15. 'Extraordinaire' Beginnings

If you haven't read the two chapters in Karina's POV that I updated in the TBOR last week (Chapters 29.5 and 58.5), please do! They're not the usual bonus chapters, they're a part of the story. And they are IMPORTANT!

And the winner of the last poll on whose backstory you are most excited for is *drumroll*: MARCAH, ahem I mean MARCOOO! And by a huge lead too. Wouldn't he be proud to know ;)

Dedicated to Meghana_violet for your never ending support and love! You're amazing hon. Thank you!

A huge shoutout to Jyottii for having supported my work for sooo long now. I truly can't appreciate you enough. Love you hon! And thank you so much for the lovely banner above!

Also HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO Alysdremzz. Love you forever sweetheart!

WARNING: This chapter is a little heavy on info. Read at your own risk lol!

PLEASE DO NOT COPY MY WORK! If I find any followers copying my work, I will immediately REPORT and MUTE you. Do NOT test my patience or take advantage of my friendliness. You have been warned.

This chapter is unedited so please excuse the grammatical errors. Enjoy!

____

Suzzanah's POV

"WHAT?!"

My sudden and shocked bellow immediately startled the three men with me, with Alpha Penson's head whirling towards me, Rino nearly falling of the chair that he had been rocking, and Delta Neil shooting off his seat and frantically searching for signs of danger, dropping the book about Soulmates that he had been reading on the floor in the process.

"Suzzanah?" Alpha Penson said but I couldn't look away from the page.

My eyes read the title again and again, unable to believe it.

Alpha of Power...

Alpha of Power!

Almost instantly my mind was thrown back to this morning, and I remembered the words Zuerien had spoken when he had told me about the reason for there being the concept of a 'Chosen Queen'. They rang in my head like a resonating echo.

"And upon my coronation, because I was not just the Alpha King but also the Alpha of Power, I had no choice but to opt for that particular alternative"

'Because I was the Alpha of Power...', he had said. Because he was the Alpha of Power, he had to opt for an alternative Queen. Because...

"Because I didn't believe I would ever find my soulmate"

Or rather that...

"...that you may not exist"

Oh Zuerien...

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up to find Alpha Penson and Rino leaning over me, Rino looking worried and Alpha Penson wearing his calm, knowing one, a hint of sadness glinting in his eyes.

"Anna?" Rino said worriedly, "What's wrong?"

My lips parted, but I found myself unable to answer, so I just shook my head, still feeling uncertain. My mind kept replaying one thought over and over again.

He had never found his mate before.

The Alpha of Power hadn't ever found his mate before.

"So you were reading this", Alpha Penson said softly, placing his hand on the book lying open before me, his finger tracing the words 'Alpha of Power', "And now you know..."

Not once. Not in any lifetime.

Even though his soul had been reincarnated thousands of times before.

The Alpha of Power had never found his soulmate...his other half...

He had spent an eternity...all alone.

A train of thoughts whizzed through my mind, thoughts about facts I knew, about the Alpha of Power and about Zuerien, about their powers and their role in the Werewolf High Council.

And suddenly random scenes from my past began to flash in my mind, sentences spoken back then by Zuerien, Kai and everyone else suddenly making a lot more sense than before.

The look of absolute disbelief on his face, as well as Cole's and Alpha Penson's when he had said the word,

"Mate...!"

His constant conflict about this matter with those around him, and most of all, with himself, because a part of him really didn't believe that I could exist.

"CUT IT OUT! I'M DONE TALKING ABOUT THIS! She is a nobody! She means nothing to me, and for the last time, she is NOT my-"

And yet, he never was able to complete that sentence. He never was able to...reject me...

Because...

Because a part of him still wanted to desperately believe that I did.

"Since the day the human shifted into me for the first time, I have longed to meet you"

Kai.

"I have longed to see your face, to touch your skin, to hear your voice. I have longed for you, more than anything else in this entire world, both I and the human"

His confession.

"It was the worst pain imaginable to think that you may not exist"

And his pain.

All those lines spoken in the spur of a moment by burdened hearts, suddenly seem to fall into place.

"I had nearly given up hope of ever being able to see the Queen with my own eyes, let alone your mate. You are our miracle"

Their absolute disbelief, suddenly seemed to have a deeper meaning.

"I-It can't be..."

"Luna...Queen..."

"W-we...A-Alpha we didn't kno-"

The real reason why the werewolves believed I didn't exist had become perfectly evident to me now, and with it also, the reason behind their desperation when they realized that I did.

"No matter what happens, please don't- please don't leave the Alpha"

"It doesn't only concern a few people, its bigger than all of us. The kingdom needs her!"

"Sir please understand, I don't think he'd want me!"

"Oh but he does, so very badly"

"Suzzanah..."

"Suzzanah...!"

"...Don't leave me..."

My heart ached as the words that I had been told by those around me time and time again resounded in my mind. And now that I knew the real truth, I could see their words and their actions in new light.

They were both elated that their Alpha of Power had finally found his mate, and afraid that something bad would happen like it had throughout history, and she would...leave...

And no matter what, they couldn't let her go. They needed her. Loved her. Because...

"Never forget it, heart. You're irreplaceable"

I felt my vision blur as tears coated my eyes, even as I held them back fiercely.

Here was the Alpha of Power. The strongest werewolf to ever walk the earth. He was famed, he was glorified, exalted! He was all-powerful. He had everything anyone could wish for.

And yet...he was lonely.

He was sad.

Because he believed...that he didn't have a soulmate.

Because he hadn't had a mate since the beginning of time.

But...I don't understand. How is that possible?

How...and-

"Why...?" I breathed out pained, as I looked up at Alpha Penson, shock and grief painted across my features.

He gave me a sad smile before sitting down next to me.

"No one knows why", he replied quietly, "No one has ever been able to find a reason"

"But how can they be so sure that he has never had a mate?" I demanded.

"Because that's how its been recorded in the Book of Ages, dear one", Alpha Penson replied, "That book contains an account of every significant event that ever took place in all of history, beginning with the birth of our first King, and it has never mentioned a time when an Alpha of Power has found his mate"

But how is that possible...?!

How is that possible when Zuerien is...

Does that mean I was wrong? Do soulmates not remain the same when reincarnated?

Alpha Penson looked at Delta Neil and said, "Pardon me Delta, but if I may, I'd like to have some time alone with the Queen and Rino please", he said and Delta Neil bowed.

"As you wish, Alpha", he replied and walked away to a distance where he could still keep an eye on us but probably couldn't hear what we were speaking about. He took his book with him.

When he was gone, Alpha Penson reached out and picked up one of the books on the table, flipping through the pages till he found the one he had been looking for before handing it to me.

"This is the list of all the Alphas of Power ever recorded in Werewolf History", he told me and I took the book from him, letting my eyes slowly glide down the long, long list of names before me.

The list was several pages long but as I skimmed through the names, there were two glaringly prominent things I noticed immediately.

That the names Alpha William Arius Royale and Alpha Micheal Angus Ashford were not a part of it.

Zuerien...

I looked up at Alpha Penson, eyes filled with questions and uncertainty.

"This...is a list of all of Zuerien's ancestors?" I asked.

He shook his head, "Not his ancestors. His predecessors", Alpha Penson corrected, "An ancestor could mean anyone belonging to the Royale family. But the Alphas of Power before Alpha Zuerien were all his predecessors. They were all persons who bore the same soul as him, the same powers as him and...", he looked into my eyes and added,

"The same soulmate as him"

I gasped as Rino's head whipped towards me, eyes wide in the same shock that was now tearing through me.

So it was true!

Soulmates did remain the same forever after all! So then...

"I think you're thinking exactly what I'm thinking", Alpha Penson stated knowingly, "It means...that if you are the reincarnation of my daughter Emily and the first Queen, then Alpha Zuerien is also the reincarnation of Alpha Micheal and the first King"

I was right! I was right after all!

But wait, wouldn't that mean...

"Shouldn't that mean that Alpha Micheal and the first King were also Alphas of Power?" I blurted out the question in my mind and Alpha Penson eyes flickered with a mysterious hue.

