The day slowly dragged on until it was dusk. Henry was in his study, pacing around. Tyler was sitting on the sofa beside the room, watching him worriedly. "It could just be a coincidence." He said after a while. Henry stopped and stared at him. "Coincidence?" He repeated. "Tyler, Shota looked like she had seen a ghost. When she called Aurora Kahlan, she actually thought she was staring at the dark witch.""But Aurora isn't a witch." Tyler said. "She's a shifter.""We still don't know what kind of shifter she is." Henry said, resuming his pacing. "As much as I don't want to admit it, I know Shota wasn't playing games when she called Aurora Kahlan.""Could... could it be Aurora is Kahlan's reincarnation?" Tyler asked thoughtfully. "I don't think so." Henry shook his head. "Shota would have said something if that were true.""And you don't remember how Kahlan looks."Henry stared at Tyler unbelievably. "You know, Shota was right." He said. "You're a moron. It's been years, Tyler. How
After what felt like hours, it was finally time for dinner. As Henry planned earlier, he invited Lady Dowager and her children to join him. The dining hall was silent and the only sound was from the clink of dishes as the maids served the food. Henry sat at the head of the table, with Tyler on his left and Penelope beside him. On his right was Aurora. An empty chair separated her from Celia and Collins, and Lady Dowager sat at the other end of the table. "Thank you for letting us all have dinner together." Lady Dowager said, making small talk. "It is so nice to be with family again."Henry totally ignored her as he placed a plate of food in front of Aurora. Aurora thanked him with a smile and picked up a spoon. Henry gently caressed her hand before letting her go. Lady Dowager noticed the exchange between them and looked towards her daughter.Celia's hands were fisted on the table and she was finding it difficult to breathe. Lady Dowager then looked away and the fake smile retur
"Noooooo!" Lady Dowager screamed. She dropped to her knees beside Collins' lifeless body, screaming loudly, her voice raw with pain. When Henry ripped Collins' head off, Aurora shut her eyes and turned her face away. She knew Henry was ruthless when it came to his enemies, but she wasn't used to such brutality. Even Penelope turned her face away. Only Tyler stood there, his face devoid of emotion. Lady Dowager kept screaming, her dress slowly getting soaked with the blood that pooled on the floor. Celia stood frozen, her eyes wide open with dread and terror. She didn't even try to cry when she saw her twin brother's lifeless body sprawled beside her. Henry flung the head aside and his cold glare settled on Celia. "You made a big mistake, Celia." He said, his voice cold as ice. "You and your mother should have known better. Did you really think your potion would work on me?"He gripped her jaw tightly and raised her head so he could stare down at her. "I am not just any lycan." He
Morning came earlier than normal. The day Lady Dowager and Celia were to be executed for planning to enchant the Alpha King. Aurora didn't want to be present at the execution so she stayed back at the castle with Penelope.Before he left, Henry made sure a number of lycan warriors guarded the castle, something he had never done before. With Aurora's powers slowly awakening, he had to protect her. At the moment, he couldn't trust anyone. Not even the maids. "I'll come back soon." He told her, holding her close. "If you need anything, meet the warriors.""Warriors?" Aurora repeated in surprise. "You've never guarded the castle before.""I'm just trying to protect you my love." Henry said. "I don't think I can trust anyone anymore.""It's because of your step-aunt, right?" It wasn't entirely because of Helena, but Henry nodded. "In a week time, we will go to Tamerin. I think Shota can find out what kind of shifter you are exactly.""Alright." Aurora nodded. She held him close and kiss
Aurora stared at the piece of paper silently. The scribbled words resounded in her head repeatedly until she thought it would explode. Find the truth. What truth? What was Katherina talking about? Did something terrible happen while she was at the castle? What could have happened? The questions kept pounding within Aurora's head and for a moment, she was at a loss of what to do. She stared at the written note one more time, then folded it up and pushed it back into the book. Grabbing another of the book that Matilda brought, she flipped through the pages, hoping there would be another one. She went through almost all the books before she came to the last one. As she picked it up, another folded piece of paper fell out. She grabbed it and quickly unfolded it. It was the same handwriting from Katherina. This one read, "I hope you are a reader like me, because that is the only way you will be able to find this letter. My name is Katherina. I am Henry's last mistress. Tomorrow at da
Night came swiftly and Aurora remained locked in her own room. She didn't let anyone in, not even Penelope who wanted to have dinner with her. She wanted to be alone. She was just too upset at Henry. If he wasn't hiding something, why did he flair up that way? Why did he threaten to kill Matilda? She knew he was ruthless, as an Alpha King should be, but it didn't justify his actions. She fell asleep that night with a frown on her face. And that was the night she had the first dream. ... She opened her eyes and discovered she wasn't in the room. She was in the forest, lying on a bed of wet grass. She slowly got up, brushing the wet tendrils of hair from her cheek. A surprised gasp escaped her when she looked down. She was dressed in a sparkly white dress, with a long train that flowed behind her. It wasn't until she looked around her that she noticed she wasn't in the forest of Ashidore.This forest was different. It looked magical and surreal. Millions of tiny fireflies flittere
While Aurora still pondered over the strangeness of Henry leaving every full moon, Matilda returned holding a breakfast tray and a little brown envelope. "Miss Penelope asked of you." She said as she set the tray down. Aurora suddenly felt bad for pushing Penelope away the previous night. She had just been too upset to talk to anyone. "I was really unkind to her last night." She lamented. "Please tell her to come up to the library later to meet me.""Sure I will." Matilda said. She handed the envelope to Aurora and clasp her hands behind her. "And Rose, I know it's not my place to say this but..."Aurora looked up, wondering why she stopped. "But what?" She asked. "Go on. Say it.""Don't be mad at the Alpha." Matilda said. "I know he must have made you upset, and I wouldn't be saying this because it's none of my business, but you're my friend and you've been so nice to me."Aurora dropped the envelope and walked over to Matilda. "You've been nice to me too, Matilda. You're the onl
The day went extremely well for Aurora. Henry's heartfelt note had brightened up her day and lightened her mood. After apologizing to Penelope for ignoring her the previous day, she explained her reason for doing so. After a while, the two girls laughed as they teased each other. "Okay wait, I have to tell you something." Penelope said, wiping tears of mirth away from her eyes. "What is it?"Penelope smiled shyly and looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "Promise not to scream." She said softly. "I promise. Come on, tell me. The suspense is killing." Aurora pleaded. "Well, I haven't told Tyler yet, because he left with Alpha Henry. And I found out this morning." Penelope began. "But I can't keep it to myself anymore. I have to tell you.""Penny." Aurora groaned impatiently. Penelope laughed. "Alright, alright. I'll tell you. I'm pregnant."Aurora's eyes popped out and her jaw dropped. "What?" She shrieked. "Ssshhhh!" Penelope clamped her hand over Aurora's mouth
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