Back in Ashidore, the atmosphere in the castle was thick with tension. Henry had sent countless lycans to storm silver dawn and find Bishop. Other warriors searched the entire forest for the dragon eggs, but all the search was fruitless. Henry was on the verge of going feral and he snapped at anyone who tried to aggravate him. He couldn't think of one person that could have stolen the eggs. The only persons who knew of the dragon eggs was Bishop and Amelia. Amelia was dead so it couldn't be her. But Tyler said the shifters saw a woman taking the chest away. If only he could get his hands on Bishop, then he would know where the eggs were. He couldn't let the dragons hatch. "Why didn't they stop her?" He yelled out suddenly, much to the surprise of everyone in the room with him. Aurora, Tyler, Penelope and Krino all exchanged nervous looks."Alpha." Tyler answered tentatively. "No one saw her face. According to what they told me, she looked harmless. They probably thought she was
"Aurora talk to me." Penelope grabbed Aurora's hand, giving it a little tug. "Are you alright? You're scaring me."However, Aurora couldn't utter a word. How could she? How was she supposed to tell her best friend that she saw her dead in a vision? The first vision she had of Penelope had been normal. She had seen her holding her baby, crying happily. How did it all change? She couldn't let Penelope know about it. It would only make her terrified. The best thing she could do was keep a close eye on her until she had the baby. If what she saw was a premonition, she had to find a way to stop it from occurring. "Penny." She whispered finally, forcing a smile on her face. "Yes, what is it?" Penelope asked, her voice filled with urgency. "I had another vision.""Was it a bad vision? You looked terrified.""No." Aurora shook her head, forcing the lie out. "I was just in shock. My visions keep taking me by surprise.""Well, what did you see?""Your baby." Aurora said. Tears slowly spill
Shota stared at the sacred pool before her in concentration. Her hands were covered in a bright blue glow, illuminating the entire cave. She murmured faintly, her lips moving as she chanted spell after spell. Behind her, Nimueh held a wooden gourd and waited silently as Shota conjured up numerous spells. Yet nothing worked. She couldn't locate the dragon eggs. Since Henry told her that someone had broken into the castle and stolen it, she had been restless. She still remembered the last war with the dragons and how terrible it had been. They couldn't let it happen again. This time, they wouldn't be able to defeat the dragons. She let out a sharp breath and pulled her hands out of the water. The blue glow slowly faded until the cave became dim again. "Still no sign of it?' Nimueh asked tentatively. Shota sighed and shook her head. "No matter what spell I use, I can't just find it. The magic of the dragonclan surrounding the eggs must be really strong to block my spells."Nimueh l
Shota slowly gained consciousness hours later. She opened her eyes and took in her surroundings, but it was pitch black, and she couldn't see a thing. Her hands were tied to the wall, and she could feel the painful sting where the rope had cut into her wrists. Her ankles were tied too and she couldn't feel her legs. She struggled with the ropes for a while, trying to figure out if she could cut them, but they were tied into a tight knot. Cutting them was impossible. Gradually, her eyes grew accustomed to the dark room and she saw a figure on the ground beside her. Her first thought was Nimueh and she immediately whispered her name. "Nimueh." She nudged the body beside her, thinking Nimueh was still unconscious. But she suddenly realized that the body was cold and stiff to the touch. She squinted her eyes and looked harder at the body, and that was when her eyes widened in horror and she recoiled away in shock. It was a dead woman. Her limbs were bent in eerie angles and her eyes
It was raining heavily in Ashidore, and thunder crashed loudly as a heavy storm began. Aurora stood by the window, dressed in a warm night dress and a thick robe to keep out the cold. Her expression was one of worry as she stared out the window, flinching slightly whenever thunder crashed. Henry left the mansion hours ago to attend to some pressing matters and it was nightfall already, yet he hadn't returned. She wasn't worried that something could have happened to him. He was more than capable of protecting himself. But when he left, he didn't take Tyler with him. She couldn't think of a reason why he wasn't back. She tried using the mind link to reach him countless times, but she didn't get a response, which meant he wasn't back in Ashidore yet. A soft knock pulled her out of her thoughts and she let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. "Come in."The door opened and Matilda stepped in, holding a large tray filled with her dinner. "Luna." She said softly. "You didn
Cara paced around the sitting room, a deep frown creasing her brows. Behind her, Victoria sat crossed legged on the couch while Shota and Nimueh remained tied up in one corner. The storm which started little a while ago had increased tremendously, yet Bishop wasn't back. He left hours ago, to run a very important errand for her. She wanted to unite with the rogues so they would have a substantial army to take down Henry. Bishop left in the early hours of the morning, before the sun crawled out. Now it was night and he was still not back. The storm raged angrily, with no sign of stopping. As Cara paced, a thousand thoughts ran through her mind. Had Bishop betrayed her? He couldn't, she thought. He wouldn't dare, not when Henry's lycans were on the hunt for him. Maybe it was the storm holding him. She was tempted to go out and search for him herself, but she hesitated. Bishop wasn't so important that she would risk her life and venture out under the storm for him. She could do no
