Chapter 5 Wife

Making our way up the muddy path to the castle, I pulled my hands out of my coat pockets. Lifting my frozen fingers to my mouth, I tried to warm them with my breath. Looking up at the castle, I couldn t help but feel apprehensive. The architecture resembled that of the Gothic style giving it a foreboding appearance. To be honest, the place gave me the creeps. I was behind Jacob and to the side of Tiffy as we made it to the castle gates.

"I know it might seem a bit daunting right now, but you will become accustomed to it. This is your home now," Tiffy said, smiling at me.

Nodding my head, we entered the courtyard. Everywhere I looked, I saw knights patrolling the area. Seeing us entering, all of them bowed.

"Werewolves, right?" I asked.

Tiffy nodded.

The castle was made from some sort of white stone that reminded me of polished granite. There was the beginning of a garden to the side of the courtyard and I thought I heard the vague sound of a running fountain. I continued to survey my surroundings as we continued to walk inside and stood in a large foyer. I felt bad for tracking in the red mud on the milky white marble floor. Clearing my throat, I gripped my jeans as a cold sweat broke out across my forehead. This place was freaking huge and the walls, floor and the dual staircase steps were all white! How did they keep it so spotless?

Looking up, I saw that in the center of the dome shaped ceiling, hung a giant crystal chandelier. My eyes continue to rove over the room. To the right of the foyer was a small guard room which appeared to be completely stocked with extra weapons and armor. Abruptly, Tiffy grabbed my arm and we started climbing the steps to the second floor. I guessed we were heading straight to meet my mother because we stopped in front of a large oak door with guards on both sides. I looked at Jacob with a wary expression.

He explained, "They are for security measures. No one is allowed to enter the Queen's Room, except the royal household."

As we stood in the corridor waiting to be admitted, I could hear multiple voices which came from inside the room. A maid opened the door and I saw a small crowd of about ten people clustered together. Every single one of them looked exceedingly worried and agitated.

Jacob brushed past the guards and demanded, "What has happened?" His gaze shifted to a huge bed, which was empty. "Where is Her Majesty?"

Tiffy trailed closely behind Jacob. Seeing that no one was responding to his questions while keeping their eyes lowered, she gritted her teeth. Losing all her patience, she snapped, "Answer his questions! What happened?"

They moved aside to reveal the area behind them. Instantly, the color drained from my face. Four bodies were lying motionless on the floor and were saturated in blood. All of the victims were women in their mid-twenties and wore royal gowns. At the sight, I heard Tiffy gasp and saw her face full of dread.

Oh, God, please don t let one of them be my mother!

My hands tightened in fists as horrid thoughts crept into my mind and I felt my heart twist in pain. The pungent scent of blood finally hit me and, instead of feeling sick, all I could feel was a burning rage. Someone was going to die for this.

Tiffy stepped closer to the bodies and asked, "H-how was this even possible?!"

"Tell me, who did this to Her Majesty s ladies in waiting? And where is the Queen?" Jacob shouted.

My mother wasn t among the dead. While I felt a little relived, my heart didn't calm down. Why did this have to happen? I was supposed to meet her. A man from the crowd stepped forward and looked like he was on the verge of having a panic attack.

"I m sorry, sir. Regretfully, we don't know anything of what exactly transpired. However, a guard did say he thought he saw someone who could have been from Phoenix."

"They are currently preparing for the war so it would make sense to send a spy." Tiffy paused and turned to look at Jacob. "But, even if they were planning this, why didn t you know anything about it?"

So, Phoenix was preparing to wage war against Jinx. Well that answered all of my questions about Jacob s conversation with that King from earlier.

Jacob sighed and started rubbing his temples. "I can t say for certain, I would have to go there and find out directly."

Tears of rage formed in my eyes. I stepped forward and grabbed Jacob s sleeve.

"Take me with you."

Jacob looked down at me in shock. "Are you–"

"The Queen is missing, Jacob. Cathy is the only Luna we have now," Tiffy interrupted.

He shook his head. "It's too dangerous. She shouldn't go there, especially now."

"She is a Lycan so there is no chance of her getting caught. Moreover, you will be with her."

Jacob stood in silence, contemplating. Finally, he let out an exasperated sigh.

"Fine, but remember; as a Luna, you shouldn t harm the innocent. Find out the truth before you act."

I nodded.

"Did you call him yet?" Tiffy asked.

"He s already seen us so he should be here soon." Jacob replied.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in."

A middle-aged man entered. He wore a black suit and clutched an object that was wrapped in a red piece of cloth. He bowed deeply and Tiffy touched my shoulder and whispered in my ear.

"That is Sir Taylor, captain of the Royal Guard."

"Well?" Jacob asked the man.

"He is on his way, sir."

