Chapter 28 Identity Revealed
“Stand down!” Tiara roared, claws slashing through the dust-filled air as her wolf forced its dominance over the fighters surrounding her.
The NightFang soldiers froze, tension slicing the battlefield like a silver blade. Wolves retreated, forming a trembling circle around a single cloaked woman with chains embedded into her wrists.
The woman lifted her head slowly—eyes glowing a familiar crystal blue.
Tiara’s heart slammed against her ribs.
“M–Mother?”
The woman’s lips parted, breath shaky, voice soft like a memory long buried.
“Tiara… my moon.”
The world spun. The noise from clashing wolves faded to faint echoes. Tiara took two steps closer, then stopped—fear and longing crashing into each other.
“Remove her chains,” Tiara growled to her warriors.
Kael hesitated, scanning the chained woman. “Alpha, she’s NightFang property. This could be a trap.”
Tiara’s alpha power surged in her voice. “I said remove them!”
Kael lowered his head, unlocked the silver restraints. The moment the last chain fell, the woman collapsed forward. Tiara caught her—arms trembling violently, not from weakness… but from finally touching what she thought was gone forever.
“Mother… how are you alive? They said you were dead.” Her voice cracked.
Her mother brushed the side of Tiara’s face, fingers cold but gentle. “Your pack wanted me gone. I only survived because NightFang needed what I knew about the Moon Council.”
Tiara pulled back. “Fairly Moon Pack betrayed you?”
Pain flickered in her mother’s eyes like dying flame. “They sold me to save themselves. I warned them about the Council’s corrupt rise, and they punished me for it.”
Tiara’s wolf snarled from inside her chest, claws scraping against her insides. Every breath felt like burning fire.
“You warned them… and they let you be captured?” Her voice shook with fury.
Her mother nodded weakly. “And I endured every torment to keep you safe. If they learned you inherited my bloodline, they would’ve killed you before your first shift.”
Tiara swallowed the lump in her throat. “Your bloodline?”
Her mother’s trembling fingers traced the mark glowing faintly on Tiara’s neck. “You are more than Alpha-born. You carry the blood of the Skybound lineage. Those with celestial wolves. It’s why your power grew faster than others.”
A sudden wave of energy pulsed through Tiara’s bones, her wolf stretching inside her with an unfamiliar hunger. It felt like she could break mountains if she wished. She gasped, clutching her chest.
Her mother steadied her. “Do not resist it. You are awakening.”
Awakening. The word echoed like thunder.
Behind them, the NightFang warriors stirred. Their Beta snarled, pointing his weapon. “Enough sentiment. Hand her over.”
Tiara stepped in front of her mother like a wall of blades. “She is under SilverShield protection now.”
“Our Alpha will come for her,” the Beta spit.
Tiara allowed a wicked smile. “Then tell your Alpha to come. I’ll be waiting.”
Something dark yanked the Beta backward into the shadows, a signal whistle cutting through the battlefield. NightFang fighters retreated, disappearing into the treelines like ghosts.
Damien rushed over, his shirt torn, blood streaking down his jaw. “Tiara! You’re hurt—”
She turned, hugging her mother close, eyes burning. “Damien… this is my mother.”
Damien’s expression shifted—shock melting into heavy understanding. He bowed slightly to the weakened woman. “SilverShield welcomes you, Luna.”
She managed a faint smile. “Thank you, son of Magnus.”
Damien stiffened at the mention of his father. She knew him… too well.
Tiara gently helped her mother stand, but her mother’s gaze suddenly darkened. “Listen to me carefully. NightFang isn’t acting alone. They are pawns—controlled by someone far higher.”
Damien frowned. “Who?”
Her mother looked up at the blood-red moon above them, hatred twisting her features. “The Moon Council. They are preparing for a cleansing… and SilverShield is first on the list.”
The air turned razor cold.
Damien cursed under his breath. “They’ll use NightFang to start it, then justify their purge.”
Tiara clenched her fists, power pulsing through her veins like liquid fire. “We won’t let them touch our pack.”
Her mother grabbed her wrist suddenly—eyes wide, voice strained.
“No, child. You do not understand. They don’t fear your pack—”
She pointed at Tiara’s chest.
“They fear you.”
Before Tiara could speak, her mother’s eyes rolled back and she fainted in her arms.
“Mother!” Tiara shook her, panic slicing her voice.
Damien touched her shoulder. “She’s breathing. She’s just weak. We need to take her to the healing lodge.”
Tiara nodded, her heart splitting with rage, fear, and overwhelming love. As they carried her mother away, a single vow echoed through her bones:
They fear me. Good. Let them.
She lifted her head, looking toward the distant Moon Council lands, her voice a whisper of war.
“I’ll burn their thrones if I must.”
Before she could take another step, one of Damien’s spies sprinted toward them, bowing urgently. “Alpha Damien! News from the capital!”
Damien frowned. “Speak.”
The spy looked between them, terror shaking his voice.
“A coup has begun inside the Moon Council. And they’re hunting any Alpha allied
with SilverShield.”
Tiara’s blood turned to frost.
SilverShield was officially marked for destruction.