Chapter 5
1197words
We were in the kitchen. I was preparing dinner when he cornered me behind the pantry door.
"We need to talk," he whispered. "About the mark."
His closeness made thinking difficult. Three days as Gwen's maid had been torture, but worse was the constant awareness of Kane. Whenever he entered a room, my body sensed him before my eyes saw him.
"Not here," I whispered back, glancing at the other servants.
"Meet me in the garden. Midnight."
I pushed against his chest, but the heat from my palm made thinking even harder. "I can't. Gwen—"
"Will be asleep. She takes sleeping pills."
His amber eyes held mine. Something passed between us—a current of energy I couldn't explain.
"Why should I trust you?" I asked. "You made me her slave."
"I saved your life," he corrected. "And your parents'."
I looked away. He was right, but that didn't make me hate the situation less.
"Fine. Midnight."
He nodded and stepped back. As he turned to leave, I couldn't help asking:
"Why did you bully me as a child but secretly leave me healing cream and chocolate?"
Kane froze. Slowly, he looked back at me, surprise in his eyes.
"You knew it was me?"
"I saw you walking away."
Something like shame crossed his face. "I was a stupid boy trying to fight what I felt."
"And what was that?" I challenged.
His eyes darkened. "Something I wasn't supposed to feel for the kitchen maid's daughter."
Before I could respond, the head cook called my name. When I looked back, Kane was gone.
That night, I slipped out of my tiny room when the clock struck midnight. The palace was quiet except for the guards patrolling the outer walls.
The garden was bathed in moonlight. I found Kane waiting by the old oak tree, his tall figure a shadow against the silver light.
"You came," he said, sounding relieved.
"I want answers."
He nodded and led me deeper into the garden, to a small stone bench hidden by rose bushes.
"Show me your wrist," he said when we sat down.
I hesitated, then extended my arm. My skin looked normal in the moonlight.
Kane took my hand, his touch sending that now-familiar heat through me. He turned my wrist up and traced a pattern on my skin.
"The mark appears when we touch," he explained. "A crescent moon."
"What does it mean?"
He took a deep breath. "It's a mate mark."
I pulled my hand away. "That's impossible. You're engaged to Gwen."
"Political arrangement. The prophecy says a Beta's daughter will bring peace as the Alpha's mate."
"And Gwen is the Beta's daughter."
Kane's eyes met mine. "So are you."
My heart stopped. "What?"
"Your father was once the pack Beta, before Marcus. He stepped down when you were born."
I shook my head. "No. My father has always been a cook."
"After he stepped down. To protect you."
"Protect me from what?"
Kane looked up at the moon. "The prophecy is specific. A Beta's daughter with the mark of the Moon Shadow Wolf will bring peace to the pack."
"Moon Shadow Wolf?"
"A rare bloodline. Wolves who can shift even when the moon isn't full. Powerful. Feared."
I laughed bitterly. "I can't even shift at all."
"Are you sure?" His eyes challenged me. "Have you ever tried? Really tried?"
I fell silent. The truth was, after years of being told I couldn't shift, I'd stopped trying.
"Touch me again," he said suddenly.
"What?"
"Your mark. I want to see it."
Reluctantly, I offered my wrist. Kane's fingers traced my skin, and this time, the heat was immediate and intense.
A glow appeared beneath my skin—a perfect crescent moon, silver-white against my flesh.
But something else happened too. My vision sharpened suddenly. Colors intensified. Scents became overwhelming.
Kane gasped. "Your eyes..."
I could feel it—my eyes had changed, turning to wolf eyes. My nails lengthened slightly, hardening into partial claws.
"This isn't possible," I whispered, staring at my hands.
"It is if you're the one from the prophecy."
The mark on my wrist glowed brighter. Kane pulled up his sleeve, revealing a matching mark on his wrist, but his was burning red.
"We're mates," he said simply. "True mates."
The revelation hit me like a physical blow. All these years of hatred, of feeling less-than, and now this?
"Why tell me now?" I demanded. "Why not three years ago when I left for cooking school? Why let me come back to be humiliated as a maid?"
Pain crossed his face. "I didn't know until that night in the dungeon. When you told me about your dream. The red-eyed wolf saying 'mine'—that was my wolf calling to yours."
My head spun with questions. If this was true, what did it mean for the pack? For Gwen? For my parents?
Suddenly, Kane stiffened. "Someone's coming."
He pulled me behind the rose bushes just as two figures appeared on the path—Marcus and the Alpha.
"The preparations for the ceremony are complete," Marcus was saying. "In three days, on Kane's birthday, he and Gwen will be mated under the full moon."
"Good," the Alpha replied. "This alliance will strengthen both our positions."
They passed so close I could smell the Alpha's expensive cologne.
When they were gone, Kane's face had hardened into a mask.
"I have to go," he said. "Stay hidden until they're inside."
"Kane, wait—"
But he was already moving away. At the edge of the garden, he turned back.
"Tell no one about the mark. Not even your parents. It's not safe."
Then he was gone, leaving me with more questions than answers.
I waited until the garden was clear before sneaking back to my room. As I passed the main hall, I heard voices from the Alpha's study.
Curiosity overcame caution. I crept closer, pressing my ear to the door.
"—impossible," the Alpha was saying. "The girl can't even shift."
"I saw the mark, father." Kane's voice. "And her eyes changed. She's beginning to shift."
"The prophecy says Gwen—"
"The prophecy says a Beta's daughter. Gina's father was Beta before Marcus."
Silence fell. Then the Alpha spoke, his voice low and dangerous.
"This cannot be known. If Marcus discovers the truth, he'll kill the girl before giving up his daughter's position."
"I won't let that happen." Kane's voice was steel.
"You have a duty to this pack," the Alpha reminded him. "The alliance with Marcus—"
"Means nothing if the true prophecy is ignored."
I heard footsteps approaching the door and quickly hid behind a curtain. The door opened, and Kane stormed out, his face dark with anger.
The Alpha appeared in the doorway. "This is impossible," he whispered, more to himself than to Kane. "The prophecy says Gwen is your mate. If the truth is discovered..."
I didn't hear the rest. I was already running back to my room, my heart pounding with fear and something else—hope.
For the first time in my life, I might not be the broken Omega everyone thought I was.
I might be something much more dangerous.
