The Dowager Luna requests your presence in the main drawing room."

I was in trouble. Of that much, I was certain. We had only just gotten back from the city when I was approached by a worker. It seemed she had been stationed at the castle entrance so as not to miss me.

Whatever the Dowager Luna wanted to see me for, it seemed important and I had a sinking feeling that it wouldn't be good.

Not good enough.

The vision came flashing back as I walked into the main drawing room.

The Dowager Luna sat in one of the chairs, going through some documents. Aspen and Pontiac were with her.

I curtsyed and said.

" Your majesty."

The Dowager Luna looked up briefly from the documents she was reading and then returned her attention back to them.

" Alright, leave us." She said to the two women and my heart beat increased. I really did not want to be left alone with her.

I racked my brain thinking of anything I could have done so far that would be enough to irk the Queen mother but I could think of nothing.

As Aspen and Pontiac walked towards the door, Pontiac flashed me a smug little smile that seemed to say 'you're in trouble and I caused it'.

I narrowed my eyes at her till the door was closed up.

I turned back to face the Dowager Luna. She still had her attention on the documents.

" It has come to my attention that you and my son are an item." She said in a bored tone as she turned the pages of the document.

My heart practically stopped and I understood the meaning of Pontiacs smile. The stupid bitch! She'd reported me to the Dowager Luna. I hadn't even thought of her doing that. No wonder she was so eager to leave earlier. She obviously couldn't wait to run her mouth.

I stood in shock unable to form words. The Dowager Luna had made it clear by her behavior to me that she didn't like me and I was certain she wouldn't approve of her son being with me.

The Dowager Luna glanced up.

" Have you gone deaf Devenity?" She asked sternly and I shook my head numerous times. When she narrowed her green eyes at me, I forced open my mouth and said.

" No. I haven't, your majesty."

" Then answer my question, has my son taken a liking to you?" She asked.

With a sigh, I said.

" Yes, your majesty." I wondered though if it would be wise to tell her about the mate bond and decided against it.

She returned her attention to the documents in her hand.

" And has he slept with you yet?" She asked so casually like she wasn't asking if her son and I had had sex.

I'd never been more uncomfortable in my life.

" No." I whispered and suddenly I was glad that Rhydian and I hadn't had sex yet. It would have been so much harder to say 'yes'.

The Dowager Luna looked up and raised a perfectly arched eyebrow.

" Why not?" She asked confusing me. She seemed annoyed with my answer, almost as though she wanted Rhydian and I to sleep together.

I opened my mouth to say something even though I had no idea what to say but she waved her hand dismissively.

" Don't bother answering that. I can easily see why. You exude as much sensuality as a dead cow." She said and got to her feet.

My cheeks burned at that insult. She had no idea how wrong that assumption was.

She moved towards a book shelf that took up an entire wall.

" My son is twenty three years old." She said as she browsed through the shelf. " He'll be the youngest king Aradia has ever had. Usually, a king marries to strengthen connections and build alliances. That is the case with you and Rhydian."

She selected two books and made her way to where I stood.

" You will marry my son." She said and my eyes widened and my jaw dropped. " You will become the Queen Luna of Aradia and you will serve this kingdom in every way that you can."

My mouth dropped open at her words. She wanted me to become Luna?

" You might have noticed that I'm a bit more hard on your training than I am on your sisters. That is because I'm training them to be ladies of the court but I'm training you to be a Queen." She said without a hint of remorse in her voice.

I remained quiet, too stunned to form words.

" Do you know the amount of good your being Luna can realize?" She asked and without waiting for me to say a word, she continued. " Your people can be released from the cells and be given a better life, here in Aradia. You can make that happen ...if you're Luna."

" Um..." I began still with no words to say. Thankfully though she continued speaking.

" Rhydian doesn't want a Luna." She informed and my heart sank. " He is young and unfortunately that means more arrogance than wisdom. He refuses to see the good a witch Luna can bring." She paused and regarded me carefully. " Do you know about the problems Aradia is facing?"

