Prologue
732 Words
“This is it?” Meredith Greystone asked hesitantly, eyeing the swirling pool of pink and purple.
“Something wrong?” The witch, Mayze, asked.
“No, not at all.” Meredith gulped.
She felt the warmth of her mate’s hand on her back, rubbing her soothingly.
“It’s safe, right?” Jack Landry eyed the witch cautiously.
“Of course it’s safe. Portal jumping might be a new thing for werewolves, but witches have been using it for centuries.” Mayze huffed, looking offended.
“We’ll go first.” Austyn-Rose said as she sensed the fears and weariness in the couples who volunteered to join them inside the new werewolf realm.
“No, you shouldn’t.” Nadia said quickly, “The heir should never go first. It’s not practical.”
Nadia, of course, was a princess herself. Not the heir, not even close to being in line for the throne of the siren realm, but she knew all the protocols; even if her brothers and sister thought she didn’t.
“Nadia is right.” Frankie Oxford agreed, “I’ll go through first.”
“We all will.” Jack stepped up, nodding towards Frankie and Jared Valentine.
Jared nodded in agreement.
“Jared?” His mate, April, looked at him with concern as she held the hand of their toddler daughter.
“It’ll be okay, baby.” Jared said assuringly, kissing April.
“Let’s just get this over with.” Frankie sighed, offering Nadia a smile before stepping closer to the portal.
Jack Landry, Frankie Oxford, and Jared Valentine walked through the portal first. It occurred to everyone remaining that this plan was flawed considering they’d have no way of knowing if they made it through safely or burnt up in the swirling pool of cotton candy.
“Now what?” Meredith asked, glaring at the portal.
Seconds later, Jack appeared through the portal again, answering their questions.
“It’s safe,” He said, stretching his hand out towards Meredith, “It just makes you feel a little sick on the other side.”
Meredith took a deep breath and then nodded, taking Jack’s hand and allowing him to pull her through the portal. A few moments later, the rest of the group had followed suit and were standing inside the werewolf realm.
“Well this is….” April looked around, trying to find the right words to describe their new home.
“Dreary.” Austyn-Rose finished her sentence.
“We’ll make the best of it.” Nadia said, trying to be optimistic.
“I’m sure it doesn’t rain all of the time.” Meredith said optimistically.
It, in fact, does rain all of the time inside the werewolf realm; nearly everyday in fact. But, the representatives of the four packs and the new royals made the best of it. They got to work right away on fixing up the abandoned castle and the royal grounds. There was an entire royal village and city to attend to, but that would have to wait until the castle was finished. For now, the four families would have to settle into the castle.
The castle was certainly large enough to accommodate all of them. It was a sight to be seen. Austyn-Rose and Leo weren’t sure exactly what had happened to Austyn’s ancestors, Beatrice and Arlo, when the Council attacked, but, from the looks of the castle, it wasn’t pretty.
Everything was destroyed. It looked like half the castle had been on fire and only the burnt skeleton of the structure remained. What were once probably gorgeous tapestries and carpets, were now tattered, blood-stained, and nearly unrecognizable. Grand murals on the ceilings faded from the lack of upkeep and the destroyed splinters of what were once strong thrones were discarded in an otherwise empty room.
One thing remained untouched, perhaps preserved by magic or by sheer luck. A large portrait of the previous royal family: the king and queen, and two children. The four couples knew from legend that only their daughter, Ember, survived. It was only fitting that Austyn’s wolf was also named Ember and came from the same spirit as the fallen princess.
The four families settled into four separate wings of the castle to allow for privacy and space. Meredith and Jack, and Nadia and Frankie had only just met, after all. They had a lot of catching up to do.
- Writer
