The Banished Queen of Moonspire

Lone-Wolf & Memory

AMELERA

I snap my eyes open, my entire body trembling from something I have no idea of. Perhaps an unnerving nightmare?

I can’t exactly tell, but the fear is real and strong enough to drain the blood from my face and leave me breathless.

My reflexes set in as I feel another hand grab mine. I jump to the other side of the bed before I even snap my head in that direction. My eyes are wide and my chest is heaving heavily.

While I possibly look like there’s a ghost in front of me, it is only a man. His eyes darken, an intriguing look settling between the creases around his lids.

“You look much better when you’re deep asleep. Peaceful, even.” His voice is thick and heavy with a bass that seems to make his words linger longer in the air.

“Who are you?”

I search the room frantically for any hint, but I swear I can’t find anything recognizable. My head is a bit fuzzy, but I’m sure this isn’t anywhere in Moonspire. Where I am, it’s probably far from the only pack I’ve known.

Or perhaps after all those walks, I entered into another territory?

“Caelus Hawkridge,” he informs simply, leaving me to connect the dots myself.

A wrinkle forms on my forehead before my entire face squeezes up. “That name is familiar. Of what designation and what pack?”

He chuckles, sharply wiping his lips like there was dirt there. “I didn't recognize you before but now that I do, you remain just as highly witted as I last witnessed, Princess Amelera.” As he mentions my name, my body tenses up.

And from how he laughs and gazes at me, he knows me. Still, he’s only familiar, but until I can pinpoint how, I’m not trusting this man.

“Of course, I am Princess of Moonspire. You’d know me. Now tell me yours. Who are you, really...?”

His chest puffs out when he stands up and wraps his arms across it. “Caelus Hawkridge, Hunter. Alpha of the Moonwatchers pack.”

The realization snaps at me like an unexpected whiplash to the back. “I remember you.” I gasp like the air has suddenly seized from my throat.

“Yes, your father did—well, almost.” Something about the way he says that makes his face fall, but only for a second. It disappears just as it came. “He almost got us matched, but well, fate had other plans. You married another.”

I could have sworn I heard his voice break as though a heartbroken man just spoke. He looks anywhere else but my side.

This man, Caelus, is pleasant to the eyes. A gentleman with deep blue eyes, a straight nose, and heart-shaped lips. His jawline and defined cheekbones are not to be overlooked. Nature took its time on him, because even his dark bronze hair accentuates his features, finalizing a great work of art.

There’s tension in the space, or maybe it’s just the piece of me that regrets I hadn’t calmed down to see Caelus before blindly—what I thought was love then—choosing Malrik.

From the window, the outside looks out to a stream that separates the clearing of a field from the distant valleys covered in fog.

“Where am I now?”

“If you’ll come with me, I can show you.”

Hesitantly, I take the man’s hand and he leads me out of the room. We are in a dark hallway. Many portraits of men I don’t recognize are hung on the wall.

“A question, Milady. Forgive me, but I thought they said you were a non-shifter?”

A little crease forms on the bridge of my nose, but I answer anyway. “Yes, but why do you ask?”

“You should have realized,” he says like I’m to understand immediately. Then he adds, upon recognizing my confusion, “You healed too fast and too clean for someone who bled a lot. There is barely even a scratch on you—not even a single scar.”

“Bled, what do you mean?”

“Well, your encounter with the Wolf Beast?” he answers softly, seemingly protecting me from something.

A cold runs down my back as an image flashes across my mind, except it is too fast for me to grasp or read. My brain seems to quickly shut it out before it scares me further. My fingers begin to tremble again, a hidden fear just like when I had just woken up.

I swallow. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

He scoffs lightly. “Very well.”

“So, where are we really heading to? You’re not exactly clear with your words.”

“Here...” He takes more steps forward and opens the door to a kitchen.

The smell of food swallows my entire senses. I don’t realize how famished I’ve been. My stomach growls and my tongue salivates. I look at Caelus and he gestures to the table.