"Yes", he said softly, "It should. But it doesn't"

"What?" I asked feeling utterly confused and perturbed, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that although Alpha Zuerien should technically be their reincarnation, he isn't", Alpha Penson replied, "Because neither Alpha Micheal, nor Alpha William were Alphas of Power"

But how is that possible?!

"Alpha Penson, didn't you once tell me that during the period of time when Alpha Micheal was still alive, the then Alpha of Power hadn't been found yet?" I asked frantically, "So seeing as no one else was Alpha of Power at the time, and Alpha Micheal was known to be insanely powerful, can't we take it as somewhat of a positive confirmation that he actually was the Alpha of Power?"

Alpha Penson shook his head, "Its true that Alpha Micheal, was powerful. Very powerful", he said, "But being powerful is not enough. The werewolf has to possess one particular trait. There is only one feature that confirms whether or not a wolf is the Alpha of power, and that is their characteristic bright golden eyes"

"Those eyes are the identity of an Alpha of Power", he told us, "It is those eyes that confirm his authenticity. But in all the time that I knew Alpha Micheal, which was ever since he was a little boy, he never once displayed the characteristic golden eyes that every other documented Alpha of Power had. Its the only distinguishing feature by which we can confirm whether a said werewolf is the Alpha of Power or not, and he never showed that trait"

My heart sank, What...?

"And well...as for the Alpha King", Alpha Penson quietly, "Can you please turn over to the first page of that list?"

I did as I was told.

"Look at the name of the very first Alpha of Power", he said.

"Alpha Kratos", I read out and he nodded.

"Alpha Kratos, and not Alpha William", Alpha Penson stressed, "Alpha Kratos was the very first Alpha of Power, and he was discovered during the reign of the fifth Alpha King, a descendant of Alpha William Royale"

I frowned in utter confusion, not understanding how any of this was possible.

"Couldn't it be that Alpha Liam was the Alpha of Power but no one knew back in his time that he was one?" Rino asked, apparently having listened to the whole conversation up until now very keenly.

Alpha Penson smiled thoughtfully, "I wish that were so, but I'm afraid history doesn't agree", he told us, "Because back in time, during the reign of the first Alpha King, the Extraordinaire titles didn't exist at all. They only came into existence during the reign of the fifth Alpha King, much after the first King had passed away. It was also then that Werewolf Council Extraordinaire was first founded. Before that, it didn't exist"

"And that is why, according to history, neither Alpha Micheal, nor Alpha William could have had the same soul as Alpha Zuerien", he concluded, "Because neither of them were Alphas of Power, whereas Alpha Zuerien is"

My mind felt like a complete mess as I sat there feeling too confused to even say anything. How on Earth could I be the reincarnation of the Luna Ethereal and Zuerien not that of the Alpha Almighty. It didn't make any sense!

"This is also precisely the reason why I took so much time to voice my opinion about you possibly being my daughter's reincarnation, as well as that of the first Queen. Especially that of the first Queen", Alpha Penson said, his thoughts trailing down the same path as mine.

"Even though I had my speculations about the matter for a long time, I couldn't afford to bring up your probable connection with the first Queen", he said, "Because doing so would essentially imply that Alpha Zuerien was also the reincarnation of the first King, which as you know now, is not possible"

I and Rino exchanged weary looks and nodded.

"That's why I never brought up the matter of your silver hair being similar to that of the first Queen's", Alpha Penson said, "But I had never imagined that you and Talon would manage to figure it out yourselves and come and ask me about it"

He smiled in recollection and I asked, "How long had you been considering the possibility of me being the first Queen's reincarnation?"

"Ever since I first saw the silver streak in your hair", he told me, "And I believe I first saw it the day you revealed to us that you knew about Werewolves and about Alpha Zuerien being the wolf you met in the woods"

"Huh?" I exclaimed surprised.

"Did Anna have the streak during the first day of the Games?" Rino wondered the same thing I was wondering.

"To me it seemed like you did, that day in the woods, under the moonlight. Just for a brief second, I felt like it was there, but then it was gone again", Alpha Penson replied, "When I saw that silver streak in your hair for certain, I was immediately reminded of Emily, and Emily in turn reminded me of the Luna Ethereal"

"And ever since then, the matter of Alpha Zuerien's soul not being the same as those of Alpha Micheal's, and the first King's has bothered me", he told us, "Back when my daughter was still alive and I had considered the possibility of her being the reincarnation of the first Queen, it was made sense for Alpha Micheal to also be the reincarnation of the first King because neither of them were Alphas of Power. But Alpha Zuerien is, and that doesn't seem to coincide with his soul's possible past. If he too wasn't the Alpha of Power then everything would fall into place, but because he is, we now have a conundrum"

I chewed on my lip worriedly as he went on.

"The matter of Alpha Zuerien's soul has been a mystery to me ever since I realized that you may be my daughter's reincarnation", Alpha Penson told us, his gaze directed up towards the ceiling pensively, "Soulmates remain the same for all eternity. That is the most important principle of a werewolf's existence. It's unquestionable and absolute. So how is it possible for your soul to have a different soulmate all of a sudden?"

"Maybe it is the same soul as the first Wolfa King's but just with an additional element that makes it the soul of the Wolfa of Power", Rino causally wondered out loud making both me and Alpha Penson look at him surprised.

"Wow Rino! That's a really smart thought!" I exclaimed, before looking back at Alpha Penson, "Is that possible?"

Alpha Penson smiled in a reminiscent manner, "Actually...what Rino just suggested is the very same theory that the Elite Overseer came up with about the matter of Alpha Zuerien's soul"

"What!" we both exclaimed awed.

Alpha Penson nodded, "I'm very impressed that Rino thought of the same thing. The Overseer actually believes that this could be the Moon Goddess's doing"

"Moon goddess?"

"She's a deity who ancient werewolves worshiped and believed to be their creator, and I think a lot of them still do", Alpha Penson told us, "They say that Moon Goddess first created the souls of the Extraordinaire titles during the reign of the fifth Alpha King, which is why they didn't exist before that. She was also the one who prophesied the creation of the first Werewolf Council Extraordinaire to the werewolves during the reign of the fifth Alpha King, or so it is believed"

My eyebrows rose in awe at his statement.

"If that is the case, then the Overseer stated that when she decided to create the soul of the Alpha of Power, instead of creating a new soul altogether, she could have taken an existing soul- in this case, that of the first Alpha King- and just added a special trait to it that made it the soul of the Alpha of Power", Alpha Penson said, "And that soul was born again as the first Alpha of Power, Alpha Kratos, much after the first King had died"

"If so, then Alpha Zuerien still does have the same soul as the first King, but just an enhanced one", he completed, "One that now contains the Extraordinaire trait. And perhaps the addition of the Extraordinaire trait led to some kind of disturbance with the soul and made it such that the Alpha of Power could no longer find or recognize his mate anymore"

"So...the soulmates have remained the same throughout time, but the male counterpart's soul has just been altered a little, making him an Extraordinaire, but at the same time making him unable to find his soulmate", I said and Alpha Penson nodded.

I and Rino exchanged glances, "Well...I guess the theory does make sense", I said.

"Not entirely", Alpha Penson said, "It still doesn't explain why Alpha Micheal wasn't an Alpha of Power"

"Maybe...in Alpha Micheal's case, his soul skipped the Extraordinaire trait", I suggested, raking my brain for possible answers, "Maybe he did have the same soul as the other Alphas of Power before him, but without the Extraordinaire trait, making it the same soul as that of the first King! That explains why he was able to find his mate! Because his soul didn't have the Extraordinaire trait that made his predecessors unable to find their mates!"

"But it doesn't however explain how Alpha Zuerien found his mate, even though he has the Extraordinaire trait", Alpha Penson said and both I and Rino slumped forward, holding our heads in our hands.

This is too confusing.

