The Two Queens- By: Lilly Taylor

Chapter Four: Hearts set Aflame

I spent a week holed up in my room, not eating, not sleeping, just pouring over the book I had found and the note that was tucked within it from the man who had been my fated mate. The very same man who made me burn with desire before r****g me and rejecting me, leaving me to fight for my life on my own.

I had learned some invaluable lessons. I learned more about werewolves than I had ever dared to dream. From how my wolf was supposed to function, how werewolves shift, how the Moon Goddess came down from the night sky to shape man into wolf, as much information as my wolf, the book, and letter contained, I now possessed as well.

The night I passed out in pain was from my wolf awakening and coming to my conscience for the very first time- something that happens when most werewolves hit puberty. The curse had blocked this, though, keeping me from my true nature. I had also gone through the pain of a mate rejection- something that has killed many wolves, according to my own, Rain.

The letter told me much of what I needed to be answered, but still left me woefully in the dark for my liking.

The letter read as follows:

Lilith,

I am sorry to break our bond no sooner than we had formed it. I did what I was destined to- awakened the wolf within you so you may best the dreaded curse Ceras cast upon your pack. I could not be your true mate, the mate you are sure to find when you least expect it. Not when we could not be any further apart in life.

I may appear young, but I am not. You have just started your life, but mine is nearly halfway over. It would be cruel and selfish to mark you as mine, make you bear my pups, only to leave you alone and unprotected in this world. I know you do not understand everything now, and I’m sorry I could not be the one to guide you through this confusing time in your life, as your father would surely die than admit he is a helpless alpha.

I know Nyx will watch over you, as she has plans for you we cannot begin to fathom. I also know our paths were never meant to run parallel to another, destined to meet once and part, never meeting again. Two tangents, destined to change each other forever. When I told you I did not take my actions lightly, I truly meant it. I know how badly the rejection hurts, as I am suffering from it as well. My other actions, the ones I regret- had to happen to complete our mate bond. I only pray to Nyx one day you’ll forgive me.

We were not meant to be. As sure as I know you were my mate, as sure as I know Nyx is watching over you, I know we were not meant to truly be together. I could tell you the Goddess herself told me, but you would likely just grow to hate love and never try to mend your heart for the one meant to keep it.

I am sorry. From the depths of my soul, I am sorry. Be smart, Lilypad. Tread carefully as dangerous forces conspire against you to this very day. Trust no one. Listen only to yourself, your instincts, and your wolf. May the Moon Goddess hold you in her love and light.

-R.S.

I rolled my eyes when I read the letter the first time, and I roll my eyes to it whenever I happened upon it in my chambers to this very day. I did listen, however, to the last paragraph. I felt it in my core when he told me to trust no one, and I didn’t. Not my father. Not my servants. Not my ladies in waiting. I was alone, save for my inner wolf, Rain.

I thought back on the first few days with Rain, still getting used to her presence in my mind, learning how to behave as a werewolf, the first time I shifted… She was my constant, my rock. She was also what made me challenge every suitor my father paraded in front of us. Before rejection, the idea of being with a man had seemed, for lack of better words, alluring. Right, in some sense. And, according to the laws of our Kingdom- was the only proper union the local church and it’s followers would bless.

Ever since experiencing rejection and its pains, mental, spiritual, and physical? The thought of being close to man- let alone intimate- made me feel physically ill. Thankfully Rain had no issues taking control and fending them off for me- which left us both in hysterics once the offended men took their fragile egos back to their own kingdoms. My father, on the other hand, was less than amused.

As he chastised me once more, insisting that I choose a suitor, stressing the importance of my upcoming birthday in two weeks as my deadline, my mind wandered to my training.

I had taken up training with the royal knights shortly after my inner wolf awakened- much to my father’s displeasure. However, after training daily for over a year, only one royal knight stood a challenge to me still. He never gave me his name, refusing only with a fervent shake of his head whenever I tried to insist. Though I had never seen his face, I had a working theory this man was meant to be my true fated mate. The man meant to break down my walls and make me open to love once more.

