Interview

I feel like I’m asleep but seeing things, yet they don’t seem right. Why am I looking up at my mum? Something isn’t right. She’s crying. Why is she crying?

I hear wolves fighting, and a loud roaring sound has her placing me down. The sounds of wolves fighting get louder.

“The baby lives. Take their wolves as well.”

“It stated all were to die.”

“We killed it. We have no knowledge of where the body is.” I see Ethan’s face appear in front of me. “I have a plan for it.”

Waking up, I scream.

“Hey, it’s fine.” Kellan looks at me. “Calm down, please.” His arms wrap around me. “It was just a dream.”

“I don’t think it was a dream.” I think it was a memory. Was it mine? It must have been I recognised the woman, she was my mum.

“Okay, so what was it?” He looks at me.

“A memory.” It has to have been a memory.

His hold gets stronger. “Alpha Draven can’t get near you to hurt you again, I swear.”

“It wasn’t him, it was Ethan.”

“He won’t get near you either.”

“Kellan, it wasn’t a memory of mine, I don’t think. It was weird.”

“Fine, explain it to me.” He moves and sits facing me.

“It was like I was looking at my mum. There were sounds of wolves fighting. Then I couldn’t see her and the sounds of fighting got loud. I heard someone saying the baby lives and to take their wolves. He said he had a plan for the baby, and then I woke up.”

“I thought you said it was Ethan?” He looks at me, confused.

“It was. The man was Ethan.” My body is still shaking.

His eyes widen. “Elara! Winter kept the memory. She saved it so you could see it one day. That was the day your parents died. I’m guessing that what you saw was like seeing as Winter, heightened senses, and everything?” I nod at his words.

“So Ethan killed them?” Is that what it means?

“He knew and was there. That’s a good thing to know, it means Ethan will likely know why. Come on, we need to tell Darius and you have a TV appearance.”

“Me?” Why do I have a TV appearance?

“You wanted to tell everyone, so you can. That person called you Xenia, it means more people know who you are so the risk won’t be any different.” He stands and pulls me up. “Oh, and you’re eating, you and your wolf need to get used to each other, she takes a lot of your energy that she doesn’t need.”

Laughing, I nod. We walk down with Yori and the others following, going into the room. I relax when I see Darius. I hadn’t even realised I was tense.

“I’m fine. This room blocks all signals and such. It’s basically a metal box, so you won’t have felt me as strongly.” He smiles at me. I sit and let Kellan explain to him what I had dreamt of, and he seems to be in agreement that it is a memory that Winter kept stored.

It’s oddly comforting, it was the moment they died but also the last moment I saw her, the last moment I spent with her.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this interview?” Darius looks at me.

“I will be fine.” I have to be.

“We will be with you. It will give them a chance to ask us as well. Trying to get Winter under control, the last thing we need is her making everyone watching aware we’re your mates. Let’s focus on one battle at a time.”

I laugh slightly. “Maybe get Hades to tell her. She likes submitting to him.” I’m still pissed about that. He didn’t answer; they just led me through to another room. I look up and see Sage and the others.

“They are finding out the truth as well. No more secrets, then maybe they won’t want to hate you so much.” Darius smiles, and I want to believe him, but even he knows they will hate me more.

Sitting, they join me. There are far more cameras now. This isn’t just that one crew who has been filming the Luna Battle. This is multiple news stations.

“Elara, it’s nice to see you again.” The man smiles. He’s the usual guy who replaced the old one. I shake his hand, and he smiles. He already knows I have a wolf. He’s not a fool.

“Why is she here? We thought this was about the Mooncrest murders. We were told the King and Prince would be speaking of it. So why is she here?” Someone asks and tries to force the microphone closer.

“She has a name!” Darius growls, and I stare at him. He told me to stay focused.

“Sorry, why is Elara here?” This person hates me.

“I’m here because I’m the only one who knows who was there when my parents were murdered.” I stare at the man, and everyone falls quiet. “I came here as Elara, and since I arrived here, both the king and prince have done nothing but help me find out who I am and where my wolf is and get it back.” I can see people are about to ask questions, so I continue.

“Many see me as Elara, the wolfless orphan. I am still very much her. However, my name was never Elara. It was, in fact, Xenia. I understand that the late king had ordered mine and my parent’s deaths, but I can assure you that your king and prince today had no knowledge of it.”

The room gets loud as everyone starts shouting questions and pushing forward more. Winter growls and I feel like she’s about to flip out.

Kellan jumps up and stands ahead of me. “Please be considerate. She has only had her wolf for a few days. You have questions, which is fine, but stay calm.” He moves and sits next to me.

“How can we be sure she is really Xenia and not a publicity stunt to take the focus of the real issue?” A woman looks at us, and Darius holds out the paper.

“There will be multiple copies for anyone who wishes to check. She was tested, and it was confirmed.”

“How can you be sure they weren’t involved?” A man looks towards me.

“My wolf has shared a memory with me, I won’t go into detail, but it confirms the main person there when I was killed. Neither the prince nor king was there. They would have been too young anyway.” Do they really think the late king had his sons do it?

“That, however, doesn’t clear them of the knowledge it happened.” Someone else shouts.

“I saw them after they found out. I trust and believe they had no knowledge of their father’s involvement. They were just as shocked as me and have done nothing but try to find answers as to why.”

“Have answers been found?” Someone looks between Kellan and Darius.

“Our search is ongoing. However, while searching for answers, we did uncover that the late queen was, in fact, murdered by the late king.” Everyone goes quiet before shouting again, and I flinch back.

“Enough! If you continue to behave like this, you can leave.” Darius shouts, and everyone quietens down. I sit and listen as they go back and forth, asking questions. Ten minutes later, they seemed convinced they had asked enough.

“Elara, I mean Xenia, what is your name going forward?”

“I haven’t considered it. My focus has been reconnecting with my wolf.”

“Now that you know the truth and have wealth, will you be leaving the Luna Battle?” Someone looks at me. I didn’t know I had wealth.

“I wasn’t here for money. I was here because I believed I would be a good Luna to the king. That still stands. Me and my beliefs haven’t changed regardless of what I acquire now I know who I am.”

“That is humble of you. Many would have run, especially knowing their connection to your parent’s murders.”

My head shakes. “They are not connected. What the late king did does not fall on them! They have done nothing but try and help throughout all this and don’t deserve anyone’s hate.”

A woman pushes forward, holding out her microphone. “If you don’t make it, what is your plan? Where will you go?” She looks at me, waiting.

“I’ve made one very amazing friend while here. She had already welcomed me to live with her after this was over and has confirmed who I am, and me having my wolf back changes nothing.” Sage and her family are amazing. They couldn’t possibly protect me from Draven but have offered me a place to go.

I watch as Darius thanks them for coming and confirms another date will be arranged for those with more questions. Slowly, the room clears, and now I wonder if that will have made things better or worse.