"So maybe...maybe Emily and I really aren't the reincarnations of the first Queen then", I stated quietly, "Maybe I'm not even the reincarnation of Emily! Maybe we're all different people and have different mates. That's the only way any of this makes sense"

Alpha Penson smiled gently, "Does it?" he asked me, and my mind was immediately thrown back to all the times I had spoken to Emily, and the words she had told me.

"I am she who has been exactly where you are and she who knows exactly who you are"

"...know that I am always here. Always right here"

"I am very proud of you. You are everything I hoped you would be and more. And now, seeing you, I don't regret a thing"

"Don't you see Suzzanah? Don't you realize it yet?"

"Because I'm always with you Suzzanah. You and I...we'll always be...together..."

I recalled every dream and every vision I had ever had of her, and of the Luna Ethereal. I recollected every word they had spoken to me. I remembered how it felt when I had run from that beast yesterday, and had seemingly been transformed into the both of them. I could never forget that overwhelming feeling of déjà vu which made it so evident that I had experienced this before.

No...we are the same, I realized, We really are...the same

I sighed heavily, shaking my head and Alpha Penson smiled tenderly at me.

"The way I see it, the one fact that makes the most sense right now is you and Emily being the first Queen's reincarnations", Alpha Penson said, "Because that is the only explanation to everything that had happened with you so far, that you are her"

"But what about Zuerien?" I asked worriedly, "What's up with his soul and its bizarre and changing traits? Does he possess the same soul as Alpha Micheal and Alpha William or not? Has my soulmate remained the same or not"

I drew my chair closer to Alpha Penson, "Forget everything that history says or believes", I said firmly, "I want to know what you believe. Your word is absolute to me"

Alpha Penson's eyebrows rose in surprise, "Suzzanah..."

"Its true", I told him honestly, "I understand that you may not have all the answers, and it doesn't matter if right now, what you think doesn't make sense. I want to know what you understand, and even what you don't understand. Whatever you believe, I want to believe too. Because you're the only person whose opinion I can trust on such matters"

"Me too!" Rino added, scooting closer as well.

"Please tell us!" we chorused and Alpha Penson looked down at his hands which were clasped in his lap, lips curved into a grateful smile, yet eyes remaining deeply pensive.

"I'm...honored that you believe in me so profoundly", he told us, "But I've always preferred that my students choose for themselves what they want to believe, instead of blindly following what others think. So...why don't I tell you the whole story. From the beginning, or as far back as is known, and then I'll tell you what I personally believe and why. That way you'll have a fair chance at choosing whether you want to believe me or if you want to believe something completely different. What do you say?"

Rino and I exchanged looks before looking back at him and nodded, "Okay"

He smiled appreciatively at our agreement and leaned back into his chair, eyes directed upwards as he recollected what he needed to tell us.

"Alright...how should I begin?" he thought out loud, before searching through a mountain of books laying on the table next to us, "Well, seeing as we're talking about the Alpha of Power, why not start here", he said grabbing one particular book and showing it to us.

"The Extraordinaire Legacy", he read out the title of the book, which for some reason made chills run down my spine, "It's an account of many of the significant events in the lives of the Extraordinaire titles. But first let me tell you a little about the concept of reincarnation"

Rino and I nodded.

"So, as we know, reincarnation is the rebirth of the same soul in a new body after its old body has passed away", Alpha Penson said, "And although after being around the Council Extraordinaire for so long, you must feel like the whole reincarnation concept is quite common, it's really not"

"I believe that every soul that is born into creation does get reincarnated at least a few times in all of eternity, but there are only a handful of souls that are reincarnated repeatedly, as a cycle every few hundred years after the death of their last bodies, because that is required of them", Alpha Penson told us, "And in the Werewolf Kingdom they are the six souls of the Extraordinaire titles"

"And of course because the souls of the Extraordinaire titles are reincarnated, so are the souls of their soulmates", he added, making me and Rino exchange impressed glances.

"So in total, there are twelve souls that are reincarnated continuously at regular intervals", Alpha Penson said, "While all the other millions of souls are reincarnated once in maybe a few thousand years, or even less than that"

He looked at me, "Your soul is one of the former twelve Suzzanah, and it is reincarnated constantly not because it is the soul of the first Queen, but because it is soul mated to the soul of Alpha of Power"

Oh...so that's why...

"The study of souls is actually quite interesting", Alpha Penson said, "Based on the properties of a soul or the periodicity of their rebirth, different soul groups have different titles. For example, the twelve werewolf kingdom souls I mentioned just now are souls that are reincarnated multiple times, periodically and constantly, are therefore titled the Eternals"

Our eyebrows rose in awe, The Eternals...

"Then there are souls that are born for the first time into the world, and are called the Pioneers", he went on, "They are what you may consider the newborns of the soul society"

I smiled at how he put it.

"And then, there are souls that first came into existence many thousands of years in the past", Alpha Penson told us, his words seemingly heavy as he spoke, as though important, "They are old souls, souls that were created in a period we could almost call 'the beginning of time', which for us werewolves dates back to the reign of the first King. Such primeval souls, regardless of the number of times they have been reincarnated, are titled the Ancients. And they are some of the most esteemed souls known to time"

His eyes looked deeply into mine, "You, dear one, possess such a soul", he said, his voice reverent, "You are one of the very rare Ancients, because you are the reincarnation of the very first Luna Queen"

I stared at him speechless as his words graced me like a thick cloak of honor- one that was unfathomably glorious and yet, also tremendously...heavy.

I suddenly felt like I was supporting a rather prodigious weight of great importance on my shoulders. And although I cherished it, it also left me a little burdened. And I found myself at a loss of words, not knowing how to reply.

It was then that Rino suddenly asked,

"So is my soul a newbie?"

At that Alpha Penson began to laugh and I immediately felt some of the earlier tension dissipate, allowing me a bit of respite.

"I wonder", Alpha Penson said in reply to Rino, studying him thoughtfully, "I don't believe your soul isn't one of the Eternals that is reincarnated regularly, but who is to say it hasn't ever been born into this world at all since the beginning of time? Perhaps it has. And perhaps..."

His gaze returned to mine as he added, "Perhaps, you have even met each other in your previous lives"

Rino grinned widely, looking absolutely mind-blown but his words, for some reason, made me jerk as though I had been struck by a bolt of electric charges. They hit me hard, evoking something deep inside my soul.

Something warm and yet just a little...wistful.

My thoughts were immediately thrown back to this morning when I had looked at Alpha Penson and Rino conversing, and for some reason, had felt like that scene had seemed...familiar.

Nostalgically...familiar.

In an almost...ancient sense.

Not just them, but almost everyone close to me now. They had all seemed so uncannily and overwhelmingly familiar.

"I felt like...I knew you guys. Like I knew you guys...for much longer than I actually do"

I remembered what Alpha Penson had said in reply to me then.

"Maybe you do. You're an ancient soul, dear one. Some things are bound to seem familiar to you"

Did that mean...that it was possible that I had met not just the members of the High Council...but also my other friends in one of my previous lives?

I kept my gaze directed at Alpha Penson. One step at a time, he had said.

So could this be...my first step?

Alpha Penson gave me a secretive smile before looking down at the book in his hands, "Alright, now that you know a little about souls are reincarnations, why don't we get into the main matter at hand", he said, opening the book in his hands"

Rino and I immediately sat up straight, excitement flooding our bodies instantly. We were finally going to learn more about the Extraordinaire titles!

"There have been many books written about the Werewolf Council Extraordinaire ever since it was founded thousands of years ago, and it has always been a topic of great fascination to me", Alpha Penson began.

"I have studied a great deal about it. About when and how the very first of all our Extraordinaire Title holders was discovered, about how the Council was formed and about the powers and personalities of each of the Council Members", he told us, "I've read thousands of books about them, and although there is a lot of information on the Alphas Extraordinaire in those books, the information is mostly centered around their powers and personalities, but not so much on their history"

"There are only a few books that can offer information about the earliest of the Alphas Extraordinaire", Alpha Penson said, "One such book being the 'Book of Ages', but because that book isn't accessible to people like us very easily, we needed to make the best out of what we had. And one such book was this. The Extraordinaire Legacy"

Alpha Penson ran his fingers over the hard cover of the book in his hands, "Even though this book doesn't hold a candle to the 'Book of Ages', it is still a treasure chest in itself. And it is one of only 3 or 4 others which gives an account of that night", he said, flipping through the pages of the book till he found the one he was looking for.

