Alina's POV
Owen blocks the hallway like he was always meant to be standing there.
He steps out from the shadows with that same knowing smile and I feel my entire body tense. He is between me and Kael's office. Between me and escape. Between me and answers.
"Going somewhere, Luna?" His voice is light but his eyes are calculating.
I swallow and quickly adjust my mask. Confusion. Vulnerability. A girl caught doing something innocent but embarrassing.
"I could not sleep," I say softly. "I thought a walk might help."
Owen's expression does not change but I can see he does not believe me. His eyes flick toward Kael's office and back to my face. He sees the direction I came from. He sees the lock picking tools I quickly hide in my sleeve.
He sees everything.
"A walk," he repeats. "At midnight. Toward Kael's office."
I feel panic starting to claw at my throat but I force it down. I need to stay calm. I need to think. Owen is not hostile yet. He is just observing. Just gathering information.
"I could not sleep," I repeat and this time I add a tremor to my voice. "Walking helps calm my anxiety."
Owen studies me for a long moment then something shifts in his expression. He stops blocking the hallway and instead gestures like he is offering me a choice.
"In that case, allow me to escort you," he says. "It is late for the Luna to walk alone. Kael would be upset if something happened to you."
It is not an offer. It is a command dressed in courtesy.
I nod because I have no choice and we begin walking through the fortress corridors.
The walk is torture.
Owen makes casual conversation but it feels like an interrogation. He asks where I grew up. How I spent my time before coming to Shadowpeak. What my family was like. Whether I have any siblings. Whether I had training in anything before arriving here.
Every question feels like he is trying to catch me in a lie. Every question feels like he is testing the boundaries of my story. I give him all the rehearsed answers. Small neutral territory. Dead parents from sickness. No siblings. No close family connections.
He listens to every word while his eyes never stop analyzing me.
"You fought well against the rogues," he says casually as we walk past the training grounds. "For someone with no training."
My heart skips. This is dangerous territory.
"Fear made me desperate," I say quickly. "I did not think. I just reacted."
"Desperation can make people do unexpected things," Owen agrees. His voice sounds thoughtful but there is an edge underneath. "But training cannot be faked. The way you moved, the precision, the control. Those things take years to develop."
I keep my expression confused like I do not understand what he is saying. Like the compliment confuses me because I think he is implying I am more capable than I pretended.
Owen watches me carefully then does something I do not expect.
He stops walking and turns to face me directly.
"Kael is a good Alpha," he says and his voice is different now. Softer. More honest. "He carries burdens that no one else sees. He makes decisions that haunt him because he is trying to do what is right even when it costs him everything."
My blood runs cold.
Why is he saying this to me? Why is he telling me about Kael's guilt?
"Moonvale was not what most people think it was," Owen continues. "The truth about that night is more complicated than pack gossip suggests. There are things that happened that Kael did not understand at the time. Things that destroyed him."
I cannot breathe.
He knows. He has to know. This is a test. This is Owen trying to figure out if I know about Moonvale. If I have some connection to that pack. If I am the survivor that Kael has been searching for.
I keep my expression carefully confused. Like I do not understand what he is talking about. Like the mention of Moonvale means nothing to me.
But inside I am screaming.
Owen watches me for a long moment and I can see him thinking. Can see him weighing whether I reacted to his words. Can see him trying to solve the puzzle of who I am.
Then he changes direction.
"I apologize," he says smoothly. "Pack politics are not your concern. I should not burden the Luna with such heavy topics."
He escorts me back to the Luna's wing and I am shaking so hard I think he can see it. He walks me to my door and wishes me goodnight like nothing unusual happened. Like he did not just hint that he knows something about my past.
I step into my rooms and close the door behind me.
My hands are on the lock before I remember to breathe.
Owen knows something. He knows that I am connected to Moonvale somehow. He knows that his words about that night should have gotten a reaction and maybe he saw the one I tried to hide.
I move to my bed and sit down because my legs will not hold me anymore.
The suppressants are wearing off dangerously fast. My wolf is pushing against my skin demanding release. My mind is spinning through scenarios where Owen discovers the truth and tells Kael and everything collapses.
I hear footsteps in the corridor and my entire body goes rigid.
I slip out of bed and move to the door, pressing my ear against it.
I hear Kael's voice and Owen's voice. They are talking softly but I can make out words.
Kael says something about the patrol schedules. Owen responds but then I hear my name. I hear it clearly.
"Luna," Owen says to Kael.
My heart is in my throat.
"I think I know who she is," Owen continues and his voice is low and intense. "And if I am right, she is not who you think she is at all. She is someone from your past. Someone you thought was dead."
I press my hand over my mouth to keep from making a sound.
Outside the door, there is silence. A horrible, endless silence where Kael is processing what Owen just said. A silence where my entire future is being decided without my knowledge or input.
"What are you talking about?" Kael asks and his voice is dangerous.
"I need to remember," Owen says. "I need to be sure. But Kael, if I am right about this, everything changes. Everything you have been searching for is already inside this fortress."
I cannot hear Kael's response. I can only hear the sound of my own heart breaking.
Owen knows. He knows that I am Moonvale. He knows that I am the daughter Kael destroyed. He knows that I came here for revenge.
And he is about to tell Kael everything.