I shook my head, no and she gestured for me to seat down. I complied and she followed suite placing the books on her laps.

" After the purge, we found out the damage to the eastern barrier had gotten much worse. Your people caused that and now it can't be fixed because the only ones who know how are now dead." She said shaking her head.

Thanks to the damned purge, I felt tempted to say.

" Actually," I frowned searching my brain for all I knew about the eastern barrier. " Ancient moon people put up the barrier but there are several books on it that may contain a way to fix the damage."

The Dowager Luna nodded.

" I'm sure there were, except no books on the barrier survived the Purge. The coven villages were burned down with all they had in it."

I felt my anger rise at that. Several centuries of history gone because of the stupidly of Werewolves. I took a deep calming breath.

" There is a coven outside of Aradia," she informed. " But even they have no way of fixing it. The thing is that if that barrier gets any worse," she paused as a frown came over her face. " A vampire army can come through."

I gasped at her words and remembered the vision where the armies of the east and the west clash in war.

Good goddess don't let it happen.

" We believe we have a way to fix it though. That is where the Red forest comes in."

I'd heard of that before. Carrison and Mother Diana had mentioned it.

" Earlier this year, a red mist came over a forest in the Boulder district. A lot of bodies of alive but unresponsive people were found flung out from it." A dark look came over her face and she was quiet for the longest time. There was a flicker of sorrow over her features but it was gone as soon as it came.

I waited patiently for her to continue talking. She cleared her throat and looked somewhat embarrassed at her behavior.

" Anyway," she continued, abruptly. " We had the coven mother come by to understand what was going on. I was present during that." She fell quiet once again.

" It seems we have all underestimated the vengeful nature of the moon people. Spirits of your kind who died during the purge are the cause of the things happening in Boulder district and they're threatning to move on to all parts of Aradia."

Spirits of our dead. My heart sped up. My mother could be in there, my cousins, my friends.

" They refuse to move on and continue to wreck havoc in the Boulder district drawing in passerbys with magic and then ...devouring their souls, leaving them alive but empty."

I sat up stunned. We might be moon witches but we have no way of devouring souls ...something else had to be up with this ...Red forest.

" We have already lost an important member of the royal pack to their actions." She fell quiet again, looking darkly into space.

Quietly I asked,

" Was it the Alpha king?"

The Dowager Luna looked up at me and nodded subtly.

" Maybe it was for the best." She said quietly. " He is even more stubborn than Rhydian."

Is? She had just confirmed that he was dead, hadn't she? So ...his soul was ...gone?

" What do they want?" I asked.

" For the prisoners to be released."

I couldn't help the smile that came over my face but I cleared it off quickly at the frown on the Queen mothers' face. I sent a quiet blessing to the spirits refusing to move on for our sake.

" So just release them." I said.

" First, we have some of the most war minded chiefs in Aradia. Their solution is to take the last coven prisoners and force them to fix the Red forest." She said.

I could easily tell she didn't agree with their solution and I breathed a sigh of relief.

" Also, we need information from them on how to fix the barrier. The Survivor coven won't help. They don't seem to realize that an army from the east will be even more disastrous to them.

We believe the Leader of the coven outside of Aradia may be the one who summoned them but we have no proof. That damned forest right now is our biggest threat as it keeps spreading..." She shook her head.

" That's why we released some of you. The coven won't help us but you will. I will make you Luna and give you power to make a better life for your kind after they are released and I will guarantee that no harm comes to the survivor coven. You will get the information we need to fix the barrier before a war breaks out."

I still hadn't said a word. I felt like I should say something but I didn't know what to say.

" You don't need to entice me with the promise of the throne. I will do anything to help my people."

" Your becoming Luna is also a way to tie our people together. Do you really believe that after we release the prisoners, they will be treated fairly? Do you believe that another witch purge cannot happen. It has happened once before and werewolves are still drunk on that victory. The slightest provocation can be disastrous but with a witch Luna on the throne, they will have to think twice. The Alpha chiefs will have to make decisions knowing that their Queen is a moon witch."