"That night?" Rino and I asked together and he nodded.

"The night the Moon Goddess supposedly appeared on Earth to announce the existence of the Extraordinaire titles", he told us and our jaws dropped.

"I told you did I not?" he said, "It is believed that the one who prophesied the creation of the first Werewolf Council Extraordinaire to the werewolves during the reign of the fifth Alpha King was the Moon Goddess herself. And the person she foretold the news to was in fact the very first Alpha of Wisdom, who happened to be the fifth Alpha King's good friend and Adviser at the time"

"Whoa!" we exclaimed together.

"He was apparently travelling from a distant country back to the King's castle with a group of his most trusted men when it happened", Alpha Penson told us, "When they stopped to rest at night in a valley, she appeared to him and spoke to him. Those with him only saw her brilliant radiance, but didn't hear what she said"

"They recounted the woman they had met as having been an all-powerful being shrouded in blinding light", Alpha Penson went on, "And she who was never found again after that day so it is believed by most, as having been the Moon Goddess herself"

"This here is a passage narrating the events that supposedly took place during their meeting that night, thousands of years ago", he said showing us the page he had opened in The Extraordinaire Legacy, "I've read this passage so many times that I've nearly memorized it. And this is how it went"

As the three of us huddled together he began reading from the page he had opened, quietly,

"In the dead of night, to him she appeared in a ball of light. Shrouded in an aura so blinding that all he could see of her was her silhouette, and all he could remember of her, was her voice. And in that moment of absolute divinity, to him she spoke in the voice of prophecy"

"'You who is an age-old friend to the throne,

Tonight I foretell that you are not alone.

Seek out your companions from far and wide,

For your place is together, at the King's side.

Be to him a Council, a sword at his hip.

Protect our great kingdom founded on trust and friendship.

Let it not fall into the hands of hatred or greed.

Let it not fall at the hands of an envious deed.

Together, you shall be six pillars of power,

That will hold high the pride of the Emperor's tower.

Remember the words spoken to you this night.

Remember who you are and do what is right.

Find them, whose souls are unique like thine,

Your five other comrades with powers divine.

To you who are beloved and remembered, I entrust,

The task of assembling the Council, strong and just.

I give you a predestined verdict by which to abide.

I leave you this parchment to serve as your guide.

And with that I depart, bid you good days to come.

Today you are born again, as the Alpha of Wisdom.'"

When he was finished, both Rino and I were so wonder-struck that we couldn't say anything but one word.

"Whoa", we breathed out together in unison and Alpha Penson smiled.

"Its nice isn't it?" he said, "Of course the actual authentic interaction that is explained in the 'Book of Ages' must have taken place in a different archaic language, but this book depicts it in modern day English to make it understandable"

"And somehow it still rhymes!" Rino said and he chuckled softly.

"The Moon Goddess or seer or whoever she was who spoke to him that night, must have put a lot of thought into her words", he replied.

"Seer?" I said confused.

"Well, although most people believe that the person who appeared to the first Alpha of Wisdom that night was the Moon goddess herself, there are some who believe that it was actually a Seer", Alpha Penson told us, "One such person was actually the first Alpha of Wisdom himself. He secretly believed that the woman was actually a powerful seer, one whose likening has never been seen again to this day. But that theory has since been overruled by most and the story passed down the generations through history states that she was indeed the Moon Goddess"

"Oh..."

"But why didn't the first Wise man believe it to be the Moon Lady?" Rino asked.

"I wonder", Alpha Penson said with a mysterious smile as he looked down at his hands, "It's not that he objected the theory of her having been a Goddess. He could just...never quite let go of the possibility of her not having been one. Us Alphas of Wisdom are known to question pretty much everything we see and hear"

"The woman had apparently possessed omnipotent magic, so those with him believed that she was a hallowed being", Alpha Penson said, "But the first Alpha of Wisdom believed that because she had used words like foretell and predestined, she could have also been a seer. Probably a very powerful magic-wielder of the time. But others argued saying that if such a powerful magic-wielder really existed in their world, they would know of her. She would definitely not have gone unnoticed or unheard of as she was, which again is true. And besides, she was never found again so they were convinced it was indeed a Goddess"

"And what do you think?" I asked him.

"Well, I personally have no problem believing the ancient legend of the Moon Goddess", Alpha Penson replied, "But seeing as the first Alpha of Wisdom is a predecessor of mine, I feel like I owe it to him to not completely disregard his claims either"

Rino and I nodded in understanding.

"But anyway, this is how the popular legend goes", Alpha Penson said, "The Moon goddess appeared to the first Alpha of Wisdom and his company that night, and instructed him to establish a council of extraordinary souls who had already been born into their world, and gave him a parchment that held their titles in it"

"What happened to that parchment she gave him?" I asked.

"Of course we still have it", he replied, "In fact, Suzzanah, you've seen it"

I stared at him surprised, "I have?"

"Yes, back in my office one day. You may remember", he said

I frowned trying to remember as he went on, "It was the day you had gone into the forest with Talon to look for Alpha Zuerien's jacket. And when you returned after the Alpha Kai led you back, you came to my office", he said, making my eyes widen slowly in recollection, "I believe you got a glimpse of it on my table that day, an old brown manuscript"

Wait! Was it...

A memory flashed in my mind. One of a brown paper lying on Alpha Penson's desk underneath some neatly stacked files. It looked old, but had had a really beautiful intricate golden design all around the borders.

And on it, I had seen the words...

Luna o-

"It was on the same day that you asked me for the first time...", Alpha Penson said as the memory played out in my head.

"What is a Luna", I completed his sentence and he smiled happily, nodding.

"So you do remember", he said, "I'm glad. That, you see, was the very parchment which the first Alpha of Wisdom received from that powerful seer. It has been passed down thousands of generations, from one Alpha of Wisdom to another. It is in my safekeeping right now and when I die, the Royale family will protect it till the next Alpha of Wisdom is born and the manuscript will then be handed to him"

I frowned, not liking the sound of him talking about his death.

"But wait, that fragile manuscript is centuries old and you just had it lying on your table underneath a mountain of files that day!" I said horrified and he chuckled.

"I did didn't I?" he said, amused, "I just really wanted you to somehow get a glimpse of it without making it too obvious"

"Why?" I asked.

"A gut feeling", he said with a shrug, "That something good would come out of you seeing it. But I never thought you'd hit me with the 'what is a Luna' question so soon"

I smiled in recollection.

Good old days. But wait, wasn't that just a week or two ago?

I was honestly amazed at how it felt like a lifetime since that happened.

"So where is that parchment now?" I asked.

"Back in the States, safely in one of my age-old chests", Alpha Penson replied.

"In your chest?" Rino asked shocked as he stared at Alpha Penson's upper torso, "In one of your chests?" he asked again confused as he searched the Alpha's thorax intently.

"Rino! By chest I meant like a treasure chest, not my chest", Alpha Penson said quickly and Rino's eyes widened.

"Oooh!" He said nodding and Alpha Penson sighed shaking his head.

"Why do I feel violated?"

I giggled before asking, "So, getting back on topic, what does that parchment say? I only caught a glimpse of it that day"

"It lists all the 6 Extraordinaire titles one after the other", Alpha Penson said, "And next to those titles, there is one word used to describe each of them. Although...", he said thoughtfully, "I can't say those one word descriptions were of much...help, especially back in the day"

"Why?" I and Rino asked together and he gave us a weary smile.

"Well because it went something like this", he said, "Alpha of Power- Eyes, Alpha of Wisdom- Mind, Alpha of Mazes- Hands"

HUH?

Rino and I stared at him confused, "So she just mentioned a few body parts next to each title?" I asked and Alpha Penson sighed,

"Something like that", he replied.

