The next morning I awoke to find myself alone in the bedroom. A folded sheet of paper rested on Valen's pillow. I plucked it up and examined it.
I thought I'd let you sleep in today. There's some clothes in the bathroom for you. Meet us in the sitting room when you're ready.
Valen
I smiled at his consideration and stretched as I rose from the bed. I wasn't sure what time it was because there were no windows in the room and I couldn't look outside to make an approximation. I breezed into the bathroom and saw the pile of clothes Valen had mentioned laying neatly on the counter.
Suddenly, pain squeezed my heart as memories of Aunt Maddie's eyes flashed across my brain. I gasped for air and clung to the wall for support. I had almost let myself forget about the horrors of yesterday.
Almost.
I let a few tears slip down my face before wiping them away and walking over to the sink. I splashed my face with cool water and gazed at my reflection.
The girl staring back at me looked wounded and tired. Her skin was pale, and her hair limp. I hadn't realized grief could manifest on my outward appearance so quickly.
I averted my eyes as I began to brush my teeth. Once I was done, I threw on the outfit. It was a simple black sweater and jeans, with grey sneakers. I was just glad it matched my somber mood.
I slipped my hair into a short ponytail and began to meander my way to the sitting room.
When I entered, the room fell into a hushed silence as all pairs of eyes landed on me. My face turned red and I looked down.
It was obvious that they had just been speaking about me. I walked over to one of the sofas and sat next to Valen, who planted a quick kiss to my temple.
Electricity shot straight through my body and I unconsciously leaned into him more. Sitting across from me were King Ruben and Queen Stella. Aislinn was seated a little further away in one of the chairs.
"Indigo, good morning," Queen Stella greeted me.
"Good morning, your majesty."
"Did you sleep well last night?"
"As well as I could, given everything that's happened." Her gaze traveled down to her hands then back up to me.
"I'm sorry, that was an insensitive question." The sincerity in her emerald irises made a lump form in my throat.
"It's okay, I know you meant no harm." She gave me a small smile in return.
"We're just waiting on Von and Artemis now," King Ruben interjected after a small period of silence.
"Is she awake?"
My mood lifted a little bit.
"She is, she woke up late last night. She may still be in a lot of pain today, so we'll probably just do a lot of talking, planning, and preparing."
I nodded my head as the couple appeared from the hallway. I turned to look at them and gasped.
There, on Artemis's neck one the skin just above her collar bone, were two puncture wounds that had already healed and turned silvery in color.
In between the two marks, there was an almost transparent crescent moon. She smiled widely at me, and moved her hair over her shoulder to show it off.
"Like what you see?" I laughed.
"You get slashed by a silver dagger and still have the stamina to complete the mating ritual? Dang girl, you're not wasting time!"
Von blushed at my comment, but pulled her in by her waist and grazed his lips on her new mark.
It was official, now that Artemis was marked, everyone in the werewolf world would know she was off limits. Her connection to Von was so strong that they could feel each other's emotions and sense when the other was in danger from oceans away.
I was almost envious of her, but my happiness was overwhelming. I stood up and pulled her into a hug.
"I'm happy for you, really." She blushed a little and wiped tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Thank you, that means more than you know coming from you. But don't worry, I'll always be around for you, too."
She pretended to pinch my cheeks and I rolled my eyes but smiled at her, then dragged her back to the couch with me with Von in tow.
It was a tight squeeze with all four of us, but we managed.
"Alright, let's get down to business," King Ruben leaned forward and clasped his hands together.
"Artemis, you warned us of a potential attack last night, but were you aware that it would be of this magnitude?"
She shook her head before answering. "No, your majesty. I had suspected that something was going to happen, but I figured it was going to be much smaller. Something like a warning first, not burning down the castle. That was incredibly ballsy for King Alistair. Usually he doesn't like to get his hands dirty." King Ruben's brow furrowed.
"Do you have any idea what his motivation would be?"
"Power, maybe? He's always been power hungry, and given what happened between him and Indigo's mom, it wouldn't surprise me. But I'm not one hundred percent sure.
He started shutting everyone but his family and the Beta out once Indigo left. He wouldn't even report anything to the headmasters at the academy. We just did what he assigned, without asking questions."
"Is it possible he was planning something like this long before Indigo came to us?" Valen cut in.
"I thought about that, too, the night we found out about her departure. I'm not sure, but it would make a lot of sense." Artemis furrowed her brow in thought.
"If he had wolves scouting the perimeter of your land before the attack, how likely is it that they know where any of the safe houses are?" The room was silent for a moment.
"Very unlikely, we're deep into our territory and they wouldn't be easy for the untrained eye to find. Unless we have a mole among our pack."
A unanimous snarl rang across the room at King Ruben's comment. He threw his hands up.
"It's my duty as King to think of every possibility. How could so many of Moonlight pack have crossed the border line and gone unnoticed?" He clasped his hands together again, tighter this time.
"Everyone was at the ball though, only security was posted and all of the warriors are under oath to the crown, so they couldn't have done it," I commented.
"You're right," Von agreed.
"But, if it's someone who is training to be a warrior, they wouldn't have taken the oath yet, so it's possible they could have done it. Or someone could have simply snuck away. There's no way to know unless we question everyone who was on security that night."
King Ruben rubbed his temples for a moment.
"Right now, the pack is spread between the safe houses. I will send out a mind-link within the day that I need all of the security to report to a secure place to meet. We just have to find one first."
"We can do it," I volunteered.
King Ruben cocked an eyebrow at me.
"Artemis, Von, Valen, Aislinn, and I can scout the surrounding lands and find a place that we can set up as a base of operations for now.
It can only be known to us and the warriors. There's no need to get civilians involved yet, we don't need to panic them even more."
King Ruben cocked his head at me and considered for a moment more.
"I like the way you think, Indigo. I'll permit it. We'll have a map prepared and ready for you after lunch, and you will be able to go after nightfall." I smiled at him.
"Thank you, your majesty."
I felt a small weight lift off of my shoulders, as I knew I would do whatever it takes to protect DarkBlood.
Even if it meant destroying my old pack in the process.
Author's Note:
Little bit of fillers here, but they have to start rebuilding somewhere. Do you guys think there's a mole in the pack? Who could it be? Or did they literally just waltz right in? Is there another force here at play that we don't know about? Keep reading to find out.
And as always, please vote and comment if you're enjoying!
Xoxo,
CrimsynIris