The Two Queens- By: Lilly Taylor

Chapter Two: Forbidden History Uncovered

~Lilith reading from the book~

"Werewolves- Fierce, strong, and loyal creatures that serve the Moon Goddess Nyx. They typically mate for life, not unusual in the non-supernatural wolves. “Mate” being the term they use for when their Goddess has blessed a union or meeting with a nearly unbreakable bond. Typically, werewolves are only given one mate- if rejected or one half of the pairing dies, seldom does the Goddess bless a “second chance mate”. There has never been a recorded case of a third pairing if for any reason the first two do not stick.

Rejection, while painful enough under normal circumstances, can be deadly with werewolves. This process causes the supernatural bond the Goddess blesses the pairing with to sever, sometimes causing a werewolf to lose their ‘inner wolf’ and ability to shape shift. This can lead to madness, crippling depression, and there are a few notable cases of “broken heart syndrome” occurring- where one becomes so mad they lose all humanity and begin to rot from the inside out. This can be escalated or prolonged with arcane magic, however.

Their mating rituals are unique and vary pack to pack, as werewolves are many and prefer space away from most humans to avoid conflict in some cases. Some regions prefer to meet under the light of the full moon and let their howls guide them to their destinies, while those who feel they will never receive a mate are more prone to taking part in an event known as “the Harvest”- appropriately named given it takes place under the full Harvest moon. It should be noted that Nyx does like to stir the world’s natural rhythm and has been rumored to ‘life mate’ a human with a werewolf in attempts to bridge the gap.

Interestingly enough, Weres will even share territories with normal wolves, sometimes hunting together and sharing the spoils afterward. This is meant to unify humans with beast, though humans are more prone to their baser instincts. It is believed a few kingdoms refuse werewolves due to fear.

While packs vary in size, their hierarchy is strictly followed. Each pack has one Alpha, one Omega, one Beta, and the warriors are referred to as Gammas and vary in number according to overall pack strength. The she-wolf given the Omega status is often seen as the pack Luna, bearing a close connection to the Moon Goddess.

While werewolves do like having their space from humans, in some kingdoms it is becoming custom for a werewolf to lead. Taking over as long-lasting rulers because of their preternatural abilities to lead and lengthy lifespans often mean longer bouts of stability for both humans and werewolves alike.

There are a few kingdoms holding out, becoming a safe haven for those too afraid of anything supernatural to be comfortable with one leading them can go. Among them are: Ironrock, The Land of the Faithful, and Wolfbane- albeit the three kingdoms do not share their reasoning for still being ran by humans. It is rumored that one kingdom in particular is only ruled by a "human" because the entire kingdom is under a powerful curse.

This kingdom, of course, is none other than Wolfbane. "

~Lilith's perspective

My breath catches in my throat, my mind swirling with theories and questions. Questions I could never ask my father, for he would surely have this book burnt and whoever shelved it whipped or hanged. This is... a very fortunate bit of information for me, and some of what I had heard in whispers has begun to fall into place with what I had just read. My father has spent my entire life lying to me. Having others lie to me for him. Removing books that contained the truth, hiding everything from me. If this book was correct....

My father may be a werewolf. I might be a werewolf. My entire kingdom might be filled with werewolves, all of us potentially under a curse- and my entire family conspired against the kingdom for Goddess knew how long. My people- my Kingdom- might be suffering and I was none the wiser, confined to the castle and the tiny surrounding castle town that is immaculately kept. Just how much effort has my father gone to, keeping secrets from me?

My stomach is a pit, and my mind is swirling too quickly, I dash to the nearest pot and empty my stomach's contents into it.

My mind was near the point of shattering, my heart threatening to beat itself out of my chest. But I knew there was more for me to uncover within this book. There had to be. Whoever had written it had wanted to remain unknown, but had kept incredibly intimate notes based on what I already read.

I took a few moments to gather myself, calm my racing heart and spinning head. Taking a few deep breaths, I felt more stable, more able to absorb knowledge. I opened the book back up and flipped through until I got to the page bearing the words: Wolfbane- how a Were King fell to a Curse.

