Chapter Twenty-Five

Part One

~And one day,she discovered thatshe was fierce, strong,and full of fire, and that noteven she could hold herselfback because her passionburned brighter thanher fears.~

~- Mark Anthony~

~Five years later~

Ellie

I found myself gazing at the mountains, or more accurately, the palace nestled within them. The Alpha King’s winter palace, as my grandfather called it.

When I first came here, I’d look up and dream of being a princess, like Cinderella or Snow White. But as I grew, I realized I was neither.

My grandfather taught me everything. How to read and write. How to be a warrior, how to fight smart. He said only fools relied on brute force.

A smart fighter used their brain and cunning. They’d find their opponents' weaknesses and exploit them.

Training with my grandfather was a world away from the brutal sessions Sammy and I endured under Zagan’s watch. I still thought about Sammy a lot.

Especially when my grandfather talked about mates. I wondered if Sammy had been my mate. If he had, I wouldn’t get another.

My grandfather dismissed the idea. But it didn’t stop me from wondering. He said once I came of age, I’d know if my mate was alive. If they were dead, I’d feel a void.

But he doubted that would happen.

I felt a presence behind me. I knew it was my grandfather. Call it intuition, or maybe just my wolf sense.

His hand rested gently on my shoulders, giving them a comforting squeeze.

I’d grown a lot since first coming here, but I still only reached his shoulders.

“It’s time...” he said.

His voice held a hint of sympathy.

I tensed. I knew this moment was coming, but I’d avoided thinking about it.

“What... What if I don’t want to?” I mumbled.

My grandfather turned me to face him.

He’d taught me to always meet someone’s gaze. Never look down. I was the only living heir of the Alpha king, and one day I would rule.

But right now, that didn’t seem to matter as I looked down at the ground.

He removed one of his hands from my shoulder and lifted my chin. His touch was gentle but firm.

I thought he was going to scold me for not meeting his gaze, like he used to, but he didn’t.

“I know you’re nervous, sweetheart, but you have to do this.”

I sighed.

“I nearly died last time, what makes you think it won’t kill me this time? I am half human after all.”

He smiled at me.

“That’s a lame excuse, and you know it.

“The more you shift, the less painful it will become. Besides, you were ten last time, way too young to shift, even for the granddaughter of an Alpha king and his badass beta,” he chuckled.

I couldn’t help but smile back. He hadn’t really aged much in the past five years. The only sign that he was an older wolf were a few crow's feet at the corner of his eyes.

They were only noticeable if you looked closely.

He had trained me well, but I still couldn’t best him in a fight. The warriors that had come from the pack when I moved here with my grandfather were a different story.

As my skills improved, they found it hard to beat me. I’d only fought in human form though. The thought of shifting into my wolf scared me. The pain from my first shift had scarred me.

Maybe not physically, but certainly psychologically.

My grandfather knew this; he’d also guessed that the physical scars I carried from my time on the human side of the border had also scarred me mentally. Not that he knew the specifics.

Only one other person knew that, Gabriel, and he was gone. The flashbacks and panic attacks I used to get from those memories were a thing of the past.

If Gabriel had only achieved one thing, it was to rid me of those nightmares, and for that I would be eternally grateful.

I had put the rest of the past behind me, except for my fear of shifting. When I say behind me, I still had a mental list of people that I intended to get even with. Primarily Gabriel’s father, Joel.

Zagan, Dante, and the rest of the council. Then finally the commander of the punishment block across the border.

I would have to overcome this fear eventually. Grandfather had promised me that as soon as I shifted, we could visit the palace.

Because of the lower temperatures in the mountains, we would have to do it in wolf form.

He had no idea what sort of state the palace would be in. It had probably been over forty years since it was last inhabited.

It looked serene from a distance, and grandfather had told me stories of when the king and queen lived there. Roaring fires, elite warriors.

Parties with the finest food and champagne as the king entertained visiting dignitaries. Mostly Alpha werewolves.

Although I wanted to visit, I couldn’t see myself living there. Not even if we managed to overthrow the council and reunite both sides of the border.

If I ever became the Alpha Queen, I didn’t want to be that remote.

I sighed. I knew he wasn’t going to let this go, and Nix had been more than patient with me. Most young wolves shifted at age fourteen. I was fifteen now.

The only thing that had stopped me from shifting was me.

“Let's get it over with then,” I huffed.

My grandfather kissed the top of my head.

“I’ll be with you this time, you won’t have to do it alone. Just trust me, trust your wolf, and trust in yourself,” he urged.

While my grandfather's home wasn’t as high in the mountains as the king's winter palace, there was still a slight chill in the air, despite it being the middle of summer.

My grandfather stood beside me as I stripped. I focused on Nix.

