#6 The Royal Legacy: The Conclusion

Blood Moon - Evie

Honestly, I was having the shits of these three popping up out of thin air. They needed to come with a siren or something.

“We apologize for surprising you, Luna Everleigh.” The chick said and I rolled my eyes at her.

“Sure you are.” I sassed.

“What do you mean the Moon Goddess will bless everyone?” Austyn asked, ignoring my outburst.

“The first volunteers, those who are willing to leave their pack to become the royal guard, will be blessed by the Moon Goddess. They will be blessed with protection and prosperity for their sacrifice.” One of the men, Magnus I think, explained.

“And we will grant New Moon a portal to the werewolf realm, along with the packs of the four corners. The four packs will become liaisons, ambassadors, for the royal family. If a pack has an issue, they will go to the closest four corner pack to discuss it. Then, that Alpha or Luna will take the issue to the royals.” The other male, Merdell, explained.

“Do we not have a say in this?” Noah scowled.

“You will do what your Alpha King and Luna Queen command.” Merdell looked pissed.

“Excuse me….” Noah looked murderous.

“Yes, of course, you all get a say. No one is forced to do anything for us.” Leo narrowed his eyes on the three magical beings.

I saw all of the Alphas and Lunas exchanging private moments. I looked at Noah and nodded, he relaxed.

“We agree to serve.” Noah said.

“So does Crescent Moon.” August nodded.

“And Silver Moon.” Fox said.

“And Blue Moon.” Knox agreed.

“See, all you have to do is ask. You three need to chill out with all the demands.” Leo grumbled and Austyn laughed.

“We have something to say as well.” Leo’s former Gamma, Nick, and his mate, Amber, entered the office then.

“What is it, Nick?” Leo and Austyn walked towards him, looking concerned.

“We know you two have to leave. We addressed your pack a few moments ago, while you were gone. Every single one of them has agreed to come with you. You said that New Moon might have to fall, but that’s not true. It’s just evolving into the Royal Legacy pack.” Nick said with a grin.

“They all agreed to come?” Leo looked shocked.

“All of them?” Austyn’s eyes were wide.

“Every last one. And, if I can, I want to suggest changing the plan again. Instead of creating Full Moon from Dark Moon, I think we should just bring Dark Moon’s members here under New Moon’s name. New Moon shouldn’t fall.” Amber said.

I wasn’t sure what the deal was with Amber, but I knew that she came from Dark Moon. She was considered a traitor at first, but when she mated with Nick, things changed. By the look on Leo and Austyn’s faces, I suspected that they didn’t expect to hear those words from Amber.

“You both agree with this?” Leo asked. Nick and Amber nodded,

“Yes.” They said together.

“See, everything comes together as it should.” I had almost forgotten that the freaky trio was still there. Merdell spoke and everyone glared at him.

“Maybe we should go and leave you lot alone.” Merida was the only one of her siblings with common sense.

“We’ll make the portal a while.” Magnus added.

“I think that would be a good idea.” I said.

I didn’t know why, but I really didn’t like these three. Noah wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed my temple, sensing my growing frustration.

“I guess it’s all settled then.” Leo said, looking around the room, “Let’s all head to bed and follow up in the morning when we’ve had some sleep. It’s been a long day.” He added.

The room murmured in agreement and everyone went their separate ways. Noah grabbed Jack by the arm and pulled him away for a private moment with just us three.

“Noah, I know you’re mad.” Jack sighed and Noah shook his head, yanking Jack into his chest for a hug.

“I’m not mad. I’m proud of you, Jack.” He mumbled. I grinned at the two of them,

“We both are.” I said. Jack looked at me over Noah’s shoulder and smiled.

“You are?” He pulled away with wide eyes.

“You’ve come so far, Jack. Now, you’ve found your mate and your purpose. We couldn’t be prouder. It’s just, I’m going to miss you.” Noah chuckled, admitting his deepest feelings. Jack laughed,

“I’ll miss you, too, brother.” He hugged Noah again, “But, I’ll miss you more, Luna.” He teased, stepping away from Noah and yanking me in for a hug. I laughed and hugged him back tightly.

“Hey, hands off.” Noah playfully growled, pulling me back into his chest. Meredith walked over towards us then, taking Jack’s hand.

“Take good care of him, Meredith.” I said and she smiled,

“Don’t worry, I will.” She said.

The next few days included a flurry of activity as all the packs prepared to send their representatives away. The crowds had dispersed, taking our news with them. We were hopeful that more wolves would come, volunteering to join Leo and Austyn’s new pack. The freaky trio created a portal in Leo’s office, which was now Nick’s.

