Blue Moon Eclipse

Chapter 5

Antonio POV~~

The moment everyone's attention returned to the party and the music resumed, I led Lotus out of the hall. She hasn't said a word since we watched Thompson walk out of the party. Many people tried to stop us and congratulate us and meet their future Luna, but I managed to escape it by telling them she was overwhelmed. Our hands remain locked together as I draw her away from everyone and back to the greenhouse. I open the mind link to my family.

"Family meeting. Greenhouse. Urgent." I cut off the link without waiting for a response.

"Lotus? What's wrong." Her free hand is in a fist at her chest, and she is looking at the ground.

"That man. With the black eyes. I've seen him before. In my dreams. He doesn't want me to take some kind of throne from him?" Her eyes lift to meet mine, brimming with tears and fear. I pull her close into a warm embrace.

"You're safe with me and my family. None of us will let him hurt you." I promise her, as my family comes in the door.

"What's going on?" My father questions. They're all wearing worried looks. Clearly, they heard the anxiety in the mind link.

"I think it's time for that story, Father. Thompson. Why can't he know about her? And why has she seen him in her dreams?" Lotus turns to look at them as I ask. My father sighs, running his hand down his face.

"This isn't the place. Let's go to my office." He turns and starts walking. My mother rushes after him, and my siblings and Leah follow behind.

"What's going on?" Lotus' voice quivers.

"I'm not sure. But we're about to find out. Come on, let's go." Grasping her hand again, I can feel her shaking. Giving a reassuring squeeze, we follow behind, still clasping hands. It feels so nice, having her beside me. But that's almost overshadowed by Kai's anger and her fear. There's something going on that doesn't quite make sense.

We make it to my father's office just in time for Ulrich, my father's beta, to meet us at the door.

"Jonathan. We have a problem." He gives Lotus a side eye as he says it, causing Kai to surface. Pulling her behind us, he growls lowly.

"Antonio. Ulrich is not our enemy. What is it?" He turns to his beta, who's still staring at Lotus.

"His mate's a Lycan?" He asks my father.

"Ulrich. What is the problem." My father uses his Alpha tone, telling everyone here he means business.

"Right. Apologies. The Lycan king left us a warning." Pulling his phone from his pocket, Ulrich shows my father a video. The sounds of fire cracking come from the speakers.

"It's about my Mate. Let me see it." I can tell from the look on my father's face that it's about Lotus. Ulrich looks to my father for confirmation. He nods shortly and walks into his office, leaving the door open for us to follow. Ulrich turns the phone to me, and I see words carved in fire on our lawn.

"Lotus petals will wilt," it says. Lotus gasps beside me, and I wrap my arm around her shoulders. I hear my father growl from his office. Everyone rushes in to see what's wrong. He stands at the window with his hands bawled into fists. We all crowd around him and see the flames ourselves, still burning with several wolves coming out to see from the party. I take a brief look at Lotus. Her hand is covering her mouth, and tears are forming in her eyes.

"This is what I was afraid of. Ulrich. Gather the warriors. Everyone needs to begin extra training. Bring all non combatants into the safe house in the basement. He wants a war." A small sob escapes Lotus' throat. I pull her close, caressing her hair, trying to calm her.

"Dad?" Kylee is also shaking. None of us expected this.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Lotus POV~~

"He wants a war." The sentence repeats in my head. A war? Over me? I don't know what I just walked into.

"Dad?" Kylee's voice is the final straw. Sobs finally break free and cause my knees to buckle under me. When I expect to hit the ground, I feel his strong arms lifting me up off my feet. Without much of a fight from me, he sits down in a chair and places me tenderly on his lap.

"He's going to start a war before I can even have 24 hours with my mate?" Anger is clear in his voice, and heat is rolling from his body. Clearly, he wants to protect me. That just causes the sobs to become more violent.

"Why?" I croak out between sobs. "What is so special about me?" Turning toward Antonio's father, I realize that everyone is just as afraid as I am. Jonathan sighs.

