"I want to go look for whatever that smell is," I mumbled.

"We have a lot to do first," Ashley said, grabbing her bag. "We should head outside for the car."

"I guess."

My wolf whined. She wanted to find it too.

"Come on, Ellie."

I sighed and followed Ashley out the door, running right into Savannah.

"Oh, excuse me," I said, brushing myself off.

"Oh. My. Goddess. Do you not have eyes? Can you not see someone walking? What is wrong with you?" she screeched.

"Wow. Okay. Rude," Ashley said, pulling the door shut.

"Rude? Do you have any idea who I am? Who the hell are you that you're in my castle?"

I stared wide-eyed at the insane girl in front of me. "I missed when Queen Amelia stepped down and promoted some mangy mutt."

"Excuse me?" she screamed. "What did you say?"

"You heard me. You need to watch your town, pup," I growled. "I will not tolerate disrespect from someone of lower status than myself. You will watch your tongue and mind your place."

"My place? Do you know who my father is? Or my future mate? I will have you banished."

My eyebrows arched. "You should check who you are speaking to in the future."

I turned on my heels and walked away from the bleach blonde mess that stood outside my door. Her gums flapped as we ignored her temper tantrum.

The butler ran up the stairs to us, his eyes wide. "What happened?"

"That ridiculous girl needs to learn manners. And to know who she's talking to before she starts her banshee screeching."

"I am so sorry about her. She's a bit incorrigible since her father and the Beta have been pushing Kind Orsand to force the prince to mate with her."

"Let's hope that he meets his mate."

"Hopefully sooner rather than later. She turns 18 soon, then it's happening."

I shook my head and walked to the front door. "Is the car here?"

"It is, ma'am. The driver will take you anywhere you need to go."

"Thank you for your help."

"Anytime." He turned to leave but paused. "If you ladies are planning on going to the ball tomorrow and don't have a dress, Sheila's in town has beautiful gowns."

"Oh, gowns!" Ashley exclaimed. "I love fancy gowns!"

"Yeah, I guess we should get something. Thanks."

We climbed into the black town car and told the driver where we were going. He sped down the long driveway, zipping through town until he reached a large building that looked like a museum rather than a library. Ashley leaned over me and stared up at the old, stone structure.

Large, arch-shaped windows stretched upwards, covered in stained glass that depicted scenes from the history of wolves.

"The library," the driver announced.

"It's impressive," I said, admiring the columns out front and the expansive staircase.

"It is the largest library in our realm. It also houses the greatest and oldest treasures of our history."

"Really?"

He nodded at me, looking in the rearview mirror. "There is a vault in the basement. Ask Annie about it. There are some very ancient books and relics in there. It's very cool."

"I'll remember that. Thanks."

We climbed out of the town car and made our way to the front door. My calves burned as the never-ending steps stretched to the heavens.

"Oh my Goddess, why are there so many?"

"To deter people from ever reading?" I said, pausing to take a breath.

"Okay. We can make it. We're young," Ashley grunted.

Finally reaching the front doors, I tugged on the heavy wood. Cool air rushed out as the smell of paper and leather invaded our nostrils. There might have been lights on, but you couldn't tell. The vast number of windows let in enough light to show every part of the building. Bookcases went floor to ceiling in the center of the library. A large desk, covered in books, sat not far from the entrance.

"Can I help you?" a middle-aged woman asked, popping up from behind a stack of books.

"Hi. Um, we're looking for Annie?"

"Well, you found her. How can I help you?"

"Hi, Annie. We're from Moon Mist. Dean Anderson told us to come to find you when we got here."

"Dean Anderson?"

"Yeah. He's our, well, uh, Dean."

"And you are?" She looked at us from over top of her wire-rim glasses, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, sorry. We should have introduced ourselves. I'm Elanor. Beta Kenrick's daughter. This is Ashley. She's Gamma Arthur's daughter."

"Oh! Yes. You're the two helping with the creature investigation!"

"Yes," I laughed. "That's us."

"Well, why didn't you say so? Come on. I already have a bunch of stuff pulled out that can help."

"Perfect. Um, would we be able to see the vault after we're done?"

"Actually, that's where we're heading. I know this place inside and out. Nothing up here will help with what you need to find."

"It won't?"

She shook her head. "No. We've never heard of anything like this, so there may be better information in our ancient tomes."

I nodded and followed her to a back corner of the large room. She moved a tapestry to the side revealing a small archway leading down a darkened corridor to a narrow, stone staircase that spiraled downwards. Torches lined the ancient pathway as we descended.

"Forgive the crude lighting. We don't come down here much so we never bothered upgrading the staircase lighting."

"No worries. It adds to the mystery."

She laughed lightly. "We hope it discourages people from wondering down here if they manage to find the corridor."

We stopped at the bottom, old cobblestones beneath our feet, as Annie switched a light switch on. A hum filled the air as yellowish light flooded the area. A large vault door stood open with various books and papers scattered on the few tables.

"This is what I've pulled so far. It's not much, but it's a good place to start."

"These look so old," Ashley said quietly, moving from book to paper.

"It is very old. Some of these are a few thousand years old."

"Really?" I asked.

Annie nodded. "So be careful with them. I can't leave upstairs unattended, but the phone on the wall connects with the desk upstairs. If you need anything, call me."

"Thanks."

She smiled and spun on her heels vanishing up the stairs.

"Where do we start?" Ashley asked.

"I guess at the beginning." I sat at the table nearest me and started browsing the first book.

