities she shouldn't have?"
"Yeah."
"I found something. Something that explains everything." He spreads the document on the coffee table. "Her abilities aren't random mutations. They're not hybrid instability or environmental triggers. They're genetic. Specific. Inherited from a very particular bloodline."
Aiden leans forward, studying the chart. "What bloodline?"
I pick up another document. Historical records. Eyewitness accounts. Ability documentation. "Lady Aurora Mooncrest."
The name hangs in the air.
Aiden looks between us. "The Aurora Mooncrest? The founder?"
"Yes." Cian pulls out more papers. "She disappeared from supernatural society in 1918. Official records say she died in the human world, but there's no body. No grave. No concrete evidence. Just—absence."
"And you think—"
"I think she didn't die." I spread out the evidence. "I think she went into hiding. Had a child in the human world. Kept that child's existence completely secret to protect them from the political complications of being a Mooncrest heir."
Aiden picks up one of the documents. Scans it. "This is—this is a genetic analysis. Of Malia?"
"Of her medical records from when she was admitted here." Cian points to specific markers highlighted in yellow. "These genetic sequences are extremely rare. Almost extinct. They match historical documentation of Aurora Mooncrest's bloodline exactly."
"The gold eyes," I continue, pulling out another page. "The impossible strength. The forced transformation that hybrid genetics shouldn't allow. The way the preserve's territorial magic affected her so dramatically. All of it matches accounts of Aurora's abilities."
Aiden's reading faster now. Flipping through pages. Seeing the evidence accumulate.
"Her father raised her alone," Cian says. "Never talked about her mother's family. Vague explanations about complicated genetics. Gaps in her family history that don't make sense unless someone was deliberately hiding information."
"And look at this." I pull up a photo on my laptop. A portrait of Aurora Mooncrest from the administrative building. "Look at her face. The bone structure. The eyes—even different colors, the shape is identical."
Aiden stares at the portrait. At the resemblance he must be seeing now that we've pointed it out.
"You're saying Malia is—"
"Aurora Mooncrest's daughter," Cian finishes. "Or granddaughter. The timeline could work either way depending on when Aurora actually died—if she died at all."
"That's why Vesper flagged her before she arrived," I add. "Why those men in suits were talking about containment. Why her file has so many gaps. If they suspected—or knew—what she was, they'd either want to control her or eliminate the threat she represents."
"What threat?" Aiden's voice is sharp.
"A Mooncrest heir awakening to her full abilities would be incredibly powerful," Cian explains. "Potentially more powerful than any alpha currently alive. That's a threat to established power structures. To people who benefit from the current hierarchy."
"Or an asset to be controlled," I finish. "Depending on who gets to her first."
Aiden sets down the documents carefully. His hands are shaking slightly. "Does she know?"
"No." Cian shakes his head. "We don't think anyone told her. Her father, maybe, but he's dead. And all evidence suggests her lineage was deliberately hidden. Buried. For her protection."
"Protection from what?"
"From people who would either worship her or destroy her." I lean forward. "Think about it, Aiden. If word got out that a Mooncrest heir was alive, attending Mooncrest College of all places—the political ramifications would be enormous."
"Which explains the monitoring," Cian adds. "The men in suits. Vesper's campaign. They were trying to push her to manifest her abilities, to confirm their suspicions. And the preserve did exactly that."
Aiden picks up the genetic analysis again. Studies it more carefully. "You're certain about this?"
"As certain as we can be without a full DNA comparison to Aurora's remains—which don't exist." Cian pulls out one more document. "But the evidence is compelling. The genetics, the abilities, the family history gaps, the resemblance. All of it points to the same conclusion."
"Malia is a Mooncrest." I say it clearly. Definitively. "Whether she knows it or not. Whether she wants to be or not. That's what she is."
Silence falls. Heavy with implications.
Aiden stares at the documents spread across the table. Evidence of a secret that changes everything.
"We have to tell her," he says finally.
