In the wake of the night and the moon, the Werewolves stood blessed beneath their shadows.
A known saying that existed from the Radical Era.
All n-wolf hybrids are blessed two tis during the night, enhanced through the supernatural energy that exists only in the night, and also the moonlight power that fuels them with the strength to tear many, aiding them to satiate their bloodthirst.
But blessings ca in many different ways.
Other than the blessing of power, there was also a blessing of knowledge.
Normally, it was one or the other.
Princess Selene was lucky enough to gain both at the sa ti during the most perilous situation.
In the new era, the threat from the Clarentium Empire is easily the biggest challenge the Scarlet Banes Kingdom has to face. Hopelessness. Despair. Fighting the Royal Black Prince, who had triumphed over monstrous enemies beyond the Werewolf race’s capability, was an impossible task.
Due to his teoric rise, the dynamic of power in the world had shifted substantially.
Now, it wasn’t the Supernaturals against the Humans anymore.
His presence created a third party that rivalled the Supernaturals and the Humans.
Just the very existence of a sanctuary offered all a chance to abandon the bloodshed and hate, to embrace a more hopeful vision of the world, and to forget the unending history of strife that had strangled all of the previous generations without rcy.
Lesser Werewolves took this as a way to end the bloodshed, forgetting the blood their ancestors spilled.
It was unacceptable.
No kin are free from the burden of hate passed down for generations.
All Werewolves under Princess Selene were motivated solely by that reason.
For what the Humans have done to them during the Era of Might, there can never be any peace.
Not until the Humans bowed before them and repaid those countless years of brutal enslavent, that each Supernatural race, including the Werewolf race, endure in the past. Princess Selene was also the sa, refusing to kneel for that very reason.
Anyone who refused this hate would not be recognized as Werewolves, shunned by their own kind.
But that re threat alone wasn’t enough to stop many Werewolves from changing sides.
In the face of annihilation, survival is the only recognized currency.
Everything was bleak for the Scarlet Banes Kingdom.
Going against the empire, which was growing stronger and stronger, made them look like fools.
A race that was destined to doom because they couldn’t let go of their pride and look to the future.
Even the resistance force had grown increasingly restless, with no true victory in sight—only cryptic promises of triumph and vengeance. No tangible strategy had been forged to stand against the empire, and many had begun to waver, drifting toward the enemy’s side.
But that ends tonight.
Princess Selene smiled at the reddish moon.
She knew that soday, her prayers would be answered.
And the mont finally ca.
It took so ti.
Her heart was already broken by betrayal from her close ones, and she lost many of her comrades.
However, she wasn’t complaining.
As long as her prayers were eventually answered, she would endure the torture of the world.
Smiling inwardly, she headed for the door and went downstairs.
She walked past the two guards outside, heading toward the staircase with light steps.
Both guards right outside her room looked at her back—and frowned, sensing that her scent had changed a little, and the way she walked was different. Sothing about her changed, causing her aura to be more commanding and assuring than normal.
So much so that they could mistake her presence as that of an Alpha.
No ordinary Alpha, too, but an Alpha Pri.
Ignoring the gazes she was receiving from the two guards, she went downstairs and entered the nave where the Alpha Pris used—as a place to argue more than to discuss lately. As soon as the door was opened, there was only an Alpha Pri who was still inside, sitting on the carpet in contemplation.
Kuruk, the loyal right hand as well as the guardian of the Honey Moon Princess.
Princess Selene’s guardian.
He was so deep in thought that he didn’t even sense Princess Selene approaching from behind.
It was only when her shadow reached him that he realized soone was behind him.
Snapping over his shoulder, Kuruk realized that it was Princess Selene.
But a frown quickly took over him as he also sensed the change.
"Princess?" He greeted, standing up to face her. "How was your sleep?"
"Productive..." Princess Selene answered.
Hearing this, Kuruk raised the corner of his lips in confusion as he didn’t understand what she ant.
Sleeping is anything but productive, especially in tis of war.
"The moon whispered to in my sleep." She clarified.
It was then that Kuruk’s eyes widened, surprised and also expectant at the sa ti, as this was the first good piece of news ever since the war started, "The moon whispered to you...? I don’t understand. You’ve gotten no answer, you said the moon was inactive, but now it whispered?"
"Yes, but it wasn’t only the Honey Moon who whispered to ." Princess Selene smiled knowingly.
Confused, Kuruk turned towards the window.
"Not the Honey Moon?" His eyes fixated on the reddish hue of the waxing gibbous moon hanging in the night sky, before he realized what Princess Selene ant, what other moon whispered to Princess Selene. "Then, is it the Blood Moon? What did it whisper to you?"
"It whispered total annihilation of our enemies." Princess Selene grinned.
She walked over to her throne of bones and sat down on it gracefully.
On the other hand, Kuruk followed her with clear excitent in his eyes.
A whisper from the moon was a phenonon exclusive only to the royal bloodline.
Prince Leif’s incident was a freak show, but this... a whisper from the moon was an accurate on.
And from what Princess Selene said, it should be a good on for the kingdom.
