Chapter 5 - Night Visitor

Five years later

Beep … beep … beep… A loud alarm blasted non-stop within the castle. Alarming everyone of the incoming threat.

“Wake up little princess. Wake up…” A soft voice like a feather touch echoed through the room. A small figure rustled under the covers.

A petite girl at the age of five sat up slowly in her bed. Her big brown-black curls were messy. Her big blue eyes almost closed.

“Is it time for pankies?” She asked cutely while yawning, the woman looking at her giggling.

“I am afraid, not my little princess.” The woman said.

The girl turned her head and looked at the woman who was standing in front of her, and her eyes widened. She was young and beautiful. Her skin was white as snow, and her hair, a sandy blond color, was so long it almost touched the ground. Her eyes were dark green as the deepest, purest forest. She was dressed in a white robe, its length covered half of the floor in her room, a golden glow surrounding her gentle frame. She was truly majestic and emitted a calm and powerful aura.

“W…who are you? Where is my mommy? I want Ewrik.” She scarcely asked, looking around as the blasting alarm confused her even more.

“It is alright Ariana. You don’t have to be scared. But I am afraid we do not have much time so I need you to listen to me very carefully, alright?” The girl's eyes filled with tears as she nodded her head.

Minutes later, she stood up from her bed looking scared, and, holding a small stuffed pink bunny in her arms, she looked up at the woman in front of her.

“Don’t be afraid, I promise you everything is going to be alright. Do you remember what I told you?” The girl nodded her head condescending. “Now I will open the door and you will run like the wind, alright?” 

“Yes.” She said and looking at the woman one last time she wanted to ask her a question but didn’t dare to. The woman, as if she was reading her mind, gave her a tender smile.

“Yes, Ariana, I am. Now go!” She said and with one movement of her hand the door burst open and the girl sprinted out.

As she stepped into the hallway she was met with the image of people running around terrified. Guards were fighting with other wolves, trying to help them, protect them, missing her small figure who slipped away in the shadows. She runs down the hall, keeping herself as invisible as possible. She tried to go down the stairs but there were a group of eerie people in black cloaks coming up, so, in a split second she decided to change her plan and turned back instead, pulled a chair, and climbed into the service elevator heading to the first floor.

When the door of the elevator opened, she carefully climbed down the small box. Her naked feet touched the cold marble floor, making her shiver. She looked in front of her and recognized Beta Marks Wolf, who looked at her straight in the eyes, terrified. Tried to come near her, but he missed an attack from behind and landed on his back.

Ariana stood there looking at the battle in front of her petrified. She turned her head to the right and then to the left and tried hard to remember which way she was supposed to go, but both ways were blocked by wolves fighting each other.

“Go left.” She heard a voice in her head giving her directions. She recognized the voice and debated for a moment but then started crawling under the furniture. She passed the wolves who were fighting each other and reached the king's office. 

There were voices talking loudly inside and loud noises of things crashing. She tried to peek through the c***k in the door but suddenly the door flew open and hit her. She fell on her back. Feeling dizzy, she tried to stand up when a black wolf noticed her and walked slowly with his head lowered towards her, ready to jump at her. Her eyes widened as she felt panic consuming her whole body. When a small boy jumped in front of her,

“Leave her alone! Find someone in your size!” He said, determined to hold his ground. Ariana stared at his back, surprised when suddenly the wolf attacked, jumping in the air.

What happened next shocked everyone and ended the attack instantly. 

Ariana stood up and held her hand in the air and screamed “STOP!”. Her eyes glowed in electric blue color. Her voice echoed within the whole castle, compelling everyone to freeze on the spot and bare their heads in respect.

She then collapsed on the ground exhausted and totally drained. With her eyelids slowly closing she managed to see a figure running toward her yelling her name, but it was too difficult to stay awake, so she surrendered into Morpheus' arms.

After Ariana's order, the attack immediately ended, and all the intruders scattered, fleeing for their lives.

The next day at the King's office.

“What the hell happened? Where were the guards? I specifically ordered them to stay and guard her!” The King yelled angrily at Beta Mark, who stood in front of him with his head lowered.

