The Lost Alpha Queen: Heaven and Hell Bound

Chapter 30

Katrina’s POV

A flickering torch mounted on the far wall lit the space just enough for me to make out the jagged stonework and the intricate carvings etched deep into it—symbols I didn’t recognize, old and worn by time. The air was dense and still, carrying the scent of age, of something hidden for centuries.

Then I realized I wasn’t alone.

A figure stood in the dim light, partially obscured by one of the thick pillars near the center of the room. My heart slammed against my ribs. Instinct took over—I pressed myself deeper into the shadows, barely daring to breathe. My back hit the cold wall, and I became as still as the stone itself.

I needed to get out before whoever it was noticed me.

I turned toward the narrow passage I had fallen through, but froze at the sound of footsteps—slow, measured.

Nicholas.

I could see him through the sliver of space between the shelves outside the hidden opening. He walked past without slowing, his eyes scanning the hallway. I held my breath, body tense, praying he wouldn’t sense anything.

He paused for a moment. Then moved on.

I let out a slow, shaky exhale, my body slackening just slightly.

I was about to retreat when voices echoed from deeper within the chamber. The tone was urgent, hushed—but not enough to muffle the words.

I forced myself upright, legs unsteady, palms scraped from the fall. My back ached from where I’d landed, but I didn’t have the luxury of tending to it now. Slowly, carefully, I crept along the edge of the wall, keeping to the darkest parts of the room. I moved toward the voices, each step controlled and silent, heart pounding with every inch forward.

"We cannot keep this secret forever, Alpha."

I froze.

That voice—it belonged to one of the council members. And if he was here, that could only mean—

The Alpha was here too.

I edged closer, crouching behind a cracked column, peeking between broken stone. There, in the inner sanctum of the chamber, stood Alpha Nathaniel and his top councilmen, gathered around a massive circular table. The torchlight flickered across their stern faces and cast long shadows behind them, making them look almost spectral.

"We have no choice," Alpha Nathaniel said, his voice low and commanding. "If the truth gets out, we will lose everything."

"But it’s a lie," one of the councilmen countered, his voice rising with tension. "Cassandra is not the true bearer of the Eclipse Moon. The people will eventually realize—"

My hand shot up to cover my mouth, stifling the gasp clawing its way up my throat.

What?

Cassandra isn’t the bearer?

The girl the entire pack revered? The one raised in prophecy, celebrated as the chosen Luna, the Alpha’s golden heir?

It was all a lie?

My world tilted beneath me. I leaned against the wall for support, breath shortening, pulse hammering so loud it was a wonder they didn’t hear it. The shadows seemed heavier now. The cold stone bit into my palms. Everything I thought I knew cracked like glass underfoot.

I had to leave. I had to get out of here before—

"If anyone discovers the truth… we kill them."

I covered my mouth with both hands, smothering the breath that threatened to escape in a gasp. Every instinct screamed at me to run, but I forced myself to stay silent, still, hidden.

One wrong step, one sound, and they’d know I was here.

Slowly, inch by inch, I began to retreat. My back pressed against the stone wall as I slid away from the chamber’s inner sanctum, my palms slick with sweat despite the cold. The carvings scratched lightly against my skin as I moved, feeling my way through the shadows.

I didn’t dare breathe.

Torchlight flickered faintly behind me, and I followed it—deeper into the narrow corridor that had splintered off near where I had landed. I hadn’t noticed it before, hidden behind a shelf of crumbling parchment and stone.

The deeper I went, the colder it became. The sounds of the council faded behind me, replaced by the eerie stillness of this forgotten place.

Only when the whispers vanished completely did I finally exhale.

I had no idea where I was anymore.

But I had escaped—for now. And I had just uncovered a secret that could shatter everything.