*Zara*
It didn’t take us long to get ready for the trip, and soon, we were getting ready to head out. I noticed my father looking at his phone with a deep frown and then up to .
I walked over, asking, “What’s the matter?”
“We just got so fairly bad news.”
“Oh no. Should we delay going to the sumr ho?” I looked over my shoulder toward Noah, who was making the final preparations as we spoke. My father shook his head.
“No. There is nothing we can do about it right now. I didn’t want to bring this up and stress you after all you’ve been through, but I fear it may be necessary now.”
My mother put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Our daughter can handle it. She’s handled so much already, and we can’t keep her in the shadows about it anymore.”
My stomach lurched anxiously at how they were speaking so carefully and with so much concern. I knew this was anything but good.
“Mom’s right,” I said. “I can handle it. I want to hear it. I’m here to stay in this realm. My destiny is here.”
My father nodded and then said in a grave tone, “A reactionary splinter group has been on the rise and gaining influence. They are radicals who disagree with our alpha on a variety of things.”
I furrowed my brow. “But he rules the pack gently and doesn’t bring much trouble. Why would they have problems?”
“The gentle part is the problem. This group is in favor of being far more aggressive. They are fanatical and seem intent on spreading incendiary rhetoric.
My mother added, “They seem to want instability between the realms so they can take advantage of what is born of said instability.”
My father nodded and said, “They are known as the True Sons of Sebastian.”
I frowned deeply. “They sound like a cult.”
“They very much act like one,” my father agreed. “It is sothing to keep in mind. There is more news on that front. The details remain sparse on the shadowy high leader who commands them, but...”
He bit his lip, causing to lean forward. The worry within grew even more rapidly. This was so serious business, and I worried that my ho pack was in danger.
My heart clenched at the thought of yet another problem staring us in the face, especially sothing that was likely an extrely dangerous cult.
I wondered what I could do to help. I felt a bit powerless. Now that I was Luna of Drogomor, my responsibility was with my pack. I hoped Noah would be willing to help extend a hand of aid after the ceremony.
After all, it would show we were in good graces and allow a strong alliance to form. I may have brought a lot of trouble, but it didn’t need to be that way.
My father continued, breaking out of my brief train of thought for a mont, “I heard vicious rumors that this leader personally despises the Crimsons as false royalty and vows to get rid of the royal rule once and for all.”
I gasped, placing a hand over my heart at this radical ideology. Right then, Noah approached from behind , placing a hand on my shoulder.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, looking from to my parents. My father turned his attention to Noah and explained the situation. My mate listened in silence with a deepening frown.
As my father spoke, we learned this splinter group spanned beyond just traitors of our pack. It included quite a few packs throughout both realms.
This was dangerous stuff.
I said, “We have a lot of instability here in Drogomor, but I was thinking of asking you if we could send aid for this. It definitely will affect everyone. I think our pack mbers would understand.”
“I agree,” he said plainly, giving a light smile. “There’s no need to worry about my thoughts on this, beautiful. I pledge to urge further intelligence gathering from our allied packs.”
He went into thought, furrowing his brow. I let out a sigh of relief, saying, “Thank you so much, love. Is there sothing else on your mind?”
“Yes, one other plan,” he said and lowered his voice. “I can discreetly send an envoy on an undercover mission to infiltrate Egoren society to get so intel.”
I winced, muttering, “That will be dangerous, but it’s probably the best idea, especially if we want to form alliances again and get in peoples’ good graces by combating these True Sons. What if they’re caught?”
“We’ll have to handle that if it cos up. Hopefully, it won’t be a problem,” Noah said gently, letting out a sigh.
anwhile, Lumina approached, having been listening to this in silence. She was a trusted protector, so her knowing this information was fine.
She stepped forward and said, “I’ll contact my mother, Eva. She’s been gathering information in the months since Damascus’s interrogation of Zara and Niva.”
“That would be very helpful,” I said, letting out a sigh of relief that at least we could start looking into this problem. The ti Noah and I were away created the perfect opportunity for chaos to run wild.
I hoped that wouldn’t beco the norm, and we could get things back on track.
