Peter, who had been watching the exchange of the two men carefully, said nothing. He feared that if he spoke, his earlier activities would be realised. Alphonsus was a royal fairy, who had just magically figured out Roxanne was pregnant. The goddess alone knew the other things he could see. Once again, he was forced to peep the antique clock hanging on the wall, just above Roxanne's bed. What he saw caused his mouth to drop. Barely thirty-five minutes to Lancelot's coronation! Peter looked down at Lancelot, who had his hand on Roxanne's head, wiping her face gently. Now's not the time to show her you love her, Peter thought. He cleared his throat and spoke up. "I hate to be the one to spoil this beautiful moment sir, but if we don't leave now..." Peter paused, he was certain he did not need to continue the rest of the sentence. Lancelot glanced at Peter and shifted to Alphonsus, before pulling his hand away from Roxanne. He would leave now, but he had to make sure her room would
Alas, the night of the full moon had come once more, the night that signified a new dawn, a brand new era. Lancelot stepped out of his room in his royal silk robe, ready for his precession into the courtyard where the ritual would take place. He walked down the deserted stairs - since everyone was outside waiting - to the door of the palace. Six guards stood there, when they saw him, they all went down on one knee and bowed to him, just like they always did to his father. Lancelot was taken aback for a moment. Their gesture was a quick and sudden reminder that he was about to take his father's place and be at the forefront of all activities from now on. He nodded and ordered them to rise up. When they did, he stepped foward and two stood side by side in front of him, while the remaining four lined up at his back. Lancelot stood still, in anticipation, waiting for the sound of drums and the howling and chants of the warrior wolves to usher him in. He didn't have to wait for long.
"...we're to check for signs of consciousness, not gush over her..." "Gush over her? You're joking, I can't possibly be..." Voices, those were the first things her ears picked up all of sudden. After those, the beeping sound from what might have been an alarm followed next. She tried to suck in air, before she realised that she had an oxygen mask on, and was unable to smell anything. Panic, that was the first and immediate thing she felt when she tried to open her eyes, but it wouldn't open. Her whole body was stiff, and her brain seemed to lack the ability to control the rest of her body. Roxanne's mind did an involuntary flashback to the previous events. She wondered where she was; it was definitely a hospital, from the mask on her nose. What had happened to her? Why did she feel a headache that threatened to split her head into two? Why was she unable to move? Was she paralysed?! Her many "why's" were answered by her own mind. Gory images flashed through her mind; she saw and
"...That she's human..." Three words, one phrase, but it was more than enough to send the whole courtyard into pandemonium. The elders yelled, swore and cursed at each other. Ava was extremely embarrassed, as she knelt there on the ground, watching Lancelot's secret openly humiliate her in open. In front of her family, and most of her friends. Madeline was petrified, she could not bring herself to close her eyes which were widened in horror. Lancelot stood, stoic, unsure of what to say, or what to do. He knew his secret would come out one day, but he had never imagined it would be on the day of the one thing he had kept his secret to protect; his coronation. "Is it true?" Lancelot heard Edward whisper. There was no point in lying or trying to cover anything up anymore. His secret had been revealed, and he just had to tell the truth. "It is father." Edward's heart squeezed in his chest. He pressed his hand to his chest to ease the pain as his facial expression rumpled as well. Lan
Peter knew he couldn't stay back for the coronation ritual, especially not after what he had done. When Lancelot called him, asking for his urgent help to drive the Faye prince, Alphonsus, to the hospital, Peter had no other choice than to lodge the drunken Hera in a hotel, where she would be until he returned. He had contemplated driving her back to the palace, but considering how busy the palace was, with visitors and guests flocking about, Peter realised that the safest thing to do, was to keep Hera away from the palace for a while. At least, until the coronation was over and people had retired to their various guest quarters for the night. Then, he could return to the palace with the queen and prepare Hera for her journey back home, the next morning. Peter continued to think about it, even while he drove Alphonsus back to the palace. It seemed impossible to think about anything else besides the kiss. Peter realised that the thought angered him, but he was not angry at the kiss,
Clad in brown suit trouser and a black longsleeved shirt, Doctor Flinn approached the room of the her favorite patient's human mate. Lancelot had called her in a frenzy, the night before - or rather, at exactly 1am this morning - pleading with her to oversee Roxanne's welfare in the hospital, at least, until her best friend, whom they were expecting later in the day, arrived. While she was shocked to receive such a call at such an odd hour of the day, especially when she knew his coronation had just taken place, she still couldn't afford to turn Lancelot down. From the sound of his voice, she could tell that he was extremely concerned about the woman. And Flinn would do anything to make sure Lancelot was at peace; she owed it to him as his therapist and friend. So, here she was, walking down the lobby, until she arrived at Roxanne's room. She knew because the door was opened, and nurses flocked in and out, holding files in their hands. Flinn stood in front of the room door and look
