Chapter 17 THE REVELATION
ALICIA’S POV
I see flashes of his life, childhood in Blood Moon territory, playing with a girl who might have been me, being exiled for crimes he didn't commit, ten years of loneliness and searching for truth.
And he sees mine. The isolation of being the Beta's daughter. The forbidden love with Ray. The shattering revelation of corrupted bonds. The desperate grab for survival that created four mate bonds in a single night.
We see each other completely. Wholly. Without walls or lies.
The silver light intensifies until I have to close my eyes against the brightness. When it finally fades, I slump forward, exhausted.
Strong arms catch me. Monty. "Easy. I've got you."
I blink my vision clear and look at Logan. The wound in his side is closed. Completely healed. Not even a scar remains. His breathing is steady, strong, normal.
But his eyes are locked on mine with an intensity that makes my stomach flip.
"You saved me," he whispers.
"Of course I did." My voice shakes. "You're my mate."
The bond settled something between us during that healing. Created a foundation that feels ancient and unshakeable. "You're mine to protect now. That's all I need to know."
His hand is still gripping mine. He squeezes once, acknowledgment and gratitude and something deeper all mixed together.
Ray shifts back to human, concern and jealousy warring on his face. "Can you walk?"
Logan sits up slowly, testing his body. "Yeah. I think so."
Kai tosses him a spare shirt from somewhere. "What happened? Who attacked you?"
"Blood Moon warriors." Logan pulls the shirt on, wincing slightly. "Three of them. Vincent sent them to kill me."
My blood runs cold. "My father?"
"He issued orders last night." Logan's eyes find mine. "Anyone who sees me on Blood Moon territory should kill me on sight. Because I'm bonded to you now."
"That doesn't make sense." Monty frowns. "Vincent saw you walk the streets of Moon Blood territory after the five years of your exile sentence elapsed. Why suddenly decide you're a threat?"
"Because I found something." Logan reaches into his jacket, still miraculously intact and pulls out a folded letter. "In my father's lockbox. Hidden in the ruins of my old house."
He hands it to me. The paper is yellowed, brittle. I unfold it carefully and read.
My mother's handwriting. Addressed to Vincent. Dated ten years ago.
The girl must never know the truth about her father...
The words blur. I read it again. And again. Trying to process what this means.
"She knew." My voice sounds distant. "My father knew all this while about not being my biological parent. Ten years ago. Before Ray and I ever met."
"It's worse than that." Logan struggles to his feet with Kai's help. "The letter mentions the council. Says if the truth comes out, both packs will be destroyed. That you'll be destroyed."
"What truth?" I look up at him, desperate for answers. "If they already revealed that Ray's father is my biological parent, what else is there?"
"I don't know." Logan's expression is grim. "But whatever it is, your father is willing to kill to keep it secret."
Monty takes the letter, reading it quickly. "This changes everything. If there's some larger conspiracy."
"There is." Kai interrupts. "The message I found said 'the girl is the key.' Key to what? To exposing whatever secret this letter is talking about."
Ray moves closer, reading over Monty's shoulder. His face darkens with each line. "We need to get back to the packhouse. Now. If Vincent knows Logan found this—"
"He doesn't." Logan cuts him off. "The warriors who attacked me are dead. They can't report back."
"But they were expected to return." Ray's Alpha voice is emerging. "When they don't, Vincent will send more. Probably tonight."
The words have barely left his mouth when howls erupt in the distance. Multiple voices. Coming from Blood Moon territory. Coming toward us.
"Run." Kai's already shifting. "Now."
But I'm frozen, staring at the letter in Monty's hands. At my mother's words about secrets and lies and truths that must never come out.
Logan grabs my arm. "Alicia, we have to move."
"What truth?" I whisper. "What's so terrible that my mother would lie about it for ten years? That my father would kill to protect?"
"We'll figure it out." His hand cups my face, forcing me to meet his eyes. "But first, we survive. Okay?"
