PhillipaThe witches greeted us with such love and excitement that all my fears disappeared instantly. I realized that I was scared of how they were going to react to having a man in their midst, but they all seemed so happy to meet Andre, that my fear quickly disappeared. Andre and I learned about how everything and everyone was linked through some invisible force.We learned about how the witches believed in harming nothing. They didn’t even kill a spider! They believed that all life was precious. They also taught us that they believed good and evil had to exist for the world to be in balance. If it didn’t, something was sure to go wrong. I didn’t entirely understand it. Peace was so precious to me that I couldn’t imagine what they were saying to be true.“Let me put it this way, your highness. If your family hadn't gone to war with the werewolves and the slave masters, would there have been peace?” The high priestess smiled, and I had to give it to her. It made sense finally. There
PhillipaA couple of months later, Andre and I announced that we were expecting. We didn’t want to say anything until we were sure everything was okay. Although our kind didn’t have many issues with pregnancy, I was still trying to be careful. I didn’t say it out loud, but I was scared that the peace wouldn’t last. Peace never lasts in our world.The trade treaty my brother negotiated was meant to be the beginning of a new era for our kind, but from the whispers I noted whenever Andre met with my brother, I could tell something was going on. I hated the fact that Andre was probably hiding something from me, but I didn’t ask him about it. I didn’t want him to betray my brother’s confidence.He is one of our top warrior trainers these days. Things were really going great. Or so I thought. I wouldn’t know until they told me what was going on. If it was serious, I didn’t want them distracted by my interference. I needed them to focus on what they were doing. The more time passed, the more
PhillipaEverything happened exactly the way my family thought it would. The trolls were adamant that the mines in the pixie lands belonged to them. It meant that Eli had to go there to facilitate the visit. Before he could allow the trolls to walk onto pixie lands, he had to inspect the troll mines. He had to see the proof they insisted they had. I wanted to go with them, but it had become clear that I had to stay away from everything that had to do with the treaty.It was infuriating to hang around the castle while all of them left to do this inspection. My mom suggested that I do some research and that was what I focussed on. If we could find proof that the trolls were lying, we could kick them off the treaty and this entire mess would be over. People wouldn’t see me as the cause behind a full-scale war.I dug into the books in the library, hoping to find something that would help my family. It was going to take a couple of days for them to reach the trolls, which might just give m
PhillipaI couldn’t believe that it was that easy. Stressful but easy. The trolls weren’t clever enough to realize we had books going back centuries. They were playing the long game in the hopes that people wouldn’t remember. They were going to be kicked out of the treaty agreement by everyone else. They wanted to weaken us. The Lycan kingdom was a threat to everyone, since we were the strongest and largest group.I had to wait for a couple of days for my family to return and used my time to arrange a huge welcome. I had never been so relieved to see all of them back home safe. It wasn’t nice being on this side and having to wait to find out what was happening. I was angry at myself for all my ridiculous fears and insecurities. I was the princess and I never felt as insecure as I did through all of this. It started after I found out I was pregnant. Suddenly, the entire world just seemed too dangerous! I didn’t even notice it before! There were so many things around us that could cause
PhillipaSadly, our happiness didn’t last. My family had done a great job of hiding it from me again! I hated that life could get so messy so quickly! I loved my peaceful life! By the time I got out of the hospital, all hell had broken loose. Over the past couple of months, the treaty had been falling apart completely. Everyone who was involved wanted nothing more to do with it.Most of them believed it was our way of taking control of everything. They believed we were trying to control everyone. The treaty that was meant to bring peace was in jeopardy and I didn’t even know about it. I couldn’t believe that the people I met had turned on my family so quickly. Nobody was threatened with war, which was the only thing that seemed to be going for us.My family, including Andre, didn’t want to tell me because of our little baby. Now that she was born, they couldn’t hide it from me any longer. Eli worked really hard to get everyone to agree. It was sad to see it all fall apart, but I was b
ElizabethSurvival of the fittest. Wasn’t that the way things worked in our kingdom? My palms were sweaty as we walked into the ballroom and all eyes turned on me. My shoe hooked on something and I went flying through the air and all I could think about was how the tongues were going to wag after that! I didn’t have much time to think about it as I flew through the air and right into the arms of the one man I couldn’t stand! Jason Smith!“Careful!” He let go of me so fast that I almost tumbled over a second time! I mumbled a quick thank you and continued to the end of the aisle. Why did I have to fall right into his arms? Why couldn’t I just have held onto my father who was right there beside me?! We turned to look at the people while my father made his speech and I wished that the earth would just swallow me up!The people were snickering and whispering like they always did when I had one of my damn blunders! I knew what they were saying. I didn’t have to hear it. I’ve been hearing i
JasonHer scent was so intoxicating that I just wanted to bathe in it. I wanted more than anything to take her and make her mine. At that very first moment, I realized she was my mate, but now wasn’t the right time. She was the princess, which meant there were certain royal procedures that had to take place first before we could finally get to that last little part.Her title didn’t matter to me. The power of her title also didn’t matter. I was born into my position and have had the privileges that went with it since the day I was born. I was even relieved sometimes that I wasn’t a prince or the future heir to this throne. The royals didn’t know about all the threats against them most of the time, and it was my job to make sure they never found out.It was my job to make sure they felt safe. That they believed people loved them unconditionally … Blah, blah, blah. My father taught me all the rules from a very young age. He even told me at one point that he believed we were stronger tha
ElizabethSharing my room was the last thing on my mind when I woke up in the early hours of the morning drenched in sweat! I had been dreaming dirty things all damn night and, although I wasn’t a prude, I couldn’t believe that I could so suddenly be having these kinds of dreams! The mate bond really messed with your head! It was utterly infuriating!When I walked into the dining room for breakfast, I nearly peed myself! Jason and his family were there to have breakfast with us and each time I looked at him the memories of my dreams rushed forward instantly! It was as if my mind was trying to convince me that he wasn’t such a bad guy. I didn’t want to be this girl! The girl that could only gush about her mate and nothing else!Damn the mate bond! Damn the moon goddess and whoever came up with the idea that we were destined to love only one perfect person! I couldn’t for the life of me think of one reason why Jason was my perfect match! Okay, fine. He was the second-highest ranked male
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