I talk my way through the hall, trying to find Vivian at the same. Then, discreetly I leave the hall when King Fenris is busy in heavy conversation with others speaking about the war.
I walk towards the staircase at the castle entrance when I hear Vivian’s voice call my name.
‘Maia,’
‘Vivian?’ I say in return with excitement.
We hug each other, not wanting to let go.
‘We need to go somewhere where we won’t be seen,’ she says.
She takes my hand and leads me toward the lake.
‘Maia, I need to tell you something,’
‘You’ve met Damon?’ I ask her.
‘Yes, I have. I also know his Beta Troy,’ she says, blushing.
‘Vivian?’
‘Maia…the werewolves, they are not the enemy. King Fenris is the enemy. Damon, Troy and Zayden, I have met them all. Would you believe I had all three werewolves over for dinner at my house? Werewolves of all people!’ she giggles in disbelief.
‘Oh, and I’m Troy’s mate. He is such a gentleman too. Werewolves are far from what we have been led to believe, Maia. We need to get you out of here, and we need to let everyone know the truth,’
‘Vivian,’ I begin to cry heavily in her chest.
‘Vivian, I’m so foolish. King Fenris tried to convince me that werewolves are monsters and that the only reason Damon hadn’t killed me was because of the mate bond,’ I cry.
Vivian hugs me tighter and rubs my back.
‘Maia, you are young and don’t know the world like the rest of us do. You have lived alone in the forest all your life. It must be hard not knowing who to believe or who you can trust. Even we humans have been fooled by King Fenris and led to believe werewolves are monsters. We are all a bunch of fools, Maia,’ she says, stroking my hair.
‘Vivian, you are such a good friend to me,’ I say, sniffling.
‘But how will Damon ever forgive me for thinking so wrongly of him? I realise that I truly do love him. I love Damon. I was confused at first. I just needed to know what these feelings that I have for him were. I now know I have loved Damon from the moment I met him, and I love everything about him, even the cute puppy sounds he makes in his sleep,’ I say, pondering at the memory.
‘I’ve never stopped thinking about him while I have been here and how much I want to be in his arms again. Oh, Viv, I want to be with Damon. I want to be by his side and no one else’s other than his,’
Viv held my face in her hands and wipes the tears from my face. ‘Well, why don’t you turn around, my dear sweet Maia, and tell him that,’ she smiles.
I look up at Vivian in confusion. She smiles and nods at me to say Damon is standing behind me and has heard the whole conversation.
I turn around to see Damon. He has tears running down his face and another man with him, along with Grace, Ella and a little boy.
‘Maia, you never betrayed me. Unfortunately, King Fenris has taken advantage of your trust and kindness, betraying you,’ Damon says, opening his arms for me to embrace.
I run into his arms and burst into tears against his chest. His arms wrap around me tightly, and he lifts me off the ground. We both hold each other and cry.
Our tears start to settle, and we gaze into each other’s eyes.
‘Alpha King Damon of Moon Crest Valley, I accept you as my mate, Alpha and King, and to be your Luna. I love you, Damon of Moon Crest Valley.’
Damon’s eyes sparkle at my words.
‘I love you too, and I accept you as my mate, Luna and Queen of Moon Crest Valley.’ He says as tears roll down his cheek.
Gazing lovingly at each other, I pull his face to mine and kiss him with intense love and passion. Damon feels his strength grow greater from Maia accepting him as his mate.
Magic flows through my veins, and the wind engulfs a circle of leaves around us, along with water and fire surrounding us both in a sphere.
Vivian, Troy and the children step back and hold onto each other in awe. I don’t want to let go of Damon. I want to stay like this in his arms forever.
The sphere of elements around us begins to settle and fade, and we turn to face Troy, Vivian and the children.
Troy kneels before me,
‘My Luna and Queen, it is an honour to meet you and serve you finally,’ I smile at him
‘You must be Troy?’ I say.
‘Yes, Luna, I am Troy, your Beta,’ he smiles.
‘You look familiar… wait! You’re the man from the market who bought the wolf furs after I bumped into the merchant’s stall,’ I say in disbelief.
‘Wait, that was you? Your face was hidden under the hood of your cloak. I can’t believe we had crossed paths before and never knew all this time…’ he says, just as surprised as I am.
‘I’d love to introduce you to my mate Vivian and our children, but it seems you already know each other, except for my son Zayden here.’ He says with a smile and takes hold of Zayden’s hand, and gently pulls him forward to greet me.
The boy is adorable and blushes, ‘It’s such a pleasure to meet you, princess,’ he bows.
‘Well, aren’t you a sweet, strapping young boy,’ I say as I cup his face and place a kiss on his forehead.
Vivian smiles and stares lovingly at Troy.
‘I’m so happy for you both,’ I say, smiling and adoring the two together.
‘Oh, Damon! I have been absent from the ball too long. King Fenris will be looking for me,’ I say with worry.
‘Don’t worry, Maia. You can come with us now, back to Moon Crest Valley.’ Damon says.
‘No, Damon, I want to, I do, but I need to stay here for now. I need to stop this war or at least save as many people as I can.’
Damon pauses for a moment in thought.
‘What’s the plan then?’
I tell them about the day at the training fields with the bow and arrows, how all the soldiers admired me, bowed to me and how I got earnt their respect.
‘I’m going to go to the villages, and I’m going to earn the people’s love and respect. I need them to trust me to take our side in the war, that they need not fear us but King Fenris. They need to know the truth that werewolves don’t want to hurt them.’
Everyone nods in agreeance.
‘If anything goes wrong, Maia, I will not hesitate to lead our pack army into West Wallow and have you safely returned by my side,’ Damon says.
‘Damon, we must allow safe passage to any humans that seek refuge from the war and want to live peacefully among us,’
Damon pauses and looks at me in thought and nods his head.
‘Tell anyone who seeks refuge to go to Wellmore, and Troy will lead them through the forest and onto our lands where they will be under the warrior’s protection,’
‘I must go now, Damon.’
We kiss passionately and force ourselves apart. I run towards the castle as quick as I can. Before I enter, I turn to see Damon, Troy, Vivian and the children by the lake.
‘I love you, Damon.’ I whisper the words into the wind.
He flinches, and his smile grows as the wind delivers my message. I thank the wind and enter the castle.
‘Maia, my love, I was beginning to worry about you. I had guards looking for you everywhere,’ King Fenris says.
I smile at him, ‘I’m so sorry, I was out on one of the balconies for some fresh air, all this dancing and so many people around I became flustered. I thought I’d soon pass out,’ I lie.
King Fenris relaxes his shoulders.
‘Of course.’ He smiles.
King Fenris introduces me to many high-ranking members at the ball. When talk of the war is mentioned, I excuse myself for more air. Afterwards, I have one last dance with King Fenris. He thanks everyone for attending and escorts me to my room.
‘I hope you enjoyed the ball, my love?’ He asks.
‘Yes, I did. It was more than I ever dreamt it would be,’ I say, pondering at the moment I accepted Damon as my mate, Alpha and King.
I wish King Fenris ‘Good night.’ with a curtsy, and I shut my door.
Moments later, Jewel and Leah come into my room, undress me, and redress me in a nightie.
Even though I was in King Fenris’s castle, I felt so happy knowing I was Luna and Queen of Moon Crest Valley and Alpha King Damon’s mate.
I now have to protect my people, the wolf packs in Moon Crest Valley and save as many humans as I can in West Wallow.
I climb into bed and fall asleep.