More howls. Closer now. At least a dozen wolves by the sound of it.
Ray shifts, growling urgently. Monty pulls me toward the trees. Kai circles around us, protective.
We run.
The forest blurs past. Branches whip at my face. My lungs burn. Behind us, the howls multiply. Blood Moon Pack is hunting us in force.
Hunting me.
The mate bond with Logan thrums hot and steady, newly forged and unbreakable. I can feel his determination through it. His absolute refusal to let anything happen to me.
All four bonds beats now, Ray's possessive protection, Monty's steady support, Kai's predatory focus, Logan's fierce determination. They're all connected to me, all pulling in the same direction: survival.
We burst through the tree line into Dark Night territory. Home. Safe.
Except it doesn't feel safe. Not with Blood Moon wolves howling at our backs. Not with secrets and lies unraveling around us. Not with my mother's letter burning a hole in Monty's pocket.
We stumble into the packhouse clearing. Ray shifts back, already barking orders. Wolves emerge from the building, armed and ready.
I lean against Logan, catching my breath. "Are you okay?"
"Thanks to you." His arm wraps around my waist, keeping me steady. "That healing thing you did."
"I don't know how I did it."
"Doesn't matter." He turns me to face him, both hands on my shoulders. "Alicia, listen to me. This is important."
I look up at him, seeing the urgency in his eyes.
"Your brother," Logan says quietly. "Jake. I saw him when the warriors attacked. He was watching from the trees."
Ice floods my veins. "Jake would do anything to see my end, Logan?"
"Alicia” Logan's grip tightens. "He smiled when they stabbed me. Like he knew exactly what was happening. Like he planned it."
"It's possible. He tried to kill me in that forest. I don't know who or what possessed Jake"
Logan’s eyes flew open with shock “What?" Logan's voice drops to barely a whisper. "Well, I think he knows about the letter. About the secrets. About what you are. And he's not going to let you uncover the truth."
"How do you know?"
Logan's eyes are haunted. "Because before Kai showed up, before those warriors attacked, I heard Jake talking to someone on a radio. Giving orders."
My heart stops. "What orders?"
"He said," Logan swallows hard. "He said 'the girl is getting too close. We move tonight. Kill her before she figures it out.'"
The world tilts.
Jake. My brother. The one who revealed my true parentage at Ray's ceremony. The one who's been hostile and cruel all of sudden or maybe, I didn't pay attention to his hostility towards me before now.
He's trying to kill me.
"Tonight?" My voice comes out small. "He's coming tonight?"
Logan nods, face grim. "Alicia, whatever secret your mother was hiding, Jake knows it. And he'll do anything to stop you from learning it. Including murder."
Ray appears at my side, having heard the last part. "How many?"
"I don't know. But it's not just Blood Moon warriors." Logan looks at each of us in turn. "Jake has allies. People who want Alicia dead before she becomes whatever she's supposed to become."
Kai, still in wolf form, growls low.
Monty's hand finds my shoulder. "We need to fortify. Prepare for an attack."
"No." Ray's voice is steel. "We don't wait for them to bring the fight here. We go to them first."
"That's suicide," Logan argues.
"Maybe." Ray's eyes are pure black now, Alpha authority radiating from every pore. "But I'm not sitting here waiting for Jake to attack my mate. We end this tonight."
The packhouse behind us explodes into activity. Wolves arming themselves, taking positions, preparing for war.
And I stand in the center of it all, holding a letter full of lies, bonded to four males I barely know, with my own brother leading an army to kill me.
The mate bonds pulse in rhythm with my racing heart. Four connections. Four protectors. Four reasons to survive this night.
Logan's arms are still around me, solid and warm. "Whatever happens," he murmurs against my hair, "you're not facing it alone."
From the forest, a Long, mournful, but threatening single howl rises.
Jake's voice. I'd know it anywhere.
He's here.
And he's not coming alone.