Chapter 189 The truth about the contract 3

Chapter 189: Chapter 189 The truth about the contract 3

Talia’s POV

"Alpha, Luna," she said, bowing quickly. "Alpha Aldric requests your presence. He says it is urgent."

My heart dropped. I looked at Kaelen, and I saw the concern in his eyes.

I could feel the worry building in my chest, pressing against my lungs. Aldric was old, and his wound had been serious. What if something had gone wrong?

"Did he say what it was about?" Kaelen asked.

The servant shook her head. "No, Alpha. Only that it is urgent."

I felt the worry settle in my chest.

My mind raced with possibilities, and each one was worse than the last. I could not lose him. Not now, and not after everything we had been through.

What if something had happened to Aldric? What if his wound had not properly healed, and it had opened? What if he was hurt?

Kaelen squeezed my hand. "Let us go."

We walked quickly to Aldric’s quarters, with our footsteps echoing on the stone floors. My heart was pounding, and my hands were shaking.

When we reached the door, I took a breath, and I pushed it open.

I steeled myself for the worst, and my heart was pounding in my chest. But when I saw him sitting there, healthy and whole, I felt the tension drain from my body.

Aldric was sitting by the fire, with his face serious but not pained. He was not hurt, and he was not sick, he was healthy.

“grandfather, are you okay?” I asked.

He nodded, and pointed to his long chair. "Sit down," he said. "Both of you."

We sat across from him, and I felt the weight of his gaze settle on me.

"I need to tell you the truth," he said. "About the contract."

My heart stopped. I had been wondering about the contract since the day I discovered I was bonded to Kaelen.

It was a mystery that had haunted me for so long, and now, it seemed, I was finally about to get the answers I had been searching for.

Who signed it? Why did they sign it?

Aldric began to speak, and his voice was low and steady. His eyes were sharp, and his expression was heavy.

I could tell that whatever he had to say was important. The seriousness in his eyes was enough to make me nervous all over again.

I leaned forward, not wanting to miss a single word, because this was the moment I had been waiting for.

"Your mother, Seraphina, and Kaelen’s father signed it together," he said. "Before your mother disappeared in the fire, and before Kaelen’s father died."

I stared at him. My mother knew Kaelen’s father?

The revelation was shocking, but it also made sense. My mother had always been resourceful, and she would have done anything to protect me.

"It was because of a life debt," Aldric continued. "Kaelen’s father owed her a life debt."

I felt the tears prick at my eyes. My mother had been fighting to protect me even before she disappeared back into the fire, and after she was gone.

Kaelen’s jaw tightened. "My father never told me."

Aldric shook his head. "He did not tell anyone, except me. And before he died, he told me one thing."

He looked at me, and his gray eyes were soft.

"He said that Kaelen’s Luna was in Cresswood," he said. "And that, the bond will activate when she turns eighteen. He instructed that you, Kaelen, must bring her home. That you must not return from Cresswood without her, no matter what."

I stared at him. "He did not say who I was?"

"No," Aldric said. "He did not tell me who the Luna was. Only that she was in Cresswood."

I felt the weight of his words settle on my shoulders.

It was a lot to take in, but I could feel the truth of it in my bones. He had known about me, and he had tried to bring me home.

Kaelen’s father had known. He had known I was out there, he had tried to bring me home, and he had tried to fulfill his vow to my mother, even in his death.

I looked at Kaelen, and I saw that his face was hard, but his eyes were soft. He was processing everything, the same as me.

I could see the questions in his eyes, the same questions that were running through my own mind. But we would have time to figure it out together.

At least, we know now that the contract was not a mistake, it was a choice. A choice made by our parents to protect us.

Kaelen reached for my hand, and I took his.

I felt his warmth seep into me, steady and reassuring, like he was trying to tell me, that whatever came next, we would face it together.

And right now, that was the only thing that mattered.