Dark Moon’s pack members agreed to come to New Moon’s packhouse and take up their mantle. There was no longer a need to rename the pack Full Moon or to have a grand reopening. New Moon would simply absorb Dark Moon’s pack land and their pack, without the burden of New Moon’s members as well. Those members would follow their Alpha and Luna through the portal.

The freaky trio was now working their way through our pack grounds, creating portals in each of the Alphas offices so we could visit the werewolf realm easily. In time, we would all visit the Royal Legacy pack and their packhouse, which, apparently, was an actual castle. For now, we would send off our representatives and return to our packs so we could patch up whatever we left behind. We had been gone for almost two weeks now, too long for Alphas and Lunas to be away from their packs.

Standing in front of the portal, we all said our goodbyes and well wishes. Jack, Meredith, Jared, April, little Marlegh, Nadia, and Frankie all stood, waiting and ready to go though, while Leo and Austyn greeted us.

“We can’t thank you all enough for what you have done and we’re so sorry for all of your heartache. We vow to make sure it never happens again and that no one else ever suffers from the same tragedies we all did.” Austyn said.

“Well said, Queen Luna.” I smiled and she laughed,

“None of that. We’ll always just be Austyn and Leo to you.” Austyn grinned before running up to me. She wrapped her tiny arms around me for a hug and the other Lunas joined in.

“We’ll see you all soon.” Austyn promised.

Leo shook the Alphas hands.

“We’ll take care of your people, we promise.” He said, “Until next time.” He waved before stepping through the portal.

The others followed.

Just like that, it was over. The war. The Council. The struggle. It was all over. The four Alphas and the four Lunas went back to their packs and shared their story with anyone who would listen. The news spread and the fires of change were lit. A new day was coming.

Epilogue

Austyn-Rose

“Yes, Queen Luna, your children are ready.” My handmaiden bowed her head respectfully before exiting the room.

“Queen Luna. She sounds like such a prude.” A voice teased me from the doorway. I looked up and grinned,

“Evie!” I squealed, running across the room to hug my old friend.

“The gangs all here.” She said, revealing three others behind her. Josie, Marigold, and Navy.

“I can’t believe you all came.” I grinned, hugging them all in turn.

“Our alphas wished that they could, but, you know, packs to run and children to wrangle.” Josie giggled.

“I heard that Kade took over the pack two years ago.” I said and Josie rolled her eyes,

“He did. He was barely 18 but August was ready to hand it over. He’s such a horn dog though. He hasn’t found his mate yet and has no problem sleeping around.” Josie huffed and the others laughed.

“Josephine! That’s your son.” Evie scolds.

“Oh sure, I’m just bitter that he didn’t mate with any of your kids like we thought.” Josie waved her hand dismissively.

“No, but at least Kass and Shepherd, and Kol and Stella did.” Evie said.

“How’s Simon doing as Alpha?” I asked.

“He’s doing great. We were nervous about letting him leave and be the Alpha of another pack, but he’s done so well.” Evie smiled, “And Sage is killing it as the she-Alpha. We’re so glad that you encouraged us to let her be Alpha. It’s such a game changer.”

Years ago, when Leo and I first took over the kingdom, the first thing we started to push were females taking over packs. We knew that Evie and Noah’s eldest was a daughter, so we asked them if they would be willing to let Sage be an Alpha female. After some convincing, they agreed. Their choice has spearheaded the Alpha female campaign all over the realm.

“Anyway, how are Lexi and Levi doing as co-Alphas?” I asked Marigold, who also took on our initiative. Her eldest children, twins, both took over for her and Fox.

“It was rocky at first, but they both found their mates a year ago and that has helped a lot. Lexi’s mate was an omega, so he had no notions about bulldozing over her Alpha-female status. It worked out perfectly.” Marigold smiled.

Her youngest, Lili, moved to the fae realm to be with her Uncle Bayu, king of the fae. He dove into his work, overcome by grief after King Solaris died, and refused to even look for a mate. Thus, he had no heirs. He and Lili built a special relationship and he decided to name her as his heir. She was training to take over for him as we speak.

“How’s the baby, Navy?” I asked. Navy was the bravest among us, still having kids after twenty years. Her youngest, Blossom, was just born a few months ago.

“She’s precious and definitely our last. She’s more headstrong than even me.” Navy laughed, “Thank the Goddess Briggs took over as Alpha before we had her. I wouldn’t be able to do it with my Luna schedule, too.”

“And Bourne?” Their middle child Bourne was a total handful. She even sent him here for a while as a sort of werewolf boarding school. I sent him back after two months.

“He found his mate. She’s a riot. He’s totally whipped into shape now, Briggs even named him his Beta.” Navy smirked.

“How are our representatives?” Evie asked with a smirk.

