Chapter 58 

Lisa’s POV 

I pretended to cough. 

Claint 

It was sharp and sudden, and I saw my mother flinch. Rylan took a small step toward me, concern flashing across his face, but I gave a quick shake of my head. I was fine. 

Or at least, I would be. 

In that moment, as I coughed into my hand, I slipped the truthwood shard into my mouth. It tasted like ash 

and honey at the same time. It was burning yet oddly sweet. I adjusted it with my tongue, pressing it flat 

against the roof of my mouth like the seer had instructed. 

It’s time, Sierra whispered. No more lies. 

I nodded slightly to myself. The seer had told me this shard would reveal truth. Anyone who answered me 

while I held it in my mouth would be unable to lie. The truth would slip from their lips like water, no matter 

how hard they tried to hide it. 

I turned to my mother…no, the woman who had raised me and met her eyes. 

“Who were my real parents?” I asked calmly. 

She blinked. “Lisa, I already told you…” 

“Tell me the truth,” I interrupted. “Who were they? What were their names?” 

She hesitated. Her hands twisted together. Her eyes darted toward Rylan, then to the staircase where Kael was standing. 

“I don’t know,” she said finally. 

My breath caught. 

What? 

My fists clenched at my sides. The truthwood should be working. It should’ve made her speak the truth. 

I stared at her. “Stop lying,” I said quietly. “You do know. You can’t lie to me.” 

Was the seer wrong? 

Or… 

“I’m not lying,” she added quickly, as if she could read my thoughts. “I truly don’t know who your real parents are.” 

I stared at her, confusion swirling in my chest like a storm. The shard was working. I could feel its warmth on my tongue but her answer hadn’t changed. 

 

My mother took a deep breath and looked down at her trembling hands. “It was Alpha Alexis,” she said quietly. “He was the one who brought you to me. You were just a baby. So small. So weak. You had a scar on your chest and barely breathed.” 

“What?” My voice trembled. “Alpha Alexis?” 

She nodded slowly. “He told me that a warrior had found you… abandoned near the northern ridge, close to the border. He didn’t give names. No details. He just said the pup needed someone to look after her.” 

I stared at her in shock. 

She pressed a hand to her chest. “I didn’t know anything more, Lisa. I swear it. But I looked at you, and… I don’t know. Something about your eyes, your silence, the way you reached for me even though you were 

so small…” She trailed off, tears filling her eyes. “I said yes. I agreed to raise you.” 

I clenched my fists. 

“You say you took me in… that you raised me as your own… but you never treated me like your child,” I said 

bitterly. “Roxanne was always the favorite. Always.” 

She looked away. 

“Don’t deny it,” I snapped. “You pampered her. Praised her. And me? You made me clean up after her 

parties. You let her destroy my dresses. You watched while she humiliated me and said nothing.” 

She said nothing now, either. 

“Why didn’t you tell me I was adopted?” I asked again, this time softer. 

Her lips quivered. “Because I thought it was better that way. You were already so different. No wolf, no 

strength, no confidence. I thought if I told you… it would only make things worse.” 

I stared at her. “So instead you let me think I was just broken? That I was your biological daughter, but still 

not enough?” 

Tears slid down her cheeks. “I thought it was kinder.” 

“Kinder?” I repeated, choking on a bitter laugh. “You thought lying to me for two decades was kinder?” 

“I thought if I raised you as my own, you would eventually believe you were.” 

I turned away, trembling with anger. 

She truly didn’t know my parents. The truthwood had confirmed that. She hadn’t heard of Althea, either. When I asked her again, her confusion looked painfully real. 

“No,” she said softly. “I’ve never heard that name before in my life.” 

I could feel the shard still pulsing. The truth. It was the truth. 

✓ Chapter SA 

“What about Dad?” I asked. “Does he know anything else?” 

She shook her head. “No. He only knows what I told you. That Alpha Alexis brought you to us. 

I tried again. “Do you know the name of the warrior who found me?” 

“No,” she said. “Alpha Alexis never told us who it was.” 

I bit the inside of my cheek, frustration flooding me. 

So that was it? 

  

I had finally made her admit that she wasn’t my mother. But I still didn’t know who my real mother was, at least not beyond her name. I didn’t know who my father was. I had nothing except a name whispered in 

visions. 

Sierra’s voice was quiet but firm. She really doesn’t know anything more. It’s pointless to keep asking. 

I exhaled slowly, my shoulders slumping. 

“I’m going now,” I said. 

My mother stepped forward. “Lisa, please stay. With us. Just for tonight. We’ve missed you. I’ve missed 

you.” 

“There’s nothing here worth staying for,” I replied coldly. 

Just as I reached the door, Kael’s voice came from behind me. 

“Please… stay,” he said quietly. “Stay for the sake of the woman who raised you. She’s heartbroken. Look at 

her.” 

I turned and stared at him. 

He stood halfway down the stairs, his eyes shadowed and tired. There was a strange vulnerability in his 

voice, one I hadn’t heard in years. 

I let out a dry laugh. “You want me to stay? You? The reason I left this pack in the first place?” 

His jaw clenched. 

“You and your precious fiancée made sure I never felt welcome here. Don’t act like you care now.” 

“That’s not true,” he said quietly. 

I took a step toward him. “Really? So this isn’t just another game? You want me to stay so you can throw Roxanne in my face? Remind me I’m nothing? That you rejected me for her?” 

His eyes flickered. 

“I don’t care anymore, Kael,” I said. “I’ve already moved on.” 

The silence that followed was heavy. I could see it in his face, the way something cracked behind his mask. There was pain. Maybe even regret. 

 

Why does he look like that? I asked Sierra. 

Because he’s not over you. 

No. I shook my head. He had Roxanne. He had a child on the way. 

Then why does he look at you like you’re the only one he sees? 

I couldn’t answer that. 

“Let’s go,” I whispered to Rylan and reached for his hand. 

Claire 

The moment our fingers touched, warmth shot through me. He was safe and solid. I turned my back to the 

house and started toward the car with him. 

I was just about to open the door when… 

A hand gripped mine from behind. 

I froze. 

I didn’t need to look to know who it was. 

His touch was searing and felt familiar. My skin recognized him before my mind did. 

“Kael,” I said without turning. 

“Don’t go,” he said hoarsely. “Please.” 

I stood still. My heart was pounding loudly. 

Rylan stepped forward. “Let go of her.” 

Kael ignored him. His hand stayed on mine. 

“I need to talk to you,” he said. 

1 turned my head slightly, not enough to meet his eyes. “About what? You already made your choice.” 

“I made a mistake.”