We spent hours reading various documents and historical references with no mention of these creatures. My eyes hurt and I was about to give up.

"Hey, this is interesting."

"Huh?" I asked absent-mindedly as I read through another ancient document.

"This story here. It's pretty interesting."

"What is it?"

"It's about the birth of Diana and her parentage."

"A Goddess being born? I always thought they just...were."

"Apparently not and it's like really messed up."

"Oh?" I stopped reading and looked at Ashley, my interest piqued.

"It's kind of convoluted. So Artemis's mother is Leto. Her father is Zeus."

"I thought Zeus was partners with Hera?" I asked.

"He is. Zeus didn't exactly keep it in his pants. He pursued Leto and she ended up pregnant with Artemis and her twin brother Apollo."

"Okay?"

"Well, Hera had a huge problem with this situation."

"I could imagine."

"So she decided to take it out on Artemis."

"What? Why Artemis?" I asked.

"Well as it turns out Zeus was fond of his illegitimate daughter. He favored her even over his daughters with Hera."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Okay, so with that information. Could Hera have figured out some way to attack Artemis through us?"

"It is possible I guess. But why us?"

"It seems that Hera doesn't usually go to the source of her anger. So what better way at attacking Artemis than the closest she'll ever get to having children?"

"But the creatures?"

"I don't know about those yet."

"Either way. Can we take a break and come back? I need sunlight."

"I do too, Ash. How about we go dress shopping?"

"Yes! I want something incredibly gorgeous!"

"Me too. Let's let Annie know we'll be back in a few days and get out of here."

"Yes!"

We ascended the staircase and went to find the librarian.

"Girls! How was your research?"

"Inciteful," Ashley said.

"We're going to head out. We need a break. I know there's the ball thing tomorrow so we'll be back in two days."

"Sounds good. Should I leave everything out for you?"

"Yes, please."

"Are you making progress?" she querried.

"I think so. We're learning a lot about Artemis."

"Our goddess? Do you think she has anything to do with this?" Annie questioned.

"I don't know but we don't want to rule out anything yet."

"That's smart. I'll leave everything as it is."

"Thanks!"

We waved as we exited the library, making our way to the town car.

"Ladies."

"Hi. So, could you take us to Sheila's? We need gowns for the ball tomorrow."

"Absolutely, ma'am."

The driver started the car and maneuvered around a few streets before stopping in front of the cutest shop I had ever seen.

Lights outlined the building and flower boxes on the windows had beautiful pink and red roses.

"I love this place already," Ashley said, climbing over top of me.

"You have a door."

"Don't care. Let's go!" she urged.

"We'll be right back. Thank you so much."

The driver nodded and watched us out of the car.

Inside the shop, soft music played as the low light made the dresses covered in precious stones glitter and dance.

As I walked past a rack of dresses I could smell a delectable aroma of coffee.

"Hi, ladies. Welcome to Sheila's. Can I help you?"

"Hi. Yeah, we're looking for gowns for the ball tomorrow."

"Oh my, so last minute!" she exclaimed.

"I know. We just found out about it today."

"You came to the right place then. Let's get you two into the perfect gowns!"

"Great!"

She grabbed our hands and led us to seats at the back of the shop and brought us both fresh cups of coffee before she started bustling about the shop going from rack to rack. She'd come back periodically and look at various features.

"Uh huh. Hmmm. Yes! I know the one!" She walked briskly to the wall on the right, pulling a green gown off the wall. "This!"

She took the cup from Ashley and shoved the dress into her hands. Ushering her into the changing room, the woman hurried around pulling random dresses off of racks before putting them back.

"Ah ha!" she exclaimed loudly. "This is the one for you."

She came back and shoved blue fabric into my arms while ushering me to a changing room next to Ashley's.

"Let me know what you think!" she said as she walked out of the area.

"That was so bizarre," Ashley said.

"Yeah it was. How's your dress?"

"She wasn't wrong. It is great."

I heard her door swing open as I was stepping into my own dress. "Yeah. Mine's really pretty."

I opened the door and gasped at the sight of Ashley. She had on a green taffeta ball gown. It was strapless with a full skirt. The bodice laced up the back with satin ribbon covered in red rubies. The front of the bodice was overlayed in black lace stretching to the waistline.

"Wow, Ash."

"Wow me? Wow, you!"

I looked in a full-length mirror on the opposite side of the room and was stunned. I had never worn such a fine gown in my entire life.

The light blue organza dress hung off my shoulders while the bodice hugged tightly to my upper body and was covered in diamonds. The skirt of the gown poofed out with the many layers of tulle in various shades of blue and white. The back is laced up with a white satin ribbon.

"Yeah, this is the dress."

We changed back into our regular clothes and went to the counter with our gowns.

"And?" she asked.

"They are perfect!" Ashley gushed.

"Good!" She left the counter and went to the shoe wall. "Now, shoes."

She returned with a pair of green stilettos that matched Ashley's dress color and a pair of white ones for me.

"Now it's perfect." She beamed.

We paid for our ball outfits and left the town, heading back to the castle.

"I am so hungry."

"Me too," I said mid yawn. "Hopefully we can just eat and go to bed."

"I am really excited about the ball tomorrow. I've never been to one."

"Me either. Dad always comes to them but since we weren't 18 he said we couldn't go."

"Ew, do you think Harmony and Alex will be there?"

My eyes shot open. "Oh my Goddess. I didn't even think about those two freaks. I hope not."