The Alpha King And His Chosen Luna novel Chapter 297

< Before Halvon Knows

Before Halvon Knows

(Isla)

+25 Points

We left Evander with the guards and followed Pryor back through the prison. I wanted answers from Halvon before he learned we had connected him to the Valdyr family. If Orin had passed anything down to his son, Halvon had kept it hidden through every meeting we’d had with him. I wanted to know why.

Outside, Pryor stopped beside Zeron and Raith. He explained what we needed without mentioning the Keepers where the guards could hear. There was no reason for anyone outside our group to know what we’d discovered yet. Halvon had enough connections within the Council to hear things quickly.

“How long will it take?”

Pryor looked at Caius.

“A few hours.”

Caius nodded.

“Do it from Wraithbone.”

I agreed with that decision. Using the Council prison to search for Halvon could raise questions before we were ready. We had the Valdyr name now, and that gave Pryor somewhere specific to begin. I followed Caius toward the others.

The journey back gave me too much time to think. Halvon had been one of the wolves I’d prepared for before the High Council came to Wraithbone. Caius had taught me how he worked and what he wanted. None of us had known there was another reason to watch him.

Vaela remained close.

‘His father watched us.’

‘I know.’

That bothered me more than I wanted to admit. Orin had gone to Ashcrest when I was a child and asked Helene whether I was healthy. He had known exactly where I was while I knew nothing about him.

‘He could have taken us.’

I thought about that.

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< Before Halvon Knows

‘But he didn’t.’

+25 Points

That mattered. Orin had apparently wanted proof that I’d survived, then left without coming near me. Whatever the Valdyrs wanted, taking me hadn’t been part of it then.

We reached Wraithbone later that day. Pryor went directly to the Council records while Zeron and Raith returned to their duties. Caius carried the black box upstairs with us rather than

leaving it with anyone else. Neither of us trusted the Council archives with it.

I sat near the table while Caius placed the box down. The letter inside had started everything that brought us to Evander. Now the same message was pointing toward Halvon. I wondered how many more secrets had been passed between families without ever reaching the Council records.

“Do you think Halvon knew?”

Caius looked at me.

“About you?”

“Before he came here.”

Caius thought about it before answering. Halvon had shown interest in the Celestial laws before the Council arrived, but that wasn’t proof he’d known I was the child Orin had searched for. His actions could still have been political at the beginning.

“But you think it’s possible.”

“Yes.”

I looked toward the black box. If Halvon had known who I was, he’d watched Sorin argue over my bond while keeping that knowledge to himself. He’d watched the Council discuss laws connected to Celestials. He’d never once mentioned his father.

A knock came at the door.

“Come in.”

Pryor entered carrying several pages. He crossed directly to the table and placed them in front of Caius. The search had apparently given him more than we’d expected.

“I found Halvon.”

I stood.

“Where?”

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Before Halvon Knows

“His home territory.”

+25 Points>>

That made more sense. Halvon had represented the western pack alliance during his time on the Council. Caius had taught me that before the High Council ever came to Wraithbone.

“When did he return?”

“Three days ago.”

Caius read the page.

“Why?”

“The record doesn’t say.”

That didn’t surprise me. Halvon didn’t need to explain every visit to his own territory. What mattered was that Pryor knew where he was and we could reach him.

“Does he know about Evander?”

Pryor shook his head.

“Not from me.”

I looked at Caius. We couldn’t know whether someone else had contacted Halvon, but there was no reason to assume they had. Our visit to Evander hadn’t been announced.

Pryor moved another page forward.

“There’s more.”

I looked down. The record showed Orin Valdyr’s name beside several old Council visits. The last one had taken place years after his visit to Ashcrest.

“What was he doing there?”

“No reason was recorded.”

That seemed to happen often with Orin. He appeared, spoke to someone, then left without creating much of a record. Either he’d known how to avoid attention or someone had helped

him.

Pryor pointed farther down.

“Halvon was there.”

I looked at him.

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< Before Halvon Knows

“At the Council?”

“On the same day.”

+25 Points

Halvon hadn’t been a Council member yet. According to the dates, he had been young but old enough to travel with his father. Orin hadn’t kept him away from Council matters.

Caius looked at the entry.

“So Orin was already teaching him.”

“Most likely.”

I thought about what Evander had told us. Orin believed the Council had forgotten its place. If he’d brought Halvon there while teaching him the Valdyr history, Halvon might have grown up

knowing things that had been erased from official records.

“What happened to Orin?”

Pryor turned over the final page.

“He disappeared.”

I stared at him.

“When?”

“Seventeen years ago.”

That would have been only a few years after Orin came to Ashcrest looking for me. There was no death recorded and no territory listed for him afterward. He simply stopped appearing anywhere Pryor could trace.

“Could he still be alive?”

“Yes.”

That gave us another problem. We’d been talking about Orin as though Halvon was the only Valdyr left who could answer our questions. We didn’t actually know that.

Caius looked at Pryor.

“Does Halvon have any other family?”

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