"To help you understand that, I have to tell you about how he became our King." He sits in his fancy office chair behind the desk and motions for the rest of the family to sit. Their mother is stroking Kylee's hair, there are 2 boys I haven't met yet, well men. One of them holds onto a girl who looks to be about my age. The other is rubbing Natasha's arms, which are crossed over her chest.

"Ulrich, please make sure no one comes in here." The mother requests tenderly. With a single nod, the man walks out the door and shuts it gently.

"Eighteen years ago tomorrow is when it happened. Thompson was the previous Lycan King's brother. He was always jealous of his brother's title and even more so of his mate. There was more than one event that ended early because the two of them were arguing over something. Even worse, they would sometimes physically fight. In both human and wolf forms. One time led to Rina, the Lycan Queen, being injured. That was a final straw for Ordovic, the King. See, she had been pregnant with you at the time." He motions to me. Everyone has been silent, listening intently to the story. "Ordovic banished his brother, knowing full well the extent of Thompson's jealousy. He regretted banishing his brother. But once it had been done, so was the damage. Thompson became a rogue." My brow furrowed at the word, unsure of what it meant but not wanting to interrupt.

"A rogue is an outcast wolf. There are many groups of them." Antonio answers my unasked question in a hushed tone. His dad looks at him and nods. Understanding that I am not as aware of the terms as they all are.

"Now, a week before you were born, Thompson swore that the unborn pup, you, would never take the throne. He claimed that it was his birthright. Not yours. Ordovic trippled his guards. He had a man on him and your mother every second of every day. He was worried about what his brother might do. On the day after you were born, the castle wing that they resided in mysteriously caught fire. Destroying everything that was there. The nursery that was meant for you was reduced to a pile of rubble and ash. Thompson claimed he had nothing to do with it. But when your body wasn't found, he offered a reward to anyone who brought the lost princess to him. He claimed that he was at the castle to beg his brother's forgiveness. There were several people who could attest to his presence when the fire started. They also claimed that he attempted to aid in putting it out. But there are stories that spread shortly after. Stories that say that he hired someone else to start the fire, saying that a maid in the castle carried you to freedom, to safety. And some even claimed to have seen you floating away on your own. He knew you were alive but couldn't find out where you went. He searched every pack and tribe after his coronation. Claiming that someone was hiding you, that they'd kidnapped you and were holding you for ransom. But everyone knew he wasn't as sincere as he appeared. No one had proof, though. So the throne went to the only remaining Lycan. Thompson." His name hangs in the air. No one in the room can speak. So when the words finally come from my mouth, it shocks everyone, including me.

"So, in short. He made me an orphan so he could be King?" Everyone's attention snaps to me.

"I think there was more to it than that. In short, yes, I agree with you. However, there is a lot that happened behind closed doors that no one knew about." Nodding my head, I wipe my tears and stand. I'm not about to sit here and let people die for me if I'm not willing to fight for them as well.

"I need to learn to fight. If this is happening, I want to be able to help." I hear a growl from Antonio's chest behind me.I turn on my heel and look him dead in his eyes.

"You can't be seriously thinki-" I cut him off before he can finish.

"I'm not the kind of girl who will sit idly by while people fight and die for me. And if this is going to work, then you need to understand that." I shove my finger into his chest as I speak. Shock is evident on everyone's face as I turn back to Jonathan. "I want someone to teach me to fight." I declare, crossing my arms over my chest. I half expect him to laugh in my face or straight tell me no. Instead, he stands up and extends his hand to me.

"Tony, you have yourself a firey mate. Lotus, you start first thing in the morning. I hope you understand I can't let you leave pack grounds. If you do, I can not protect you." He releases my hand and waits for a response.

"I understand. Thank you all so much."

"It's going to be an early morning. You should get some rest." Nodding, I turn to leave.

"One more thing, dear," this time it's his mother that speaks. I turn back to face her and see her rummaging through a box on one of the shelves. "This was your mother's. I knew her briefly long ago. Before she became queen. You should have it." She pulls out a gorgeous locket with gold filigree and a name engraved in the back. Rina. I run my thumb over the name and smile tearfully at her.

"Thank you." She smiles back and returns to Jonathan's side. Antonio is by mine in an instant with his hand at the small of my back, protectively. He leads me out of the office and down the hall.