Sarah
“It isn’t that serious,” I tell Blake and Liam as they blink at me, their faces dappled with mud and their knees stained with grass. “But I’ve had enough of the fighting. You’re too old for this, especially you, Blake.” I fix my oldest son with a look I’ve had fourteen years to perfect.
Blake, now a teenager, purses his lips and frowns. “He’s been harassing me all day–”
“You were supposed to be helping me clean the garage,” Liam, thirteen, bites out.
I feel the tension beginning to boil between them and clear my throat. “Both of you, enough.”
“Mom–”
“You’re both already grounded,” I edge, crossing my arms under my chest and arching a brow. “Do I need to add another week to your sentences? Or are you ready to behave like good little wolves and finish the chores Cosette laid out for you?”
Liam grumbles under his breath. Blake mimics my stance, crossing his arms. We’re eye level at this point, and Liam isn’t far behind in the height department. Still, Ella and Maddy taught me their tricks when it came to perfecting the motherly glare, and both boys simmer down the second I narrow my eyes.
“Go finish cleaning out the garage,” I grind out. “Without fighting.”
Liam huffs, turning away and stomping out of my office on the first floor of our manor in Shadowcrest, but Blake makes no move to follow his brother.
I sink back into my chair and open my laptop. “Blake, I expect more from you. You’re the oldest.”
“By a year,” he says under his breath, perching on the armrest of one of the twin chairs in front of my desk. He blinks up at the ceiling for a moment looking like the younger version of his dad. Liam takes after me in a lot of ways–the blond hair, the violet eyes. But Blake is Sydney reincarnated, right down to his all-business personality and general distaste for authority other than his own. He sighs, picking at the hem of his dad’s old Wellington sweatshirt. The faded ink on the letterhead catches the late spring sunlight as silence settles through the room, but I can tell by his fidgeting that something is on his mind.
“What’s up?” I ask, closing my laptop with a sigh.
“Did you and Dad talk about warrior training yet?”
“We’ve been discussing it, yes.” I run my tongue along the front of my teeth. “When you come into your wolf, you’ll be able to train. There’s not much we can do before then.”
“That could be two years away.”
“Or longer,” I tell him, resting my arms on my desk. “I didn’t come into my wolf until I turned twenty-one.”
“Well, Dad was sixteen.”
“And you’re fourteen. We don’t want to rush you–”
He finally meets my eyes, that same endless, dark blue as Sydney’s. “I want to train in Moonrise when I turn sixteen.”
“Well,” I say, rising, knowing the real fight is coming. “As a prince and your dad’s heir, Wellington is… where you’ll go, most likely.”
He scans my face for weaknesses, for any cracks in my armor. “I don’t want to go to Wellington. I want to go to Moonrise and do real wolf training, not whatever they do here.”
“You are fourteen,” I remind him. “We’ll have this conversation in two years–”
“I’m like you, and you know it.”
I freeze, resisting the urge to close my eyes to take a second to gather my bearings. “Have you–have you had another vision?”
He shrugs, looking down at his fingers before tucking his hands in the pocket of his sweatshirt. “No, but Liam’s in the garage right now doing the chores I was supposed to be doing,” he says matter-of-factly, going as far as to shrug like manipulating his little brother’s mind is an okay thing to do.
“Knock it off,” I whisper. “Blake, I’m serious. That’s dangerous–”
“Then send me somewhere that can teach me to control it,” he tells me, his cheeks flaring with frustration.
Footsteps sound in the hall outside my office. Blake continues to hold my gaze in challenge, however. While he looks like his dad, the man currently walking through my office door, Blake’s mind is… like mine. His powers started showing themselves last year, starting off as nightmares that turned to visions, and now…. “Knock it off,” I repeat firmly, and Sydney halts in the doorway, glancing between us.
Blake clicks his tongue, shaking his head as he stalks out of the room without so much as looking at his dad. Sydney watches him walk down the hallway before turning to me with a confused look on his face. “What was that about?”
“He’s using his powers to manipulate Liam into doing his chores for him.” I sigh, leaning on the side of my desk and thumbing the paperwork stacked on the edge just to do something with my hands. “He admitted it.”
Sydney rests his hand on the top of the armchair Blake just exited, tapping his fingers. He stares at the floor in thought for a moment, but I already know what he’s thinking.
What are we going to do?
“We need to consider letting him spend the summer in Moonrise. He’s right.” Sydney says after a moment.
I shake my head even though I know, deep down, it’s the truth. “He’s just a kid. Training with Mystics is… serious. Strenuous and intense, and I don’t think he’s ready.”
“If he’s breaking into Liam’s mind, then he’s ready.” He meets my gaze. “Sarah, I know you’re not ready, but he is.”
“I barely understand my own powers. I don’t want him to… hurt himself, you know?”
“He could hurt others if we don’t do something.”
I look down at my desk, closing my eyes against the rush of emotion tangling my thoughts. Sydney approaches me, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me toward him. He’s right. The emergence of Blake’s powers is something we’ve known would happen but have ignored for years. We’re busy enough to ignore it, seeing as we have five kids and a full life, but our kids are growing up, and with that comes the powers our family is known for.
“Where are the girls?” he asks as I pull away to wipe my eyes.
“At Misty and Cole’s. Noah’s upstairs taking a nap,” I explain, trying to smile past the nerves.
“I’ll pick them up later, okay?”
I nod, chewing my lip as he starts to turn for the door, then pauses.
He sighs, dragging a hand over his face before turning back to me. “Dad called today.”
“Oh? What about?”
“I’m not really sure. He wants us to come to the castle tonight, with the kids. He sounded strained, so I’m under the impression whatever he needs to meet with us about isn't just a family dinner.”
