Fake Heiress True Luna (Irina) novel Chapter 49

Chapter 49: The Rogues Attack, Irina’s Secret Is Discovered

Irina’s POV

Claim

“Are we close?” I asked. I wasn’t tired yet, but we had been walking so long that the forest seemed to swallow the light. The trees grew denser, their trunks ancient and gnarled, roots twisting over the uneven ground like serpents. Even the air felt heavier here.

Or perhaps I was the one who felt things differently after I woke up.

Rylan glanced back at me, his eyes sharp in the dim light. “Almost,” he said. “They hide deep enough that no patrol ever finds them. That’s how they’ve survived this long after the attack.”

I nodded, though a flicker of unease rippled through me. The hum under my skin grew stronger the deeper we went, like something buried in the heart of this forest was calling out to me-recognizing me.

The silence stretched between us, broken only by the crunch of leaves under our boots. I watched the way Rylan moved-quiet, efficient, his senses alert but not afraid. He didn’t seem like the kind of man who was easily rattled.

“What made you help them?” I finally asked, curiosity slipping past my caution. “The survivors, I mean. You could’ve ignored what happened to their settlement.”

Rylan didn’t answer right away. He ducked under a low branch and motioned for me to follow. “I owed someone,” he said at last, his tone low, distant. “One of them saved my life once. I couldn’t repay it before she died.”

A pang tugged at my chest. “Was she part of the settlement?”

He nodded. “She was… strong. Too strong for a normal rogue. She told me once that her pack wasn’t what it seemed.” He cast me a sidelong glance. “Now I’m starting to understand what she meant.”

I swallowed hard. My fingers brushed the bark of a nearby tree-it pulsed faintly under my touch, warm, alive. My breath caught. “Did you feel that?” I whispered.

Rylan frowned, looking around. “Feel what?”

“The forest. It’s… alive.” The words came out before I could stop them. “It’s reacting to us.”

His gaze lingered on me for a moment too long. “To you,” he said finally.

I blinked. “What?”

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Chapter 49: The Rogues Attack, Irina’s Secret Is Discovered

Claim

stopped walking, turning to face me fully. “The air shifted the moment you stepped past at ridge back there. The animals went quiet, the wind changed, and now the trees-” He

stured around us. “They’re bending toward ་ར་།

away.”

And they were. I hadn’t noticed until he said it, but the branches above seemed to arc gently bward, like they were leaning closer.

What does that mean?” I asked, my voice trembling slightly.

lan’s jaw tightened. “I’m not sure, Irina. I haven’t known you for that long, and even though four aura is not any different from before, I can tell you aren’t the same after you woke up.”

ooked around as I heard a faint rustle-too sharp, too deliberate to be the wind. My

artbeat picked up, and the hum under my skin responded, pulsing faster, warning me.

Italylan’s eyes narrowed. “Stay close.” His voice dropped to a low growl as he scanned the

Jarkened forest.

the sound came again-branches snapping, the faint crunch of boots against damp soil. methen, shadows exploded from between the trees before I could even breathe.

Rogues.

Half a dozen of them, maybe more, fanning out to circle us. Their eyes gleamed amber and ed in the dim light, their snarls low and feral. These weren’t half-starved scavengers-they WAN were coordinated. Trained.

d

Rylan shoved me behind him, his stance shifting instantly into combat readiness. “s**t,” he nuttered under his breath. “They shouldn’t be this far north.”

One of the rogues-a tall man with a jagged scar slicing down his cheek- shifted and stepped forward, his teeth bared. “You’re trespassing,” he spat, his voice rough like gravel.” No outsiders cross this line.”

Rylan straightened, his tone calm but edged with steel. “We’re not outsiders. We’re looking or the survivors of the settlement.”

The man sneered. “Lies. You reek of Alphas.” His gaze flicked to me, and something in his

yes changed. “And her…”

My blood ran cold.

He inhaled deeply, his expression twisting into shock, then confusion. “Impossible,” he whispered.

felt the hum beneath my skin surge, stronger now, like it recognized something familiar in

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<Chapter 49: The Rogues Attack, Irina’s Secret Is Discovered.

Claim

him. I could almost see it-thin tendrils of silvery light pulsing faintly under my skin.

“Rylan,” I whispered, “something’s happening-”

“Don’t move,” he said quickly, keeping his focus on the rogues. “They’re assessing us.”

The scarred man’s eyes widened further as he took a step closer. “That scent… that power…” His voice trembled now. “It can’t be.”

The others froze, watching him.

“Stand down,” Rylan warned. “You don’t want to do this.”

But before anyone could react, one of the younger rogues lunged forward, claws outstretched-straight for me.

I gasped, throwing my hands up instinctively, but before he could touch me, a blinding surge of light burst from my palms. It wasn’t fire, not lightning-something rawer. The air rippled with power, and the rogue was thrown backward like a rag doll, crashing into a tree with a bone-crunching thud.

The forest fell deathly silent.

Every single pair of eyes turned toward me. My hands were still glowing faintly, threads of silvery-blue energy crackling between my fingers. I stared at them, stunned. “I didn’t-”

The older rogue-the scarred one-stumbled back a step, his eyes wide as if he’d seen a ghost. “By the Goddess…” he breathed. His voice shook. “It’s you.”

Rylan stiffened. “What are you talking about?”

The man’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. His eyes never left me. “The child,” he whispered. “The one they swore to protect-the one born under the twin moons.” He fell to his knees, disbelief and awe mixing in his tone. “She’s alive.”

My heart thundered. The air around me shimmered faintly, and the trees seemed to lean closer again, as if listening.

Rylan’s gaze snapped to me, his expression a mix of shock and realization. “Irina…” he said slowly. “What the hell are you?”

I didn’t know how to answer. All I knew was that whatever I was-whatever they had protected-it was waking up.

And the forest, the rogues, even Rylan could feel it.

“I told you, Irina, we are stronger than you may think,” Theia said, her voice filled with pride.

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<Chapter 49: The Roques Attack, Irina’s Secret Is Discovered

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