The Alpha King And His Chosen Luna novel Chapter 259

The names of my parents

The names of my parents

(Isla)

+25 Points

Orin led us through Silvermere while Caius kept hold of my hand. Zeron and Raith came with us as we passed wolves standing outside their homes. I tried not to stare back, but many of them seemed to know something about me. Vaela watched them through my eyes.

‘They know us,’ she said.

‘Or they know what we are.’

‘There is a difference.’

‘We’re about to find out.’

The buildings became larger as we reached the center of the territory. Children played near one of the homes while several older wolves stopped talking when they saw us. Every wolf we passed lowered their head to me. None of them did the same for Caius.

Orin stopped in front of a large stone building near the river. Two wolves stood outside, but both moved aside when they saw him approaching. He looked at me before reaching for the door. “The Keeper has waited a long time for this day.”

“For me?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“How long?”

“She should answer that.”

He opened the door and allowed us to enter ahead of him. Shelves filled with books and records covered two walls. A large table stood near the center of the building. An older woman stood at the other end.

She turned toward us.

Her eyes found me before anyone else. She studied my face without saying anything. Then she walked toward me.

“Isla Thorne.”

I stopped.

“You know my name?”

The names of my parents

“I do.”

“How?”

She looked at me again.

“Because we’ve been waiting for you.”

Vaela moved inside me.

Caius didn’t interrupt. He knew I needed to hear whatever this woman had to say. Orin

remained near the door.

The woman looked toward him.

“You may leave us.”

Orin lowered his head.

“Keeper.”

He left and closed the door.

+25 Rome

The woman turned toward us again. “My name is Elara, and I am the Keeper of Silvermere.” She walked toward the table and gestured for us to join her. “My family has protected this territory’s history for generations.”

I remained standing.

“What does that have to do with me?”

“More than you know.”

“Then tell me.”

Elara looked at Caius.

“Your ancestors protected pieces of the same history.”

“The journals,” he said.

“Yes.”

“You know about them?”

“We know why they were written.”

I looked between them. Everything we’d discovered in Wraithbone had led us here. The

The names of my parents

25

divided circle, the birth record, and the hidden map were all connected to Silvermere Elara seemed to know how.

“You knew a Celestial child was supposed to come here,” I said.

“We did.”

“Why?”

“Because her parents wanted her protected.”

I took a step closer.

“My parents?”

“Yes.”

“You knew them?”

Elara nodded.

“I know who both of them were.”

For a moment I couldn’t think of what to ask first. We had spent so much time searching for pieces of my mother’s name. We had found nothing about my father. Now Elara claimed to know them both.

“My mother’s name begins with Lyr.”

“Lyrienne.”

I stared at her.

“Lyrienne?”

“Lyrienne Vale.”

Vaela repeated the name inside me.

‘Our mother.’

I looked at Caius. He was watching me, waiting for whatever I needed from him. I turned back to Elara.

“And my father?”

Elara walked to one of the shelves. She removed a wooden box and brought it to the table. After opening it, she took out a folded parchment. She placed it in front of me.

The names of my parents

Two names were written near the top.

+25 Poima.

The first was Lyrienne Vale. Beneath it was another name I had never seen before. I read it twice before looking at Elara.

“Darius Rowan.”

“Your father.”

“Who was he?”

“A wolf of Silvermere.”

I looked down at his name.

“Did he know about me?”

“Yes.”

“He knew I existed?”

“He did.”

That answer brought another question immediately. If Darius had known about me, I needed to understand why he’d never found me. The same question remained about Lyrienne. I looked at Elara.

“Why didn’t they come for me?”

“They believed you were dead.”

“Both of them?”

“Yes.”

“Who told them?”

Elara looked at the parchment.

“Cael.”

Caius spoke.

“Cael told them Isla was dead?”

“According to our records.”

“Why?”

The names of my parents

“Because that was what he had been told.”

+25 Points

I thought about the healer Zeron had captured. Cael had known about Silvermere and kept the map hidden for years. He had refused to tell Zeron everything. Now I understood how far back his connection went.

“Was Cael supposed to bring me here?” I asked.

“No.”

“Then who was?”

“That is where our records become uncertain.”

I frowned.

“I don’t want another mystery.”

“I understand.”

“Then tell me what you know.”

“I will.”

Elara took another document from the box. She opened it on the table beside the first one. Several names had been written across the page. One had been marked beside the date of my disappearance.

“Someone learned about the plan to bring you here,” Elara said.

“Who?”

“We don’t know his real name.”

“What do you know?”

“He used several names.”

Caius looked over the record.

“And every one was false?”

“That is what we believe.”

I looked at Elara.

“Was he the one who took me?”

The names of my parents

“We believe he arranged it.”

“Why?”

“We don’t know yet.”

+25 Panto

I hated hearing those words. Still, this was already more than we’d known before coming here. My parents had wanted me. They had known about me.

“What happened after I disappeared?”