Flinn's eyes softened as she leaned closer to Lancelot's hard frame. "She should never have said that to you." "But, is she wrong?" His tone reeked of pain and pent up anger. Roxanne had never heard him sound like this, not even in the vampire kingdom after he had been beaten to stupor. She had first heard about Bran's death from Arthur, she had never imagined it would be a big deal to Lancelot. "Your highness, you shouldn't..." "Please doctor Flinn, drop that title, I do not need to hear it right now. My nightmares reoccured after that night, I saw him once again, calling out to me to save him, and I could do nothing. Athaliah is not the only one, my entire family blames me for it, even Bran blames me for it!" Lancelot spoke up, voicing out everything he wished he could speak out, but had failed to. His voice was muffled, as his tone struggled to sound firm, despite the tears threatening to run down his cheeks and the fear and anger hooking his throat. He had tried not to think a
"Please tell me I am seeing things, and that my son isn't standing next to the one thing he should be avoiding!" Madeline spoke, dramatically flinging her hands into the air as she took elegant strides into the room, charging towards her son. Madeline had watched Lancelot slip out of the palace in the earlier hours of this morning; just immediately after his meeting with Edward. Deep down, she had prayed and hoped, even forced herself to believe that Lancelot was attending official duties. However, after she sent trusted men after him, she realised the reverse was the case. Lancelot was reported to be in the hospital. Her son was no doctor or salutory wolf, so, he would have been in the hospital for one reason only; to see someone. Throughout the drive to the hospital, even with her second son by her side, Madeline found it hard to set her thoughts straight. She continued to hope - for Lancelot's sake more than hers - that he was not at the hospital to see that...disgusting human w
EPILOGUE FIVE YEARS LATER **************"Tehilah, get back here this instant!" Roxanne screamed at the top of her voice, whole laughter erupted from around the table. The five year old didn't mind her mother, she continued to run eagerly towards her father, who held her three year old younger brother in his arms as he stepped into the dinning room. "Daddy and Jojo!" She screamed out loud, when she griiped Lancelot's leg. Lancelot's eyes rose up from his daughter and rested on Roxanne's frowning face. "The girl is just happy to see me, which is more than she's been to see you." Lancelot teased and everyone at the table laughed, Roxanne's scowl deepened. "Ouuuuu, burner!" Hera screamed out loud, and everyone laughed again. Peter squeezed the top of her lap to show her that Roxanne wasn't smiling. Peter and Hera had been together, and were now a married couple. Peter had gotten a very big promotion; from Lancelot's personal assistant, to his beta wolf. And Hera was right by his sid
LATER THAT NIGHT was the mating ritual; the ritual of bonding. The palace was in high spirits, and the chief priest was invited to perform the ritual. Eloise and Marion, the two elderly women in the palace stayed with the priest to get things ready, while Madeline and Edward, along with the rest of the Dankworth house got themselves ready to attend. Peter was in Lancelot's chambers, putting all necessary things in order, while Emily stayed with her best friend, and finally had the guts - after her sloppy discussion with James - to take care of her "chief bridesmaid" duties. At exactly eleven PM, both bride and groom were ready for their precession. Lancelot was the first to be ushered down the stairs, out of the palace and into the courtyard, where the ritual was to take place under the full moon. The ground was set; royal woven stools placed side by side, in front of a large fire place. The members of the Dankworth family were behind him, while the musicians and dancers played and
In the middle of the heightened song and dance, James grabbed a bottle of champagne before he slipped out of the banquet hall, went up the stairs and into a dark corridor he did not recognize - at least, not in his state - without anyone noticing. No one would miss his presence after all, not after the man of the moment had just made his grand announcement. With his sloppy steps and regrettable dance moves, he was able to keep the champagne bottle under his armpit for five minutes. The man was drunk out of his mind. All he had done since the part started was down glasses of champagne without speaking to anyone. When he got to the corridor, he leaned against the wall and slid all the way to the ground, until his butt touched the hard floor, he winced in pain. "You definitely had that coming for ya." He heard a female voice say. James would have jerked up, since he didn't see anyone there before he entered, but he was way above the clouds to bother about that right now. He corked h
SIX DAYS LATER The big party Emily had spoke about was happening today, even if no one knew exactly what the party was about, Roxanne was pumped to finally celebrate with Lancelot. It had been long since she did that. So, when she woke up in the morning and found three maids staring at her, Roxanne was more than surprised. It was just a party, why did they treat her as though she were a bride getting dressed for her wedding? She asked herself. After greeting her, two of the maids offered her green tea and stood still while watching her drink the tea. When she was done, they helped her get up, undressed her, and ushered her into the bathroom, where warm rose water waited for her. She had not even been given the time to update Emily, who stayed in the next room, about what was going on. After a massage in the rose water, she was scrubbed and thoroughly cleaned. Roxanne felt like a stubborn five year old baby when one of the maids asked her to lift her foot up so she could scrub it.