My face was a mask of confusion. The Dowager Luna was a werewolf and a powerful one at that. Why didn't she seem to care so much about the moon people, the enemies of her kind?

" Queen mother?" I asked, determined to satisfy my curiosity. " Why are you so interested in helping my people?"

" A war with the east is inevitable." She said quietly. " We can do our best to push it away but it will still come back. When it does I'd rather the west stands united, because trust me, the creatures of the east are."

She stood up and moved towards me.

" It is about time this senseless hate between our people comes to an end. We are going to usher that in. A witch Queen Luna and an Alpha king seems like a good way to start. Will you accept my help? If you won't I'll get you out of the way and focus on any of your sisters. Since Rhydian has already taken interest in you, it just makes it easier."

I nodded immediately. Having the Dowager Luna helping us will just make it so much more easier to make me Queen Luna ...Rhydians wife.

" Good." She said. " You need to keep him hooked on you. I believe he already is but you must do your part to keep it so. Rhydian gets bored easily. You must be flawless in bed to keep him interested. All you need to know are here in these books." She placed the two heavy books in my open hands.

I glanced down at the titles and felt a blush steal to my cheeks. I quickly put them out of my view.

The Dowager Luna made an impatient sound.

" You are going to read everything that is in those books, Devenity."

" I will." I said quickly. " I just wanted to -"

" I don't want to hear it." The Dowager Luna said and returned to her seat. She picked up the document she'd been reading. " You're dismissed." She said.

I got up quickly, cradling the books against my chest and then I remembered something.

" Your majesty?" I asked a bit timidly.

The Dowager Luna gave a long suffering sigh and I cringed, my heart threatning to burst through my ribs.

" Yes?" She said in a clipped tone.

Good goddess this was so hard.

" Um ...I was wondering how I could get rid of anything that might be tainting my scent ...you know like maybe I hugged a man."

The Dowager Luna pinched her nose and I cringed.

" Devenity, do you have any idea how annoying it is for a werewolf to catch the scent of a man on his ma -" then she seemed to catch herself. It seemed the Dowager Luna didn't want me to know that I was Rhydians soulmate.

She shook her head and said.

" Take a bath and thoroughly scrub yourself first. I will send for another bath to be made for you using lavender scented oils. Soak in it for atleast half an hour." She informed and I nodded vigorously and exited the drawing room.

〰️〰️〰️

I was at the second chapter in one of the books the Dowager Luna had given to me.

Pleasing your mate: a complete guide of acts and positions preferred by Werewolves.

The two were all about sexual positions preferred by werewolves and how to please a werewolf sexually.

I felt heat in my cheeks as I scrutinized the very detailed drawings in the book on how to give head. Was I ...expected to do this?

With a frustrated sigh, I dropped the book on the floor and sank deeper into the tub I was in.

My whole room smelled of lavender because lavender scented candles had been lit by the hand maids and the bath I was soaking in had lavender essential oils poured into it.

It was very calming. I yawned deeply. The crackling fire at the hearth and the subtle scent that filled my room lulled me to sleep. I relaxed against the tub and shut my eyes.

I was unable to get the images I'd seen in the books out of my head and soon, I envisioned Rhydian and I in those positions ...him filling me up with seed as he came in me ...taking his length into my mouth ...sucking on him.

My eyes flew open and I sat up quickly in the now cold bath. The candles were almost used up and I had the strangest feeling that I wasn't alone. I looked around my room quickly ...and screamed.

Shrouded in the shadows the candles cast was a huge man. He was seated at the edge of my bed, watching me intensely. His green eyes were different from what they usually were. They were more wolf like and had gotten much darker.

" Good goddess Rhydian." I breathed out in relief, my mind going to the mystery man in my vision. " You scared the living daylights out of me."

