The Moon's Daughter

Chapter 6

“Father”, Zakil greeted the blonde man. My eyes landed on his emerald green eyes as they looked deep into me. I could feel him clawing in certain parts of my mind and it took everything I had not to lose my balance. His eyes narrowed at me and Zakil cleared his throat, diverting his attention back towards his son. “Father, this is Elira Evans daughter of-”.

“Eirina and Harry Evans. Yes, we met once. I’m sure you don’t remember me, you were only about two or three when we first met”. He said with a slight hostility in his tone. He reached his hand out for me to shake and I hesitantly placed it in his, receiving a firm handshake in return. “Your father and I were good friends... I’m sorry for your loss”, he smiled softly while continuing to search inside my mind.

“Thank you, Mr Nadan”, I let out softly. I could feel myself slowly lose the fight within my mind. He was now scratching and clawing at the vault inside my head, trying to force himself inside. His lips lifted in a sly grin as he chuckled at my struggle to keep him out.

“Please call me Alaric, Mr Nadan doesn’t sound right to a family friend. Speaking of family, how is Zahruk doing as Alpha?”

“Just fine, father”, said Zahruk from behind me. As soon as Zahruk stepped behind me, Alaric pulled back away from my head and I let out a shaky breath. I glared at him, which he returned with an innocent smile, as if impressed that I wasn’t knocked down on my knees at his cruel mind game.

“I didn’t expect you to be here so soon, son. Is it not to your liking?”

“The Moon is an incredible place father, and I’ll do my best to maintain and improve it. The reason we’re here is because we got intel on what Brayan is looking for to be creating havoc. He’s looking for the dragon king and the daughter of the Moon”. Alaric looked at me, his eyes wide as if he knew I am one of the people Brayan is looking for.

“And have you found them?” He asked while cautiously looking back at Zahruk.

“If we did, we wouldn’t have come here”, Zakil said bluntly.

“Right, and I assume the three of you would like access to the Royal Library in Faery?”

“Yes”.

“Well, get on with it. It’s strange that you’re asking me for my permission. That is your home as much as this place is”. Zahruk and Zakil both turned towards the door at the other end of the room, I was about to follow them when Alaric grabbed hold of my arm pulling me towards him. “Do you mind if I have a chat with Elira? I wanted to talk about Harry”, he chuckled. “I’ll show her around as well before taking her to the library”. Zahruk looked at his father with suspicion when Zakil placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head and dragging him towards the back door.

Alaric stood there, watching his sons disappear out the back before turning to speak to me. “You don’t smell like an ordinary shifter and you don’t bow your head to me”. I swallowed and his eyes landed onto my bobbing throat. “You know don’t you?”

“What?” I looked at him cluelessly.

“You know who your real parents are”. I stood there stunned, which he took as an answer. “How long have you known?”

“About a day or so”.

“Do the boys know?” I shook my head and his grip on my arm loosened. “Good, there is a time to tell them but now isn’t the time. Especially with Brayan running around like a fool. If he knows you are hidden within the Moon, he will leave no one alive”. He rubbed the scruff on his chin before looking at me again.

“How much do you know about me?” I asked curiously.

“As much as Hadik, honestly. We were close you know”. His voice sounded a little sad with a hint of regret to them. “I didn’t even get to apologize to him for being an ass”, he sighed.

“Knowing my dad, I’m sure he would have forgiven you”.

“I doubt it. I tried to take you away from him, I mocked his pack, telling him that they wouldn’t be able to protect you. No wolf would forgive someone for calling their pack weak”. I could smell his guilt as they rolled off him. My brows furrowed as I sympathized with him.

“True. I remember one time my dad and I tried to build a swing for the backyard. I asked him if I could help and he said no. He wasn’t good with tools and didn’t have the creativity to make a swing from scratch, a porch swing at that. He must’ve spent three hours on it before I decided to ask him again and you know what he told me? ‘I guess I just needed to do it myself before I figured out that I needed help.’ I think he might’ve known in the end but didn’t say a word but I know for a fact that he has forgiven you”, I smiled as tears were threatening to fall. He looked at me, his eyes gleaming with jubilation as if hearing those words took some of the weight he had to carry.

“Shall we?” He smiled while offering me his arm. I placed my hand on his arm as he placed his on top of mine and we walked together, touring the house and telling stories and memories of Hadik. The tour ended with us walking out towards the back door where a giant white oak tree was waiting for us. My hand reached out to touch it’s bark which glowed bright upon contact.

“Why is it glowing?” I asked amused.

