CHAPTER 49
STANDING CLOSE TO LENORE’S LEGS, a little girl looked up at her with wide, doll-like eyes as Lenore sat on a black chaise lounge. Two others hovered a few feet back, watching Lenore with great curiosity.
“Hi,” the little girl said. She looked the youngest, her cheeks still round and plump.
Her hair was white, eyes pale-green. “I’m Minen.
And that’s Faustus,” she said, pointing to a white-haired boy behind her.
“He’s my oldest brother.” Her finger turned to another boy, who sported greyish-blue locks of hair. “That’s Rowan. He’s also my brother.”
Lenore smiled at them all, her chest squeezing at how cute they were. “And hello to you too, Minen! It’s nice to meet you, Faustus, and Rowan.”
“Are you Uncle Edmund’s mate?” Rowan chimed in as he playfully squatted like a frog on the floor. “I was kinda starting to think he was gonna be alone forever.”
Edmund choked on a glass of moon nectar while Kyrie pursed her lips tightly, clearly trying not to laugh. They were all in the living room, surrounded by warmly lit lanterns attached to stone walls that opened up in arches. Ornate tapestries hung on the walls, each depicting a werewolf.
A dozen dresses lay piled beside Lenore, with Kyrie tossing a few more on top. Another pile sat on the ground—the rejected dresses.
“Um…” Lenore bit her lip, trying to suppress her own giggle. She ran a hand through her hair, locking eyes with Edmund who let out a sulky breath.
“That’s rude, Rowan,” Kyrie corrected after she let out a sharp cough. She lifted a dress, glancing at the black shimmery material before she shook her head and tossed it down. “But yes, Lenore is your uncle’s mate. You will all address her as your aunt from now on.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Aunty Lenore,” Faustus said. Clear admiration shone in his bright green eyes as he turned to Edmund. “How did you win her over? Did you show off your moves? Or give her your best kills? Can I go on a hunt with you guys after the Lunar Ball?”
Edmund hummed in thought as he placed his glass down on a counter. “I’ll consider taking you on a hunt for my mates’ ceremony dinner.” As Faustus whooped, Edmund added, “I’m not answering your other questions though. All of you need to go get ready for bed—”
“NOOO!” All three wolflings shouted in protest. Minen clung to Lenore’s legs, whimpering while the boys surrounded Edmund. Lenore couldn’t help but poke at Minen’s cheek, squealing giddily in her mind at the soft plumpness. As the wolflings continued to whine, Edmund remained unrelenting.
“But you just got here!” Faustus added as his shoulders sank. “Why can’t we stay up with everyone? We want to know how you’re going to fight off the Lucyn too.”
“Yeah! You promised we’d practice fighting together!” Rowan huffed, then cheekily grinned. “But I guess you’re too busy practicing smoooooching now instead!” He started to kiss the air loudly. Lenore ducked her head, biting her lip to fight off the embarrassment threatening to burn in her cheeks.
Edmund’s eyes widened, mouth falling open in disbelief. “Wha—You cheeky little brat—” he grabbed Rowan by the collar of his tunic, lifting him up while the boy flailed in the air.
“AHHH MERCY! MERCY!” Rowan yelped. “MOM!”
“Uncle Edmund is correct,” Kyrie said, ignoring her son’s plight. “Family time can come later. Right now, we’re all very busy and need to talk about important things.”
Lenore had pulled Minen into her lap as a distraction, pausing mid-nuzzle as she gaped at Edmund tossing Rowan across the room, right at the sofa. The boy shifted mid-air, landing as a wolf on the plush cushions. Rowan yipped with glee, leaping onto the sofa frame, trying his best to pose regally.
Faustus groaned at the same time. “But, Mom—”
“Do I need to bring this up to your father?” Kyrie lifted an eyebrow. Almost immediately, the wolflings sobered up. Rowan followed Faustus as they marched out of the living room. Minen leapt off Lenore, hurrying behind her brothers.
“Good night Mom, Uncle Edmund, and Aunty Lenore.” They repeated the words after each other, passing through one of the open archways, and disappearing around the corner. Lenore could hear a faint flurry of footsteps above in the distance, and she was sure they were trying to make it a race.
Once the room fell silent, Edmund crossed his arms and faced Kyrie.
He looked around at the dresses with a growing scowl.
“This is not what I was thinking when you said we’re going to prepare ourselves for the Lunar Ball.
Remind me why I’m here and not patrolling with the others or discussing battle tactics? I should be doing something useful.”
Kyrie threw another dress onto the discard pile. “Then I’ll remind you that you’ve been travelling for days. A bit of rest will do you some good.”
Irritation crossed Edmund’s gaze. “You said we’d be talking over the important things. Is playing dress-up seriously taking precedence over that? There’s far more at stake than this!”
“Too bad. It’s helping me stay calm right now.” Kyrie didn’t look up when she said it, her gaze distant until she gestured for Lenore to stand up. “The pack took a heavy blow, Ed. I’m unraveling knowing our grandmother is in the enemy’s hands or… dead.”
No response was given. There was nothing they could say, except silently hope it wasn’t true. Edmund’s frown faded into a look of solemnity. Lenore didn’t move, giving Kyrie the space to do what she needed to do.