I nod, noticing the lines of stress around his eyes.
“I’ll go talk to Blake,” he says, then slips out of the room. Upstairs, Noah’s sleepy voice calls out for me.
* * *
Maddy excitedly greets the kids as we step into the castle later that evening. Blake and Liam immediately head upstairs to the massive family-style room on the third floor where they were told in the car they could play video games for a while despite the fact that they’re grounded. Celeste and Briar, the twins, scurry to the formal sitting room to play ‘tea party’ while Noah remains firmly at my side. He’s only four and the baby of the family and likes to stay by me…. But Maddy has a surprise for him in the kitchen, apparently, and he’s lured away by a maid with the promise of cookies and milk.
Maddy leads us into the formal sitting room, glancing at the girls playing with their tea set in the corner while Isaac leans over them, mumbling something about how the game would be better if coffee were on the menu, but then he sees us and gives us a short, flat smile.
My senses are going haywire. I have a feeling we’re about to be told something bad–another war on the horizon or whatnot.
But when we’re seated across from them on one of Maddy’s fine fabric couches, Isaac sighs, smiling tenderly at his mate. “We’ve decided something,” he says, turning back to me and Sydney. “Something that directly affects the two of you.”
Sydney straightens. My hand finds his, our fingers knitting together. I imagine what Isaac might say next–that Sydney’s being shipped off to fight in some skirmish with his forces again. That my services are needed for espionage.
But Maddy smiles at her husband, her dark blue eyes soft and shining with love and excitement. She looks at Sydney, saying, “You know how much we love Maatua and the time we’ve spent there. I feel like it’s a family tradition now to plan to retire on the island and… I’m ready. I’m ready to step into a new pair of shoes, so to speak, and just be Grandma, not Luna Queen.”
Sydney isn’t breathing. I clutch his hand as Isaac says, “We’ve decided to step down, to step away from our throne and pass it on to you, Sydney.”
Sydney takes a breath, but it’s shallow. We knew this was coming but not this soon. Isaac was born to be Alpha King. He’s just like Sydney and Blake. Stoic and serious. He’s been an exceptional ruler that spirited Crescent Falls into a new age of peace and prosperity with our neighbors in Eastonia.
I honestly thought he’d rule until he died, but my eyes slide to Maddy, and I realize how wrong I’d been.
Just like Maddox and Isla, they’ve decided to slow down, to spend what time they have left–which could be decades–together.
It’s exactly the conversation they’ve had and the reasoning behind their decision. Still, my head is spinning, and I’m still holding my mate’s hand as I watch Maddy and Isaac happily discuss their plans, and ours, for the upcoming summer.
“The coronation will be held this fall,” Maddy says excitedly, leaning against Isaac. “And Blake, as the heir, would be acknowledged as the royal prince, of course. That would be a ceremony in itself.”
Sydney and I both go rigid at the mention of Blake. I already know we’re going to have to fight him tooth and claw into a suit, but it’s more than that.
Sydney, thankfully, is the one to say, “Blake will most likely be in Moonrise this summer, and possibly into the fall. But he’ll… he’ll be at the coronation, of course.”
“Why is he going to Moonrise?” Isaac asks.
“For training,” I say, hiding my feelings about it. Shipping my son away to the magical kingdom of my birth makes me feel a little sick to my stomach despite the fact he’ll be surrounded by family while he’s there… for what could be months, or years, depending on whether he can control his powers or needs more training as he matures.
The future I knew was coming suddenly barrels toward me, and I’m not prepared in the slightest.
Ever since the war a decade ago, I’ve been enjoying our slow, easy life. Our days are the same–structured and simple. I’ve had the luxury of watching our children grow up. They got to stay kids for longer than I did. Hell, Liam still plays with toys at thirteen when I was in hiding, trying to balance out my powers and pretend I was someone I wasn’t.
Now, everything is going to change.
Sydney and I don’t mention the bomb that was just dropped on us until later that night, tucked in our room and getting ready for bed. Sydney comes out of the bathroom in a T-shirt and sweatpants, checking his phone before slipping it onto a charger while I sit at my vanity and brush my hair until it shines.
“We’ll have to move, won’t we?” I ask into the silence.
“Yeah, we will. To the castle. It’ll be ours and…” he trails off, looking down at his hands. “I thought I’d feel differently, I guess. I almost don’t feel ready.”
“It’s because of the kids,” I tell him, turning to look at him instead of his reflection. “I don’t want to pull the girls out of school in Shadowcrest. I could drive them, I guess, seeing as I’ll likely be giving up my job to take over Maddy’s duties.”
“And my job at the firm,” he says under his breath, sinking onto the edge of the bed. I walk to him, sitting beside him and laying my head on his shoulder. He leans into my touch, drawing lazy circles on my arm with his thumb as we hold each other.
“You know… I thought, during the war when everything looked like we were going to lose… I thought it was such a shame that I wouldn’t be able to see you as queen.”
“That’s what you were thinking?”
He nods, smiling a bit. “And now I’m wondering why I feel like this is happening too soon.”
“It’s up to them. They want to step down so you can rule. Otherwise, we might never see the throne.” I laugh.
“I’m as shocked as you are that my dad is giving it up this easily, but I know Mom wants a break. She just wants to dote on the grandkids. I get it. She has so many of them now.”
“I lost count ages ago,” I smile.
“How do you think Blake is going to take it?” he asks lightly.
“I hope he takes it well… but he does need to train. I was wrong to doubt him. I think he’s struggling with the powers that are emerging and… Moonrise is the best place for him.”
Sydney presses a kiss to the top of my head. I close my eyes, wondering what our future as the Alpha King and Luna Queen of Crescent Falls will look like.