Blood of the Silver Moon

First Time Encounters

Three nights, it had taken three long, long nights. Hours upon hours of looking through books until my brain hurt, but I had finally gotten all the information I needed for this meeting tonight. Armed with the information I needed from my previous life and with what was in my laptop, I knew I could do this. Tonight the elders would see me not as a weak, pathetic princess undeserving of the heir, but as a queen ready to take her place. I walked out of my hotel room holding tightly onto my bag as if something might happen to my research, and headed for the car my father had sent for me. I would change into a gown when I reached the castle before the meeting into something worthy of my status. For now, I am dressed in a designer, business casual suit in soft brown pantsuit, making my green hair and golden-red blonde hair stand out among the crowds. If you saw me at first sight you'd see a woman who knew her place in this world. What no one to the naked eye could see was the aura that radiated off me.

In the world of werewolves, the color of your fur is determined by linage. Common wolves were usually grey, brown, reddish-brown, silver-black, or some kind of mixed fur combination. The elite wolves, usually high level officials, warriors, and low level nobles like barons, viscounts, counts and their mates, were usually black, red or white. High-ranking wolves, like alphas and elders, or anyone with royal blood were solid black, red, white or silver. However, there were rare wolves, the ones of the moon goddess' bloodline who had what we called "fantasy" furs, like mine. While silver wolves were rare, and seen in high regard, gold-furred wolves were worshiped like gods. Lukas had never seen me shift, I didn't want him to know that I had rare blood. Now, when I did shift in front of him for the first time, it would be to sever his tie as an alpha. I would show him what it meant to be royalty and the bloodline of the very moon goddess he scorned when he chose Rose over me time and time again. The same bloodline the elders of this pack were about to see in that room.

"Princess Amaraissa." The driver bowed to me as I walked to the car, opening the door to the back seat. I held my head higher, thanked him, and entered the back seat getting comfy. He closed my door and walked around to get into the driver's seat. In front of me were two black cars, and as soon as we pulled out of the parking lot, two more followed. A full armored escort to bring me back home. I hadn't been home since graduation, six long months, at least according to this timeline. However, I was remembering the years I had spent away from my father and home to make Lukas happy. A lifetime ago. Thankfully, the drive was only ten minutes, and as soon as I stepped out of the car onto the red carpeted cement steps leading up to the castle's doors, I was greeted by servants and nannies I had over the years.

"Welcome back our princess!" The voices echoed simultaneously, and I felt my heart thunder in joy. Yes, technically, I was in university right now, but I only chose to go so I could be with Lukas. I had a title to my name, a job at my father's company and all the money in my trust fund as soon as I got out of high school. So, they were doing exactly what servants to the royal family were supposed to do. I walked past them, right into the castle's grand entrance and soaked in all the memories of my mother and father before she died. Then of all my father, who spent as much time with me as he could when he could with me. I held onto the warmth I felt in my chest, because soon it would need to be cold steel when I met the elder council.

"Princess!" My father's voice called out from the top of the stairs as soon as he saw me. His tone, however, was not a formal matter. It was a father calling to his daughter. I smiled at him, climbed the stairs and let him wrap me in a hug. We had only seen each other a week ago, but it was too long. In this lifetime, no one would hurt him again. He held me at arms length and beamed with joy. "So, are you ready for this?"

"The question is, can you trust me? This is about to either go really, really well or horribly wrong." I couldn't hide the nerves in my voice, because I was about to shake the fragile ground my family stood on.

"Of course I do, Amara. I can't wait to hear what you have planned. I think they set up a new selection of gowns for you in your room. I will meet you in the council room in an hour?" He phrased that as a question and I nodded, following my maids up into my old room. It was the queen's rooms, doors leading into my father's chambers. He had set it up after mom died. He didn't want to be apart from me in case of nightmares or real danger. Now it was a symbol of my resolve. It was exactly as I had left it from the king sized canopy bed to the massive tv that took up the whole wall across from it.

"In the closet." My maid called to me, waving me in after her. I held onto the bag even tighter, and followed her into the closet. On the rack in the middle of the room was lined with the most gorgeous gowns I had ever seen. Each one my taste, and fit for the future I was meant to hold onto. I ran my freshly manicured fingers over the gowns and landed on an emerald green number. It was beautifully detailed with fancy decals along the selves and bodice. It was made of the finest stains of our kind. The bodice was corseted, meaning I didn't need a corset, but i would put in a stay.

"This one." I pulled it off the rack and handed it to the maid. She beamed with delight, hung it up by the changing room and made me sit. A full team of hair and makeup artists rushed in, fixing me up. I was set on the matching emerald crown and jewelry set. Adorning myself in jewels fit for my future status. Princesses wore diadems, queens wore crowns. Then they got me into my dress, my eyes never leaving the bag. When they were done, I had just enough time to go print all my evidence and set up the council room. Once everything was set, I put a guard on the door, and went for a walk in the garden.

This was a breath of fresh air which I needed. My nerves were starting to rise sky-high. Never had I ever been so nervous about something so silly as a council meeting. Running my fingers along the rose bushes my father had made for me, I hadn't noticed someone had entered the maze of flowers. Not until he was clearing his throat, making me stumble backward and fall over something and into a solid wall of something hard. I looked up to see the most striking face of a man I had ever seen. Devastatingly handsome. From his chiseled, squared-off jaw with dark stubble, like he hadn't shaved in weeks but kept his face trimmed and clean. He had short length wavy black hair and his eyes were gold, true gold. I didn't need to see him to see that he was solidly built, I could feel it. I quickly stood up, dusted myself off and turned around to face him.

"I don't care who you are, if you're going to patrol this garden, you need to announce yourself, and keep your paws off the princess of the castle. No, don't talk...just do what you need to do. I am late for a meeting." Flushed, and blushing hard in embracement, I rushed away from him. I looked back briefly, and he had moved on. I would never see him again except in passing. Putting a hand on my sternum to stable myself, I headed up to the council room where everyone was already in a heated argument over how ridiculous it was for me to keep them waiting. With one last breath in confidence, I nodded for them to push open the doors and walked inside the room, shutting them up and turning all heads to look at me.

"Well, now that I am here, we shall truly begin."