"At the dawn of time, the gods and goddesses created the world. They shaped the mountains, carved out the caves and rivers, shaped and filled the oceans. They then worked on filling the world with their creations. The Moon Goddess Nyx carefully crafted the moon, beasts, and man. She perched atop her Moon, staring down at the realms she has been assigned to keep watch over. She watched the humans struggle, fighting with the beasts she made.

She watched for centuries, man and beasts making temporary peace before more fighting began, wolves taking a stand against what they considered and viewed as greedy humans. Nyx felt there had to be a better way, but felt it best not to interfere. She loved her creations, and the sights of their endless conflicts left Nyx wishing she had done more to ensure peace. She waited, searching for the perfect opportunity to bridge the divide between man and beast.

Finally, the time she sought came. A lone man, shunned from the humans he was raised by, stumbled upon an injured female wolf. The man, seeing the fear in the wolf’s eyes, spared her, taking pity upon her and gaining her trust as he nursed her back to health. The two became lifelong friends, and sought out a new area for them to live peacefully while the humans and rest of the beasts fought each other.

The two knew peace and each other for a while before rumors of a crazy hermit living with beasts willingly reached the small villages near their cave. The humans, enraged one of their own could ever turn from them and side with a beast, began a man hunt.

Their search led them to the cave the wolf and man shared, and they took them both. The humans wanted to make an example of the man and his beloved beast, and worked to make a spectacle of the event. Hundreds gathered, screaming for blood and justice. The wolf was tied to a stake, to be burned alive. Shortly after the fires were lit, the man and wolf cried together, their pleas heard by Nyx. She descended the heavens, leaving her sanctuary, and shaped the man and wolf into their counterparts- the man into a beast and the she-wolf into a human. She then gave them abilities, blessing them with her mark, and declared the war between man and beast over- lest she unleash her fury upon her own creations.

This began a new age- the dawn of magical creatures and a tenuous peace between man and beast, with werewolves serving a greater purpose. Humans were driven apart, forced to make smaller settlements as the magical creatures began their exploration of the world they were made on. Over time, man forgot the intervention of the Moon Goddess, and their fears of all things different led them to drive the werewolves out.

This resulted in werewolves and humans fighting over territory. Kingdoms were built by humans, and werewolves would be hunted down or driven away. Fear kept the two peoples apart, weakening both humanity and werewolf packs. The two had more in common than they liked to believe, until one day, a young alpha by the name of Eldrich was mated by his moon Goddess to a beautiful human princess by the name of Lilac.

Though the two were brought up to fear the other, the two were drawn together by fate. In other kingdoms, werewolves had already started taking over as rulers, many wolves finding peace and their mates in the open and leading peaceful lives. In this kingdom, a travesty had occurred that led to a king from generations past to lose his queen. He vowed vengeance and the entire kingdom, mourning with their king at the time, had sworn to never accept the supernatural. This land, now known as Wolfbane, was then called Sunriver.

Fate had a different idea in mind, however, the day she arranged the two destined lovers meeting.

As a young princess of 16, Lilac was already promised to a prince of another land, the engagement holding in place a treaty. As such, she was constantly guarded to ensure she remained pure and chaste for her would-be husband. One day, while out on a ride, Lilac tumbled from her horse as it reared back in fear of a feral wolf, her guards distracted by the other wolves surrounding the princess.

Surrounded and defenseless, Lilac stared down the wolf in front of her, fearing her time was drawing to a close. Just as the beast launched at her to end her life prematurely, a much larger silver wolf saved her, killing the feral.

Before Lilac could protest, a very naked man was before her, declaring his undying love and loyalty. He introduced himself as Eldrich, and declared she was his Goddess-chosen mate. Despite her initial protests, Eldrich won her heart by being her greatest friend, defender, and confidant. Before her 17th birthday when she was to be wed to her prince she had never met, Lilac confessed everything to her father.

The old king was wary, but ended her engagement with her betrothed, giving the pair his blessing. When she was pregnant within a fortnight of his blessings, the king had little choice but to let them be wed and allow his crown to pass onto his only daughter and her werewolf of a husband.

