The Alpha Queen and Nymphae King

FATE IS NOT ALWAYS KIND

*18 years ago*

Almost exactly 9 months after their first meeting in the cave, Queen Aurora returns to their special place. This time, she arrives a few hours before the full moon. The pain in her stomach has dramatically increased and she suspects that the time has come. She prays to the Moon Goddess that no one has followed her. She makes herself comfortable at the back of the cave and tries to calm herself down. Again, a heavy pain hits her and she knows it is time to push. After the Goddess knows how long, the cries of a healthy baby fill the cave. Aurora smiles through the tears and thanks the Goddess for supporting her. With her water abilities, she cleans herself and the baby up, and with her healing abilities she heals the wounds from giving birth. She needs to get out of here as soon as possible and back to her kingdom before anyone notices her absence.

The council of the Nymphae and Siren kingdom have been keeping an eye on her and having a baby with a wolf is unacceptable. Out of fear for the safety of her child, she does the hardest thing a mother will ever have to do… With pain in her heart, she gets up to leave the cave. When Aurora steps out of the cave and looks up at the nearly full moon, she knows that her beloved Oliver will be here soon. “I am sorry it has to be this way, my love”, she whispers with tears streaming down her cheeks as she jumps back into the water.

About 20 minutes later, Oliver enters the cave in his wolf form. He frowns because, normally, by this time the delicious scent of ginger lilies would have filled his nose already. Instead, he is hearing the cries of… a baby?!

He slowly moves towards the back of the cave, where he finds a beautiful and healthy baby boy. No trace of Aurora can be found. Was she pregnant? Is this baby mine? Oliver started to wonder, but she never mentioned anything about carrying a child.

However, when his eyes lock on a pair of green eyes identical to his own, he knows that somehow this is their child and he needs to protect it. He cannot understand why Aurora is nowhere to be seen, but this baby needs to be checked in the hospital. Carrying the baby home, he thinks of ways to explain to his Alpha that yes, this is his child but that no mate will join their pack. Oliver then decides to go with a half-truth: he has been seeing someone from another pack who is unable to leave. His Alpha will frown, look at him in disbelief, but accept the child into the Blood River Pack. So, he knocks on Alpha Christoper's office door and when he is allowed to enter, Oliver states: “Meet the newest member of your pack… Justin Waters”.

Every full moon, Beta Oliver faithfully returns to the cave, hoping to meet his beloved Aurora there. But for a long time, she does not return to their secret meeting place. The duties of the crown are weighing on her as well as the fear of endangering Oliver and their son. Just one nymph or siren following and exposing her could result in being dethroned, or even worse, getting killed.

You see, Nymphae are Poseidon’s creations to protect and nurture all of his treasured seas, waters and land in between. It was too much for him, as a God, to care for all of this on his own. He gave Nymphae powers in order to fulfil their duty, such as being able to manipulate the part of nature they control. In most cases, this is water, providing them with water abilities and water magic. Also, Nymphae received healing powers to take care of all living things. Finally, to be able to move swiftly and unnoticed through the waters, Nymphae received shapeshifting abilities. Nymphs can shapeshift to appear like humans or opt for their fish tails instead of legs. Nymphae are not immortal and have one weakness, a bronze dagger. Contrary to the warlike God Poseidon, Nymphae are harmonious and beautiful creatures. Although not immortal, women are able to grow very old, while still keeping a youth-like appearance for hundreds of years.

However, since Nymphae were created with one goal, they were forced to refrain from love. Every now and then, the nymphs would meet other species roaming the lands and waters they protect. A group of nymphs starts to feel jealous of the love other species would share. This stir of emotions was the start of a breach within the Nymphae species. Over the years, this jealousy grew so big that they started neglecting their duties to Poseidon. Instead of protecting nature, these nymphs started searching for love. Jealousy and desperation quickly turned into obsession.

Nymphae are known to have melodious voices and normally use these to nurture flora and fauna. This particular group of nymphs started misusing their melodious voices. They discovered that their songs lured males to them. After a lot of practice, they managed to develop an alluring song that has the power to make any man succumb to them. The male is completely mesmerized by their goddess-like appearance and angelic voice.

The nymphs even managed to create a longer-term influence, which is transmitted through saliva. It places their victims under a spell as a result of a fluid transfer like a kiss. This transfer spreads an infection through the man’s body, leaving traces of a love hormone in the victim’s blood, making them madly in love with the nymph. This song is now known as the Siren’s song and can only be broken when the Siren is either killed with a bronze dagger or exposed through a mirror.

This group of nymphs, or from then on called Sirens, was able to manipulate feelings of love, charming their way through their victim’s defenses and tapping into their minds to be the “perfect woman” for them. However, with this unnatural power that the Sirens were never meant to have, comes great responsibility. In spite of finally feeling loved, one man would never satisfy this overwhelming desire because their love was not real. Soon, they would kill their victim to prey on the next one, fueled by a hunger for power and a need to feel loved again and again.

Out of concern for their neglected lands and waters and the safety of other species, the other group of nymphs begged Poseidon to do something. When their prayers reached his ears, he was furious. He punished the group of nymphs, the Sirens, by taking away their healing powers and cursing their souls. Since beauty comes from within, the creatures can be exposed by watching their reflection in a mirror. Not only will it break all their love spells, it will also reveal their true face, a hollow and empty soul.

After these events, the Nymphae decided strictly on one rule: no men in their kingdom. With just one exception to that rule, the few male priests. Although they are tasked with spreading Poseidon’s word, they also maintain the pureness of our kind and ensure continued existence. Men from other species, however, are most certainly not welcome and will be killed.

Regardless of this history, Aurora daydreams each and every day of her beloved, his beautiful green eyes and his wild brown hair. She also thinks of their son, what Oliver’s reaction must have been when he laid eyes upon the baby. More trivial thoughts crossed her mind too, like what did Oliver name their son? Who does he look like?

Giving in to the love she feels for Oliver and their son, she manages to secretly meet him on rare occasions. For wolves, it is very unnatural to be unable to spend every minute with their mate. Slowly, this starts to wear Oliver down and he is becoming weaker and weaker. Finally, his lack of strength turns out to be fatal.

Aurora feels in her heart that something has gone wrong but cannot go and look for him. On the next full moon, her suspicions turn into a devastating reality as Oliver never shows up to meet her. Never had she been met with such emptiness in her soul before. All night, she stays in the cave and cries her heart out. She cannot go and get her son because he cannot live safely in her kingdom. Moreover, it is unlikely he knows much about her existence or who she is, for that matter. That is what she and Oliver had decided, to protect him until he came of age. Aurora falls to her knees and prays to the Moon Goddess, to bless her son and to keep him safe.