My eyes swept over the people gathered, and I noted how anxious they were. Their expressions reflected the twisting in my gut. This situation was dire.
We were teetering at the edge of several wars because of what happened, and this cult would take any chance they could to take advantage of it.
Noah bumped gently with his shoulder, causing to look toward him in question. He gave a warm smile and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on my lips.
I closed my eyes, accepting it and basking in his scent for a mont, happy for his comfort. “What’s on your mind?” I asked him.
“I’m as worried as you and the rest of us here, but we have a plan. I think the best thing for us right this mont to do is relax and put it out of our minds. There’s no use stressing when we have the ceremony to plan for.”
“You’re right,” I said, my tone shifting to a cheerful one as I thought of the ceremony. I still felt a deep sense of unease. I needed to chase it away so I could focus on the next step in our future.
With that, the families attending the ceremony loaded up and headed out toward the sumr ho. Noah and I rode next to each other with Briella sitting in the middle, swinging her legs in clear excitent.
She giggled, loving car rides like this, and I couldn’t help but smile. The sun shone beautifully on us as we drove by so rolling fields of flowers and sprawling forests.
Noah caught my eye and grinned. He then pointed out of the window. “Look, Zara. It’s beautiful. You know, these views have been unchanged since my boyhood fishing trips with my mom.”
“Really?” I asked, tilting my head and gazing at the gorgeous views we passed by. At one point, we went by a lazy-looking lake and then so rocky hills. Everything was green and practically untouched.
Noah’s enthusiasm was contagious. I couldn’t help but feel the mood lighten as he talked. His beautiful blue eyes blazed as he looked out at the views, causing to reach over and squeeze his hand.
His attention shifted to , and I gave him a radiant smile, completely touched by how much aning this lake country still had for him. He was a romantic person who could appreciate things like this.
I knew we’d have a wonderful ti there and had no need for so giant, flashy wedding. Though the word of the True Sons of Sebastian and instability goals were harrowing, we could rest for a few days.
Noah said, “We caught a lot of fresh fish that we cooked up for the grill. Nothing could beat the cricket song late at night, or the fireflies dancing around while you took in the fresh night air.”
“Fireflies?” I asked with a light giggle. “How much do you want to bet baby Briella here is going to go wild when seeing them?”
He laughed. “Oh, I know she will. I will too. I’ll try to catch so for her. What do you think, baby girl?” He looked toward Briella, who grinned from ear to ear at him.
She giggled and nodded as if she knew what he was asking, but she was just happy to be there. I couldn’t help but beam and chuckle.
Our spirits were on the rise as we passed by so more familiar hills, indicating we would be there soon. Dusk saw our traveling party pulling up the winding driveway to the sprawling timber and stone family lodge.
My heart leaped as I recognized this place. I was still touched that Noah brought here the first ti for protection’s sake, which led to us finding out we had a mate bond.
Briella had been here too. She was a growing baby in at that ti, of course, but it still counted. I looked toward her, happy she had enthusiasm, even if she had never technically seen any of this place.
Golden light danced across the property as we got out of the car. Our child’s energy could not be contained.
As soon as she got out of the car, she set off with a burst of speed, squealing with delight and running around everywhere.
She jumped over a pile of leaves and picked up a stick to swing around, laughing the entire ti. The property was nearly wild, a perfect playground for a child.
I placed a hand over my heart as I watched, my mirth intensifying as Noah stared at her and laughed, chasing after her with glee.
I wondered what he was up to.
I got my answer when Briella turned and laughed at her daddy, making grabby hands toward him but then rushing at him.
Noah let himself be toppled over, falling into so soft grass as Briella leaped on him, wrestled him down, and won the match with no contest.
“Oh no! You defeated , the big, powerful alpha! Such a strong little wolf you are!” He proceeded to reach up and tickle her, causing her to squeal with laughter.
I couldn’t help it. I began cracking up at this scene as it was just too joyous and adorable. I was joined by everyone else getting out of their cars.
I knew relaxing and enjoying our ti here wouldn’t be hard despite the harrowing news, especially with how happy my mate and baby were.
"We’re going to be okay," I murmured to myself, blinking back happy tears.
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