His mother. Of course, he has a mother. I don’t know why I’m so slow to put this all together. What had Oma and the Warden said about him all those years ago?
He was born of the Blood Heir Alpha Rites. The true first-born.
The pup Odin Adalwulf should have claimed as his own. Instead, Oma swapped the pup with Aiden because Noah was born deaf.
Noah is the true alpha of the Adalwulf pack. Chosen by the Grandmothers to lead.
A sensation like lightning shoots through me, and my knees buckle. Noah arrives at my side in a blur, catching my elbow to steady me. Should I tell him? If he knew, would he stop his assault on the pack and the Moonborn?
But no. There will be war regardless. He’d have to kill Aiden and win over the pack to lead. I don’t want him harmed.
He’s still holding me. Once again, he’s my support, a solid frame I can lean on. We fit together perfectly.
I can’t lose him.
I lick my lips and force myself to speak. “Wh-who is your mother?”
Noah hands me a laminated photo from his back pocket. It’s worn, like he carries it with him at all times. It’s a photo of a teenage girl with brown hair and kind eyes.
She looks familiar.
Then I realize she looks like Oriana, Liora’s daughter. Same gap between the teeth and dark blue eyes.
But this photograph is old. It’s not Oriana.
It’s Liora.
I gasp. “Liora is your mother.”
Noah nods. “You know her.”
“Yes. I-I love her. She was one of my mothers until I was sent to serve as acolyte to the Seeress.”
“Not your biological mother,” Noah clarifies, and I can read the alarm in his eyes.
“No,” I assure him with a relieved laugh. “We’re not related.” I point between the two of us.
His shoulders relax. “Good. I need to see her.”
I nod. “Of course you do,” I whisper, blinking back tears. The Liora in the photograph has a sweet, peaceful smile. The Liora I know is capable of smiling, but all I can remember is the pain in her voice and the shadows in her eyes as she pleaded with me to save Oriana.
I don’t need the Sight to see that Fate brought Noah on this mission right now because Liora needs him. She came to me for help. She saved her son from Oma and the Warden’s machinations, and now she’s trying to save her daughter. I’m not strong enough to wield any influence over the Warden and Aiden.
But Noah is. He’s the true Adalwulf heir. An alpha wolf. More powerful, even, than Aiden.
Ignoring the realization that I’m betraying my pack, my family, and everything I’ve worked to become, I square my shoulders. “I’ll take you to Moon Hollow.”
Chapter Thirteen
Aster
I can’t stop the knot in my stomach from tightening when we step onto Adalwulf pack lands. Noah didn’t want me to come, and we argued over whether I’d be safe, but I assured him I would be, and there was no way for me to explain how to get there without taking him myself.
We stopped at a mountain convenience store on the way to buy me some clothes. All they had were touristy souvenir gear, so I’m looking campy in a pair of sweatpants, a sweatshirt with a wolf howling at the moon, and a pair of soft leather moccasins.
I smell the familiar scents. Pack should feel like safety, like home. The only time I felt that was when Liora was raising me. She was a true caretaker, and her gentle strength is the only kindness I’ve known.
I owe her.
