Chapter 65 Mother's Warning
The cup shattered before Tiara realized she’d lost her grip.
Hot herbal tea splashed across the stone floor, steam rising like breath from a dying thing. Her mother’s hand shot out instinctively, steadying Tiara by the elbow before she could even sway.
“Easy,” her mother murmured. “You’re still burning inside.”
Tiara blinked, chest tight. “I didn’t feel dizzy.”
“I know,” her mother said quietly. “That’s what worries me.”
They were alone in the inner chamber—no guards, no council eyes, no pack members bowing or whispering. Just stone walls, low firelight, and the faint scent of herbs and old magic.
Tiara pulled her arm free and turned away, pacing. Her boots scraped against the floor, sharp, restless.
“They smiled at me today,” she said suddenly. “The council. Praised me. Warned me.”
Her mother didn’t respond right away. She knelt slowly to clean the spill, movements deliberate, as though every second mattered.
“They always smile before they sharpen the knife,” she said at last.
Tiara stopped pacing. “You knew.”
Her mother looked up then. Their eyes so alike it still startled Tiara met across the room.
“You’ve known this whole time,” Tiara said, voice low. “About them. About what happens to Alphas like me.”
Her mother rose, setting the broken cup aside. “I knew enough to be afraid.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“No,” her mother agreed softly. “It’s a confession.”
Silence stretched between them, thick with things unsaid.
Tiara finally asked the question clawing at her chest. “What did they mean, when they said destiny would choose for me?”
Her mother’s jaw tightened.
She crossed the room and placed both hands on Tiara’s shoulders, grounding her. Warm. Solid. Real.
“Sit,” she said.
Tiara hesitated, then obeyed.
Her mother took a breath as if bracing herself for impact.
“There is a truth about Moon-Blessed Alphas,” she began. “One the council buries, rewrites, erases.”
Tiara’s pulse quickened.
“Every Alpha chosen directly by the Moon Goddess is given a gift beyond dominance,” her mother continued. “Vision. Command. Power that bends other wolves to their will.”
“I know this,” Tiara said.
“Yes but not the cost.” Her mother’s voice wavered. “The Moon never gives without taking.”
Tiara swallowed. “What does she take?”
Her mother’s hands trembled on her shoulders.
“She takes what anchors you to the world,” she whispered. “What makes you human.”
Tiara’s breath caught. “You mean.”
“Love,” her mother said. “Mates. Hearts.”
The word echoed like a death knell.
Tiara shook her head slowly. “No. That’s no. That’s superstition. Fear meant to control us.”
“I said the same thing,” her mother replied. “Once.”
Tiara went very still.
Her mother released her shoulders and moved to the window, staring out into the dark forest beyond the sanctuary.
“I was Moon-Blessed,” she said. “Chosen young. Stronger than the Alphas who ruled before me.”
Tiara stared. “You never told me that.”
“Because I didn’t want you to worship what destroyed me.”
Tiara stood abruptly. “Destroyed you how?”
Her mother turned back, eyes glistening but steady.
“I was given a choice,” she said. “The same one looming over you now though no one spoke it aloud.”
Tiara’s voice came out hoarse. “What choice?”
Her mother took a step closer.
“Power,” she said. “Or love.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“They told you this?” Tiara demanded.
“No. I learned it the hard way.”
Tiara’s chest tightened painfully. “Tell me.”
Her mother inhaled deeply.
“I chose your father,” she said.
Tiara’s heart stuttered.
“I chose him over the Moon’s calling. Over the crown they tried to place on my head. I believed love would protect us.”
She laughed softly, bitter. “I was wrong.”
“What happened?” Tiara whispered.
Her mother’s gaze drifted, distant.
“My power faded,” she said. “Slowly at first. My visions dulled. My command weakened. Wolves stopped bowing—not out of rebellion, but because they could no longer feel me.”
Tiara felt sick. “The council let that happen?”
“They encouraged it,” her mother replied. “A weakened Alpha is easier to control.”
“And my father?”
Her mother’s lips trembled. “He paid the price with me. When I lost my power, he lost his position. When I became vulnerable, enemies came.”
Tiara clenched her fists. “So you hid me. Suppressed my wolf.”
“Yes,” her mother said firmly. “I would do it again. A thousand times.”
Tiara’s voice broke. “You could’ve told me.”
“I was afraid,” her mother admitted. “Afraid that if you knew, you’d make the same choice I did—or worse, that the Moon would force your hand.”
Tiara staggered back, the weight of it crashing down on her.
“Every Moon-Blessed Alpha loses their mate or their heart,” her mother said softly. “There has never been an exception.”
Tiara’s vision blurred.
“No,” she whispered. “There has to be another way.”
Her mother stepped forward, cupping Tiara’s face. “Listen to me. Loving Damien does not make you weak.”
“Then why does everyone keep telling me it will kill him?” Tiara snapped, tears finally spilling over.
“Because the Moon does not tolerate divided Alphas,” her mother said gently. “And neither does the council.”
Tiara pulled away, shaking her head.
“I won’t choose,” she said fiercely. “I refuse.”
Her mother’s expression softened with pride—and sorrow.
“That fire,” she said. “That defiance. It’s why the Moon chose you.”
Tiara laughed weakly. “Some blessing.”
Her mother took her hands. “If you walk this path, you must be prepared.”
“For what?”
“For losing something,” she replied. “Or for fighting fate itself.”
Tiara’s chest rose and fell rapidly. “What if I lose Damien?”
Her mother hesitated.
“That,” she said quietly, “is what the Moon expects.”
Tiara’s wolf stirred, restless, furious.
“And if I don’t let her?” Tiara asked.
Her mother’s eyes darkened.
“Then you may lose everything else.”
Silence fell again—heavy, final.
From somewhere deep inside, Tiara felt a cold certainty take root.
She wasn’t just fighting packs or councils.
She was fighting destiny.
And destiny had already chosen its price.