“Eat everything… anything. Miss Potters there prepared it all for you.” Following his hand, I see a blonde woman smiling ear to ear.

I go and dive into the food without thinking twice. I moan at the satisfaction, my throat dry without even knowing it until now, when Caelus mentions from behind me,

“I’ll see you again, Milady.”

Before I know it, the sun is setting and Caelus hasn’t returned. I’ve sat here long enough that my butt is starting to hurt. I head outside and find myself in a garden.

The smell of flowers is rejuvenating, and I quite enjoy the view before my vision focuses on a lady in the distance. She’s young, with red hair that flows gracefully down her sides. While it looks like she’s crocheting, she is deeply lost in her thoughts.

I am a few steps away from her when she snaps back to reality with a painful gasp. She curses under her breath when I see blood sliding down her index finger.

“Let me help,” I say hastily. “Come.”

I stretch forth my hand for her to take as I stand before the fountain in the garden. She is reluctant but eventually gives me her hand.

“What are you doing?”

“One of the simplest things I learned from my mother. Whenever I pricked my finger, she did this, and it works just fine.”

She allows me to pour some water on the wound before I collect a piece of cloth from her and wrap it tightly around the finger.

“When the bleeding stops, put some honey around it. Not on it.” I point my finger at her in a warning gesture.

“You don’t look like a healer… or are you?” she questions, and I shake my head.

“Oh—wait, it is you. The lady rescued last night by my brother. I am Lilith,” she clarifies, leaving an uneasy knot inside me.

“You’re a Hawkridge too? I’m guessing Caelus is the brother you refer to, is it not?”

She taps the bench she is seated on, her eyes inviting me to sit. Just like Caelus, she has a welcoming aura.

“I heard you were attacked by the Wolf Beast. If my brother hadn’t reported it himself, I wouldn’t have believed it.” She scoffs lightly. “You look very well.”

“Uh, I… I guess I’m the only one here who doesn’t understand a word you or your brother mean. Or perhaps I simply can’t remember.” Maybe this is a coping mechanism, forcing me not to recall anything from last night. It’s not new to me that I can’t remember anything from the moment I entered that cave.

“I saw you were lost in your thoughts. What is it?”

“What? No,” Lilith lies, and she’s bad at it.

It makes me laugh. “Crocheting is one of the things we women do all the time—since we obviously can’t get into politics or get our hands busy with things that matter—and I know your soul was far away.”

Her eyes fall to her lap. “Don’t tell my brother this.” She takes her time. “I love Caelus, but I want a life that’s more than this. I long for exposure, to feel love. You know, as it’s written in books. I want to feel that yearning, to not be obliged to what society expects of me, but to what I really want.”

Her statement instantly sends me back to when I was as young as her. I touch her shoulder and reply, “You’ll have plenty of time to grow. Don't you think of a man right now. Yes, love is a blessing, but it can also be pain disguised as pleasure when it falters. So grow a backbone you can always rely on. Only then can you choose the love that is truly written for you by destiny.”

Right now, she is naive, and she will likely choose wrong, as I have. I would never wish for another woman to walk this path I am currently walking, all because of a mistake made in love.

“But well, that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun though. There are lots of festivals, lots of time, to check out strong men, feed those thoughts of what’s under them...”

She blushes and looks away. “What? Are we getting vulgar now?”

“I mean…” I stutter playfully. “It’s the truth.”

The sound of footsteps reaches us, pulling us away from the conversation. Caelus comes into view, his hands entwined behind him.

“This is a rare sight.”

Lilith perks up, giggling. “Amelera is an interesting woman. I like her, brother.”

Caelus nods. “Of course, you would.” Before he adds, my heart spikes as if I already know what comes next. “But I must steal her from you now, sister. I apologize, but it’s a serious matter.”

Silence follows for only a moment.

“Is it about the Wolf Beast?” Lilith asks, and Caelus nods.