"Did she at least mention the color of the body part or something?" Rino asked, "You know like blue eyes, pink hands..."

"But even if that were the case, there wouldn't be a color to the mind, would there?" I stated looking at Rino before both our narrowed eyes shot to Alpha Penson and we said together.

"Or would there!"

Alpha Penson shook his head smiling, "As much as I'd like to humor you children by saying yes, I'm afraid not. I don't think it has much to do with color", he replied, "I believe these words were meant to tell us where the power of that particular Extraordinaire title is concentrated. For example, the Alpha of Power is strong all over, but his power is concentrated in his golden eyes, which also happen to be a distinguishing feature about him"

"OH!" we said together.

"And your power is concentrated in your mind!" Rino said.

"That's right", he replied.

"So does that mean Leonardo's power is concentrated in his hands?" Rino asked, staring at his own hands.

It took me a few seconds to realize who Leonardo was.

"Yes Rino. Marco's power is strongest in his hands", Alpha Penson said, "He uses his hands and his fingers to magically create, modify or destroy his mazes"

"That's cool!" I said, "So what about the three Lunas?" I asked excitedly.

"Well", Alpha Penson replied, "It sort of repeated. For the Luna of Hearts, it is Eyes and for the Luna of Intercession, it is Mind. But for the Luna of Time alone, it's Hands, Feet and Mind"

"What?" I exclaimed.

"Hands, feet and mind?!" Rino said, "Whoa! Fussy sure has a lot of power areas!"

"True but that's what makes it hard for her too", Alpha Penson replied, "In order for Prophecy to teleport in time, she probably needs to concentrate the power in her hands and feet while also concentrating really hard with her mind on the subject of time-travel. It's tricky and very power-consuming"

"Explains all her excessive fatigue", I said before thinking about the next Luna, "So, Intercession's is Mind huh? Makes sense, seeing as she is a mind-reader and all"

Alpha Penson nodded, "And that probably means that she can cause sharing of powers by just thinking about it in her mind", he added, "Also, having mentioned all of these, it doesn't mean that this particular body part is the only area where their power is present. Their powers flow throughout their bodies, but they are concentrated in these particular areas"

"What about the Luna of Hearts?" Rino asked, "What does eyes mean? Does she have shiny eyes like the Wolfa too? Or does something happen when you look into her eyes?"

"Probably", Alpha Penson said, "We can't say because we know next to nothing about her powers and abilities"

He then looked at me, "Have you ever noticed anything about Karina's eyes?" he asked.

I tried to think, "Hm...they're brown like Zuerien's but I haven't ever seen them turn any unusual color like Zuerien's do", I thought out loud, "She has nice eyes but they're a little...how do I put it? Intimidating"

Both men looked at me surprised, "Really?"

I nodded, "Karina has one of the most killer glares I have ever seen anyone give", I told them, "I've seen people twice her size cower away from her when she glared at them"

Rino grinned, "She sounds cool!" he exclaimed excitedly and I grinned back nodding.

"Cower away at the sight of her eyes, huh?" Alpha Penson said thoughtfully.

"Why do you think she's called the Luna of Hearts?" I asked, "I know you once told me you don't really know but I refuse to believe that you don't know anything at all. Knowing you, I'm sure you must at least have a vague idea!"

Alpha Penson smiled widely at me, "I'm honored you think so highly of me, my dear one, but I'm afraid when it comes to the Heart, I'm quite lost myself. Problem is I don't have a single lead to go by. Nobody knows what her powers are. It isn't documented anywhere at all"

"What about in the 'Book of Ages'?" I asked.

"Well, to be very honest, even the 'Book of Ages' doesn't give much information about the powers of the two lost Lunas", Alpha Penson told me, "I don't know if I ever told you this before but the 'Book of Ages' is written in an extremely ancient language, much like Kharasiyei - the language of the Ancient Mages- only the one in the Book is even older"

"Also, the language is written in what today's age consider something like a code-language. Only a few have the ability to read it, and fewer the knowledge to interpret it", he said, "And since the two lost Lunas have not been recovered to the Council for a really long time, there is very little information in the Book about them for us to go by"

"The Book does give details of every time they were discovered and for how long each of them remained part of the Council", he said, "But there are only a handful of instances where the 'Book of Ages' states anything about the powers of the two lost Lunas. And the part where it seems to mention something about the Heart's powers still remains a portion neither I nor the Elite Overseer have been able to decipher yet"

Our eyes widened in shock at his revelation. Even the Alpha of Wisdom hasn't been able to decipher it?

"I personally haven't read as far back in the 'Book of Ages' as when one of the two Lunas had still been part of the Council", Alpha Penson went on, "But the Elite Overseer once told me that the last time either of them became an official part of the Council was thousands of years ago. And apparently, in all of Werewolf History, the Luna of Hearts and Luna of Intercession were formally crowned into the Council only about five or six times"

"What?" I breathed out in shock, "Only five or six times in...forever?"

He nodded solemnly, "While we're on that topic, there is another important thing you need to know about the High Council", he said, "From its very birth to this day, there has never been an age when the High Council has seen the existence of all Extraordinaire titles together. The Werewolf Council Extraordinaire has never been complete"

Both I and Rino looked at him shocked, "What?"

He nodded, "Even the very first High Council ever formed after it was prophesied to the first Alpha of Wisdom, was incomplete", he said, "It consisted only of three members- the Alpha of Wisdom, the Alpha of Power and the Luna of Intercession. The Alpha of Mazes, Luna of Hearts and Luna of Time were not part of it"

"Oh, so you mean the first Council didn't know of the existence of the other three titles?" I asked.

He shook his head, "No. I mean that even though they knew of the existence of all six titles, they weren't able to find the remaining three no matter how hard they looked for them", he replied, "It's been that way ever since. And no High Council has ever officially consisted of all its members together till this day, including the present one"

"Is it because of the two lost Lunas not having been found in so long?" I asked and he nodded.

"For the most part, yes", he replied, "But if not them, then someone else would be missing. Still the two lost Lunas do top that list. And the Elite Overseer told me that it wasn't because the two Lunas were never found at all, but that even on the rare occasions that they were found, they never lived long enough to be officially crowned into the Council. In all of history, as far as I know, the two of them have always died young"

My heart immediately constricted in pain and worry, Megan...Karina...!

"Why though?" Rino asked concernedly, "Did they always have very short-lifetimes?"

Alpha Penson shook his head, "I can't really say", he replied, "In truth, I've read more about Intercession than the Heart. And Intercession...she died early at a number of occasions but many a times the cause of her death remained unknown"

"I already told you about the time one of the Lunas of Intercession, who was a vampire, was killed by her own kin for being mated to a werewolf", Alpha Penson said gravely, "But there were two other times before that when she was found dead all of a sudden, and the cause of her death could never be identified. Even though both Intercession and Heart are called the lost Lunas, in Intercession's case it isn't that she hasn't been found at all. She has been found, but for one or the other reason has died before we could get to her"

I placed a hand over my chest, feeling concern flood my body.

Oh Intercession...

"That's about as far back in history as I have read in the 'Book of Ages'", Alpha Penson said quietly, "It's about 1500 years in the past. And there were no records of the Luna of Hearts at all in the past 1500 years which means its been that long since she was last discovered"

"So if we want to know anything about her at all, we need to go back right to the beginning of the 'Book of Ages'?" I asked.

Alpha Penson looked me in the eye, "Yes, but you should know, the very beginning of the 'Book of Ages' is not accessible to anyone. No one, not even the Elite Overseer himself can read that portion of the book"

Huh?!?!

"What? But why?" Rino asked just as confused as me, "Is it forbidden?"

"No Rino, its sealed", Alpha Penson replied, "There is an immensely powerful and unbreakable magical spell on the book which locks the initial chapters of the book that document the age of our first King and Queen, which is why so little is known of them. No one really knows when and how the 'Book of Ages' was created either. But ever since it was first created or discovered, those particular chapters have been sealed, locked away from our reach. And there is only one way to unlock them"

"What's that?" we asked together.

