Two Years Later
*Maddox*
“Where is she?” I ask, looking over the strewn papers on my desk. I look down at the dark wells of ink splatter over everything and frown, shifting my gaze to the trail of ink that moves in a circle around my desk, then around the couch in the center of the room. Inky fingerprints cover the leather then disappear again before the ink spots disappear beyond the door and into the long corridor.
Elijah shrugs, his mouth curved at the edges as he looks around the room. “Not here anymore, obviously. I’m sure if you follow the trail she left behind you’ll know exactly where she is.”
I glance over at him as I gather the ink stained papers and stack them neatly before sighing and tossing them in the trash can beside my desk.
“How’d she get in here, anyway?”
“She just learned how to turn doorknobs,” I answer, shaking my head. I can’t help but smile despite the fact my entire office is covered in ink, and my best fountain pen is dismantled and laying on the carpet, ink seeping into the insanely expensive fabric.
Elijah chuckles and runs his fingers through his hair. “What a little menace, Maddox. I don’t remember Isaac being this… determined.”
“He wasn’t,” I answer flatly, smiling to myself again. Isaac, forever amiable and well behaved, was more interested in sitting quietly on the now ink splattered couch reading a book while I worked. He has never been hell-bent on chaos and destruction. But Ella?
“Don’t laugh,” I say to Elijah as I scratch my chin and give the room one more cautionary glance in the event Ella is in here, hiding. “Rosie could end up doing worse to your private rooms once she starts walking.”
Elijah pales a bit but smiles nonetheless. He has dark circles under his eyes, and he looks exhausted, but that’s expected of a new father. Rosemary, Trinity and Elijah’s six-month-old daughter, has just started crawling and hasn’t slept through the night at all during her short life. Trinity is a very doting mother and refuses to send little Rosie to the nursery at night so far.
“Speaking of which,” Elijah says as he starts to move toward the door, “I need to go make sure Trin and Rosie are ready for this afternoon.”
I nod, accepting his leave as he walks out into the hallway. He pauses, staring left, then right, and looks at me over his shoulder. “Seems like she headed toward the kitchen.”
“Great. I’m sure she was cleaned up and spoiled by the cooks,” I murmur, wondering how the hell anyone is going to clean the ink stains out of the leather couch. I have a very busy day ahead of me, and asking the maids to see to the destruction of my office will have to wait. It’s all hands on deck right now with all of the Alphas in my kingdom convening for the conference held at my castle every five years.
Isla is in a fit over it, especially since I’ll be formally naming Isaac as my heir, the crown prince. Everything has to be perfect, and if Isla is in charge, I know it will be.
“Ella?” I call out as I enter the kitchen. Steam lifts from pots and pans as the cooks hurry around the room. It’s frantic, and I find it hard to believe Ella would have come in here and been allowed to stay if everyone is this busy.
But everyone loves Ella.
One of the cooks moves out of my line of vision with a mass of highly decorated mini cakes on a tray in his hands, and I spot her.
“You’re in serious trouble,” I say to my daughter, who is sitting on the counter in the corner of the kitchen with a piece of chocolate cake on her lap. Her plump, rosy cheeks stretch into a chocolate covered grin that meets those cat-like blue eyes that seem perpetually narrowed with mischief.
* * *
*Isla*
“She’s only a year and half,” Trinity says over the sound of the bathtub running. Rosie babbles in her arms as they watch me try to scrub chocolate, ink, and a barrage of grime from my daughters face and body. Ella is fighting me the whole time, of course. “Just think about what she’ll be like when she’s Isaac’s age.”
“Oh, Goddess,” I whisper, paling a bit. Ella has the personality of someone destined to conquer and rule at just over a year old. Her as a three year old scares me to death.
But, she is truly a gift. No one makes us laugh and smile more than Ella and her antics.
“Mommy?” Isaac asks as he walks into the bathroom, tugging on the stiff outfit he’s been forced to wear. He frowns as he peeks around Trinity, wrinkling his nose. “What’s on her face?”
“Chocolate and… ink, I believe,” I reply, giving my beautiful son a grin over my shoulder. Isaac is still blond and looks like me completely. I feel a little bad that he’s uncomfortable in his fancy, tailor made clothing, but it’s only for a little while. “Where’s Daddy?”
“He told me to find you,” he shrugs. Ella squeals at the mention of Daddy and splashes water.
“I’d better go. I’m sure the Alphas are starting to arrive,” Trinity sighs, shifting Rosie’s weight on her hip.
“I’ll be down soon,” I reply, smiling up at Trinity. “Isaac, go with Trinity, all right? I’ll meet you in the throne room.”
I grab a towel and scoop Ella out of the tub, careful not to get water on my gown.Ella reaches up to clasp my earrings, but I lean away from her, making a funny face.
“No no,” I warn.
“No, NO,” she repeats, beaming and dramatically shaking her head. No was her first word, of course.
I dress her as quickly as possible in the light blue, fluffy dress Hestia and Cindy have made for the occasion. She looks like a little cupcake. I fight to get her socks and shoes on, knowing full well she’s going to take them off the first chance she gets, then step back to admire my work.
