HelenaThe vampires were far stronger than I anticipated. They ran over our border warriors as if they were nothing and before long our entire pack was captured. Everyone was gathered in the castle square. I looked around at some of our people, and it broke my heart to see how many of them had been hurt. They were healing, which made me realize how badly some of them must have been injured.I couldn’t understand why the vampires attacked now. After all these years, we weren’t any kind of threat to anyone. After the slave traders were taken care of, we lived in peace with everyone! The king of the vampires stepped forward finally. The sneer on his face sent a shiver down the back of my spine. I really hated him. I never trusted the man, but now I hate him!He was the biggest chauvinist you would ever meet in your entire life. The man didn’t even acknowledge me when they visited us the first time. He was also a purist. Which meant he hated my kind. Werewolves were an abomination in his
HelenaHis body was cold against mine and I suddenly felt sick to my stomach! I knew what had to be done to save my people. I didn’t want to do it, but I had done many things in my life that I didn’t want to do just so I could survive.“My son is still young, your highness. Please, let us go. We will teach him. He will learn his place.” I could only hope that Victor wasn’t going to ask for the one thing I knew would break Oliver, but my sixth sense kind of told me that was what he was going to do.“Let’s make sure, shall we?” Victor smiled, and a shiver ran down the back of my spine. “Queen Helena will come to my palace as my guest. She will stay there so that I can make sure her son won’t do something stupid!”“NO!” Oliver jumped up and growled so loudly that I could have sworn I felt the earth shudder under my feet. Victor smiled at me and my heart broke as he moved with such speed that nobody saw what he planned to do until it was too late.He stood there with Oliver’s heart in his
HelenaI felt relief flooding literally my entire body when Oliver announced that he would not be handing over the throne to Eli just yet. We couldn’t do that while we were still fighting a war. There had been no time to prepare Eli to rule. It would be impossible to teach him anything about our normal day-to-day responsibilities while we weren’t living our normal day-to-day lives.Eli was furious, of course. He thought his father didn’t do it because we didn’t believe in him. No matter how hard I tried to explain it to our son, he just didn’t believe me. Everyone in our kingdom knew about the dream I had by now. Many believed that it was because of the dream that we were still fairly safe. We hadn’t lost as many men as the vampires had.Sadly, the vampires kept on finding humans to turn, no matter how many we killed. Newborn vampires, as they were called, were tougher to fight than older vampires. One or two of them finally broke through our defense lines, and we lost a couple of wol
HelenaAn agreement was reached with the vampires after negotiating for over a week. Eli agreed not to lay claim to his title and allow them to choose a new leader as long as the vampires did not attack us again. They had no other choice. Eli killed their leader. It was his right to claim the title. Thankfully, our son saw the bigger picture. He saved future generations from being attacked.It also meant that the time had finally come to hand over our titles. It was the proudest and the saddest day of my life as I watched Eli on coronation day. He had become a man. Time had flown so fast. It felt like I was holding my newborn in my arms one moment, then blinked once, and he was a grown up. We had already moved our things to the same wing that our parents were living in.Oliver was adamant that for Eli to flourish as king, we had to stick to the same procedures that had been followed for centuries. Once the younger generation took over, the older generation took a step back in all area
PhillipaAfter the huge breakfast celebration, my day was simply packed. My mother made sure I got every possible treatment over the past week, so I would look my absolute best. I knew why she did it, but neither of us said anything. She just wanted me to feel amazing when I finally met my mate. The thing that nobody realized was that I was feeling as if I had failed my parents!They had both lived such incredible lives! Hell, my brother was a hero because he killed the vampire king! I still have flashes of that horrible war sometimes. Yet another thing I pushed deep down. If someone ever opened me up and got down to the nitty-gritty inside me, they would find a pit filled with all the things I pushed down.I smiled at the omega putting fresh flowers in my hair. My first public event for the day and also my favourite part of my birthday. Sharing cake with all the children in the square. That was the one time in the year I didn’t feel as if I wasn’t enough. I was dressed in a comfortab