"To reassemble every member of the Council again", he replied making my heart skip a beat in shock, "It was an instruction written on the Extraordinaire Council Parchment that the Moon Goddess or Seer or whoever she was, gifted to the first Alpha of Wisdom. But ever since the Council was founded, never has it been complete, so the chapters have stayed locked away for all eternity, or at least as far back in eternity as we know of"

"But what if all the members of the Council aren't born in same time period?" I asked, "Like the Luna of Hearts for example. You said she hasn't been discovered for over a thousand years. What if she wasn't born at all during those thousands of years? Maybe she just has a slower frequency of being reincarnated than the other titles. And maybe because they're not all born together in the same time period, the Council has never been complete"

Alpha Penson smiled at me, "That would be a perfectly reasonable explanation my dear, had it not been for the existence of another specific instruction on that parchment", he told us, "And its actually very similar to the instruction given here in this book about soulmates, he said pointing to a paragraph I had just read about werewolf soulmates"

It does not necessarily mean that they are born on the same day as their soulmates, but that sometime during the course of their lifespan, while they are still alive, their mates will also be born and the two will exist in the same time-period simultaneously in such a manner that there will be definite opportunities for them to encounter and recognize each other.

"Just like this principle about werewolves", Alpha Penson said, "There is a principle about the Council Extraordinaire too. And it goes like this,

Although all the members of High Council may not be born on the same day, there will surely come at least one instance in every one of their reincarnated lifetimes, when all 6 Extraordinaire souls will exist within the same time-period simultaneously, in a manner that there will be definite opportunities for them to encounter and recognize each other, and thereby complete the hallowed Council Extraordinaire"

My eyes widened in realization as he went on.

"What that statement means is, every time one of the 6 extraordinaire titles is reincarnated and born into a new body, there will be at least one point in his or her life when the other 5 titles will also exist in the same time-period as him or her, and that will give them all opportunities to meet and complete the Council", Alpha Penson said.

"Take me for instance", he went on, "I'm the Alpha of Wisdom and although I was born 400 years before Alpha Zuerien, Marco and Prophecy, I'm still alive now because this is that particular point in my life when all the other 5 titles are also alive and we have a chance to meet and finally complete the Council"

Rino and I nodded in understanding.

"In addition to that, over the last thousands of years the Lunas of Time who were found have forseen or prophesied the births of the two lost Lunas multiple times", he told us, "And sometimes they have also prophesied their deaths, even if not the cause of them. So you see, this is why it's not possible that the Luna of Hearts hasn't been born at all for thousands of years. She was born for certain, but she just wasn't found"

"I see"

"But this principle of them all existing together at least once in their lifetime is beautiful though, isn't it?" Alpha Penson said smiling appreciatively, "It says at least, which means that they may have more than one shot at it in the same lifetime. I believe this principle exists in order to give the Extraordinaire council as many opportunities as possible to complete itself"

"Alas, we haven't been able to yet", he said, "But, now, with all the titles alive in the same time period again, we have hope. Hope of finally completing a Council which has been incomplete ever since it was first founded"

Rino and I smiled joyfully at the beautiful thought and it made a rush of warmth shoot through me, reaffirming my hope.

"But I can't help but think that maybe the legend of the Moon goddess is true", I thought out loud, "I mean I understand where the first Alpha of Wisdom was coming from but, if she really was a Witch then why was she acting as a medium in the affairs of Werewolves?"

"That's exactly what others told the first Alpha of Wisdom back in the day too", Alpha Penson replied, "They said that if the words spoken by that woman were true then she had to be the Moon Goddess. Because no Witch would take such an interest in the matters of Werewolves. But the Alpha of Wisdom was still unwilling to give up on the idea of her having been a Seer"

"You see, Seers can prophecy about any and all Supernatural races, not just their own", Alpha Penson said, "Which is why it would be understandable if she foretold the formation of a Werewolf Council. But the problem was she didn't just foretell it. She almost, in a way, created it!"

Created it?!

"It would make sense if she has a vision about the formation of a Council Extraordinaire and announced it to the wolves, but she actually handed them a parchment with instructions about it", Alpha Penson said, "Almost as though she had come up with the idea herself. As though she had written the parchment herself. Because if not, where did that parchment come from? Who gave it to her? And how did that person know of the existence of a Council. A lot of questions remain unanswered"

"So maybe it wasn't a Seer and really was the Moon goddess", Rino said and Alpha Penson smiled.

"It does seem that way, does it not?" he said, "Of course, everyone is free to believe what they wish to. But because the first Alpha of Wisdom didn't believe that she was the Moon Goddess, he initially thought that the concept of a Council was just something some random Seer came up with to mess with them and their kingdom. And for that reason, he briefly even thought that the parchment was a farce and no such titles existed. But then when he actually came across one of Extraordinaire titles, he finally believed"

"After that he tried very hard to find the woman again, but she was never found", he told us, "And when they studied the parchment closely, they found that the paper, the ink, the writing all dated back several years which probably meant that the woman who given it to him was also rather ancient"

"That was confirmation to the others that she indeed was the age-old Moon goddess", he said, "But the Alpha of Wisdom considered that she may have been a very old magic-wielder, and may have possibility passed away after their meeting, which was why they had not found her again. And once he realized that, he finally dropped the search for her"

"So for those of them that believe that it was the Moon goddess, history makes perfect sense", he said, "But the few who believe that the first Alpha of Wisdom was right and she really was a Seer and not a goddess, to this day, the mystery of the origin of this parchment remains unsolved"

"Wow", I and Rino breathed out together.

"But wait, the document I saw on your table that day had English words in it", I said, recalling the parchment, "How does that work? Did English even exist so far back in time?"

Alpha Penson shook his head, "No, but you see the Extraordinaire Council Parchment, much like the 'Book of Ages', is instilled with powerful magic", he said, "As it was passed down the generations to different Alphas of Wisdom, the writing on it magically transformed to whatever language the then Alpha of Wisdom is most comfortable with. And seeing as I'm most comfortable with English, in my time as Alpha of Wisdom, the parchment displays the English language. If I was...say, Spanish or Italian, the parchment would also magically display Spanish or Italian words"

"AWESOME!" Rino and I cried out amazed and Alpha Penson nodded.

"Supernatural History sure is interesting huh?" Rino said and I nodded.

"So which Extraordinaire title did the first Alpha of Wisdom come across first?" I asked, "The person who made him realize that everything the woman had said was true"

"I think that person was the first Alpha of Power"

The first Alpha of Power...

"Alpha Kraken?" Rino exclaimed and both of us gave him weary smiles.

"Kratos, Rino", Alpha Penson replied, "It was Alpha Kratos"

"And he never found his mate either?" I asked and Alpha Penson shook his head, "No"

I sighed heavily feeling a little defeated. If none of the Alphas of Power found their mates then how could we know whether their soulmates were all the reincarnations of the first Queen or not?

And well, speaking of reincarnations, how had Alpha Penson known for certain that Emily was the reincarnation of the first Queen? Was it just because of the silver in her hair?

Knowing that the only way to find out was to ask him, I did. And upon hearing my question, his face immediately turned reminiscent.

"Well...the silver streak in her hair was what first got me into doing my research on the matter", Alpha Penson told me, "But honestly if she had been born with the silver streak in her hair, I doubt I would have been too worried about it. No, the reason I began to look into her silver streak was not because she possessed it, but how she came to possess it. Her hair, much like yours, was all dark for many years after she was born till one day, a lock of it suddenly turned silver"

"Oh that's right!" I exclaimed, "You had said something about you having first seen it when she was 6", I said, recollecting what he had told us a few days ago, "When she brought an injured puppy home right?"