“All right, Ella. All done.”
“Bye bye!”
I smirk and scoop her up, carrying her on my hip as we hurry through my room and then the castle. Vases of flowers cover practically every surface in the house as we reach the stairs overlooking the main foyer.
Normally, the nanny or even the maids would have helped get Ella ready for an event like this, but everyone is insanely busy right now, and honestly, I just prefer to do it myself. I might be the Luna, but being a wife and mother will always be my priority.
“Luna,” the Alphas say as I pass, bowing their heads. I smile graciously as I make my way toward the throne room, the door still closed to the crowd beginning to gather. Each Alpha will have a chance to stand before us and tell us about the status of their pack, their needs, and desires. Tonight, a ball will be held, and tomorrow is the beginning of what will be a week-long conference to discuss matters of the Kingdom of Crescent Falls.
I’m exhausted just thinking about it as I slip through the door of the throne room and a pair of warriors close it firmly behind me.
“Sorry,” I grumble, hurrying up to my throne. Maddox is sitting on his throne with Isaac on his knee, a toy train balanced in our son's lap. Ella squirms, reaching for Maddox. I practically dump her in his arms and start righting the somewhat wrinkled fabric of my gown that creased while I’d been bending down to bathe our feral daughter.
“You look beautiful,” Maddox says, leaning over to brush a kiss to my cheek as I settle into my throne. I run my hands over the golden arm rests and sigh, feeling like I can finally, after several weeks of preparation, take a deep breath.
“Thank you,” I smile at him. “So do you.”
Heat settles between us for a moment as I clasp his hand, but Ella is already trying to escape from his lap, so the moment is short lived.
“I don’t think the children are going to last very long this way,” Trinity says at my side. I glance over at Elijah, who is standing next to Maddox’s throne with Rosie in his arms. She has his dark hair and hazel eyes, but she looks more like Trinity to me, at least for now. Ella was born with blonde hair, but it fell out shortly thereafter, and she was bald for several months. Now, her hair is a rich coffee color and with springy, tight ringlets that feel like the finest silk. “Well, Isaac will,” Trinity beams down at Isaac.
Isaac flushes with pride as he picks at his train, blushing a bit. He is the sweetest child.
We all turn to the door as it opens just enough to let a young man step through, his face shadowed by the hat he’s wearing. He takes it off, murmuring something about the rain.
“Ben?” I say, standing up. “I didn’t know you were coming!”
“You think I’d miss the conference, Isla?” he laughs as I rush to him and throw my arms around him. He’s gotten taller, and his voice is now deep and gravelly. Ben will be turning nineteen soon and just finished his first year of college at Wells after graduating from their junior academy.
“Ben,” Maddox nods in greeting, a soft smile touching his cheeks as Ben and I walk back over to the thrones. Ben takes a seat on the steps leading up to the thrones and stretches his legs out in front of him.
“Is Emery here?”
I glance at Maddox, a secret understanding passing between us. Something has been going on between these two for years now, but neither of them have ever mentioned anything about being official. They are too young to feel a mate bond yet, anyway.
“She’s with the other Alphas,” Maddox replies, but then a strange, electric pulse rushes through the room.
All of the fine, downy hairs on my arms stand on end as silence settles over our group. Even Ella quiets, her eyes flashing with sudden apprehension.
The silence is broken by Maddox slowly lowering our children to the ground and standing. Elijah hands Rosie to Trinity and unsheatheunsheathss a dagger from his belt.
The door to the throne room opens wide, the doors bouncing off the walls by the sheer force of the thrust used by the cloaked woman striding toward us, her wine red hair billowing out behind her.
She closes in on us as I stand and pick up Ella. I pull Isaac toward me, holding him against my leg as Maddox steps in front of us, shielding us with his body.
“Who are you?” he booms. I glance out into the foyer and see that it is… empty.
Fear blossoms in my chest, but I don’t have a chance to consider what's happening before the stranger speaks, her lifted voice filling the room.
“My name is Cressendra, the Luna Queen of Eastonia,” she booms, then takes a ragged breath. “I seek aid for our–our kingdom–against–” She meets my eyes and takes a stumbling step backward. That’s when I see it. Blood. Blood seeping through the homespun, dark brown dress she’s wearing beneath her cloak.
“She’s hurt,” I try to say, but the woman collapses in front of us, and the blanket of electricity lifts, followed by shouts of concern drifting in from the foyer.
Magic. She’d–she’d lowered some kind of veil over us, shielding us all from the view of the other Alphas as she came into the room.
“Get the children out of here,” Maddox commands Trinity as he starts forward, but I hold out my arm to stop him.
“What is Eastonia?” I ask breathlessly, looking down at the unconscious woman who obviously has great, great power.
“It’s just a myth,” he says in a hoarse whisper as Elijah joins us.
“It’s not,” Elijah says. “And if she’s truly from Eastonia, we are in serious danger right now.”
Cressendra gasps, then slowly turns her head to look up at us. She reaches up a shaking hand, curling her fingers as she points at–at Ella.
And then she dies.