It must be someone of importance. I started playing with my fingers to hide my impatience. I wanted to leave this damn place as soon as possible to find my mother. After a few more moments, a tall man entered. He wore a black suit that had a gold threaded embellishment over his right breast pocket.

Tiffy seemed hesitant as she introduced the man to me. "Cathy... he is... well this is your mother's husband, Prince Saflen."

"Your Majesty, it s nice to meet you. My name is Cathy."

I thought my words sounded too dry. However, upon my greeting, Prince Saflen s hardened face softened a bit and he offered me a small smile.

"I will get to the main point, Cathy. Before your arrival, your mother had arranged for you to immediately receive your inheritance. But, as she is not here, I will be doing the honors."

Sir Taylor stepped forward and handed him the wrapped object. "Your Highness."

Prince Saflen held it and ripped of the red cloth. A brilliant sword glinted in the candle lit room. It was breathtaking.

"Cathy, this is the Sword of Power. It is unbreakable and while using it, you will become physically stronger. It will also serve to protect you from magical attacks. Because it was formed from magic, your abilities will be even more powerful. I think you will find that casting spells, summoning, and absorbing souls will come more naturally with the use of this sword. Carry it well."

He offered it to me. My hands started sweating as I gripped the hilt. It looked heavy but, as I held it in my hand, it felt as light as a feather. As I was admiring it, I felt something being placed on my head.

"Your crown, Your Highness."

I saw an irrepressible sadness in his eyes.

"You are the Crown Princess of Jinx now. As such, it is now your responsibility to bring your mother back and to protect Jinx."

After a minute of silence, I bit my lower lip hard before nodding my head. I tightened my grip on the sword.

"I swear upon my life to bring her back and to defend Jinx."

"Let's go," Jacob said as he grabbed my free hand.

We made our way out of the castle and my face hardened. I was going to find my mother and kill the rat bastard who stole her from me. My life, up to this point, had been so lonely and empty. I wasn t going to let the last member of my family slip through my fingers.

After about a hundred miles south, the horse drawn carriage stopped in front the grand castle of Phoenix. Man, I really missed cars. The carriage ride was like stepping back into one of my old history books, which was fun but extremely uncomfortable. As we traveled, I noticed how the terrain didn t change much between the two nations. It was as if this world was comprised of only forests, mountains and villages. Jacob stepped out of the carriage first, and then turned to me with his hand extended to help me out.

"Fifteen years ago there was a war and during the chaos you were separated from your family," he said suddenly.

"Uh, what?"

"As you are an Omega, no one ever allowed you to enter their kingdom and you had to live on the outskirts of the forest." He chuckled at seeing my brows deeply furrow. "I will have to inform His Majesty of how we met so this is our cover story."

"Oh, right! But, what about my identity? And how did we meet?" I asked.

"From the trauma of losing your family, you have no memories of your life before the war." He paused and met my gaze. "I met you this year in passing and immediately fell in love with you. After courting for a few months, we decided to get married."

I huffed in disappointment and rolled my eyes at his lame story. Sarcastically, I remarked, "How romantic."

Normally, I would have teased him for his lack of ability to make our "fated encounter" more interesting. However, as we approached the entrance, my mind went blank and I felt my palms sweat. Stopping in his tracks Jacob grabbed my shoulder and I noticed how worry marred his features.

"Listen, in case he asks you about the war, all you have to know is that it was between vampires and werewolves. The werewolves won and at that time, Alpha Ronald was the King. He was Alpha Lee's father." He paused, looked around and lowered his voice. "Alpha Ronald is no longer alive, but his wife is still around and she is the vilest woman you will ever meet. There is also His Majesty s best friend and his fiancée. Be on your guard around all three of them."

I nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. "Got it."

As if satisfied with my reaction, he took my hand and escorted me inside. Because he was part of the royal household, we made our way directly to have an audience with the King of Phoenix.

Jacob opened the large black door and I saw that we were in an office. There was an oversized desk with a mountain of documents on top of it. A couple of bookshelves lined the far wall and a small sitting area was situated just to the left of the shelves. A fire burned in the large stone fireplace and I actually found this room to be quiet cozy. His Majesty sat at his desk with his hands supporting his chin as he conferred with a couple of old men. I guessed they were part of the staff. Hearing us come in, all eyes turned to face us and Jacob bowed. I hurriedly did the same and looked at the man in front of me. Alpha Lee really was the most breathtaking man I have ever seen. Currently, I didn t care how he looked. He was probably responsible for my mother s disappearance and I had to work very hard not to show my anger. He gave me a slight smirk and I instantly wanted to level his kingdom to the ground.

"I am glad to see that you are already back, Your Majesty," Jacob greeted.

Alpha Lee nodded. "Yes, I arrived early this morning." He looked pointedly at me. "Who is this, Jacob?"

"She is my wife, Your Highness."