Page 76 of Rejected By My Shadow Alpha
Later that day, Drew stood before the chest, the golden chest now restored to its rightful place in the Lunaris mansion, the same mansion he'd grown up in. The same one I now walked through beside him, reclaimed brick by brick from the ghost of our pasts.
"You ready?" I asked softly, nudging his shoulder.
He nodded, his hand hovering over the chest. "Let's see what's been waiting all this time."
He knelt, pressed his palm to the intricate crest carved into the lid, and closed his eyes. A soft glow shimmered beneath his touch, responding to his alpha energy. The lock clicked, metal shifting and hissing softly as ancient magic yielded to its rightful heir.
The lock clicked, and the chest creaked open slowly, its weight groaning against years of silence. Inside, rows of gold bars gleamed like the sun itself, stacked, untouched, and sacred. Symbols etched into their sides marked them as old Lunaris wealth, untouched and unsullied. Nestled among them, at the very center, was a single iron key.
Before either of us could reach for it, a small hand appeared. Liora.
"The key," Liora said softly, pointing.
Her eyes, with that strange mix of ancient and innocence, flicked from the gold bars to the small, iron key nestled between them. "Can I have it?" she whispered reverently.
Drew reached into the chest and pulled it free. The iron was worn smooth in some places, jagged in others, cool to the touch but pulsing faintly with warmth. It was odd and ancient. He hesitated for a breath, then placed it in her hand without question.
She cupped it like something sacred. Without another word, Liora turned and began walking, bare feet padding softly across the stone floors of the Lunaris mansion. We exchanged a look, then followed. She led us past the old archway, deeper into the west wing, an area untouched since the day Drew's pack fell. Time hung heavy there, thick with dust and silence.
Liora stopped before a grand wooden door, its iron handle rusted, vines peeking through its edges.
"This was his private study," Drew murmured.
Liora didn't speak. She walked in like she'd lived there before. At the far end, she pointed to a tall bookshelf bolted to stone. "There," she said. "Behind it."
"How do you know?" Drew asked gently.
She turned to us, her voice small but sure. "I saw it in my dreams, Mommy. I've been here… many times in the moonlight. A woman with silver eyes showed me the path."
My breath caught. Drew said nothing. We simply believed her. Together, we heaved the bookcase aside with a groan. Dust spiraled through the shafts of light streaming in. Behind it, embedded into the stone, was a thick iron safe. Faded runes lined its edges—Lunaris sigils etched in ancient script, pulsing faintly the moment Liora stepped closer.
Drew knelt, inserted the key, and turned. A deep click echoed. Then the door creaked open. Inside was no treasure chest of gold or weapons of war. There were papers, yes, neatly filed documents: untouched inheritance trusts, unclaimed properties, stock bonds, land deeds. All clean. All his birthright, protected by blood seals Alfred had never been able to break, but behind those papers, there was something else.
Wrapped in silvery cloth was a slender black journal bound in lunar leather, its edges gilded with white-gold glyphs. Liora's fingers hovered above it, as if afraid to touch. Drew gently unwrapped it, and as he opened the first page, the air shifted.The runes along the walls glowed brighter. The room felt warmer. Alive.
"It's a Moonblood Codex," Drew said hoarsely. "I've only ever seen illustrations in our archives."
I blinked. "A what?"
"It's a record, an ancient diary, but more than that, it contains spells, prophecies, ancestral gifts, only readable by direct descendants." He turned the page, and the words shimmered into view beneath his fingers. My heart pounded.
"It's written in your family's bloodline," I whispered, awed.
Liora stepped forward. "It's mine, too," she said quietly.
She touched the page. The glyphs bloomed brighter. Symbols rearranged themselves, revealing a map, a star map overlaying the old territory lines. At the bottom, a phrase shimmered into view:
"To the Child of Shadow and Flame, balance shall be gifted. Power awakened must be guided, or it will consume the wolf within."
Drew's hand trembled slightly. "It's for her."
A second item rested beneath the journal: a small crystal vial, its liquid swirling silver and blue, like bottled moonlight. I reached for it and felt it hum beneath my fingertips.
"What is it?" I asked.
Drew took it gently. "A stabilizer," he said. "A lunar elixir used by seers and elemental wolves in the early packs. It's meant to help young wolves channel power safely through their bones during early transformations."
I looked at Liora and knew this wasn't a coincidence. This was a legacy. It was her destiny. We'd come looking for riches, for proof of Drew's claim. What we'd found was far more valuable.
