The Prophecy Of Wolves.

Chapter: 2

As the ceremony began, Asteria and Calantha stood side by side, with the alphas seated across from them and the betas beside the alphas. Asteria gazed at one of the alphas, who sat in the middle, exuding power and wealth. He suddenly looked at her and winked joyfully, but one of the attendees noticed it - a man with piercing green eyes and curly brown hair, partitioned in the middle, who looked stunningly gorgeous in his early 20s. His sharp features were undeniable, and every woman's eyes were on him, hypnotized by his handsomeness. Asteria thought to herself, 'How pitiful,' as she watched the women fawn over him, probably unaware of their own existence. She internally laughed at their infatuation.

The man, dressed in a dark brown suit matching his hair, gestured elegantly, looking extremely handsome. "Calantha, Asteria, please step aside and let me take my seat," he said, his face softening into a warm smile. Calantha nodded and silently gave him space.

"How are you both?" he asked, his face no longer hard or cold. Calantha smirked and nudged his elbow. "What do you think, Uncle?" she said, her tone playful. He made a disgusted face, clearly disliking the term 'uncle.'

"We both are fine," Calantha said with a 'duh' expression. "Oh, but you seem utterly ugly," she teased, her eyes sparkling with mischief. He smirked, trying hard not to laugh at her face, and turned his attention to Asteria, who was silently observing them with a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

He approached her, and Calantha moved away, giving them space. "How is my baby doing?" he asked, kissing her forehead. Asteria nodded and bowed slightly. "I'm doing fine, Caelus."

He smiled and stood beside her, "Well, is my baby angry with me? Why are you so silent?" She shook her head, and Caelus smiled, turning around to face Calantha's cringed face. "What? Can't I talk to my daughter now? She is my child," he defended himself.

Calantha sarcastically smiled and nodded. "Yup! 'Your child.' Why don't you get married, Uncle? You seem desperate to have children." Caelus replied, "Cals, I practically raised her, so I have the right to call her my child."

Asteria looked around, noticing many eyes on them. While Calantha and Caelus didn't seem to care about their image, she did, so she moved away, leaving them behind, and held her brother's finger. He chuckled at her reaction and watched his older sister and maternal uncle, who looked remarkably young, bickering.

After their mother's passing, Caelus, their uncle, had been with them constantly, even though he was still young himself. He had tried his best to care for them, and Asteria was especially close to him, as he had spoiled her rotten. This was why Asteria often behaved like a brat - because her dear uncle had indulged her every whim.

The ceremony continued, with the prince, Zaren Moonblade, being called to the stage. Asteria was now sitting on Caelus's lap, watching her brother with serious eyes. "Do you take an oath to raise our empire to its highest?" the officiant asked. "I do," Zaren replied, his face straight and hard. He had the same green eyes as Caelus but with blonde, curly hair that reached his ears and was neatly styled. The ceremony proceeded with the rituals, and the king crowned Zaren the crown prince.

As the ceremony concluded, many wolves began to leave the hall, offering well wishes to the family.

***

In the morning, Eryndor sat in class, surrounded by the sounds of writing on paper and boards. He heard the teacher's repeated sighs as they began to discuss the topic of 'the prophecy,' which was given 400 years ago by the moon goddess. Eryndor found the topic intriguing and took out a blank paper to write down his notes.

The teacher started writing on the board, and Eryndor wrote down the notes.

"450 years ago, the Lunar Wolves and Moonblade Wolves had a great relationship, but over time, their relationship withered, and they no longer asked about each other's well-being. A war broke out exactly 400 years ago because the Lycan King at the time was a greedy wolf who fought against the Lunar, Royal, and Moonblade Wolves. After that, the moon goddess, disappointed, gave a prophecy that two companions would be born to kill the Lycan King and all those wolves who had sided with him."

Eryndor raised his hand and asked,

"So, is he still alive?"

The teacher replied, "Yes, but not as a king anymore, thanks to the moon goddess. He is still alive and living somewhere."

Eryndor asked again, "So, is he still that powerful?" The teacher responded, "He is even more powerful now, and on the day of the prophecy, he made a promise to kill those who were mentioned in the prophecy."

Eryndor asked, "And haven't they been born yet?"

The teacher replied, "No one knows."