"What do you need to do, princess?" He asked, claws and fangs flaring with anticipation as Kuruk couldn’t hold back his excitent. "Do you know the location of the Ice and Snow Princess? Or do we now know where a fragnt of the Origin was? Or perhaps the moon gave us sothing to coax Sven to fight our battles? Tell what I need to do."
Hearing his assumptions, Princess Selene smiled inwardly.
None of his assumptions were true.
"No, I got sothing even better..." Princess Selene smiled mischievously.
Being the laughingstock among the high-ranking Supernatural races was taking a toll on her greatly, but now, she could rise back to power. She knew that if she could play her hands correctly, she would give the kingdom a lot more ti.
Perhaps even an indefinite amount of ti to think of a way to get rid of the Clarentium Empire.
Kuruk, on the other hand, was confused.
"Better?" He repeated, brows arching in puzzlent.
In his mind, what could be better than the things he ntioned? He couldn’t think of any.
But since it was tied to the moon, everything was possible.
"Yes, a lot better." Princess Selene nodded before leaning her face on her fist. "I want you to tell all the cities along the empire’s forces to vacate. Call back all the Alpha Pris along the way. Make way for them to reach us, but don’t make it too obvious. I want to bring Empress Evelyn here."
"Bring the empress here?" Kuruk repeated with a frown. "What about the Royal Black Prince?"
Bringing Empress Evelyn to this canyon ant welcoming the Alpha of the Silverstar Pack.
He had been absent from the battlefield for God knows what reason he had in his mind, but his presence was evident. Sowhere in the shadows, the Royal Black Prince was watching the war continue, only appearing if the empress was in trouble.
If the kingdom has no plan for him, then inviting the empire’s forces would only be a death sentence.
It would only hasten the conclusion of the war.
Frankly, Kuruk couldn’t even fathom what Princess Selene could do against him.
The Royal Black Prince fought three royals and won, and that already showed his standing in strength.
It was then that Princess Selene’s smile deepened, blooming like a dangerous flower.
Clarity lit her gaze.
One could see the faint curve of her lips sharpened into sothing predatory yet impossibly elegant.
Kuruk, still straining to imagine any way she could stand against the Royal Black Prince, couldn’t think of a guess, much less the answer. But in Princess Selene’s yellow gleaming eyes, he could see that there was no doubt, no hesitation.
Slowly, with the unhurried grace of a queen, Princess Selene shifted in her throne.
Moonlight caught the fine planes of her face.
She watched him, not as if weighing him, but as if savoring the delicious anticipation of a secret she alone possessed... while Kuruk looked as though he might wither from the urgent need to know what was inside her mind.
"No need to think that hard—the answer is quite simple." Princess Selene finally said, chuckling. "We don’t need to worry about the Royal Black Prince because he was simply not here... This new empress is really sothing. Now I knew why she suddenly took the initiative to attack. Clever. Very clever."
Hearing this, Kuruk was stunned before he blinked, snapping out of his daze.
"We’ve spotted the Royal Black Prince in their camp despite his absence from the battlefield," He argued, fearing that Princess Selene had gone insane. "He’s here for certain. I apologize for my doubt, but did you perhaps hear the whispers wrong?"
"No," Princess Selene said, her voice calm yet edged with regal certainty—as she gave a slow shake of her head and lifted one graceful finger to point toward the sky. "What our scouts see is but a false image, a re clone. It warrants no concern. His true form, his unbeatable form—resides in another realm for whatever business occupies him there. It is certain he is not here."
Kuruk’s pupils dilated.
All this ti, they weren’t able to retaliate hard due to the pressure from the Royal Black Prince.
Resist enough, and he would annihilate them.
It was the reason why Princess Selene had been maintaining her bond with the Alpha Pris, and sent her people to search for Sven and the Ice and Snow Princess, along with talking—to other high-ranking Supernatural races about helping out.
But now that the Royal Black Prince was not here, everything changed.
Seeing the change in Kuruk’s expression, Princess Selene smirked as he was now on the sa page.
"Like I said, inform the Alpha Pris near the empire’s advancing army," She repeated her instruction, eyes looking ahead as if she were looking into the future, a brighter future. "Call them back—and let us prepare a welcoming gift for the empress."
...
anwhile, across the land.
"I’m going to sleep to take my mind off of it," Gistella said, ruffing her silvery hair—as she headed for the main hut. "I know I shouldn’t be acting like this. I shouldn’t think about things that I can’t directly influence, but I can’t help it. I’m sorry, Evelyn."
Standing under the starry night sky, Evelyn glanced towards Gistella.
She seed composed, but she was uneasy inside.
From morning, sohow, the connection the Silverstar Pack had with Rex was thinning to the point that it was barely there. She was afraid that sothing was happening up there in the Spirit Realm, so she couldn’t really bla Gistella for acting restless.
It was natural for them to worry.
"No use in fretting about things that are out of my hands..." Evelyn muttered, repeating what the entity inside her earrings said to her earlier that day. "I shall leave what happens up there in your hands, Rex. I’ll handle things down here."
Evelyn turned to look into the distance, a vast expanse of woods.
"Just a little bit more, and the Scarlet Banes Kingdom will be ours," She smiled inwardly, her body shaking in subtle excitent underneath the fabric and armor. "I’m going to give you a surprise when you return. I’ll be waiting here for you, always."
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