"The truth?"

I nodded and grabbed his hand. I looked around the ballroom and saw drapes billowing.

The balcony. That's perfect.

I led him to the door and slipped out, hoping nobody saw us. It was dark outside, only the full moon illuminating the area. A strange, intense surge rushed through my body. I grasped my stomach with one hand while holding onto the railing of the balcony.

"Ellie! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just, I don't know. I feel weird."

"Is this your first full moon since your change?"

I nodded. Edmond smiled lightly.

"Yeah. The first full moon can be a bit intense. Take deep breaths, you'll be okay."

I nodded and composed myself, standing up straight again.

"Now, what is this about some truth?"

"This is going to sound crazy, but just let me explain. Okay?"

"Of course."

I took a deep breath and prepared to tell him the truth. Everything that I knew about my mark.

"I'm, uh, not normal."

"How so?" Edmond questioned.

He's going to think you're crazy and not want to mate with you.

"I'm the daughter of Artemis," I said quietly.

"What?"

"I'm the daughter of Artemis. This is her mark."

"We're all the children of the Goddess."

"No, Edmond. I'm literally her daughter."

"What? I thought that Beta Kenrick and Catherine were your parents."

"They are. Artemis was unable to birth me herself, so when mom was pregnant with Harmony, she simply put me alongside her."

"What?"

"Yeah, it's weird and confusing and I didn't believe it either."

He dropped my hand and took a step back. "This is a lot."

"I know. I'll understand if you don't..."

"Shh. Don't. I'm not abandoning you, but can you prove it?"

"Prove it? How?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure."

I pondered for a moment. "I see her sometimes."

"Her? Who?"

"Artemis."

"You see the Goddess?"

I nodded my head.

"Can you see her now?"

I shook my head. "No. She's not here right now."

"Can you summon her or something?"

"I've never tried that. She usually just comes to me when she wants to. I can try."

He nodded his head. "Okay."

I grasped his hands and closed my eyes, breathing slowly.

Okay. What do I do? How can I possibly try to summon Artemis? I am her daughter, there has to be a way.

I focused on Artemis. Calling her within my mind. A wind picked up, swirling about us. I opened my eyes to see Edmond staring at me wide-eyed.

"You're crazy!" I head Savannah screech from behind me. "You're not fit to be the future queen! You think you're a goddess?"

I dropped Edmond's hand, the wind dying down to see Savannah. She let out a scream and turned to run just to bounce off of King Orsand's chest.

He motioned for the royal guards. "Hold her."

Queen Amelia approached me and smiled.

"What?" I said.

"Ellie, your mark," Edmond gasped.

"What about it?"

"It's glowing."

"Glowing? What?" I reached up and touched it.

The spot felt ice cold.

"It's true then?" the queen asked.

I nodded.

"Incredible! Absolutely incredible!"

"Incredible? She's a freak!" Savannah screeched. "I'm telling everyone! She's not fit to be a queen!"

King Orsand walked to the girl. "That is not your decision. It is entirely up to the Prince and Elanor if they mate. You have no say. And she's more suited to be queen one day than you."

Edmond held my hand and smiled at me.

"Take her away."

Savannah was dragged through the ballroom kicking and screaming.

"Do you want to try again?" Edmond asked.

I nodded and took a deep breath. "Yeah."

I closed my eyes and focused on Artemis once again. The wind picked up faster, and the coldness from the mark spread through my entire body. I opened my eyes and looked up at the night sky. The moon shone brighter and brighter.

It felt like it was charging my entire body.

My body stiffened as the mark on my forehead burst forth a brilliant blue light. The usual black abyss was gone, replaced with the brightness of moonlight.

"Daughter."

"Mother," I said.

I looked around at the king, queen, and Edmond. They stared, slack-jawed.

They see her.

"You found a way to call me."

"I did."

"Have you found any information? The evil is growing stronger. I can feel it all around me in the entire realm. This is an evil I've never felt before."

"I think. I'm not sure. Ashley and I have been doing a lot of research. We've found a lot of ancient documents that might at least tell us who is behind this."

"That is good."

"Your father is Zeus?"

"Yes."

"But your mother isn't Hera."

She shook her head. "No."

"She is very vengeful."

"She has given me problems in the past. But nothing like this. Are you sure?"

"I'm about 80% sure right now. We still have a lot of reading to do."

King Orsand stepped forward, bending to one knee. "Goddess, we thank you for all you've given us. How can we fight this?"

"Please, stand your majesty. My daughter is finding out how. The powers that surround these creatures is greater than my own. I am not sure how we can destroy it."

"Is there hope for us?"

"There is always hope," she said.

"Were we mated on purpose?" Edmond asked.

Artemis turned to look at him. "It was prophesied centuries ago, but I did not plan this. No. The fates determine who is mated to who."

"We were fated to be together?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes. He is your soulmate." Artemis approached me and embraced me. "Be well, my child.

She kissed my mark, sending a strange tingling throughout my entire body before vanishing. As we stood there, silently, I glanced around.

"So....that's the truth," I whispered.

"That was a lot," Edmond said.

"It usually is."

"Alright. We have a lot to do and it would seem not a lot of time to do it in." He turned to Queen Amelia. "Does your book speak of anything?"

"I can read through it again to try and decipher more."

"Good. Good." the king turned to me and Edmond. "You both continue reading through everything in the vault."

"Elanor, I am so very pleased with all of this," Queen Amelia said. "There seems to be no other wolf who would be able to handle the duties to her pack while also helping our goddess. You are remarkable."

"Thank you, your majesty."

"Does anyone know about this?" King Orsand asked.

"Ashley. I haven't thought to tell anyone else."

"Okay. Good. Let's keep it that way. I'm not sure who to trust."

"Why?" Edmond asked.

"Well, if these things are creatures being controlled by another Goddess, someone had to have led them here. Our realm is protected by a barrier. None can find their way here except wolves or without the aid of wolves."

"Oh my God. That's right. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Nobody wants to think poorly of anyone in our realm. that's devastating that anyone could bring such evil to us."

"We need to find the entry point and that could help us find who let them in."

King Orsand nodded.

"If we know who let them in, we could find out who they're working for," Edmond said, running off my thoughts.

The king nodded again.

"Then we'll know who is behind all of this and figure out how we can eliminate them!" Queen Amelia finished.

The king smiled and nodded for the third time. "Correct."

I sighed with relief. "We finally have something to run on."

***So Savannah is completely batshit crazy.*****

Who do you think put the entire realm in jeapordy? Who is that crazy? (Besides Savannah) Who would want to eliminate that many wolves? And why?

So many questions!

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