"That's right", he said, "When she returned home with the pup, she suddenly had a silver streak was there, and then all of a sudden it was gone again a short while later. It happened once more when she was 12 when it suddenly appeared for a while and then disappeared, as I felt had happened with you too, in the woods that day. But then it appeared permanently in her hair when she was 16 years old, after she and her friend had a small accident and fell into a ditch"

"Even though Emily's friend had initially lost consciousness, once we had rescued the two of them, they were both alright ", he said, "But by the time we pulled them out, even though they seemed okay, I immediately noticed that a lock of my daughter's hair had started turning silver at the roots, and a few days later it turned silver all the way down to the tips of her long hair"

His eyes turned wistful as he spoke, "And even though it wasn't affecting her health in any way, I remember being rather paranoid about the issue", he said, "And so I started researching the matter and it was around then that I discovered the significance of silver hair in werewolf history and where the facts arose from"

"I admit, I didn't initially go as far as thinking she was the first Queen's reincarnation", he said, "But that was until she started having dreams like yours"

"Dreams?" I asked, feeling my breath hitch as he nodded.

"Dreams about a woman with long silver hair...firing arrows into the night", he said, "And all the while riding a large black werewolf...with a very characteristic golden streak running through its dark fur"

Both I and Rino gasped and said together.

"Zuerien!"

"Wolfa!"

Alpha Penson shook his head, smiling, "Alpha Zuerien isn't the only wolf with the golden streak in his hair", he said, "The golden of his eyes symbolizes his status as the Alpha of Power, but the golden in his hair signifies his right to the royal throne. The firstborn child of every Royale King and Queen bears that golden streak, which means that the golden streak isn't what we need to be paying attention to when it comes to this particular dream of Emily's"

He clasped his hands together and said strongly, "Because although every generation of the Royale family may have one black wolf with a golden streak, but there was only one Royale werewolf in all of history who had a mate with a full head of silver hair"

"The first King", we said together and he nodded.

"That was when I started to wonder if there was a possibility of Emily being connected in some way to the first Queen", he said, "I even took her with me to the Royale castle, wondering if her dream could mean that she was mated to the firstborn Royale prince at the time who bore the golden streak, but obviously she wasn't. It made me feel quite silly afterwards"

Rino and I smiled at that and he continued,

"I thought of dropping the matter, but Emily's dreams only seemed to become more and more frequent", he told us, "She once dreamt of the woman with silver hair dancing under a tree, then of the woman running swiftly through a mist-laden forest, and then of her conversing freely with the ancient fairies of the deep woods. And when the dreams didn't stop, I went to consult the Elite Overseer about it"

"She had started having those dreams only after that silver streak had permanently appeared in her hair, so I thought that the dreams may be connected to it, and I wanted to know if there were any more women with such silver hair in history", he said, "It was then that the Overseer took me to see 'Book of Ages' for the very first time. Together we went through as much of it as we could, but we never found any evidence of other women with silver hair or silver streaks in their hair"

"At one point of time, I gave up, thinking that there was no use to this research", he told us, "Even if she did dream about a silver haired woman every other day, it wasn't like it was doing her any harm. And she definitely didn't seem to mind the dreams, so for a short period of time, I let it go. That was until...one day, my Beta's pregnant mate got injured when she came across an unexpected rogue, and Emily happened to see it"

Rogue...

I was suddenly feeling nervous to hear more of this.

"The news of the rogue being in our territory reached us immediately but by the time we got there, it was dead", he told us quietly, "And the one who had killed it, was my daughter Emily. A girl who had never killed before that"

Chills ran down my spine on hearing those words and I bit my lip hard, trying to keep myself from hyperventilating.

"When we found them, Emily was badly injured and unconscious", Alpha Penson said quietly, his voice tinged with pain, "But the Beta female was unscathed. We thought that her injuries may have healed before we got there, but she said that the gash on her abdomen had been a little deep and she was afraid for her baby because of it, as it wouldn't have healed that fast. And when we looked closer, we found an identical gash on my daughter's abdomen even though the beta female confirmed that that part of her abdomen hadn't been injured during battle"

Oh my god!

I was suddenly thrown back to the day I had rescued Tony from the burning orphanage during the Annual Games. I remembered how Zuerien had made sure the flames wouldn't hurt me and yet, I had a burn injury identical to one that Tony had had, on my hand when we were out of the orphanage.

And I recalled clearly what Alpha Penson had said to me that day.

"I strongly believe that the burn injury on your hand had not been one that you had acquired yourself, but the one that Tony had gotten, and it somehow transferred onto your body"

"I saw it happen with Emily before. Twice"

"The first time was when an injury that someone dear to her had acquired was suddenly transferred onto her, while it simultaneously disappeared from her friend's body"

That must have been the incident he had told us about just now.

"But the second time it happened...was when it struck me hardest. It was when one of my own injuries was transferred onto my child in the middle of the battle field"

And my heart ached as I remembered his last sentence.

"It was the day my daughter died"

"The Beta female's injury had transferred to Emily, hadn't it?" I asked softly and he nodded.

"After that incident, I dove right back into the books again, trying to figure out what had happened and why", he said quietly, "I read thousands of documents to see if anything of the sort had happened with someone in history before but alas, I found nothing. I tried asking the Overseer to let me see the 'Book of Ages' again, but he couldn't do so because it was only open to outsiders once in a few years. So instead I asked him to read it in my stead, and tell me if he found anything..."

"And...did he find anything?" Rino asked softly and Alpha Penson nodded, his eyes looking heavy with sorrow.

"He found one singular occurrence in history when such an incident had taken place", he said quietly, "But by the time he found it, it was too late. My daughter...had already passed away"

Pain suddenly clutched my heart like a vice like grip, making me almost bend over in agony, but I held it in. Because I knew some of this pain was also Alpha Penson's. His face remained calm and composed, but it was his eyes which weren't able to hide the grief he was feeling.

And I wondered if, every time I felt someone else's pain, it was possible that I was taking away some of their agony. Because if that was the case, I didn't mind feeling this pain right now.

Reaching out I gripped one of his hands at the same time that Rino gripped his other. He looked up at the two of us surprised and when he saw the looks on our faces he smiled.

"I'm alright, Rino, Suzzanah. Thank you", he said warmly, and I felt the ache in my chest start to ease.

"Still, just in case, bear hug for you!" Rino declared and launched himself onto a surprised Alpha Penson, capturing him in an impossibly tight embrace.

"A-ah! Rino-!"

"Please don't cry John! I promise I'll give you loads more hugs from now on!" Rino cried out while Alpha Penson nodded nervously, patting his back.

"Thank you Rino, I appreciate it but I wasn't cryin-"

"You should have told me you were feeling sad earlier!"

"That's very sweet Rino, but I wasn't really sad earlier-"

"I'll always be here for you John!" Rino shouted.

He wasn't letting Alpha Penson finish his sentences, snuggling him harder and harder with time.

"Yes, I know. And I'm really thankful son but-"

"Oh John! I love you John!"

It was at that very minute that Gale and Neil peeked in at our commotion and upon hearing Rino's passionate confession, their eyes blew up to the size of watermelons.

"R-Rino!"

"I really really love you!"

Rino wasn't looking like he'd be letting go anytime soon, so I decided that the only thing I could do to make this scenario look a little better...was join in.

"Oh Mr. Penson! I love you too!" I cried out and threw my arms around him as well.

"S-Suzzanah?!" he cried out surprised.

"Truly I do!" I said, hoping he could feel the sincerity in my words, despite the situation.

Truly I do...dear Alpha Penson...

"You're the best parent ever!" I exclaimed, meaning every word and Rino nodded.

"Yeah, you're a great dad!" he added.

"We love you!" we said together and at that point Gale and Neil just smiled and walked away again.

Underneath us, Alpha Penson finally chuckled and patted our heads lovingly.

"Thank you my dears", he said softly, "I adore you very much as well"

At that we finally relented and let him go, sitting down again. He smiled, looking much better now as he combed his hands through his hair, trying to make it look presentable again.

"My word", he said tenderly, "How on earth could I be sad when I have children like you"

We grinned at him joyously and he took a deep breath before sighing heavily.

"Alright. Shall we continue?" he asked.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, dear one. Perfectly fine", he replied honestly, "Now about what the Overseer had found"

Rino and I nodded.