There were a few things I couldn’t quite puzzle out- like how he refused to remove his helm, or how his scent shifts between strawberries and hints of vanilla to overwhelming vanilla and hints of strawberries. The two scents were always in opposite levels of intensity, never being perfectly in balance with each other. I couldn’t figure out how one person could have two very similar yet distinctly different scents at the same time.

The careful ways the knight would avoid direct skin-to-skin contact with me- a seemingly all costs at times. Trying to figure out how to get the knight to reveal their face had proved harder than I originally thought. These details, along with some other smaller nearly unremarkable behaviors was leading me to jump to the only conclusion I could find- potential mate. Like this was all a long trial-run before the real thing begins.

I was in for a surprise.

As my father finished his long-winded speech about duty and my role in it, I grew antsy. I am running late for training, and I have a feeling today will be the day I best the knight I believe could be my mate- any contact, even through our gloved hands- always leads to sparks under my skin in the most intensely pleasurable way. It has to be the mate bond.

But if I surely feel it, if Rain feels it, why can’t he? Or, perhaps, was now not the right time? I would have my answers today as I fly out the castle’s main doors and out into the sparring field where the figure of the knight I train with stands.

“I’m so sorry I’m late, my father grows ever long winded in his criticisms of me,” as I breeze by the knight, hurrying into the barracks to change into my lighter fighting armor. Once finished, I secure my long silver locks into a braid going down my back, ensuring it could not be used against me. The knight simply stood, radiating an aura of impatience. I huff as I hurried back out of the barracks, long blade in hand as I take my stance across from the knight.

Before I could declare myself ready, the knight has closed the gap between us with his blade, my own meeting his at near face level as we struggle for dominance. A grunt escapes me as I let Rain lend me her strength, the sudden increase forcing the knight back and into his own defensive stance, sword at the ready. I launch myself at him, faking for a high blow but crouching last second, carefully hooking one foot behind the knights knee and turning my entire body as I rolled to the side, taking his knees out from under him. I rolled back onto my feet as the knight let out a small grunt in surprise at the ground greeting his backside harshly.

“Today’s the day, knight! I can feel it!” no sooner had the words left my mouth, I regret them. The knight is already back up, towering over me as an oppressive aura around him grows darker. My hair bristles, my inner wolf howling in warning that something was massively off about the knight today. Today, the knight was out for actual blood- not training.

He swings his sword, as Rain screams, “RUN, LILYPAD, RUN!” she is just a bit too slow. I duck backwards, my back bending as far as it can to avoid meeting his blade as it whistles through the air above me. He is indeed out for blood- that would have taken my head clean off, armor or no.

My thoughts are racing when my adrenaline kicks in, slowing down the world around me as I hyper-process everything around me. I can sense his next moves- dipping, ducking, dodging when he tried to cleave me in twain- and he leaves himself open as he gets ready for his next assault. He lunges forward, sword swathing a wide path as he tries to slice me horizontally- but he miscalculated my speed. I’m faster- sidestepping his approach and bringing my blade down on his hand as it continues its intended path of where I had just been.

My blade hits its mark- the sound of bones being crushed and flesh rending from itself reaches my ears as the metallic copper scent of blood hits my nose- the hand landing on the ground, blade still clutched in a death grip. The hand is dripping a thick, rancid liquid that is seeping into the ground beneath it. The man/creature is silent- not even a breath can be heard from him as he sinks to the ground. He slowly raises his stump to the small viewing gap left in helms. His other hand slowly rises and removes the helm, his eyes an opaque haze. His face is blank- veins prominent as the blood appears to be black throughout his entire being.

Round cheeks on his otherwise thin and gray face begin the sickening transition of twisting into a crooked, evil grin. No hair is left, his scalp having peeled off into the helm he removed. I cannot breathe as I take in every stomach-churning detail of the sight before me. The black blood is dripping down his face, running into his opaque eyes as he slowly turns his gaze from his stump- to me. I still cannot breathe, my adrenaline at my ‘victory’ dissipating as an icy grip of panic and fear clutch my entire body in a vice grip.

“Imposter!” Rain snarls from within, telling me this man is no knight- certainly not the one I had come to consider as mine. That’s when the other smells hit me- sulfur. Rotten meat. Decay.

I hesitantly step forward- part of me wants to help this man, while the other part of me wants to end his cursed life. He is wearing royal knight armor but clearly is not one- meaning he had murdered someone to disguise himself. Nobody noticed?

