Page 42 of Rejecting the Future Moon Goddess

“Was there a need to yell?” I question, rubbing my sore ear and rolling my eyes.

“Sorry, Gem, but I was so worried about you. Connor and your Uncle wouldn’t allow me to rush down there to find you, and your mother was stopped by the Goddess of Destiny from descending down the dreamscape to Hidden Claws.” I sigh, reassuring my father I am fine, uninjured, and ready to kill the bastard Lupus for kidnapping me. After a couple of minutes reassuring my father I am fine and will see him soon for my birthday, I place the call on speaker and put the phone on the table.

“We have Amberle and Dominic, Lace and Mika, Ariven and now three new members to S.C.C., Abigail, Mira and Malichi, here in the room. These three were once held against their wills by Lupus.” I state so my father can address everyone properly now that the meeting is ready to commence.

“Hello, everyone.” He calls out.

“Hi, Dad!” Amberle calls back jokingly. I roll my eyes as my father’s chuckle rings through the room.

“Hi, Amber.” There is a chuckle in the background aftermy dad replies, and I smile.

“Hi, Connor.” Ariven calls out followed by Amberle yelling, “Hi, baby bro!” making me chuckle as well, happy to have this fiery wolf as a best friend and someone I consider a sister.

“Anyway, I am guessing this call is about the Witch’s result in dream walking the Blakes.” He continues.

“Yes. We need to know what the Blakes know both about our parents’ deaths and the budding war with Lupus.” Lace answers, Mika taking her hand in his as the sibling stare at my phone with a sombre look. The answers they’ve been looking for about their parents’ death are now within their reach.

“Unfortunately, the answer is yes. The anonymous tip my pack received about your pack hiding my daughter was called in by Lupus. The Witch, Cassandra, walked their dreams and memories, and one thing is, Lupus is no ordinary wolf.”

“He is a Royal, isn’t he!” I state, everyone turning to look at me with wide eyes while I stare at my phone on the table. Everyone displays some form of shock, that is, everyone but Malachi. He stares at me with a steady gaze and I realize he already knew this information.

“He is. How do you know?” Connor calls out and I frown.

“When we escaped his base, he released his power. Everyone submitted to him but me. Instead, I felt something in my mind click, as if I should pay respect to him as an elder.”

“So that makes him your some-what great grandfather?” Mika asks but I shake my head no. He is something else to me in my family tree. Now the question is what or who exactly is Lupus.

“Actually, he would be considered asomewhere-down-the-line great-uncle. He goes by Lupus now but his original name is Prince Coro, the first Prince of the Werewolf Lineage.” No one speaks, too shocked by the information my father just released. Prince Coro is the sibling that caused the first Heir of the throne to go missing.

In the legend, Prince Coro is jealous of his twin sisters, one that inherited the power of the Moon Goddess and one that inherited the power of an Alpha King. He received neither power himself; he was the weaker of the three siblings in every sense, even with the twins only being a few days old. In the end, his jealousy got the better of him, and in the dead of night, he had a witch kidnap the Princess in order to kill her. He then became King years later, until his sister learned of the truth behind her twin’s disappearance. He was removed from the throne and stripped of the King title, but unfortunately, without the true heir, Prince Coro’s bloodline has continued to sit on the throne for years to come, including the current King, King Alexander.

“So that bastard is the First Prince, and he’s doing all of this for what?” Mika shouts, standing to his feet and sending his chair crashing to the floor.

“He wants to kill his sister once and for all and claim the throne.” Malachi’s voice is quiet, but silence settles as everyone stares at him.

“His sister is missing, though. No one knows where the Lost Princess is—” Amberle points out, running a hand through her messy locks and giving an exasperated sigh.

“—Unless…”

“She is Crystalline Thorn and the current Heir to the throne.” I continue, our eyes meeting as Amberle and I come to a quick understanding. The Lost Princess never died; someone hid her.

“So, what do we do now?” Dominic asks.

“He is still looking for Geminie, and by the sounds of it, all three entrances to his base are open and unguarded. If you wish to end him or cut down part of his power, now would be the time.” Mira answers, her eyes glazing over. She must still be able to link with a few wolves from the Soulless Army.

“Then we attack at midnight when the moon is high, and Gem is at her most powerful.” Ariven states, and I nod in agreement. We must do something to end Lupus, and tonight may be our best bet.

?Chapter 40 – Flushing out a Disease Part 1?

Ariven and I left the meeting room shortly after forming a plan to flush out Lupus and his Soulless and destroy as much of them as we can. For Rogues not yet turned Soulless, we will take them into holding cells and evaluate their mental, physical, and emotional state and help them find new packs to join or accept them into Hidden Claws, Blood Moon or Silver Crystal Crescent. Amberle even called a few Allies in Harvest Willow and Glacier to see if they could use new members once this operation is complete. They both thankfully say yes and ask her to inform them when these wolves are ready.

“Why not take a nap? I will wake you a few hours before the operation so you can get ready.” My mate suggests, leading me up the stairs of the guest house to our room. I intend to dissuade this idea, but a yawn cuts me off, making Ariven chuckle as he climbs into bed and opens his arms wide—his way of saying come join him and cuddle.

Deciding he is right and that I need sleep, I climb in beside him and cuddle close to his side. His fingers comb through my hair gently, the soothing motion and the sound of his steady heartbeat quickly lulling me into sleep.

???

I sigh as I stare at my reflection in the mirror. Tonight, we could lose some good wolves, all because Prince Coro wantsto take the throne back by force. My hair is pinned into a bun, keeping it out of my face and harder to grab when the fighting begins. This fight will be pointless if I am caught.

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