Chapter 75 Lily

Sitting beside the warm fireplace in Lady Valentine’s store, holding the hot teacup, I still feel an unease spreading across my chest.

“Mary, don’t sit over there by yourself in the cold, come and join us beside the fire,” Lady Valentine orders Mary.

Mary… She is my daughter. What a beautiful name. I have always dreamed about what name she would have if she was still alive. It’s perfect for her. She is a decent young lady, gentle-looking and neat. The color of her hair is just like mine. But I can’t detect any signs of her wolf blood; she might be a normal human, just like Robert said.

“Go on. Talk to your mother.” Lady Valentine nudges her.

She lifts her eyes a bit higher and peeks at me, but remains silent.

“My queen, you have to forgive her. Mary is shy when she meets anyone for the first time.”

“It’s fine, she doesn’t have to talk to me if she doesn’t want to.” I sip my hot tea in hopes that the liquid will make me feel less nervous.

“Please forgive us for not showing up earlier. We have to stay that way, hidden in the dark.”

“You don’t have to apologize. I know it’s because of the awakening moon.”

Lady Valentine nods in agreement. “How have you been feeling these days?”

“My wolf, River, is coming back. I can feel it.”

A joyful hope sparkles in both Lady Valentine and Mary’s eyes.

“But I have some questions that I need to ask first,” I say.

“Of course, my queen. Please, ask anything.”

“How did Mary survive the fire?”

Lady Valentine sips her tea then speaks slowly. “Robert Jones and the Human Authority behind him made the fireballs fall from the sky. They snuck into the Evergreen pack, and stole her while the alpha and luna’s attention was divided.”

Robert wiped out my parents and my people. There was a weak voice inside my head that always haunted me with this very suspicion, but it was too cruel for me to believe. Lady Valentine continues, “A seed was buried in that man’s heart, since the day your alpha and luna rejected him as their son-in-law. He took that anger and let the seed grow. He used the war for his personal revenge and hid himself behind the Human Authority, which I believe, was still neutral. Then, after the war, he wanted you to be close to him, so he could lock you up in town. By then, we had no choice but to leave you in peace, we figured it might be good for your overall health. We couldn’t do anything without the Moon, after all.”

“You mean there are more of you? How is that possible? Who are you?”

“I used to be a garment designer for the crown. I designed clothes for you before. It was lucky that I went out to collect materials for my designs in the elven realm during the war. So I survived, but I was one of few.”

“But how do you still have your wolf? I can sense it… She’s weak, but she’s there.”

Lady Valentine stands up and fetches a box behind the mantelpiece. She opens it and gives the box to me. Inside, there is a yellow stone wrapped in a velvety cloth.

“This is the secret, my queen. We have a gem. I found it right after the war ended, in a meadow in the realm of elves. It kept us from losing our wolves.” She sits back down in her chair. “Our wolves are not as strong as the royals’ were. The energy in the gem can produce just enough to trap the moon power inside of us.”

I touch the stone and say, “We have one too. I gave it to Isabella, because she was in a terrible heat before.”

“Her heat and the connection with her mate is the reason that we can talk here. The Moon is coming back because of their connection.”

“So it’s true then. Isabella is the heir to the crown, and will lead us back to our old life, instead of my Noah.”

“I understand your pain, my queen,” she puts her hand on mine, “Isabella Atwater is the child of the past king and a powerful healer from the Old Mountains. Her blood is as pure as Noah’s. I believe the Moon goddess will make a fair choice in the end. And, my queen, there’s another thing that I need to let you know. Prince Noah is in the elven realm now.”

“What? How? I though he just went into town, or into the forest to play!” My head suddenly aches. “What kind of mother am I!”

“Please don’t worry about it. They will guard him with their lives. His fate has lead him there. There’s nothing you can do to change it, just as we all have our own fate, and none of us can escape from it.”

“And Mary was living in Moonlit all these years, without knowing about me?” I cry.

“I know you, but you don’t know me, since you’ve only ever indulged yourself in alcohol and never came out from that house,” Mary says, with a grudge.

“Don’t be rude to your queen,” Lady Valentine shouts.

“What she says is the truth. I was like that. I was living through the pain of losing our kingdom, our king, and my own mistakes and regrets,” I confess, “I thought it was me who brought doom to our kingdom.”

Lady Valentine consoles me, “Over the years, we have kept ourselves from you, living in the shadows. We lacked confidence in the crown, and all of our power had disappeared. We felt that pain as well. We watched our race abused and killed at the hands of humans, one by one. We were in agony. But now, we will have our revenge and take the throne back. We need you, my queen.”

In her eyes, I see hope - a valuable thing that’s been lost from my life. It thrills me. I hold her hands and I feel her wolf pleading me as well. It’s been fifteen years since I’ve felt this magical connection. Her wolf is excited to feel my touch. She’s howling, but feebly. Under the starry night, I sense that my wolf River is ready to wake up at the sound of her kin. My tears are pouring out. I don’t know whether or not I can still be the queen of my race, but I will definitely try.