“This tree is what connects this world with Faery. It glows when you touch it because you’re a Goddess. You’re otherworldly, just like the tree”, he explained. “Here give me your hand and we’ll walk into Faery together”.

I grabbed his hand that was extended to me when a bright light engulfed the both of us. I closed my eyes and opened them once the light dimmed down. Faery was breathtakingly beautiful, everything here looked like there was life to it. The plants made it seem like they had a conscience when they waved at my presence. There were two moons shining bright in the sky and the stars were gleaming. We made our way down towards a castle that looked like it had been plucked up from Ireland and restored. It was big and grey with men up the top and around guarding the place. We made it to the gate and the guards bowed at Alaric before pulling the gate up to let us in. A drawbridge came down and we walked across the river that flowed underneath it.

“This place is beautiful”, I gasped, speechless.

“Wait till you see the library”. Entering the castle, the walls were lined with lanterns which made the journey down to the library warm. Alaric stopped in front of a tall door with a golden handle on it. He signaled me to push it open and when I did, my jaw dropped. The library was huge, books lined up on every wall and about thousands of standing bookcases stacked up like dominoes around the room. I looked up and saw small beings with wings flying around with books levitating in front of them before they were put back into their homes on the shelf. One of them actually flew in to study me. Her eyes were big, hair pink and short and her wings were transparent with a light pink hue to it. She gave me a curtsy before flying towards a table full of books, making it levitate and flying off again.

"Those are library pixies. They stay here to guard the books and take care of the library. I'm surprised Red hasn't thrown a fireball at you yet". Just as Alaric said those words, a bright red fireball came hurling towards me. I reached my hand up, as if that would do me any good, and then a bright white light flashed from my hand and the ball disappeared.

I turned to Alaric, flabbergasted at what had just happened. "What was that?"

"I think that was part of your Godly powers", he chuckled. "Come let us venture in further, we've made the boys wait long enough". I nodded and followed closely behind Alaric while still letting my eyes roam and wander around in the giant library.

Upon reaching the center of the library, sat a giant open fireplace with tables and comfortable looking chairs surrounding it. One of the tables held books that were stacked as tall as me and the other held the brothers, sitting in their chairs just reading. Big strong men with a book in their hand was a sight to see and my eyes lingered on Zahruk a little longer than I would like to. His sinewy arms leaned on the table as his fingers tapped onto the corner of the book. Seeing him that way made my heart skip a beat and before I even knew it, my feet made their way towards him.

“Finally”, he said with a cocky grin. “Took you long enough to bring her down here old man”, he chuckled. Zahruk reached for my hand and he placed it on his cheek before kissing my palm.

“Oh what’s this?” Alaric asked. “Don’t tell me she’s your mate?” Zahruk nodded while looking at me with so much promise in his eyes. “That’s perfect! You two are more alike than you’d like to think”, Alaric smiles cheekily and winked.

Zakil knocked on the table, catching my attention before he placed his hand on top of a book. “Start reading, we need information about how to get to the Dragon King”, he ordered, sounding a little aggravated. I sighed when a book with a silver binding caught my attention. I grabbed it and felt a pull in my chest when the book glowed and the pages started to turn on it’s own. The three Nadan men had their attention turned to me as they anticipated what was about to happen.

The page stopped turning and a picture of a land enclosed in a triangular shaped bubble appeared. I flipped the page to see if it had any other context to it but it was all blank. I went back to the page with the enclosed bubble and small writings started to appear. “Only the blood of our people may enter our world”, I read aloud. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Everyone looked at me puzzled, as if I had some sort of answer to it. “Don’t look at me like I have an answer!”

“I bet that it means only dragonfolk are allowed to enter”, Zakil stated. I bit the bottom of my lip, thinking if what Zakil had said was correct when the incident with the oak tree earlier popped into my head.

“No, I don’t think that’s the case. I think that the blood of our people means otherworldly”, I said while looking at Alaric. He looked at me curious to where I was going with this. “Think about it, the land is cloaked with a spell that no ordinary humans can see. If this land is what’s hidden in the Bermuda Triangle, that would explain why planes go missing and technology stops working once inside”.

“What if you’re wrong and I’m right?” Zakil argued.

“There’s only one way to find out. We will take a trip to the Bermuda”, I grinned.

***

It took us all evening to plan for our Bermuda trip and since Zahruk cannot be away from the pack for so long, we decided that it was best to leave that night itself but Alaric thought otherwise. He insisted that we stay for dinner in Faery before we leave, giving me a chance to meet the last Nadan brother.

