The Lycan Queens Dance with the Moon By Lenore Rose

Edward Speaks

MaryBeth woke up feeling like s**t, her stomach hurt, her head was pounding and she could feel dried blood on her cheek as she grimaced with the pain.

She slowly rolled over in her single bed trying to make her stomach a little more comfortable. It didn't really help. If she thought about it she couldn't believe this had been her existance for the past 20+ years. She had been separated from her mate and her Lycan. She felt so alone here and for some reason it was just worse today. A single tear rolled out of her eye. She quickly wiped it away and refused to let anymore fall. They were not going to get the best of her.

Then something very strange happened. She felt this power surge through her and then it was gone in a blink of an eye. She hadn't felt that in a very long time. She sat up at the edge of her bed not feeling any pain as she made her way to the mirror on the wall above the sink. She leaned on the sink and looked in the mirror. The bruises were deep purple by now on her cheek. She looked in the mirror and tried to connect with her Lycan for the first time in a very long time. Something was changing, changing for the good.

Back at the Blue Moon Pack house Edward ate his sandwhich as new cloths arrived. He still was pretty quiet but Ace was filling him on what had happened so far. He looked toward Katrina several times as he listened to Ace. Not really saying much. He still wasn't feeling the greatest but considering the circumstances he was glad just to be sitting up and eating something. He could feel his wolf working hard to improve his strength.

"Hey Babe, can we talk for a moment?" Josh whispered into Nicoles ear. She nodded and they went out in the hallway.

"What's up?" She asked as the door shut.

"I don't know, I guess I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay." Josh could feel some wierd vibe coming the bond that he couldn't pin point.

"Awww, babe, that's so sweet." She leaned into him and put her arms around him hugging him. She loved that he was so much taller than her and she fit right under his chin. "I am fine. It's just a lot to take in. All my life I was told my entire family was dead and now I am surrounded by so much family." It felt so good to have him close.

"I know, that seems like a lot so I just wanted to check." Josh kissed the top of her head and then pulled away to look at her. "I love you and when this is all done I am going to make you my wife." He smiled at her the smile that was only for her.

She stood on her tippy toes and kissed him gently on the lips "I can hardly wait." She smiled back at him. They walked back in the room together.

Mark and Rhonda were sitting on the couch, Giest was standing next to Edwards bed and Sabrina was watching him finish his sandwhich.

The room seemed dark to the bright day it was outside. Nicole walked over and opened he shades that hid the bright morning sunshine. Edward immediately put his hand up to cover his eyes because the light was so unforgiving. Nicole went to shut them and Edward said "No, leave it. I need to get used to it anyway." He smiled at her. She smiled back and walked back to the group.

"Well, let's go look at all you have." Edward stood up, he still felt a bit dizzy but it was much better than the first time. Sabrina took his arm and helped him walk out the room. Ace, Nicole and Josh led the way back to the conference room.

Giest follwed everyone. He was feeling a little woozy. He thought 'was this real? Maybe I am dreaming? It seems real. Maybe Nicole wasn't even real?' He felt sick to his stomach but he did his best to disregard these thoughts. Nicole had been there for 4 months, a dream surely wouldn't last that long. He watched his son walking in front of him. He was slower and stiff-legged as he walked with Sabrina.

They entered the conference room and it had all the clues on the table with their working board on the wall with pictures and notes on it trying to put it all together. The old tin box was on the table at the opposite end of the room. Edward chose to sit across from the working board so he could look at it. There seemed to be a lot of moving parts.

Handley was in the room when Ace opened the door, punching away at the laptop to put some pictures and findings up on the screen. He stood up and reached for Edwards' hand, shaking it and smiling in greeting.

"Okay, I think we will let Nicole and Josh bring you up to speed." Handley said.

Edward looked confused. "Who is Nicole?"

"I am, Daddy. It was the name given to me by the man that raised me." She stood next to the board and pointed to his picture.

"Did he treat you well?" His voice was getting smoother.