“He is not just an imposter. He reeks of evil. Betrayal. Someone either betrayed you to let this… monster in… or, more likely, someone was betrayed so he could steal theirs. He knew you were to meet there in the field. He does not carry the same scent the knight you usually train with does.”

I understand. Rain, can you help me find the true knight? I cannot help but worry for his safety, especially….

“Especially because he may be our mate. I know. Yes, Lilypad. I shall help you. “

My sense of smell is heightened, making the stench coming from whoever- or whatever- I have taken a hand from unbearable. I look at him, making a mental note to do research on him while he rotted in the torture chambers.

He sits, staring at the end of his arm where his hand was once attached, silently. I have a strange hunch he will not be moving of his own accord for some time. Turning away from him, I try to focus on what the real knight smells like- strawberries and vanilla- but everything is muddled where so many train and pour buckets of sweat. I need to put some distance between myself and the rotting stench just behind me.

“Lily- the sewers just under the castle. Check there.” What makes you sound so sure, Rain? That is oddly specific.

“I just KNOW.” The tone she has is different this time than any other- laced with power. I nod, if only to myself, and take off at a fast sprint for the sewer grates nearest the barracks. If Rain’s hunch was correct, we will find answers there. I hope.

My sides ache as I push my body to run faster, sprint faster. For all I know- I may be too late. I may have saved my own life and will be ending someone else’s later- all so I could potentially end up alone, forever.

The negative thoughts continue their barrage as time seems to slow down, the castle seeming to move further away from me even as I sprinted my hardest towards it.

“Nearly there. Push a little harder. I promise you, we will find them,”

I wheeze a little as I close the last bit of distance, my hands fumbling with the lock over the grate to the sewers. After trying for a few seconds, my patience wears out and I snap the lock apart as I rip the grate from its placement. I wrinkle my nose at the stench coming from before me, human excrement mixed with soiled water running in a low stream in the sewers.

I hold my breath and jump into the darkness, my feet splashing as my eyes adjust to the new surroundings. I expected an intricate network beneath the castle, but am pleasantly surprised that before me lies only one direction to go- forward.

I breathe shallowly, holding my long sleeve from under my armor above my mouth and nose, giving mild filtration of the overwhelming stench. I press onward, the only thing I can hear is my own feet as they glide through the water below me- which is coincidentally the only thing I can smell.

The sewers are long, winding, and at times branches off in various directions. Without Rain telling me the way, I’m sure I would spend forever down here, wandering. The stench of the main sewers have faded some, and I can catch small wafts of the scent I seek- strawberries and fresh vanilla. I’m getting closer, the smell getting stronger, and Rain is pacing restlessly in my head as she waits for my two slow legs to carry us to our destiny.

“Hurry,” Was all Rain will say as I try to calm her unease.

The path I have taken has led me down to what appears to be a dead end- but the scent of vanilla and strawberries is overpowering my other senses. I start feeling the walls, hoping to find some kind of mechanism or latch to continue forward- this is the strongest the smell is and the freshest. Almost as if…

I am pushed up against the wall as a gloved hand wraps around my throat, the other one finding my nose and mouth, sealing both before squeezing my neck roughly.

My world fades to black once more.

When I awake, I find myself in the sewers- a warmth clinging to my side as my head spins. Groaning, I try to sit up- only to find I can’t. Either my head is seriously messed up or someone is spooning me. I blink, attempting to clear the haze my head is in.

“Mate.” Rain hums excitedly. Mate? As in…. our true mate? Are you certain, Rain? Absolutely certain? I question- knowing the answer already as soon as the person next to me shifts, pulling me deeper into their embrace. My body sends out sparks of pleasure, a heat growing in my core from something as innocent as being held- a familiar tendril of lust raising its head as I breathe deeply and inhale the most intoxicating blend of strawberries and vanilla I have ever smelled.

A small hum leaves me as I feel safe in this perfect stranger’s arms. I haven’t even seen their face.