PhillipaWaking up in the early hours of the morning after my birthday, I decided not to think about it again. I knew I was enough. Nobody ever told me I wasn’t. It was my own silly insecurities making me feel this way. There had to be something I could do to support my people. Something more than just my birthday. I wanted to get involved in the actual running of our kingdom.I didn’t want my brother’s crown. He deserved to be king. I just wanted to get more involved in some way. I wanted to feel useful. I didn’t just want to be. I wanted to do something. I wanted to feel needed on all the other days that weren’t my birthday. My mother looked happy when I told her what I wanted to do and by nightfall, I had been named ambassador to the kingdom.My brother and Bella had some news to share that fit perfectly with the fact that I wanted to get more involved. Bella was pregnant! That meant at some point she would need help with some of the duties so that she could take care of the future
PhillipaMy mother wasn’t just one of our pack heroes. She was my personal hero. She overcame so much before she was found. But that was also the reason I sometimes felt as though I was a failure. I hadn’t nearly overcome as much as she had. I knew my parents did everything in their power to give us and our pack a better life. They never said one unkind word to me or my brother.It was my own insecurities that were driving my fears. All I could do now was focus on my trip. I couldn’t focus on my fears and insecurities. Especially now. I loved the boat. I loved standing on deck and feeling the salty wind blowing through my hair. It took some convincing, but my mother eventually joined me and I could have sworn I saw her smile at one point.She was a slave the last time she was put on a boat like that. It made me feel sad for her. When we reached the shore a couple of days later, I could see the relief on my mother’s face instantly. She still looked strained, but she was slowly relaxing
Somewhere in a cave in the dark forest.A thin fingernail touched the water and as it ripples, I can see an image start to form. Her beautiful face is the first thing I can see before the image moves out, and I can see her entire frame. She is smiling and her eyes sparkle. This is not the first time I’ve looked into the pool of the witch.“And you are sure that is her.” I frowned. I ask the witch the same question each time I come here.“Yes, that is her.” She frowns, and I don’t want to antagonize her any further. I pay the witch before leaving. Now I just need to find a way out of my current mess, and then I can claim my princess!PhillipaI was still thinking about the incredible pixie kingdom when we pulled up outside the dwarf’s kingdom. They were the complete opposite! The pixies were delicate creatures. The dwarfs were rough. The pixies were thin and the dwarfs a little fatter. The pixies walked around happy and smiling. The dwarfs were too busy to pay much attention to me.The
THE LYCAN KINGDOM was never restored. Kings and queens were never appointed again, but there was peace. A world council was appointed to protect all the creatures, and they prepared for the day the humans would return.Supernatural creatures combined their powers and knowledge to better the world and soon everyone was flourishing. The creatures opted not to use their new-found technology to explore the heavens. They didn’t want to run into the creatures that nearly destroyed the earth. They had learned their lessons from the mistakes humans made and whenever greed showed its ugly head, they would quickly be shut down.The supernatural creatures had been given a second chance, and they were going to live their lives to the fullest this time. It was called the cleansing and whenever people referred to it, they spoke with huge respect for those who returned to live new lives. Elizabeth did return with Oliver happily by her side. They took jobs as teachers and had a second full life.Oliv
ElizabethAs the world turned, the Lycan kingdom changed. The days of the great wars were forgotten. The days of peace and trade passed. What was once a great nation splintered into the world and the beautiful castle was left abandoned. The human world grew stronger and the supernatural had to hide from it to stay safe. Traditions were abandoned, so they could hide and the fact that these creatures were real was turned into a myth.The history of the great Lycan kingdom was turned into a legend. The amazing lives of Oliver and Helena were forgotten, and their history books turned to dust in an abandoned kingdom. Witches, dwarfs, pixies and fairies became the creatures that only existed in fairy tales. The age of man had arrived. The rhythm of life took over as the creatures had to hide deeper and deeper in the darkness.Thankfully, the wheel of life always turned, and these creatures found their way back. They grew stronger and fought wars to make a place for themselves in the world.
ElizabethOur children grew and with them our pack and also our little village. My projects that seemed huge when I started them now seemed small, and we had to expand our vegetable garden sooner than planned. We quickly became the second-largest trading post in our region. It wasn’t surprising when we got word that the werecats wanted to talk.A young new alpha had been appointed. She had taken over from her father and had very different views to him. I was pleasantly surprised to meet the young woman. She was strong and confident but not overbearing like most males in her position. She negotiated a very good trade deal between our pack and hers and people who used to be enemies quickly became good friends.It was a time for peace in our world. I knew war would come again someday, but for now we were all living in peace. We were trading and even started a student exchange. After visiting the witches, I really wanted my children to experience something similar when the time was right.
