2. A Startling Revelation

    Just as she had predicted, the entrance assessment exams were a cake walk. She had breezed through them, which had only left the Headmaster even more impressed. He had offered her a full scholarship to the International Werewolf Academy, so she would be going for free, an option that was usually only reserved for Omegas or the children of the Deltas that worked at the academy or within the Royal Court. Though she was incredibly proud of herself for managing to get a scholarship to the academy, she was also confused. She had never heard of anyone getting a scholarship to attend before.

      Usually only the children of high ranking, high class wolves, or service ranked wolves attended the academy. Nonetheless, she would be attending this year, and the Headmaster had said her scholarship would be for 4 years, which was the usual length of time that students attended. 

        She was packed & ready to go, just waiting for the bus that would be arriving in an hour. She could hear the unusual sounds of high activity from throughout the house of the other students who were waiting for the bus as well. No doubt the Omegas had made a large breakfast and snack bags for the trip. It was a 30hr trip to the academy from their pack territory in Georgia, & they would drive it straight through, only stopping for food breaks. 

       Pushing thoughts of the drive from her mind, she focused on the task at hand. With just about everything she owned packed into the 3 duffel bags & the backpack she would take with her, there was only a box of things she would leave behind for the Omegas to place in storage for her. Ofcourse they didn't know that yet, but she knew that she would never return to this place. This pack just wasn't her home anymore. The only thing she needed to do now was open the thin rectangular box that her father had left her when he died in the rogue attack 3years ago. 

       She looked at the box sitting on the desk to her left, debating on opening it. She had been putting this moment off for 3yrs, not wanting to know what he had left behind for her. Knowing what was in the box would mean he was really gone. It would be the last piece of him she had. She elongated the claw of her index finger & sliced through the tape. She took a deep calming breath to steady her heart rate as she pulled out the contents. There was a sealed envelope with her name written on it, & a thin velvet box. She pulled them out & sat the box to the side. 

       She let out a long breath that she hadn't even realized she was hold as she sat down on the desk chair. The pad of her thumb brushed over her father's writing "Maeva."  With shaky hands she flipped the envelope over & slid her finger under the lip, opening the letter. 

       She took the folded sheets of paper out of the envelope, unfolded them, & began reading... 

        My Dearest Maeva, 

If you are reading this, then I am no longer with you. Trust that I have left you with the invaluable & necessary skills you will need to protect yourself, but mostly my dear, trust yourself. You are so much stronger & more powerful than you could ever imagine. Always trust your instincts. They will never lead you astray. 

As you know my dear, you are no ordinary wolf. You my Dearest Maeva, are one of the strongest & most powerful wolves in the world, with a power that is only comparable & even possibly more extensive than the Alpha King himself. It is for that reason that you had to be hidden from the world. As your guardian & protector, it has been my greatest privilege & honor to raise you, but sweetheart, I am not your true father. 

Your birth father died when you were just an infant, protecting you from a large scale attack on your true pack after forces of darkness conspired to murder you. The reason for this conspiracy was that your power was predicted to be unlike that of any that came before you.

You see my dear, you are a Timekeeper wolf. I know that you have learned about them in your history classes, & that you learned about the death of the Timekeeper line, of how it ended in the death of the infant Princess Genevieve, but that is not the truth my love. You reading this letter is proof that line is still alive & well. 

You, sweetheart, are Princess Genevieve, the heir to the title of Timekeeper Alpha Queen of the Royal Hidden Stream Pack. Your birth father, King Felix, the Timekeeper Alpha died protecting you in the battle of Hidden Stream when you were only 6 months old, the battle that you have read about in your history classes. You learned that the infant Princess died in that battle, but I assure you, that is not the truth. 

Your mother, Luna Priestess Cecelia, and your older brother, Prince Gavin, decided that it was in your best interest to allow the packs & the Alpha King to believe you were dead. Many believed that as the first female Timekeeper to be born into the line in over 600 years, that your power would exceed that of the Alpha King's. Rumor spread that you were created with great power, specifically for you to overthrow him. This made your mother fearful that King Rayan would send his men to take your life, especially after we lost Alpha King Felix and many of our best warriors in the battle. 

So as the powerful Priestess that Luna Cecelia was, she bound your power so that you could be hidden away. Your brother & mother selflessly put the protection of your life in my hands & sent you away to me, to raise as my own in a new pack, far from your birth pack. They led everyone to believe that you had died as a result of losing the battle, and that the Timekeeper line died with you, so that those who wished you harm would stop looking for you. 

This is why you first shifted at only 12 years old, & why I have insisted that you never shift infront of anyone but me, even after your 16th birthday. As with all wolves of the Royal bloodline, you first shifted just before puberty, & as you have seen with my own wolf, Gia is larger than any other wolf. Though you may have never noticed, Gia bears the Timekeeper markings, 1 of the 3 Royal Markings a wolf born into the Timekeeper line can bear. Furthermore, her eyes glow of the sparkling silver sands of time that only the Timekeeper wolf is known to have. For that reason, as I have stressed to you since your first shift, it is imperative to your safety that you keep her contained at all costs, unless absolutely necessary. 

Now that you know who you are Princess, I have enclosed a gift to help you protect yourself from those who would wish you harm. As you know, the Royal Timekeeper line is known for its immunity to silver, & high tolerance to wolfsbane. You were trained to fight in your human form, so I had a special set of daggers made for you. Made of silver & enchanted by a powerful High Priest, the daggers will help to protect you, & because they are made completely of silver, only your or your immediate family will ever be able to wield them. I pray to the Goddess that they serve you well my dear Princess, for you have a great and beautiful destiny ahead. 

                  All My Love,

                       Daniel, aka, Dad

       She couldn't fight the tears that escaped her eyes as she folded the letter back up, folding it in half so that she could tuck it into her bra. Perhaps she should burn it, she thought, but even still, she couldn't do that here. No, she would need to keep it close until she had the necessary time to dispose of it properly. She lifted the lid of the velvet box to see the daggers that he had spoke of. Completely silver with gemstones embedded into the handles. She recognized the gems aligned on the top & bottom of the handle as Sapphires, along with some moonstones throughout, but she had no clue what the others were. Enchanted silver daggers. She closed the black velvet box as she stood up & carried it to the bed, tucking it safely into the backpack she would carry on the bus with her. Taking a deep breath & pushing the new information to the back of her mind to process on the bus, she pulled her backpack over her shoulders. She grabbed the 3 duffels, her blanket & a pillow from the bed & headed for the stairs.