The night before…
*Isaac*
I press my phone to my ear as I walk through the castle. It’s early evening, and Cassian is insistent on shifting with me tonight. It’s a perfect night for it, a full moon. The whole city is lit up with lanterns and every temple is decorated for the monthly celebrations that take place during the full moons.
“Mom,” I breathe, my mouth curving into a smile. “I missed your call earlier.”
“How are you, honey? I haven’t heard from you in ages!”
“Busy,” I admit, wincing. “I’m sure Dad and Antony have made you well aware of the situation here.”
“They have.” Her voice is suddenly stern and uneasy. “Antony and your dad are growing concerned. It’s all the talk around Crescent Falls, but it takes so long for news to reach Maatua. Is everything all right?”
“Everything is fine. The threat is far south so far, and I have it handled.” For now.
I keep her chatting for a moment, trying to gauge whether Ella made good on her threat to tell our parents what I’m up to, but Mom is oblivious.
“I love you, Isaac. Take care of yourself, please. And Ella, too. Keep her out of trouble.”
“I will. I love you.” I slide my phone into my pocket and sigh, running a hand through my hair as I make my way toward Cassian’s rooms. Keeping this a secret from my parents grates on my nerves, but it’s a necessary evil. It’s likely by the time they find out, the threat from Eastonia will be at our doorstep, and at that point, my personal concerns won’t matter.
“Isaac!”
I turn to find Ella running toward me, her eyes frantic and full of tears.
“Ella? What happened?” I catch her as she throws her arms around me, her body trembling and her hands gripping my shirt. “Are you hurt? What happened?”
“I saw Geniveve–Jenny in town, Isaac. I brought her to the art shop I like, the one you hate me going to.”
“Ella–” I hold her at arm's length and look down at her as she starts tripping over her words.
“We left the shop and–and some guy jumped out of a car and grabbed her! He slapped her so hard I think she might have passed out for a second. He dragged her into the car and drove off. I think she’s in danger!”
My world stops spinning on its axis as a memory of that girl’s sad eyes flutters back into the forefront of my mind. Of the way she flinches away from everyone, how she keeps her mouth carefully closed and how impossible frail she is.
“She was kidnapped?” I ask, concern and some other emotion I can’t make sense of tightening my grip on Ella’s shoulders.
Ella nods, her eyes glassy with tears.
I call for Cassian over the mind-link. Nothing about this feels right. Ella assumes this is random, a wrong place at the wrong time kind of situation.
But I knew better. I had some of my guards follow that Alester guy undercover. His name isn’t Alester. The letter, apparently from the Alpha King of Celestoria, arrived this morning. It’s obviously a forgery.
Alester Martin is actually a known rogue with a small crew of criminals under his leadership that wreak havoc on Crescent City. I didn’t recognize him when he first came to the castle because I’d never had the pleasure of catching him. Reginald is his real name, and whoever the girl is, she’s not the princess of Celestoria.
What does he think he’s doing with this girl? Trying to pass her off as a princess in hopes I’ll pay him for her?
“What’s going on?” Cassian pants as he skids to a stop beside me and Ella.
“Get a few guards together and go into Crescent City to the packhouse belonging to Reginald. Inform the Alpha of Crescent City that I’ll have the royal guard on patrol before you head into town. I don’t want any issues with him inserting himself into this situation.”
Cassian gives me an odd, skeptical look. “What the hell is happening, Isaac?”
Ella is still standing in front of us, looking back and forth with a desperate look in her eyes. Cassian notices the glassy tears rolling down Ella’s cheeks and goes rigid with tension.
“Did you go into the city, Ella?” Cassian snaps.
“That does not concern you, dickhead,” Ella replies in a clipped, dismissive tone. She steps forward and clutches my arm tight enough her nails pinch my skin. “You’re going to get her and bring her back here, right? Please, Isaac. I like her, okay? Something about her is familiar, and I know you feel it too–”
“You’re talking about the Princess of Celestoria–”
I cut Cassian off with a wave of the hand and pry my sister's finger from my arm, giving them both an icy look. “She isn’t the princess, and I highly doubt her name is Genevive.”
Ella backs up a step, her eyes narrowing. “Then who is she? And who the hell is Reginald?”
“Reginald is a known rogue and criminal with a small pack that has been terrorizing Crescent City for decades, and the Alpha of that city does nothing to stop him,” Cassian growls, crossing his arms over his chest. He heaves a breath, a simmering, bloodthirsty look in his eyes. “No one has ever seen him, as far as I’m aware. Some of his goons, though? Those guys are recognizable, I’m sure.”
“Find them, then. I need a message passed along.” I start walking to my office, but Ella shoves Cassian out of the way and falls into step with me.
“I can understand her, Isaac. I had a unit on Celestoria in school and found my old textbooks. I was able to talk to her yesterday for a bit before… before everything happened.”
I glance down at my sister. Ella is very passionate about a lot of things, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen her desperate before. I don’t like it. “Did she say anything about her situation?”
