Chapter 155: The Unmasking

Miranda knew something was wrong the moment she was summoned.

She simply did not know how wrong.

Kieran would normally send someone to deliver a message if he wanted her but tonight, he had sent a guard to escort her to his study.

Something had happened tonight judging by the way the whole palace was in an uproar.

She had no idea what it was, she had been in a trance before the guard interrupted her.

The guard stopped outside Kieran’s study and opened the door.

When Miranda stepped inside, Kieran was sitting behind his desk and Soren stood beside him.

Miranda’s eyes immediately went to Soren.

He was staring at her, his face was completely devoid of expression.

That was the first thing that unsettled her. For a fraction of a second, Miranda wondered what he had told Kieran then she pushed the thought away.

She had survived for far longer than any of them could imagine. The last thing she would allow was two men to frighten her now.

She inclined her head in a bow.

"My lord. You summoned me?"

Kieran did not answer immediately. His eyes remained fixed on her before he gestured toward the chair opposite him.

"Take a seat, Miranda."

She smiled politely. "Of course."

She crossed the room and sat, folding her hand neatly in her lap.

"How may I be of service?"

Kieran leaned back and looked at her. For the first time, he could see how well masked she was. All his life she had been part of his world, performed mating ceremonies and spoken for the moon goddess herself and all this while she had been a traitor... a snake.

He had trusted her the way you trust the ground beneath your feet, without ever once looking down.

"Lucius escaped tonight," he finally said.

Her brow drew together in shock.

If she was genuinely surprised or performing, he could not tell and the fact that he couldn’t sent a chill up his spine.

"I heard a commotion," she said slowly. "I did not think it was an escape. Is anyone hurt? What about Ayla?"

"She is gone." Kieran answered, watching her. "But that is not why I have summoned you here."

Kieran let the silence stretch for a moment before he asked.

"Who are you, Miranda?"

She blinked, a puzzled frown appearing on her forehead. "I am sorry, my lord. I do not understand your question."

She glanced toward Soren and Kieran caught the movement.

"Is your name really Miranda?"

She gave a small, confused smile.

"Of course it is."

Kieran’s expression did not change.

"You don’t need to patronize me, Miranda. I know you’ve been around for a very long time and I know that you do not work for me."

Miranda’s pulse jumped in her throat but she tried to hide it.

"Of course I do."

"No, you don’t" He leaned forward. "You pretend that you do but you have your own agenda, don’t you? An agenda Henry died for."

Kieran watched her, waiting for the mask to fall, half hoping it would and she would simply reveal what she was and spare them both this dance.

Instead she rose from the chair and sank to her knees in front of him.

"My lord." Her voice trembled. "I do not know where this is coming from. If I have offended you in some way, I beg you to tell me, and I will make amends. I have only ever served this pack. I have only ever served you..."

"Offended me?" Kieran laughed. "You are going to continue this charade, then. Even now."

He looked at Soren and gave a single nod.

Soren stepped forward.

In his hand was a roll of parchment which he tossed onto the ground where Miranda knelt.

She looked down at it and Kieran saw the moment she understood what it was. Slowly she reached down and unrolled the parchment, and Kieran watched her face as she looked at what it held.

It was a portrait... old and faded, quite alright but it held the drawing of a woman in the formal dress of his grandfather’s reign. It was unmistakably Miranda and she had not aged a day since.

Miranda slowly lifted her eyes.

"Interesting, isn’t it?"Kieran said.

Miranda rose to her feet and smoothed her robes.

"Where did you get this?" she demanded, all form of pretense gone from her. "I was certain I had destroyed every copy."

"Finally. Sit down, Miranda."

Her eyes narrowed and for a long moment they measured each other across the room then, slowly, she lowered herself back into the chair, crossed one leg over the other.

"Now we can have a normal conversation," Kieran said.

A ghost of a smile touched her mouth. "I suppose we can."

"First." He leaned forward, planting his hands on the desk. "What did the Veyr family do? I know you know all about it, seeing as you wiped our memory of it."

Miranda regarded him with a flat stare.

"It was necessary to preserve the hierarchy of the Alphas. Dagon Veyr discovered what caused the purge... the true cause, the one we buried and he wanted to restore what had been taken. He wanted to reinstate the line of the Omegas. The original line." Her lips curved. "And we could not have that." she said simply.

"We." Kieran echoed. "Who is we?"

She looked at him.

"Your father was very much involved in this, you know. He signed Dagon Veyr’s death sentence himself."

"You are lying." Kieran cut in. "My father would never have been party to..."

His voice trailed off immediately as something began moving in his subconscious.

A door he had not known existed, swinging open on its hinges to reveal a memory, one he had not known he owned.

He was younger then, much younger, crouched on the stairs in the dark of night, roused from sleep by shouting below.

Two men were speaking hushed tones..

"What was done was unnatural. The line should have never been broken and I will see it restored no matter the cost."

"You should be careful. If the Alpha finds out, it would be the end of us all."

Kieran came back to himself with both hands gripping the edge of his desk. His heart was slamming against his ribs and cold sweat stood at his temples.

Another memory came to him. One that showed him making a report to his father about what he had heard in the corridor.

Kieran gasped. He lifted his head to see Miranda watching him.

"What was that?"

"Your memory. You are the reason we found out about Dagon’s treachery."