I peer down, noticing a long, thin arm draped over my waist, their hand pulling me closer at my chest. My cheeks are on fire, my breathing turning ragged as I make direct skin to skin contact to move their arm gently off of me. I can’t help but notice how strong, but delicate this arm is, the hand being soft and feminine. I hold my breath as I slowly lower the arm off of me, allowing me enough room to carefully roll over to look at who the arm belongs to.

My cheeks go from burning a little to feeling like molten lava as I look directly into the most beautiful pair of eyes ever made. A startling purple color, they widen as our mate bond is deepening.

The last time this happened- I was left alone. Before I take in the rest of my mate’s delectable features- I lean forward and strengthen our bond with a searing kiss; we’re both panting with desire by the time I pull back.

“I refuse to be left alone again. I will not accept a rejection- not this time. “ I spew before opening my eyes, unsure of what to expect. I’m met with silence, but have a feeling that my mate is simply amused by me.

I open my eyes slowly, only to be met with the sight of a truly enchanting woman. Her long hair falls in ringlet curls around her face, the color of a fine red wine, framing her high cheekbones, full lips and delicate chin. She is enchanting- and a she. No wonder I felt so at ease. The silence grows, though the anticipation to hear her voice is growing. I absorb as much of her beauty as my eyes will allow given how dark it is in the sewers. She looks like royalty- well groomed, immaculately kept hair and eyebrows, fresh face with sun-kissed tanned skin and a kindness behind her purple eyes.

“What’s your name?” she questions, breaking her silence. Her voice is like lilting notes of music drifting through the air. There is warmth and familiarity in her voice, even as we are just seeing each other as mates for the first time.

“Lilith, though I prefer to go by Lily or Lilypad, depending on the situation. And, what’s your name? You are the royal knight I have been training with all this time, are you not?” My voice is loud, my pitch being a slightly higher octave than normal as anxiety tightens its familiar grip on me.

“I’m Lyrica, And, both yes and no.” She averts her eyes from mine, and I can tell she is trying to hide something from me. With the mate bond, it must take her a lot of effort to do so, as she is slowly turning red from holding her breath in concentration.

“Yes and no? Whatever could that mean? Answer me, please.” I ask, keeping my tone soft and my voice low.

“I have a twin brother, and…” she trails off, her face now obscured from my view as she stares holes into her own feet.

“And?” I lean in, my hand finding its way to her toned bicep before I can stop myself.

“I believe that he is…. Also your mate.” She meets my gaze, unshed tears threatening to spill over.

Just like that- the least of my concerns are suitors, or the birthday ball, even my coronation-they all fall to the backburner.

I had not one- but two- chances at love. True love. I will surely burn for it before it is all said and done.

Meanwhile, in Pandora’s royal carriage: Pandora sits, her head resting against the carriage wall as she snores gently. Theo is with the coachmen, where servants are typically seen when travelling with members of royalty. Prince Tiberius sits in the carriage, alert and mind pondering what visiting the cursed Kingdom will bring. The curse is already spreading, and according to reports from his scouts, only residing in the cursed areas would have an ill affect if exposed for too long.

In theory, short visits for the sake of diplomacy should be perfectly safe, provided they left the cursed kingdom within a week span.

“Prince Tiberius- you may wish to see this,” Theo calls out, his eyes taking in the barren lands before him. The carriage slows to a stop, and Tiberius clambers out, leaving his sleeping mother and sheltered sister within.

Stretching, he slowly turns. His mouth drops down in shock at what he sees with his own disbelieving eyes. The land where he stands now is green, smells of fresh cut grass and soft, squishy soil is beneath his feet. About fifty feet in front of him, there is a drastic change in scenery. What should be fields of green and grain are barren, gray patches of what was once living grass and fields of feed for living livestock evident by the piles of bones and rotting flesh decaying. The trees are barren and withered, and upon closer inspection reveal rotten apples in their leaves. The soil itself seems dead- no signs of life above nor below the ground.

Such are the effects of such a strong, ancient curse. Apprehension fills every cell in Tiberius’ body, but instead of sharing his concerns he forces them down into a little box in the back of his mind.

He climbs back into the carriage after nodding to Theo, indicating they will indeed be continuing onward. They are still two days from the castle in Wolfbane. If the edge of their Kingdom is this foreboding, there is no telling what awaits along the small unkempt roads Theo is driving the horse-drawn carriage on.