“No, and I was too consumed with… well, I was surprised to see her. She was wearing a huge coat and dressed plainly. She was freezing like she’d been outside for a while and asked if I knew how to get to the train station.”
“She was trying to run away,” I say to myself, and the truth of it hits me unexpectedly in the chest. I have absolutely no reason to care, but for whatever reason, something about this girl has me hooked. Maybe it’s the mystery of this situation and the drama that allows me to think of something other than the war for the first time in years. “Why do you care, Ella?”
She licks her lips and falls back a step as I cross the threshold of my office, Cassian following closely behind us as I step behind my desk and pull out one of the official pieces of parchment with our family crest at the top.
I can’t send a text to a known criminal, but an official letter under the guise of an interview with his “niece” might do the trick.
“She needs our help.” Ella’s voice quakes with each word.
I write a quick memo, telling “Alester” I require him to come to the castle with his niece for a formal meeting, alluding to the idea that I’ve made up my mind, and Jenny, or whatever the hell her name is, is going to be my bride.
I stop before adding my signature, my pen hovering above the paper.
Maybe this isn’t so bad. Ella likes her, and she and Hannah can understand the girl at least. I can too, to a point. She isn’t the wife I had in mind, but she’s in a position where she probably couldn’t refuse if I asked–or demanded.
Ella and Hannah could train her to perform the duties that being the Luna would require.
And in exchange for her safety, and a roof over her head, I’d have the wife I needed to appease the Alphas of my kingdom and show them I do, in fact, plan on carrying on my family’s line before I ask them to send in their armies to fight against Eastonia.
Or–I could just use this as a ruse to get the bastard to bring her back here so she’s safe. Then, Ella will be happy. Either way, the letter must be sent.
I tilt my head, considering the idea of making her my wife in length while my sister fumes in front of me. If anything, I’ll separate the woman from her captor and find out just what’s going on. Who she is and where she came from, if she was taken from her family, or if she’s part of this plot willingly, and what she gets out of it in return.
She can’t be totally innocent in Reginald’s games.
But then I remember her frailness and the tired, withdrawn look in her eyes. I clench my teeth, trying to place the feeling in my chest when I think of those stormy blue eyes with some long forgotten memory, but it’s just out reach.
“Isaac,” Ella breathes, frustration heavy in her tone. “What are you planning to do? Will you bring her here, at least, until we figure out what’s going on?”
“Yeah,” I reply, straightening up and handing the paper to Cassian with a quick nod. He doesn’t need any direction. He leaves, and I know, within the next two hours, the man will have received my summons, and my plan will go into action. The girl will be safe, Reginald will be apprehended, and the Alpha of Crescent City will have no choice but to gather his army and bend the knee to my will.
Two birds, one stone.
“Isaac!” Ella frantically slams her hands down on the table.
“Ella, she will be fine,” I grind out, sitting down behind my desk and running my fingers through my hair before asking, “What more do you want me to say?”
“Have you heard anything I said? She was hurt, badly. I think she was trying to escape, and I prevented her from doing so. I didn’t know.” Guilt hugs each word, but she continues, “I’ll take care of her. I’ll find out where she came from and get her back to her family.”
“She’ll stay here for a while.”
Ella looks surprised, then narrows her eyes at me. “It’s obvious she wasn’t really wanting to be part of this… game you have going on!”
“This isn’t a game,” I scold. “And you’re right, maybe. I plan to get to the bottom of it. Don’t cling to the notion that she’s some innocent person being held against her will. This could be part of a bigger plot.”
“A bigger plot?” Ella exclaims. “You always think the worst of people, Isaac. You always act like everyone is out to get you, like everyone around you has some ulterior motive.”
“Because they do, Ella. I am the Alpha King. I’m seen as too young, too green, and too inexperienced to be seated on what many believe should still be my father's throne!”
“You asked him for it!”
“And he gave it to me!” I snapped. “I need a wife. This girl is getting in my way, and I mean to put an end to it.”
I didn’t say what I should have said. I didn’t tell Ella that this girl's face had been plaguing my dreams since the moment I saw her. That touching her when I prevented her from running toward the garden wall has sent a jolt up my spine, something familiar and damning that I couldn’t wrap my head around.
I need to know who she is, and why she’s here right before my kingdom falls into the chaos I can only hope is temporary. I have to win this war or else we will be right back where we were before my father found that damn diamond.
Otherwise none of this matters.
“You didn’t use to be like this,” Ella says with a heartbreaking crack in her voice. “I miss who you used to be.”
I stare at my sister. She looks so much like our mother right now, giving me that same disappointed look behind her gem-like eyes. Sometimes, I miss who I used to be too, but none of that matters if our kingdom falls and nothing is left but embers.
Ella doesn’t understand what we’re up against or how little time we have to figure out how to keep our people, and our family, safe.
Once things are settled with my new wife, I’ll be gone, and I’m unsure if I’ll ever see Ella again.
“Do not go into Crescent City unguarded again.” I storm out of the room, slamming the door shut behind me.