King Eldrich ruled with Lilac as his side until she passed away during childbirth, leaving him with just their one heir. She had named her only child Elrich the 2nd, after her beloved, knowing he would be a great king someday.

King Eldrich the second would take over when he turned 35, his father passing away early due to a broken mate bond. He was mated to a beautiful werewolf, and the couple had two pups. The elder was named after his father, becoming Eldrich the 3rd, and the second was named Serenity, being a young and graceful princess. King Eldrich the 2nd passed away at close to 300 years, his heir taking over at the age of 75, but appearing to be in his mid-twenties.

The curse came about during King Eldrich the 3rd's reign, after he rejected his Goddess-given mate when he was mated to a powerful witch by the name of Ceras. Feeling the heartbreak of rejection, and driven into despair and madness, the witch took years concocting the perfect revenge. She disappeared from the known kingdoms, and began her conversion of magical creatures into more power for herself. She eventually moved on, taking a lover. The lover remains enshrouded in mystery, her identity a needle in a haystack.

The cocky King Eldrich had all but forgotten his horrendous offense to the Moon Goddess and the powerful witch when he was given his second-chance mate, a werewolf named Joy Wolfbane. She was an Omega, destined to a powerful alpha, and when her mate had died before they could complete the bond, she found herself mated to the alpha King Elrich. This made them the first ever pair of second-chance mates blessed by the Goddess. The two lived blissfully for many years, rearing many pups.

After the birth of their final pup named John, the witch Ceras appeared, ready at last for her revenge. With a deep and powerful hatred for the king and his kind, she started weaving her curse, looking undone as she beheaded the king's mate, sealing her well-constructed curse with the blood of the innocent, as Joy bore an unborn pup. "Until the stars fall, and destinies entwine two fated for greatness or conflict- you shall not have the Moon Goddess's love or protection. No longer may any who reside in this cursed land feel her power, and blur the lines between man and beast. May this weaken you and all your kind, and may you all suffer as you have made me. So mote it be." Using the last of her strength, she killed herself, forever besmudging the kingdom with her ire, fueled by the darkness lurking within the king. King Eldrich could not bear the pain of his mate and unborn pup dying, and died within a few months of them, cursing being supernatural and the Moon Goddess for his misfortune. The kingdom as a whole awoke the day after the curse was cast and found none could shift.

Ceras had succeeded in cursing all the werewolves within the Kingdom.

Seeing his father and older siblings all grow weak and die, the youngest inherited the throne, becoming King John. He swore to protect his family at any cost, and started hiding history books away. Within 100 years, the kingdom had all but forgotten, aside from those descended from the cursed wolves.

King Eldrich slipped into madness, his chosen mate and beloved Queen being slaughtered in front of him forever haunting him and his inner wolf. This is the same King Eldrich that later had recurring nightmares, warnings of what was to come from the Goddess Nyx. Though Elrich had shunned his Goddess, she was merciful and knew her creations were not beyond making mistakes. She tried to give warnings, that a great and powerful evil was lurking. Her warnings fell on the deaf ears of a senile old wolf that had grief warp his fragile mind. Her warnings being ignored, she turned her eyes from her creations and set about her own duties. The Goddess has not answered calls since this time, as rumored by pack Lunas that shared a special connection to their creator.

Nyx refused to give her blessings to a family that had been so arrogant, they disobeyed her will, ultimately leading to the curse that was destroying her creations.

As I write this, King John is betrothed to be married to a woman believed to be descendant of the cursed wolves.

Ceras is long believed to be dead, a victim of her own curse and desire for power. Some say there are much more sinister plots afoot.

This, if it was to be believed- meant my theory was correct. And... That my father... is...

" A Werewolf? Why, yes, little one. He is. And so are you." A voice of deep timbre breathed out behind me. One I did not recognize, but sent electrifying shivers down my spine.

I found I was frozen in place as the voice grew closer, heat radiating from a body within a foot of me. "I know you can feel me, little one. But can you feel your own desire at how close I am, or has that, too, been taken by the witch?" I trembled, my core radiating a heat I had never felt before, my face flushing, hairs standing on end.

Steeling myself, I turned to face the voice. What I saw changed me forever. That night is what drives me to this very day.