Becoming the True King and Queen (Forbidden Child Book 2)

Knowing When to Walk Away

The pack was currently having a board meeting about the silence in the woods. However, Skylar, James, Sadie, Dylan, and the four elemental guardians were banned from attending.  

Skylar paced the hallway outside the nursery, "How do they expect us to leave? This is our home!" 

James placed his hand on her shoulder, "No, Skylar, this isn't our home anymore. Our home is in the capital city. We just decided to wait to move in until after our tour. Jackson and Sarah are the Alpha and Luna of this pack. As king and queen, we have to accept their decision. We can only offer guidance from now on. We haven't stepped into our roles since we were crowned. It is past time that we do."

"He is right, Skylar," Sadie said softly. "Dylan and I haven't stepped into our roles either as advisors. We were all just trying to live as a family. Our pack, our family, tells us it is time for us to take our lives seriously. It is time for us to move on with the journey we have ahead of us. That includes trusting this pack to do what it needs to do." Sadie paused for a moment and wrapped her arms around Skylar, "We don't belong to this pack anymore. We are the leaders of the royal pack that will lead all of the elementals. Mom and Dad know that it is our time to shine. We were born to unite all elementals."   Skylar pulled away from her twin, "It is just not fair or right. We had helped build this pack back up after Dad got sick; when Cordelia attacked, we helped;" Skylar paused, drying the tears from her eyes. "I don't know how to be anyone other than who I am here."

James pulled Skylar into a hug, "Honey, I don't either. We will have each other and your sister to help us learn. She is excited about this even if she was kept in a cave most of her life. Sadie is looking forward to this adventure, and I wish you were too."

"Maybe she should be the queen then. I don't want to leave here," Skylar stated as she jerked away from her husband. "What is this? Why are you gaining up on me? I want what is best for our pack." 

Dylan held his hands up, "Skylar, we aren't trying to gang up on you. We are trying to get you to see that it is time for us to take on the roles we were born into. The book even said this is our next step."

Skylar turned around to look into the nursery where the twins and Billy were sleeping, "I thought our job was going to be to restore the Moon Goddess to her throne. Now, that has been removed from our hands as well. We haven't even heard from Victoria since she left. How do we even know that she is doing what needs to be done," Skylar stopped and huffed. "Marge is still missing, and who knows who or what took her from her son and daughter-in-law. Without her taking the throne as the Hell Goddess, they may not even be able to have children. All this is just overwhelming; I feel like there are way too many loose ends. Plus, Jerrika, Mitch, Abby, and Dalton are all supposed to travel with us, but then Victoria said she needs their help saving Marge. Where does that even leave us."

James took her hand and guided her out to the garden where they were crowned King and Queen. "Do you see this special place?"

Skylar nodded but kept quiet. 

"This is where I first met you as a child. Over there is where I found you in the river and knew you were my mate. Here, this is where we were married and were officially crowned King and Queen. Our children were born in that hospital. We reconnected with your sister. I was about to see my mom and meet my step-dad, step-sister, and my twin siblings. We have all our memories here. We are leaving, but our memories will always be here. Our family will be here. Mom and Rodney will travel between their pack and this one. We will be able to talk to all of them by phone, video chat, we will send them letters and postcards," James paused to see if what he was saying was helping or hurting. 

Skylar didn't move; she just closed her eyes and thought about all the memories. The silence around them should have been comforting. Even though Skylar felt chills along with the thoughts, they were leaving their family in danger. "Fine, but if we are going, we are leaving tomorrow. I will not stay here and not be able to do anything. I am done with all this nonsense," Skylar turned and stormed up the stairs to finish packing her things. She thought she had another month before they were leaving, but she was through waiting. 

James didn't know what to say or do. He sat down on the bench by the water fountain and put his head in his hands. "Moon Goddess, please help us. I know Skylar tells me that you aren't where you are supposed to be, but please."

A bright light shone around where James was sitting, Victoria appeared. She smiled, "Darling, James, it is time for you to move forward. If Skylar is this disappointed, we will find another way to save Marge without the guardians. I am working on helping Cassandra back to her throne. It is taking longer than I thought it would. We have heard that Marge is safe. Unfortunately, she was kidn*pped by an unknown sister. Evanora is part witch and part human. The worse part is her father experimented on her, making her more potent than any normal witch, possibly more so than a god or goddess." 

"What can be done?" James questioned. 

"This is no longer a concern of yours or hers. The matter is for the god and goddesses now. You will leave at once. I will ensure that you are all packed, and everything vehicle you need will be ready to go by morning," Victoria turned and was gone in another flash. 

A short while later, Jackson mind-linked Skylar, James, Sadie, and Dylan. "Will you please all come to my office?"

Skylar arrived last with a sullen look on her, "I don't want to hear the details of the meeting. We will be leaving tomorrow. I do not have anything else to say about the matter." She turned to leave, but Jackson stopped her in her tracks. 

"Skylar, please wait. There is more to the meeting than just a plan of action," Jackson stated. 

Skylar stopped but didn't turn back around. 

Sarah walked over to Skylar and placed an arm around her, "I know that I have only been in your life for a short while, but I love you like the daughter you are to me. Your father and I want what is best, but you must listen to what has happened since we last talked." 

Skylar walked over, taking a seat at the table next to her husband. 

Melissa smiles warmly, "We learned a few things in our meeting. Victoria came to talk to us about what she has found out. She also apologized for not keeping better contact." 

Jackson explained everything that Victoria had told James, and he stated that Victoria had visited him in the garden after Skylar had left. 

Sadie asked, "We don't get any more time to prepare. We are leaving tomorrow?"

Dylan grabbed her hand, "If Victoria believes that it is for the best, then we need to follow her instructions. I wonder how many more children Cordelia had that no one knew about."

Andre walked forward, holding the Lupimonican, "According to what Melissa and I have found in this book, there is one more daughter beside the ones we know about now."

"Merlia, Marge, and Tilly were all known of by the gods and goddesses. Evanora and her baby sister were unknown; their father is human. Her father raised Evanora while no one knows where her Eve is. According to the book, Marge took Evanora and Eve. She had intended to take them to their aunt's house where their father caught her. Marge was trying to cloak them when he discovered Evanora. A note was attached to her blanket that told her true identity and who her mother indeed was. Eve was delivered safely to her aunt. The aunt kept her from their father all her life, raising Eve as her own," Sarah paused. 

Skylar's eyes widened, "Are they, twins?"

Melissa shook her head, "No, they are about ten months apart. We do not have any more details." 

James nodded, "We will leave in the morning. We can not interfere with the gods and goddesses. We are powerful but not nearly as much as them." 

"Good night all," Skylar got up and walked out. 

Not a single person in the room said a word or moved until Skylar was entirely out of earshot. 

Jackson stood, "This is hard on us. We weren't even able to explain that the Lupimonican is growing by hundreds of pages a day. The book is adding every known magically species known and unknown to us. This is a compelling book. We are worried that you shouldn't take it on the trip, but when we question the book, it tells us the most important part is for it to travel the world with you." 

Dylan nodded, "This is something that we must obey. At this point, this is our law book. I wonder if we are supposed to meet with more than just the elementals now." 

"I agree. Maybe we need to see if the book has planned our trip," Sadie stated. 

Dylan and Sadie spent the evening pouring over the book while James went to see if he could talk to Skylar. When he arrived in their room, she had already bathed the children and was asleep as well. He smiled over his wife and prayed again to the gods and goddesses.