She was excited, she longed to shift into wolf form, but she knew why I was so hesitant. She had been patient with me though. Even though I had made her wait, she never complained.

Never tried to take control and force me.

Nix had always been fair, even when I was just ten. She’d asked for control, not just taken it. I’m pretty sure she could have if she wanted to.

I could feel my bones shifting, my muscles stretching as my body morphed. I winced and let out a soft whimper, but the pain was nothing compared to what I’d experienced five years ago.

The transformation was swift, probably less than ten seconds until it was complete.

I looked up at my grandfather.

He smiled at me.

“Beautiful,” he murmured, his voice filled with pride.

Then he stripped off his clothes and shifted.

His transformation was much quicker than mine. I’d never seen his wolf before. His fur was a light golden hue, mixed with shades of brown.

But his eyes, they were the same as when he was human. His wolf was twice the size of mine.

~Come little wolf, let's visit the winter palace~

His voice echoed in my mind.

We started up a snow-covered path. The closer we got to the palace, the thicker the snow seemed to be. As we crossed small streams, I noticed how crystal clear the water was.

I couldn’t understand why anyone would build a palace this high up in the mountains. Maybe to keep others out. Unfortunately, it hadn’t been enough to protect my grandmother.

From afar, the palace looked like something from a fairy tale, but as we got closer, I could see its state of disrepair.

The white stone walls were crumbling, and the large iron gates were rusted. They barely clung to their hinges. The palace itself was in a similar state.

Crumbling walls and a roof that had once been pristine now collapsed.

Grandfather’s voice in my mind was filled with sorrow, I got the feeling he hadn’t visited in a while.

~It used to be a sight to behold.~

Nix nuzzled her nose into his thick blonde coat.

~It still is, I can imagine what it looked like when it was still in its prime.~

I mind-linked my grandfather.

We walked slowly through the ruined palace. The marble floor was still in perfect condition, and the roof towards the back of the main hall was still intact.

I stopped and stared in awe at the golden thrones. They were still as bright and untarnished as they would have been when my Grandfather and Grandmother sat on them. Above them were two paintings.

Now a little cracked and in a state of disrepair, but I could partially see my own likeness in their features.

The king, my grandfather, had dark hair, and dark eyes, but my grandmother's eyes were a rich blue, not unlike Grandfather Alex’s eyes. She was pretty too, with light-colored hair.

My own hair had always been raven black. Apparently the same color as Grandfather Alex’s mate, my maternal grandmother.

~I doubt we shall return here again little wolf. The place is in too bad a state of repair. But at least you have seen your grandfather and grandmother, even if not in the flesh.~

His voice in my mind was sad. It had been hard for him to return to a place of such loss, but he had done it for me. He had done so much for me, I wasn’t sure if I could ever repay him.

He must have read my mind, or guessed my thoughts.

~You can repay me by leading our army into battle against the council, and using your human heritage to persuade the leaders on the human side to reunite with us.~

His voice was firm and steady. A determination within him that I knew he had passed on to me.

I was sure I could do the fighting bit, but given my experiences on the human side of the border, I wasn’t sure I could be the diplomat that my grandfather hoped for.

I left my grandfather in the throne room, and waited outside. This would probably be his last visit here, and I knew he would appreciate one last time alone with his memories.

I knew I would never return here either. If the world changed, and we won our battles, and managed the reunification that my grandfather hoped for, I would build a new palace.

Not high in the mountains, but overlooking the lake. While the mountains were beautiful, I found the lowlands and the lake more peaceful.

When my grandfather was ready, we headed back down the mountain. I was grateful to be in wolf form. As the sun started to set, the chill of the mountains became more prominent.

When it was safe to do so, my grandfather suggested a run. I felt Nix’s excitement and we ran at full speed, leaping over small streams, and jumping over fallen trees.

The descent was a lot faster than the ascent, and when we finally reached my grandfather's lodge, the long journey was beginning to tell.

Once inside we both shifted, and quickly grabbed some clothes.

The shift back was even easier. I scolded myself for being such a wuss. Another little hurdle had been overcome.

I sat at the table, as grandfather cooked supper. Once it was done he placed a large plate of food in front of me.

“You need to replenish your energy after shifting Ellie. Always remember that,” he warned.

I nodded as I tucked into the food.

He sat down opposite me.

“Tomorrow we will return to the pack. It’s time for you to complete your training.”

I frowned, and I felt my heart rate rise.

“You’re going to stay with me grandfather, aren’t you?” I asked, my voice filled with worry.

He looked at me and smiled

“Only for as long as you need me,” he replied.

It wasn’t a straightforward answer, but often my grandfather's answers never were. I couldn’t imagine a time when I wouldn’t need him, but from the look on his face, he knew different.