“Before I go out to be a leader for those that may be spending their last nights in this world, I need to breathe too.” Kyrie’s fingers brushed absently against her stomach before she lifted a black dress against Lenore’s frame.
“We’ve already gone over the critical points anyway before Varek left,” she added.
“Auden. Arisa. Umbral thistles. Dark magic. Lucyns. And that tomorrow will likely be a bloodbath.” She blinked slowly. “How fun.”
Lenore leaned slightly to the side to look at Kyrie, fidgeting nervously.
“I do love dresses and all, but do I actually need to be dressed like this for tomorrow?” Her eyes looked over the long black dress, gingerly touching it out of appreciation.
“And your clothes are beautiful, Kyrie, but it’s just...
I’m not very tall. I’ll be dragging half of the dress across the floor. ”
“I don’t recall the Lunar Ball changing its dress code,” Kyrie replied coolly.
“Whatever happens, I presume you’ll turn into your werewolf form, correct?
So why can’t you wear something nice in your human form?
” She tossed the black dress onto the ground.
“Don’t be concerned about the fit. I’ll fetch one of our tailors to do all the big adjustments—or even add their own custom flairs to the dress.
It’ll get their minds off everything, anyway. ”
Edmund pinched the bridge of his nose. “Kyrie…”
“And don’t tell me you’re going to go into the Lunar Ball like that.” Kyrie pointed at Edmund’s outfit. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “I do not approve of you looking like a deranged hunter. I’ll find something for you too.”
“We are not your dolls to play dress-up with right now,” Edmund snapped. “Have you lost your mind?”
Lenore caught the subtle twitch in Kyrie’s hand when she held another dress. Kyrie lowered her arms. Her lips curved upward.
“Lenore,” Kyrie said. “Has Edmund shown you his puzzle collection? He’s always been addicted to those jigsaw puzzles with a thousand pieces—always begged for one when a traveling merchant had one in their stock.”
“Jigsaw puzzles?” Lenore repeated in wonder. “I would’ve never known!”
Edmund’s eyes widened. “No, I don’t—”
“And did you see all those cute little carved wooden wolves in our family’s home—”
A dark shade of red flushed all the way to his ears. “Shut. Up. Kyrie,” he hissed through closed teeth.
“All made by him and Cade. They would make up wolf wars with those things together. Did you make one for Lenore yet?” Kyrie gestured behind her toward a dark walnut shelf.
A whittled wolf stood proudly atop a base carved to resemble rocks, the warmth of candlelight flickering across its surface.
An opened geode sat next to it, the inner core shining with iridescent purplish-blue crystals.
A flicker of green sparkled across the surface.
“Not only did he make that, he’s also quite an enthusiast about rocks—”
“Geodes,” Edmund grumbled under his breath.
“Same thing. Anyway, aren’t these lovely?”
Lenore blinked in surprise. “I didn’t know any of these things…” Her wide eyes softened into a bright smile. “Edmund... you’re amazing! You should’ve shown me something earlier.”
Her praise made him cross his arms tightly and cast his gaze to the side. “... I can make more than wolves,” he finally muttered. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “If you want anything…”
Before Lenore could reply, Kyrie asked, “Do you like any board games, Lenore?”
The question made Lenore pause in thought. “Oh—well, I really liked Ashenspire! I collected some really good cards before, but um, they got left behind in my old home. It’s always been fun to play.”
“... You love Ashenspire?” Edmund looked at her, standing a little straighter as he quickly asked, “What about Founders of Ephelwyn?”
“I’ve played that one too! I’m pretty good at hoarding wheat. We can play together!” Lenore beamed at him. She squeezed her hands behind her back as she jokingly added, “But you better go easy on me.”
“... Okay,” he mumbled. “If you like strategy wargames—or questing ones—I have those too.” Though he didn’t smile, excitement practically radiated off his body. Lenore nodded eagerly, knuckles pressed to her lips as she giggled to herself.
An amused sound hummed in Kyrie’s throat. “Stars. I suppose it’s called fated mates for a reason.”
“... Yeah,” Edmund said, too quiet for anyone to hear. In a louder voice, he said, “Stop dragging me into the spotlight. This is helping no one but yourself.”
“Well...” Lenore softly piped up. Her head tilted slightly to the side as she smiled coyly. “I think it’s helping more than just Kyrie…”
“Ugh...” Edmund’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t protest further.
Kyrie continued to smirk. “Test me further, and I will release an embarrassing story before your marriage.”
“If you even think about doing that, I will retaliate—”
“Go ahead. I’d rather that than focusing on the impending doom of what was supposed to be an event meant to keep peace among werewolves.
” Kyrie placed a dress into Lenore’s lap, then straightened, her expression unreadable.
“This is our last night pretending—living out the final hours of a peace that may never return.”
Lenore and Edmund followed her gaze toward the skylight above, the distant white orb reflected in their eyes.
The moon was barely a sliver away from being full, its near-complete brilliance inescapable across the dark sky.
It cast a silent warning of the looming dangers that would rise beneath its complete form.
“Because tomorrow,” she continued, “is where everything could drown in blood.”