"He did." She wasn't super sure about that because he did limit a lot of things looking back, but at the time she didn't think so. He never abused her.

"You don't want to keep Katrina my Kitty?" He smiled to himself, thinking of her as a small toddler smiling at him when he called her that.

She was silent, looking back at him. She hadn't thought of taking her real name.

Josh put his hand on her waist. "It's up to you Babe."

She saw the hurt in her father's eyes and felt that maybe the right thing to do was to go by her given name. "How do I change my name back?"

"It's always been your name, we have always looked for a Katrina," Geist said. "So you just tell us to call you that. Really it's hard to call anything else for me."

Katrina looked over at Josh and he nodded at her "Okay then, I will take the name Katrina from here on out."

She smiled at her Dad.

Edward smiled back. He couldn't believe how much she looked like her mother. Just thinking about MaryBeth made his anxiety go through the roof. He wondered what had happened to her. His heart ached for her just the same. He took a deep breath and looked back at Handley, nodding at him to come continue.

"Yes, Sir" He set out the picture of the man on the bridge and the drawing Katrina got from him when she touched him and tired to reach him. "This is where Nakita, Katrina's Lycan, said we need to start. We are thinking there is some kind of portal that allows us to get to the Lycan Kingdom. Google Earth helped us pinpoint a place in upper Maine based on the background and types of trees around him." He paused for a moment. Then he reached for the tin box. Handley wasn't sure what significance the tin box had but he wanted to show it to Edward.

He slid the box toward Edward on the table letting him.open it.

Edward was feeling a.bit overwhelmed. His memory was spotty at best with who these people even were. He knew his daughter and his sister. He remembered being attacked but it ends there. He didn't feel like he had real memories unless Katrina is in them. He didn't remember his sister little or his Dad younger. He didn't remember this house very well. It was like there was a disconnect with all that.

He reached for the box and opened it up. He slowly lifted out MaryBeths' bracelet out of it. It was beautiful with white and blue pearls interlaced with delicate gold work encompassing them connected with a delicate but strong chain. He rolled it in his fingers and took in a deep breath trying to stop the pain in his soul. It felt like it was burning him alive from the inside. He set her bracelet aside. He reached for his ring and slid it on his finger. He looked at his hand with it on and remembered wearing it all the time. It was his and it felt right to have it on.

He looked at it for a few moments and like a tidal wave memories came flooding back. They seemed to be in order of age and like picutres in a photo viewer they flipped through his mind.

Katrina felt something shift in him as he stared blankly off into nothing. They were connected now. She reached for his hand across the table and it pulled him back to where they were. He smiled a nervous smile not really sure how to explain what just happened. "You don't have to explain anything Daddy. It just is as how it should be. " She gave him a smile and an extra squeeze on his hand for support.

"Well I am glad because I wouldn't be able to put it into words anyway. I only know that I have all my memories back." He looked over at Hadely. "What's our next move?"

"Sir, we have to find this portal. This is where we begin." Hadley pointed to the picture of the man again.

"Well then let's head out." He took MaryBeths bracelet and put it in his pocket. She was getting this back. He had bought it for her when they found out they were pregnant. She had been so excited to be a mother. She loved everything about it. It made his heart angry that it was stolen from her. He looked over at the woman his daughter had become. Someone was going to pay for what they had done to them if it was the last thing he ever did.

"It's almost dinner time. Should we wait until tomorrow to leave?" Sabrina asked.

"No, we leave right now. I will not waste one moment not looking for MaryBeth. She's out there and we have to save her." Edward stood up.

"Daddy, do you know what this a picture of?" She handed him the blurry picture of what looked like several judges sitting on tall beaches.

He took it and studied it for a moment. "Where did you get this?"

"It was with the pictures from Uncle." She answered.

"This is the council of the demon wolf band. They are a secrete society that is determined to bring back the evil wolves." Edward knew they had a fight on their hands. One he was determined to win this time.