Rhydian blinked slowly, repeatedly, taking deep affected breaths as though he was trying to calm himself. His eyes returned back to normal and I wondered what thoughts had been coursing through his mind that had nearly brought out his wolf, as he watched me sleep.

It couldn't be angry thoughts. His eyes had darkened and I could definitely feel his arousal. I realized I'd always been able to tell when Rhydian was aroused. A small manifestation of the mate bond between us, it seemed.

" How long have you been here?" I asked eyeing my bathrobe which was on the bed beside him. It hadn't been there last I remembered. I'd kept it, folded on the floor beside me. I would have to get out of the bath naked right infront of him and I realized that was what he wanted.

" A while." He said. His voice was rough and he was still watching me. In a way, it was unnerving ...scary even.

" Why didn't you wake me?" I asked, trying to summon up the courage to just get out the cold bath. Rhydian had never seen me naked before. In my underwear, yes. This just seemed like a big deal for me.

" A lot of interesting things were happening." He said quietly and at the confused look on my face, he clarified. " You were moaning in your sleep."

Heat filled my face instantly. I looked away, embarrassed but Rhydian wasn't done.

" You were calling my name ..." He whispered. " Over and over again, begging me to thrust myself into your mound nonstop..."

My breathing spiked up at his words and I sat quietly, watching him watch me. I felt a little embarrassed at being caught in my erotic dream but right now I was too focused on my increasing arousal to be bothered.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

" Your room smells nice." and I smiled pleased.

He held up two books and said.

" Why did my mother give this to you?" He asked, a curious light in his eyes.

My eyes widened as I recognized the 'informative' books the Dowager Luna had given to me.

" How did you know it was her?" I asked a little confused.

" Her scent is on it."

Oh right!, I always seem to forget about his abilities.

" She um, know about us." I said quietly and he nodded.

" I know she does." He said simply and waited for me to answer.

" Um ..." I felt a blush creep into my cheeks. " She ...wants me to be um, better skilled," I dipped my face. " at pleasing you."

Rhydian rolled his eyes and got off the bed. I sunk deeper into the water but he moved towards the hearth instead and tossed the books into the flames.

My eyes widened in shock as the flames roared at the added fuel.

" Rhydian! Why did ...why?" I stuttered at a loss of words at his actions.

" I don't want you reading those books. You don't need to know any of those things to please me." He said, seating on my bed again. " Besides," he smiled at me. " I want the honour of thoroughly corrupting that innocent mind of yours."

I smiled and shook my head at his words. His language never ceased to surprise me.

" Come here." His command slid into my mind and I felt my heart beat increase. He sat quietly and waited for me to obey.

I'd never felt more naked in my whole life. I took a deep calming breath. Why was being naked infront of him so difficult?

" Now Deven." He said when I made no move to get out of the tub.

Get a grip Deven!

Quickly, before I lost my confidence and annoyed him, I stood up, lines of water running down my body and carefully stepped out of the bath tub.

My wet body glistened in the moon light coming through my balcony doors and I felt so exposed. I put my hands across my breast, self consciously and waited for something to happen but, he just sat there, running his eyes hungrily over my body.

His breathing became rough and audible and his eyes began to slowly change, turning more wolf like.

Something crossed my mind. It wasn't mine and it was disorienting ...and arousing. I saw Rhydian plunging his manhood into me, with fast rhythmic motions while I lay beneath him, crying out his name.

The image disappeared just as quickly as it came. I knew it came from Rhydian. He was thinking about what he was going to do to me and the connection we had, made me see it. It was usually stronger when we were aroused.

I decided to give it a test.

" Why are you just thinking about it," I said to him but in my head. " Do it." I begged.

I knew he heard me when he smiled and held out his hand.

I felt nervousness bubble in my chest but I moved towards him and took his hands. He pulled me even closer and I sat across his laps, facing him.

" Don't you ever," he whispered in my mind, taking my hand away from my breast. " hide yourself from me." He bore his eyes into mine and I nodded. " You're beautiful, Deven."

Second time saying it! My heart did a happy dance.