"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." Cara said, standing before Nimueh. Her hands were planted on her hips and she had a cruel smile on her face. Nimueh cowered away, staring fearfully at her. "Cara please, don't do this." Shota pleaded, struggling with the ropes around her wrist. "You'll kill her. Doesn't it bother you that you'll be killing an innocent soul?""I killed my step sister for daring to go against me." Cara said without sparing her a glance. "Do you really think this witch means anything to me? I'll kill anyone, if it means getting what I want."She moved closer to Nimueh and crouched. "This could be all over quickly." She said. "Cast the spell and break the magic around the dragon eggs.""No." Nimueh shot back angrily. "I'm not going to be a part of your schemes. I will not cast the spell."Cara's smile disappeared and she rose to her feet. "I don't think I'm making myself clear enough. Cast the spell or I'll kill you.""Do whatever you want." Nimueh retorte
Aurora jerked awake from sleep with Henry's name on her lips. Her eyes were wide open, horrified, and she was breathing heavily. At the same moment, the sky brightened with a flash of thunder and she realized that the windows were wide opened. It was morning already, but the sky was still dark. The rain poured into the room through the open window, wetting the floor. She quickly got out of bed and rushed to shut it. The storm had reduced but it was still raining heavily, making the entire room extremely chilly. She rubbed her arms as she returned to the bed, trying to get warm. The last thing she remembered was holding a pillow close and wondering where Henry was. She remembered yearning for his warm touch, and then she fell asleep. Fully awake, her mind drifted to the dream she had moments ago, the dream that had awakened her. She had been in denial for a while, convincing herself that Henry was fine, and was probably held up somewhere because of the storm. But after the dream
Two Years Later... On the roof of the castle, Henry and Aurora lay cuddled in a warm blanket, staring at the full moon in the sky. The air was cool and the sky was alive with thousands of shimmering stars. Aurora lay on her side, with Henry spooning her. His hand lay curved on her large belly and he slowly caressed her baby bump, occasionally dropping kisses on her cheek. "Tyler is going to be a big brother soon." She whispered, placing her hand over Henry's. "He's going to be the best big brother." Henry replied. He leaned down and nuzzled her neck, breathing in her sweet scent. "You've been the best mother to him.""I promised Penelope I would take care of her child." Aurora said with a smile. "And I intend to keep that promise. I know I'll tell him the truth about his birth parents someday, but for now, he's mine.""Ours." Henry said, gently turning her around to face him. "He's ours.""Yes. Ours." Aurora smiled and her eyes closed as they shared a passionate kiss. A lot of ye
Many months later, the realm was back to normal. Shifters returned to Ashidore and everyone went back to their normal way of life. Ashidore was built again and it prospered more than before. The dead was buried and mourned and the injured received healing. But they would never forget the last war with the dragons. They would never forget the innocent souls that died that day. They would never forget how their Alpha sacrificed himself to save his mate and destroy the dragons. Aurora had been crowned Supreme Luna of Ashidore and she ruled the kingdom just as Henry would have wanted her to. But she knew her life would never go back to normal without him. It took her a whole year to move on and accept his death. She built a tomb and did a proper funeral for Tyler, Penelope, Henry, Shota and Nimueh, and every other shifter they lost. Most nights, she stayed beside Henry's grave, crying and wishing to the heavens that he would be brought back to her. She was a strict and just Luna, and
When Aurora arrived at the designated spot, she met a horrific scene. The entire forest was covered in flames. The bushes, tall trees and grasses were all burning brightly. Thick smoke coiled up into the dark sky and the heat was blistering hot. The entire lycans were scattered all around, bloody, burned and unconscious. The dragons continued their terror, wrecking havoc everywhere. Aurora's eyes darted around, searching for Henry. She found him lying a few meters away from her, surrounded by fire. "Henry!" She screamed, rushing over to where he lay. She didn't dare try to extinguish the flames because the last time she did, it affected her. Grabbing his arms, she dragged him away, over to a dry patch of grass. Then she knelt beside him and placed her head on his chest. She could feel his faint heartbeat meaning he was still alive, but barely. There were terrible bloody burns on the side of his face and chest, and unless he gained consciousness, he wouldn't be able to heal. "He