Zakeem was tall and built bigger than both of his brothers. His hair long and dark with crystal blue eyes, his face was flawless and cut to perfection and his aura was threatening and calming at the same time. At first meeting, he seemed intimidating but once you’ve gotten to know him a little, he was actually really easy to talk to. Much easier than Zakil. He did have a certain air about him though. He seemed playful and flirtatious from the start and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at him every now and then. He was so proud of every little accomplishment that it started to feel like he was rubbing in that he could rule better than Zahruk.

“So, Elira, I hear that Zahruk here might be your mate?” Zakeem asked as he sipped on his wine.

“Not might, brother. She is my mate”, Zahruk growled. His eyes flashed gold as his wolf surfaced while he glared at Zakeem.

“Relax, Zahruk. I was only asking a question, not like I was going to take her from you. Although I do think she’s pretty cute”, Zakeem teased Zahruk who slammed his fist onto the table.

“Zahruk!” Alaric yelled. “Either you control your wolf or you excuse yourself from this table”. Zahruk grumbled and leaned back in his chair while I sat there wide eyed, embarrassed and feeling awkward.

“Have you guys marked one another?” Zakeem asked. I shook my head no and Zakeem laughed out obnoxiously. “Really? And here I thought you had, especially with Zahruk acting like a wolf that has been marked!” It’s true that it is rare for the possessive behaviour to show before a mating ritual, but everything about them is already unusual.

“Maybe it has something to do with the Fae side? What about you? I’m sure in your 100 years of life, you must have found your mate”, I asked.

“Darling, I am only 35 years old and nowhere near 100”. I turned to Zakil who ended up choking on his chicken as I narrowed my eyes at him for lying to me about his brother’s age. “And as for a mate, I have not found her yet. Although, if you’re willing, I’ll take you as my queen”, he said while leaning onto the table to look at me. His blue eyes glowed and changed to a bright violet as he raked them down my body slowly. I could feel Zahruk’s anger within me and his need to punch his brother. There was also a hint of anxiety behind it as well, like he was scared of losing me to Zakeem.

“Ew, no thank you. This place is beautiful and all but I wouldn’t want to be your Queen. I’m pretty sure you’ve used that line on more than one girl today”, I scoffed.

Zakeem stared me down harder and his eyes glowed even brighter before he slammed his fist down onto the table. “How are you resisting?”

“It’s simple, your personality isn’t that attractive”, I shrugged.

“No, not that but to my compulsion. No one has ever been able to resist my compulsion”.

I stared at him before tilting my head in question. “Are you saying that you take unwilling women to your bed at night?”

“What? No, those women want me and all I do is give them an extra push”.

“Well, I didn’t want you”, I stated firmly, making sure my eyes never left his.

Before he could say anything to defend himself, a big gush of wind swept between us and a giant black raven landed at the end of the table before thick black smoke surrounded it. Two hands emerged from the smoke as it rose in size before slowly dissipating into the air to reveal a small framed woman with fierce looking eyes, black hair that’s slicked back and plumped lips painted with black lipstick.

“Master”, she bowed before lifting her head to look at Zakeem.

“What news do you bring me this time, Raven?” The name Raven for a raven, how ironic.

“Brayan is starting to make his move. He had slaughtered an entire pack down in the East Coast in search of the Moon’s daughter. Word of mouth has it that he left no one alive. It’s only a matter of time before he makes his way down here”, she reported while looking at both Zakeem and Alaric.

Alaric stood up in his chair, face white as paper and his mouth hung open. “Which pack?”

“The Rising Dawn, sir”. The Rising Dawn was ranked the third strongest pack in North America and for them to be slaughtered with no survivors is shocking. Alaric’s hands fisted at his sides before he scrubbed his face with them.

“Brayan! He needs to be stopped!” Alaric yelled as he punched the table causing it to slightly crack. “My sister, nieces and nephews were in that pack”, he finally managed to choke.

“And he will father. I promise”, said Zahruk as he walked over towards his father to pat him on the back. Tears rolled down Alaric’s cheeks as he failed to keep his composure, wailing and crying into Zahruk’s chest. Zahruk’s eyes were filled with sorrow, as his throat bobbed up and down from the tears he managed to hold in. The pain of losing someone we love is never easy. I looked down at my hands and silently wished the dead a safe journey towards the veil. “We leave for the Bermuda in the next thirty minutes. Elira, if you choose to stay behind, I’d understand”, he said firmly which pulled me out of my thoughts.

I stood up from my seat and nodded at the both of them, “I’m coming with the two of you. This is my fight as well, I’m too invested to back out now”, I replied with confidence. I wasn’t going to back out, especially knowing that Brayan is out there looking for me.