“Nadia and Frankie just had their third, Jack and Meredith are on number six, and Jared and April have their hands full with Marleigh rounding on her twenties. Thank the Goddess they only had one child, because she’s enough work.” I caught them up on all the happenings.

“And now your own children are fighting to the death.” Marigold said.

“Shut up, Mari.” Josie snickered.

“It’s not to the death, come on.” I rolled my eyes at them, “It’s just a trial.”

Leo and I had four kids: two girls and two boys. After establishing the Alpha-female initiative, we couldn’t very well go against our own values and name our eldest son as our successor. I mean, I was named the successor of the royal family as an omega she-wolf. We had to do something different for the new royal heir.

So, we decided on the Alpha trials. Our four children each decided if they wanted to throw their hats into the ring for the King Alpha position. We waited until our youngest turned 18 and could make the choice for herself.

They all decided to go for it and thus, the trials began.

Emmett is our oldest, then we had Lydia, next was Bruno, and last was Regina, ages 22, 21, 20, and 19 respectively. All with their own unique talents, strengths, and powers. Emmett was the strongest, Lydia was intelligent, Bruno was charismatic, and Regina was bold. Each of our children would make an excellent Alpha King or Queen. Today, we would determine which one would get the honor.

The trials started when they were children. From day one, we watched them and trained them. We taught them right from wrong, their history, what happened during the war, showed them the packs of the four corners, and taught them what it means to be human. We made them go to school in the human realm for a few years and make friends with members from all the species. We showed them what it was like to be an omega, to be normal, and to be unranked. We refused to raise them with a silver spoon, as Navy called it once.

As they got older, we started to ask them their opinions and involved them in the business and affairs of the monarch. We had them each sit in on meetings with officials, other packs, and our people. We watched how they handled themselves. We wanted to learn about their character as a leader. Then, we put them to the test. We asked them to come up with an initiative that was close to them, something they deemed worthy and important. Similar to how Leo and I started with the Alpha-female initiative.

They presented that initiative to us last week, before the physical trials that start today.

Physical attributes aren’t the only thing that makes a good King or Queen, but it is important. So, today they would fight our warriors. But, it was more than that. We weren’t going to send in our strongest, instead, we would send in an average warrior. Someone who would probably lose against our children, who were trained to be the best. We wanted to see who offered mercy and who just went in for the kill.

“You two are tricky.” Marigold was looking at me strangely as I explained the trails to her, “And I love it.” She grinned.

“What were their initiatives?” Josie asked.

“Emmett wanted to create a streamlined warrior initiative, kind of like the warrior pack that August went to but more organized. He wants more warrior packs and to create a training curriculum,

“Lydia introduced an idea for royal archers, warriors who were specifically trained to take out the rogues who have become loose cannons after leaving the Council’s control,

“Bruno offered an idea to help rogues who are struggling and just want to join another pack. Wolves who were innocent and just mistreated by the Council,

“Regina wants to allocate more funding for packs to make needed renovations and upgrades, since the Council neglected so many packs and many packs are growing in size with the rogues joining back up.” I told them.

“Hm, wow, those are all really great.” Evie thoughtfully said, “How will you ever choose?”

“Luckily we don’t have to.” I said with a crooked grin. Evie looked confused and then shared an expression with the other Lunas. Everyone started scowling at me then.

“Oh so that’s why you brought us all here.” Josie pouts.

“You want us to do your dirty work.” Marigold frowned.

“It’s only fair to have a non-bias panel.” I replied smartly.

“Uh huh, sure, that and you don’t want to be the first mother in history to actually have to pick a favorite child.” Navy said.

“Sure, that, too.” I shrugged, “Let’s go, we’re gonna be late.” I didn’t leave them time to argue before hauling them out of my office.

That’s how we all found ourselves together again, observing over the Alpha trials of my children. I had no idea how we got here, honestly. It’s like we blinked and suddenly twenty years have gone by and we were all grown up. We all had children, grown up children, who were taking over our packs and running their own lives. Suddenly, we were free. It was like retirement at forty.

We would never stop being parents, Alphas, or Lunas. We would always be those eleven terrified pack leaders trying to do what’s best for our entire species against the only government any of us had ever known. It was the hardest moment of our lives and yet, also, the most rewarding. In no time at all, we had the support of our species. Without even trying, it seemed like we earned their trust. But, that wasn’t true. We worked our asses off for years. Strings were pulled time and time again to bring us all together, five packs, eleven lives twisted together.

It didn’t matter who won tonight, the girls were right. No matter which of my children took the throne, Leo and I were confident that they would continue what we started. What we all started. Our children were the legacy. Not this pack, not this realm, our children. The children of the packs of the four corners and ours were the real legacy. The future was bright indeed with them leading our charge.