"Let me go Cade." Aurora cried, trying to dislodge herself from Cade's grip. The baby had woken up from the sound of her screams and was crying loudly, but all Aurora could think of was going back to help Henry. Without her, he and the other lycans were doomed. "Cade please..." She begged. [Forgive me Luna. I cannot disobey the Alpha's orders] Cade replied without stopping. "You don't understand." Aurora protested. "Henry is in danger. They are all in danger. Fighting against the dragon creatures is futile."[The Alpha knows this, which is why he wants you out of harm's way before he faces the creatures]Aurora felt like screaming out. He wasn't listening to her. "Cade I am your Luna! And it is only right that you listen to me! Put me down this instant. Now!"Cade tried to resist the order, but just as Henry used his Alpha voice on him, so did Aurora. He couldn't disobey the authority in her voice. He slowed down and gently lowered her to the ground before shifting back to his h
A few minutes later, Henry and Aurora met with Krino and the entire lycan warriors. The other shifters had been shared into three large groups and dispatched to different packs. They were instructed to inform the members of the different packs to build bunkers and hide away until the war with the dragons ended. All that was left were the lycans and a few shifters who stayed back to fight beside their Alpha. When Henry and Aurora arrived holding the baby, Krino and Cade noticed immediately that Penelope was not with them. "Where's Miss Penelope?" Cade asked. The other lycans then noticed that their late beta's mate was missing. Aurora didn't respond and just started crying softly. It was Henry who took a deep breath and told them how Penelope had passed away after birthing her son. The news hit them hard and a few looked away so the tears in their eyes wouldn't be seen. How many more would they lost? How many more would die just because two shifters were evil enough to set the d
Aurora jerked awake from sleep with her mother's name on her lips. It was daylight already. Henry was up, standing a few meters away from her, holding the baby. She watched him for a while as he stared down at the sleeping infant. She couldn't read his mind, but with the look on his face, she knew he was thinking about his beta. When Tyler died, Henry had felt the pain of loosing his beta and best friend. Though he didn't shed a single tear, she knew Tyler's death affected him immensely. She knew he was greatly hurt. Yet what was coming was even greater than Tyler's death, and she doubted if he would be able to bear it. The dream she had of her mother played back in her mind and she heard Kahlan's voice echo in her ears– 'Aurora the core of your magic lies in your soul, and that is the only thing powerful enough to destroy the dragons. You must use it.'She remembered the shock she felt when she realized what her mother meant. To destroy the dragons, she would have to sacrifice
No! Aurora screamed the words within her, but her face remained frozen in shock. She could hear the cries of the baby at the back of her mind, loud and persistent, but all her focus was on Penelope's face. The entire word faded, the sound of the wind and the rustle of the trees. Everything went still as she stared at her friend. For a short moment, she thought Penelope would blink and stretch out her hands for her baby. She waited, hoping and praying. But as each second passed, Penelope's body turned completely pale and stiff, and her eyes turned glassy. Only then did Aurora move. She lifted a hand and placed it on Penelope's cheek, tracing the dried streak of blood. "Penny." She whispered. Tears spilled down her eyes silently as the thought registered within her. Penelope was dead. Her best friend was dead. She hadn't been able to prevent her vision from coming to pass. "I'm so sorry Penny" She sobbed, softly pulling down Penelope's eyelids so her eyes were closed. "I'm sorry I
"PENNY!" Aurora screamed, rushing towards to the hole. All she could see was darkness, but she could hear Penelope's soft groans. "Penny can you hear me? Are you okay?" She asked repeatedly, waiting for an answer. After what seemed like an eternity, Penelope responded. "Aurora." She called out in shaky voice. "I'm right here Penny. Are you alright?""No. I... I think my water broke. And I think I might be bleeding too.""Just hold on. I'm going to get you out." Aurora said, hearing her friend cry softly. The castle was slowly crumbling as the flames consumed it entirely. She knew in a matter of seconds, the large building would collapse. She was at a loss of what to do. Calling to Henry for help was impossible because he wouldn't be able to go through the flames. And her strength was slowly diminishing. Her nose continued to bleed and she was beginning to feel dizzy with loss of blood and all the smoke around. "Moon goddess." She whispered in tears. "Please help us out of here
"HELP!" Penelope screamed out. She was curled into a tight ball at the edge of her room. Half of the room was destroyed by the flames and the fire kept advancing towards her. "HELP ME! PLEASE!" Her screams were drowned out by the roar of the flames as it licked up the entire room. The curtains and bed burned brightly, and the walls were slowly falling away. Seeing that there was no way out, she stopped crying out for help and just sobbed quietly. As she waited for death to take her, her mind went over everything that had happened minutes earlier. She assumed Aurora and Henry, along with all the other lycans had perished in the fire and all that was left was her. Hours ago when she first heard the roars and trembles, she made no move to find out what was happening. She had been too weak in the spirit, too tired, after the death of Tyler. All her energy was gone, her zeal for living too. But then her hand brushed her belly and she realized she had a reason to live. She was going t