Peter had barely had time to check his phone in the course of the last few days. Everything that had happened in the palace, from the poisoning attempt, to the death of the maid, Lancelot's fake Luna crowning ceremony, Ava's arrest and Garrett's banishment, to the post effects of all those events, Peter had finally found a day of rest..While Lancelot was preparing to tell his family the real truth about all that had happened to Roxanne, and what he intended to do next, Peter was given some free time to clear his head and get his issues sorted out. That was how he was able to sit on his bed in the guest chambers and go through his phone. And, that was how he was able to see the countless missed calls and messages that had been sent in by an unknown number. He was perplexed, while wondering who the person was, and what he or she wanted from him. It wasn't until he opened the first message and read the first line aloud, that he knew who the messages were from. Hera, he thought out lou
"Girl, don't tell me you're still asleep!" That was the first thing Roxanne heard, before Emily sent a pillow crashing down on her head. She groaned in pain - let it be known that she felt no pain, the pillow was filled with feathers - and sat up slowly, scrubbing her eyes with the back of her palms. Roxanne and Emily broke into laughter when they stared at each other in their pyjamas. They had missed each other an awful lot. The past three days if being together had taught both of them the true value of real friendship. With Emily around, Roxanne felt like no matter what happened, she would always have a home to run back to. Emily was everything to her; her best friend and her family, and she would not ever take that for granted. Emily, on the otherhand, felt the same way for Roxanne. They had spent so much time apart, but none of that had affected their friendship. Roxanne had been the only person Emily had ever let close to her, and she had not disappointed. Just like Roxanne, Em
The past three days had been hectic for every single member of the Dankworth house. While Lancelot was burdened with the role of acting sulky and vengeful over Roxanne's "demise", he was also saddled with the responsibility of preparing himself for his Luna picking ceremony with Ava. Whom, he now utterly despised and couldn't wait to get rid of. However, despite all that was going on, he was glad that he had finally gotten Roxanne, and that she was safe. He has sent Emily over to her and given the women his black card to do as their hearts seemed fit on this auspicious day. The day he would finally be putting an end to all their problems. He simply couldn't wait. Lancelot had noticed that his mother's mood had been better in the past few days. Now that Roxanne was out of the way, and Lancelot and Ava's ceremony around the corner, the future she had meticulously planned for her son, was finally here. The goddess had taken away all obstacles, and now, everything would be back to norma
Hera touched down at London's airport at exactly 3:00pm that day. She took a deep breath in before shading her eyes with her huge sunglasses. She was away from Greece, granted, but she didn't know how long it would be until Ahab sent spies into London to look for her. That was the same reason why she couldn't go to the palace, at least not until she was sure of what to do. She couldn't risk endangering Peter's life, or the life of anyone else in the palace. Yes, werewolves were strong, but Ahab - no matter how old he might be - was the grand master of witches. That meant, he was the most treacherous, sneaky, evil and wisest of them all - except her mother of course. Then again, even Athaliah had a lot to say about her leaving. As she pulled her luggage towards the entrance of the airport, where cabs waited for passengers, she couldn't help but replay her last conversation with her mother, before she took off. "You do not know what you're playing with. Do you think Ahab would sit s
"What?" Emily yelled out, she sprung up from her bed and rushed to meet Lancelot. Peter, who was seated beside her, rose up and rushed to his boss as well. "What's happening your grace?" He asked, scanning Lancelot's appearance. His boss was visibly shaking, while his facial features looked squeezed with rage. "The pasta, was poisoned...Roxanne." Emily's eyes widened with horror as she held on to Lancelot's shirt, tears gathered in her eyelids immediately. She did not want to believe her ears. "What do you mean by Roxanne? What's going on?"Peter sensed that something wasn't right. He drew Emily back from Lancelot's body and cuffed her in his arms. Lancelot stood straight before turning away from them, while Emily threw curses at him. If anything had happened to Roxanne, she would not hesitate to burn this entire palace to the ground, she swore it. "She's alive, come on, let's go." Lancelot said as he walked briskly out of the room. Relief washed over Peter, and Emily managed to