***

(On the other side)

Calantha nodded, and Asteria raised her hand to ask a question. "Does this mean the relationship between us and the Lunar Wolves is still bad?"

"Well, it is." Caelus replied.

"Why?" Zaren asked.

"Because of the former king, who manipulated the Lunar King and made him join his side. But that wasn't the actual reason why our relationship with the Moonblades is bad. It's because after the war, the wolves of Moonblade still tried to maintain a relationship, but the king who joined hands with the Lycan King disappeared, and the one who ascended the throne was greedy and maintained a worse relationship with us."

***

Eryndor nodded and asked another question. "So, when the prophecy comes true, the war will happen, and the former Lycan King and the former Lunar King will die? Isn't there anyone else?"

"Yes, there are the Royal Wolves, who are now envious of both of them."

***

"Aren't there also Shadow Wolves? What about them?" Asteria said,

***

The teacher smiled and answered, "The Shadow Wolves are said to be under the command of the male who is in the prophecy, and no, they weren't part of the war. They just live here, but no one exactly knows where."

Eryndor nodded.

***

Calantha exclaimed, "Oh my god! Isn't this interesting? Like the Lycan King and these sorts of topics." Asteria nodded in agreement and raised her hand again. "You didn't mention who is next in line to be the Lycan King." Zaren asked.

"Oh, it's said to be His Highness, the current king of the Lunars."

At first, Asteria was surprised but hid her expression and kept it straight. It was an unexpected answer. Calantha said, "Isn't he said to be a cruel king?"

"There is a difference between being cold and being cruel."

Asteria's voice was strangely warm, and Zaren instantly gazed at Asteria, who seemed to realize her tone now. She nervously looked away and drank water.

"Is there any question left?" Zaren denied, and all of them left to their rooms.

***

Asteria went to her room and noticed it was time for her sword practice. She took out her sword and vanished into the air. The first thing she saw was Aqua, the rabbit of Eryndor. She looked around but didn't find him, and a sudden disappointment crossed her face. She sighed and shook her head, waiting for him for half an hour, but he didn't appear. Asteria frowned at his absence, as he usually came at this time.

She started practicing her sword and magic, and soon it became night. But then, a thought struck her: what if he got lost or some other wolves tried to harm him? She looked up at the moon and noticed it was midnight. She closed her eyes and used her insight power to scan the whole forest, but she couldn't find him. Usually, his aura was noticeable to her, but today she didn't feel his presence at all.

"Why am I so worried?"

She thought. Just as she was about to leave, she heard someone's footsteps, and her sadistic face turned happy. "Eryndor?" His face was red from running, and when he saw her, he suddenly hugged her tightly. She was taken aback by his actions but didn't push him away, instead hugging him back. She was confused by her choice of actions and had many questions in her mind. Why was she so happy to see him? Why didn't she push him away?

He backed away, and in the moonlight, Asteria noticed how his blue eyes shone brightly, as if she could get lost in them. They looked peaceful and fearful at the same time. Her eyes went to his chubby cheeks, and she had a sudden urge to touch them but restrained herself. "Actually, I missed you, so I sneaked out," he said. His choice of words didn't please her much. Did he mean he sneaked out of the palace?

Asteria didn't ask him anything and nodded. She knew he was the prince because of his lunar smell and his blue eyes, which only royalty possessed. Moreover, she had seen him use his power to control water elements, and she had learned about lunar wolves' special powers in history books. So, she made an assumption that he was the prince, but if he wasn't, he was definitely a lunar wolf.

"Go home, it's midnight. I'm also leaving," she said. "Why were you late at night here? You're always gone by evening, and it's midnight." Her cheeks reddened. Now what could she tell him - that she was waiting for him, hoping he would come? She looked away and stuttered, "Well, when you're here, you always remind me of the time, but today I didn't notice."

He nodded, possibly not buying her lie. She looked at him with childish hate. "What? You tell me, why are you here?" "Umm, because I missed you, and probably to take my Aqua, my rabbit?" He smiled and gently said. She looked away, nodding, and he saw how flustered her face was, so he silently laughed and blushed. "Okay, then take care, Celeste. We'll meet later." He took his rabbit and, with a final glance, left.

Asteria watched his back as he ran away, chuckled, and went away.