#3 By the Light of the Silver Moon

Marigold

Two Years Later

“Levi and Lexi, be careful!” I yelled to my toddler twins as they ran through the palace. I was rocking my newborn daughter, Lilli, as their father was off somewhere enjoying his freedom.

“Are you alright in here, little sister?” Solaris laughed as he entered the throne room.

“Your niece and nephew are going to be the death of me.” I grumbled.

“The little prince and princess are just filled with pent up fae magic.” Solaris observed, watching the sparks fly from the toddlers’ little feet as they sped through the room.

“I know. It’s crazy how much potential they are already showing.” I said. Fae children normally didn’t start showing signs of magic until they turned ten, realizing their true gift at the age of 13.

“Well, they are the descendants of both a royal bloodline and an Alpha bloodline.” Solaris shrugged just as the doors to the throne room opened.

Bayu and Finn strolled through the room, doding the running children. Finn kissed me softly and took our sleeping daughter from my hands.

Six months ago, Bayu and Solaris successfully overthrew our father for the throne. They were able to gather the support of the Great Fae and the people, revealing the truth about my father’s lies and turning them against the King. They imprisoned the King and demanded he relinquish Finn from his deal. With that, Finn and I were able to return to the realm. We brought the pack with us and helped smooth over the transition of power within the kingdom.

After the birth of Lilli, we decided to bring the children to the fae realm for the first time. The Great Fae requested our presence for a royal meeting, and Solaris and Bayu agreed to babysit while we attended the meeting. I wasn’t sure that the new King of the Fae and his advisor were prepared for two toddlers and a newborn, but, we’ll see.

“The Great Fae are waiting for you two in the committee room.” Bayu said.

“We’ll take the kids to have dinner and a nap.” Solaris added. I smirked at them,

“That’s optimistic of you.” Finn chuckled in agreement as he handed over Lilli to her Uncle Bayu.

“Good luck.” Finn said before picking up my hand and leading the way to the committee room.

The twelve members of the Great Fae were already waiting for us. We sat at the head of the table and waited for them to speak.

“We have asked for this meeting today in order to deliver a new prophecy.” One of the elders spoke.

“We aren’t interested in knowing our futures.” I argued, having no desire to chase my tail over a misinterpreted prophecy like my father did for the better part of a century.

“Not even to learn more about the time of the wolf?” One of the other elders said. I eyed him curiously, cursing him for peaking my interest.

“What does that mean?” Finn spoke first.

“There were two paths that our prophecy could have taken for the past King and Queen. One would have yielded four sons and the continuation of King Titan’s reign. That was clearly not what destiny had in mind. Instead, the second path was chosen and a daughter was born. Down this path, the princess will bring forward the dormant werewolf bloodline from the Queen by mating with a powerful Alpha.” The elders explained the old prophecy,

“This will awaken the time of the wolf.” Surprisingly enough, they explained absolutely nothing.

“We knew all of that.” I snapped.

“You may have noticed a rise in Alphas mating with a species other than werewolves?” One of the elders asked. I turned to Finn who nodded in agreement.

“Something is coming that will bring werewolves from the shadows. Density choosing this path for you, Princess Marigold, has secured the future of the werewolf kingdom.”

“Excuse me, werewolf kingdom?” Finn was just as confused as me.

“Haven’t you ever wondered why every other species has a monarch besides yours?” An elder asked.

“Not really.” Finn replied plainly. I shook my head at his ignorance and chuckled under my breath. The elders exchanged glances of unamused expressions.

“There was once a King Alpha and Queen Luna who resided over the werewolf kingdom. A century ago, the members of what is now known as the Werewolf Council, overthrew them. They executed the entire royal bloodline. Or so they thought. The Moon Goddess, in her wisdom, saved an unannounced heir to the crown and hid her among the children of the royal guard, until the time was right for the royal bloodline to rise again.” I looked, wide eyed, at Finn, trying to decide if he had heard about any of this before. The look of pure shock on his face told me that he had not,

“The Council wanted absolute control over the werewolves, instead of the freedoms and self governing body that the royal family protected for centuries.” Another elder explained.

“The prophecy sent by the Moon Goddess is this…” The Great Fae spoke all at once,

“The time of the royal wolf will come when the daughters of the world combine with the strongest Alphas. Marked as one, the daughters of the species and the Alphas of the wolves, will bring unity to a broken realm and relinquish the fears that have long since plagued it. When the moon rises red on the descendants of the royal guard, the descendants of royal blood will be revealed. Together, the packs of the four corners will combine and bring unity and peace to the royal kingdoms.”