ElizabethSadly, I was very wrong. The werecats were planning war. They wanted our territory and nothing was going to stop them. Our son was born in the midst of all of it and I had a hard time convincing Oliver not to send me back home! He wanted me and our son to be safely tucked away in the castle while they fought the werecats! Who the hell did he think he was mated with?!As soon as my body allowed, I was right there by his side fighting for our people. The war didn’t last very long though. We won fairly quickly thanks to the Royal Army standing behind us. I didn’t realize how incredibly proud I was of myself and of our people until I stood on the porch of our new pack house looking out at our people.Everyone looked tired, and I could feel the sadness in the air. We haven’t just fought a war. We built our new pack house while fighting! Oliver wanted to keep the people busy who had to stay behind. He listened when I told him that life had to continue while we were off fighting fo
ElizabethI had always thought losing Jason was the worst thing I could have gone through, but as I sat there waiting to find out if Oliver had survived the attack, I realized that it wasn’t. If I lost Oliver, I wouldn’t survive. I would appear strong for the pack. I would carry on and raise our pup, but my heart would be broken forever and there would be no healing it this time. It was a scary thing to realize, but it was the truth.Oliver wasn’t just my mate. He was my best friend. The one I relied on. Literally, my other half. Losing him would be like losing my most important limb. I would be able to adjust and move on and live, but something would always be missing. My eyes shot up, and my brain froze the moment we heard someone touching the door handle.“Elizabeth, it’s me. It’s safe. You can come out.” Oliver’s voice caused a collective sigh of relief in the room and I rushed to open the door. Rushing into his arms as soon as I saw him. I breathed in his scent and he smelled of
ElizabethOur celebrations didn’t last long, as soon as Oliver realized that we were under threat. His face instantly turned from happy to worried and I sighed deeply. This was definitely going to affect my life in far worse ways than I had anticipated.“You can’t work on the gardens in your condition. What if we are attacked? How are you going to get to safety in time.” He was talking to me, but it looked more like he was talking to himself as he started to pace back and forth.“Oliver, seriously? I’m pregnant. I’m not an invalid. I’m not even showing yet, for goodness’s sake! I am not going to spend the next couple of months in bed hiding from the world. I won’t do it!” I glared at him. He stopped pacing and sighed deeply as he looked at me.“But you are carrying precious cargo …” He started and when he tried to put his hands on my hips, I pushed him away.“Yes, I am. Cargo that will require exercise and healthy food. Not to mention fresh air. If you want this baby to be born health
ElizabethMy family hadn’t prepared to stay very long, which meant that when the werecats didn’t attack two days later, they had to return to the castle. The men seemed to agree that the werecats were playing the long game. They somehow knew the royal family was visiting and either they weren’t ready to attack yet, or they perhaps didn’t want to take them on.It infuriated me to live in this kind of limbo. I hated trying to guess what my enemy was up to. I hated having enemies. If we had done something to them, I could understand, but we hadn’t. They were just being greedy. I sighed as we said goodbye to my family and watched them disappear into the forest. It was nice having them there, but life had to go on.We would all still be living in a constant state of wondering when we were going to be attacked. Oliver was convinced the werecats were trying to lull us into a false sense of security. He was sure they were going to attack as soon as they thought we had forgotten about them. Wh
ElizabethOliver and I decided we were going to split up because of this. He would stay behind and protect the pack since we were convinced the werecats would come for our prisoner. I was taking the prisoner to my brother. If the werecats thought they could attack the princess of the Lycan kingdom, they would have to think again! We didn’t waste time and within an hour I was ready to go. Oliver pulled me into his arms and kissed me before resting his forehead on mine.“I know you can protect yourself, but please, please be safe. I won’t survive if something happens to you. Keep your eyes and ears open and don’t, under any circumstances, untie the prisoner.” He sighed deeply and I nodded.“I won’t.” I kissed him before pulling out of his arms.“We will take good care of her, alpha.” My future gamma guard promised and I smiled. Their training had gone well so far, but they weren’t ready to protect me all on their own just yet. My royal guards still had to be there as well. As our group
ElizabethOliver and I didn’t go away on honeymoon since there was just too much to do, but it didn’t bother me. I loved being able to finally put my knowledge to the test. We built his parents' garden faster than anticipated and when the entire pack gathered to look at it, I felt pride in my work. In all of them. So many pitched in to plant flowers and grass that it all came together beautifully.Oliver’s mother had tears in her eyes when we revealed the finished product. She had told me a couple of weeks earlier that she saw the gardens at the castle when she was a little girl and had wanted something like that since she was a little girl. I was glad that we could give it to her. I even convinced my family to sponsor some of the flowers right out of the castle garden to round things off and give it that special look.All around the sides there were beautiful flowers with grass divided by walkways and a small fountain in the centre. Oliver built four benches that were placed around t