"I know." Cian starts gathering the papers. "But carefully. She's just been through hell. Finding out she's the heir to one of the most powerful supernatural bloodlines in history—"
"Will either give her the context she needs to understand what's happening to her," I interrupt, "or completely overwhelm her."
"So we tell her gently," Aiden decides. "Together. All of us. We—"
The door opens.
All three of us freeze.
Malia stands in the doorway, July and Freddy behind her. She's awake. Alert. And from the expression on her face—
She heard.
How much, I can't tell. But enough. Definitely enough.
"Tell me what?" she asks quietly. Eyes moving between the three of us, landing on the documents spread across the table. "What do you need to tell me gently?"
No one speaks. The moment stretches. Tense. Fragile.
Then Malia steps fully into the room. Sees the laptop still displaying Aurora Mooncrest's portrait. Sees the genetic analysis with her name on it. Sees the genealogical charts and historical records and evidence compiled over days of research.
Her face goes pale.
"What is all this?" Her voice is barely above a whisper.
Cian stands slowly. "Malia, we were going to—"
"What is all this?" Louder now. More insistent.
I exchange a glance with Aiden. No good way to do this. No way to soften the blow.
"It's research," I say carefully. "About your abilities. About why you're manifesting powers that hybrid genetics shouldn't allow."
"And?" She's not moving closer. Not running. Just standing there, rigid, waiting.
"And we found—" Cian stops. Tries again. "We found a connection. To a specific bloodline. One that explains everything."
"What bloodline?" Her hands are shaking now.
Aiden stands. Moves toward her slowly. "Malia, you need to sit down. This is—it's a lot."
"I don't want to sit down." Her voice rises. "I want you to tell me what you found. What bloodline? What connection?"
The three of us look at each other. Silent communication. Deciding who speaks first.
I take a breath. Step forward. "Aurora Mooncrest."
The name lands like a bomb.
Malia stares at me. "What?"
"Your abilities match historical documentation of Aurora Mooncrest's powers exactly," Cian explains, pulling up the comparative analysis. "The genetics, the manifestations, everything. And your family history—the gaps, the secrets, the way your father raised you alone with vague explanations—it all points to deliberate concealment."
"Concealment of what?" But her voice wavers. Like part of her already knows the answer.
Aiden reaches her. Takes her hands gently. "Malia, we think you're Aurora Mooncrest's daughter. Or granddaughter. We think that's why you've been targeted. Why Vesper flagged you. Why the preserve affected you so dramatically. You're not just a hybrid. You're a Mooncrest heir."
She pulls her hands away. Steps back. "No. That's—that's impossible. Aurora Mooncrest died a century ago. I can't be—"
"She disappeared," I correct gently. "Left for the human world. No body was ever found. No grave. Just absence and vague historical accounts."
"And we think she went into hiding," Cian adds. "Had a child away from supernatural society. Kept that child's existence secret to protect them from political complications."
"You're saying—" Malia's breathing is too fast. "You're saying I'm the daughter of Lady Aurora Mooncrest? The founder of this school? One of the most powerful Lunas in supernatural history?"
"Yes," all three of us say together.
She laughs. High. Strained. Bordering on hysteria. "That's insane. I'm—I'm nobody. I'm a scholarship student. A hybrid. I'm not—"
"Look at the evidence," Cian urges, gesturing to the table. "The genetics don't lie. The abilities match. The family history fits. Malia, this explains everything that's been happening to you."
She's still backing away. Shaking her head. "No. No, this is—"
"It's the truth," Aiden says softly. "Or as close to the truth as we can get without more information. Malia, you're a Mooncrest. That's what you are."
Behind her, July and Freddy stand in the doorway. Both of them pale. Both of them having heard everything.
Malia turns to them. "You knew?"
"We just found out," July says quickly. "We came to tell you about the expulsion being reversed and heard—" She stops. "We heard them talking."
Malia's gaze swings back to the three brothers. To the evidence spread across the table. To the portrait of Aurora Mooncrest still displayed on the laptop screen.
To a face that mirrors her own in ways she can't deny.
"What do you mean," she says slowly, voice shaking, "...I'm the daughter of Aurora Mooncrest?”