"As I told you, the Overseer had found one similar occurrence in history", Alpha Penson told us, "And would you believe it? It happened to be with a woman who was a friend of one of the ancient Lunas of Intercession. One further in the past than I have read in the 'Book of Ages'"

"A friend of Intercession's?!" I exclaimed in disbelief while Rino's jaw dropped.

Alpha Penson nodded, "The incident was mentioned very briefly in the Book of Ages, as a passing event that occurred in the life of the then Luna of Intercession. It had occurred as an accident, when Intercession and her friend had been attacked by a rogue demon in the woods who wanted to kill Intercession", he halted for a second before continuing, "And of the two of them, it had been Intercession who had sustained the more lethal injuries, but suddenly, the worst of her wounds suddenly transferred to her friend, and as a result of that, her friend passed away"

"Oh no..." Rino breathed out sorrowfully, lowering his head.

I also felt terribly sad to hear that. History seemed to be full of unfortunate events and listening to them just made me ache so unbearably on the inside, but I knew I needed to hear it to the end, because if the Alpha of Wisdom was telling us this, it had to be important.

"When that incident happened, Intercession hadn't been discovered by the then Council Extraordinaire yet", he said, "And later when she was recognized for her powers and accepted into the Council, she told this story to the others in the Council with her which was recorded into the 'Book of Ages'"

"So then there are others who have this strange power of transferring other people's injuries onto themselves then", Rino said wide-eyed and I too felt very intrigued to know more about the topic.

But to our surprise, Alpha Penson shook his head.

"No, I'm afraid there aren't"

"No?" I said surprised, "But you just told us about Intercession's friend having had that ability too. Then how can you say that there are no others who may possess it?"

"Because that woman, Intercession's friend, was also one of your and Emily's predecessors", Alpha Penson said, "I believe she had the same soul as the two of you"

Both I and Rino nearly choked on air.

"HUH?!" Rino coughed out.

"But w-why would you think tha-" my flabbergasted voice caught in my throat as my eyes fell to my dark brown locks, and the only possible answer registered in my head immediately.

My gaze shot back to Alpha Penson and he nodded, confirming my doubt.

"That woman also bore the same silver streak in her hair that you do now, and that Emily did before you", he told us, "So she must also have been a reincarnation of the Luna Ethereal"

My heart slammed against my ribs hard as I let his words sink in.

"So then...this trait of transferring injuries onto oneself from others...is directly connected to the silver in our hair?" I asked and his brow furrowed in thought.

"It would seem that way", he said, "And if we correlate it to all of you having the same soul as the first Queen...it would mean that the Luna Ethereal also possessed this ability, and maybe she was even the origin of it"

What was up with this weird ability, I wondered perturbed, And what is its significance?

"But wait!" Rino said quickly, "That woman with silver hair, the friend of the Luna of Intercession...did she ever meet the then Wolfa of Power?"

I gasped at his question, realizing its importance. If she was the Luna Queen's reincarnation too then could have been...

The mate of the Alpha of Power!

"No she didn't", Alpha Penson replied to Rino, "She died much before the High Council found Intercession. Which means the then Alpha of Power never got a chance to meet her"

"But he didn't find his mate back then either, did he?" I asked and Alpha Penson shook his head.

"No he didn't", he replied, "Which means that there is a fair chance that she may have been his mate"

"But even if he had, according to the Elite Overseer's theory, he wouldn't have been able to recognize her because of his soul's inability to do so though right?" I asked.

Alpha Penson remained quiet for a moment before he replied, "I wonder..."

"What?" Rino asked, "What are you thinking?

"Well...its like this book here says", he said, taking the book about soulmates that I had been reading earlier, "Even though the Alpha of Power didn't find his mate throughout history, there was no way to confirm that he didn't have a mate at all because there have been definite instances in the past when he has felt the awakening of his mate bond"

He looked back at us, "And a soul that can feel the awakening of its mate-bond can most definitely recognize its mate as well"

"What are you trying to say?" I asked, anticipation coursing through me like wildfire.

Alpha Penson held my gaze, eyes flashing, "Earlier you told me that you wanted to know what I believed about the matter of Alpha Zuerien's soul and its peculiar properties, even if it didn't make sense as of now", he said, "Well this is what I believe"

"I believe that soulmates don't change, no matter what. They remain the same throughout all eternity", he told me strongly, "I believe that every werewolf soul has the inbuilt ability to recognize its mate, and that nature or the moon goddess or whatever other divine power is out there would never meddle with that one sacred principle of a werewolf's existence. And I believe that the Alpha of Power is the same as any other werewolf, and his soul is just as perfectly able to find its mate as any other"

Rino and I stared at him in shock.

He smiled at Rino, "I'm truly very impressed by your theory as well as the Overseer's, Rino", he said, "And I'm not disregarding its credibility. But this is just my opinion, and as they say, to each his own"

"But if you don't believe in this theory of the addition of an Extraordinaire trait to the first King's soul making it incapable of recognizing its mate then why do you think the Alpha of Power never found her?" I asked.

"Because he never encountered her", Alpha Penson replied.

"But this book on soulmates did say that soulmates will definitely have opportunities to meet each other in every lifetime" I argued, "So why is he the only one who hasn't had any opportunity to encounter his mate?"

Alpha Penson's expression turned grave, "Perhaps because, much like that friend of Intercession's who died after she transferred Intercession's injuries onto herself, the mate of the Alpha of Power has always died before he can meet her", he replied and my heart sank.

She died...

For so many thousands of years she died before she could meet her mate...

Such a cruel fate...

But...

How...and why? Why would she die before she met her mate?

This was precisely the question running through my mind in my disbelief, while Alpha Penson's expression turned deeply thoughtful, as though the question had occurred to him way back, and his mind was already sifting through thousands of answers to arrive at the right one.

"I wish she could have been born a vampire", Rino suddenly said making both of us break out of our respective thoughts to look at him. He shrugged, "Vampires are immortal after all. That way she wouldn't die at all, unless of course she was killed"

His words immediately made both my and Alpha Penson's head whip towards him, eyes wide in shock.

Rino blinked, gaze flitting between me and Alpha Penson, "What?" he asked confused, "What'd I say?"

Alpha Penson's gaze then met mine, and in his eyes I could see that he had thought of that possibility already, but was now extremely worried about something else.

"She wouldn't die at all...unless of course..."

"She was killed..." I said, feeling the color drain from my face, "Every single time she had died before she had met her mate was because...she was killed!"

"But wait, wasn't Intercession's friend killed because she transferred her injuries onto herself?" Rino asked.

"Yes, but do you remember what I said about how Intercession acquired those injuries in the first place?" Alpha Penson asked, his eyes tense and brimming with worry.

His words from earlier then immediately resounded in my mind.

"Intercession and her friend had been attacked by a rogue demon in the woods"

They were attacked by a rogue demon...

...A rogue...demon...

...A demon-like beast.

My breath suddenly caught in my chest, my mouth suddenly dry, as a chain of vivid memories from a dream suddenly played in my mind like a movie.

Mirrors

Silver hair

Broken glass

A bloodied hand print

And...a warning.

"Beware of him...he's coming for you"

Rino and I gasped in unison as realization struck us like bolts of lightening and thunder, horror flooding our veins, making our blood run cold.

"It was him"

*****

Random question of the day: What is your favorite scene in the whole series so far?

A/N

Hey guys,

A LOT OF THEORY, I KNOW!

But its important. Ain't nobody gonna get anywhere without this theory.

So onto the discussion,

What is up with Suzzanah's soulmate confusion?

Why are the first few chapters of the Book of Ages sealed away?

What is up with this old af beast terrorizing the poor Luna Ethereal's soul for so many years?

Your answers are coming sooner than you may expect. Or later, depending on how soon you expect them lol.

Anyway thank you as always for your support. I love you guys.

Did you like this chapter?

If so, please do VOTE, COMMENT and SHARE! It would mean the world to me.

And check out the Unconditionally Facebook Fanpage where I post fun character info, conversations and even tit-bits of what's to happen in upcoming chapters.

Until next time,

All my love,

May