“There were wolves on the floor. They were fighting and … missed her…she slipped away unnoticed, my King. I take full responsibility.” He said, his head lowered in shame. The King stopped pacing around his desk and hit his hand on it, cracking the wood under his hand.

“I don’t want you to take responsibility, Mark, I want her to be safe! Look at what happened. It was also the worst time. Most of the Alphas were already here for the convention. ”

“Your Majesty, What happened yesterday? They suddenly stopped attacking and running. Don’t you think it's odd?”

“Ariana…”

“Ariana my King? I don’t understand.”

“She ordered them to stop,” he said quietly. Beta Marks' eyes widened in astonishment.

“H…how…? S… can she do that? I mean she is only 5 years old and there were over thirty of them highly trained.” He said, baffled.

The king took a deep breath and signed tiredly.

“I don’t know. She is still unconscious, Izzy doesn’t want to leave her side, the doctor can’t find anything wrong with her…I … just … I don’t know. Did you call the witches?”

“Yes, my Lord. They will send someone as soon as possible.”

“Inform me when they do I will be with my daughter.” 

“Will do, my King, there is one more thing.”

“Spill it, I want to be there when she wakes up.”

“The boy who tried to protect her…”

“Yes, what?”

“He is Alpha Jason's son.”

“Damn it! Is he hurt?” The King asked worriedly.

“No, your Majesty, the boy is fine but he saw everything, and his parents want a meeting with you. I suppose they need some explanations.”

“I see. Make them feel as comfortable as possible and we will arrange a meeting later.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

With that, the king walked out of the office. The castle was buzzing with life. Cleaning groups and builders were repairing everything. They all showed their respect when the king passed by them.

Outside of his bedroom, Erik was passing back and forth nervously cracking his fingers. Hearing the footsteps, he looked up relieved at the sight of his father.

“Did she woke up?”

“No, not yet. Dad, this is my fault, I should have been there to protect her.” He said, filled with regret and guilt.

“No, Erik, it's nobody’s fault. Her pawer, her destiny will always draw trouble. We can only protect her as best as we can and hope that it will be enough. That’s why we need to sign the treaty. Peace between all the realms has never been more important than now! We need the rest of the Realms' support, we need their help. It is obvious that only our power is not enough. Our enemies use magic and creatures that I have never seen before. We need to be united to defeat every threat.” He paused for a second, averting his eyes from his sons, and then spoke with a lower voice. “That’s why I am not canceling the meeting tomorrow.”

“What? But dad, she is still out. She can’t travel like this and we still don’t know what is wrong with her. Where the hell are the witches?” 

“Someone is coming as soon as possible. Remember, my son, we are partners. They do not serve us they work with us.”

“Fine,” Erik said, visibly displeased. The king patted his son on his back and they both entered the Royal Suit.

In the middle of the bed, a small and fragile body was lying down tacked under a blanket. Her skin was pale, her hair brushed and she looked sick. On her right side, the Queen softly sobbed, holding her daughter's hand. At the sound of the door, she looked up and relaxed right away at the vision of her mate and son. The family was still alert, not able to let go of the threatening feeling in their hearts.

“How is she?” The King asked his mate, who only shook her head.

“No, change. She still hasn’t woken up. If something happened to her, William…I…” She choked. Her mate kneeled at her side, hugging her gently.

“Nothing is going to happen to her. She is strong, she will be fine.” He tried to consult her. She looked at him for a moment and noticed that his eyes went totally black for a moment, signing that he was mind linking with someone.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“I am sorry, Izzy, but the boy who tried to save her is… Jason's son. He saw everything and they wanted to talk to us. I know you don’t want to leave her alone but …”

“But you need me. “

“Yes. Please, my love?”

“We own them this much, but let's make it fast though I want to be back as soon as possible.” The King nodded his head and took her hand, walking out together. The Queen gave the young princess one last look and walked away.

Erik stood behind for a moment but his shame and guilt consumed him. He looked at his sister for a moment and then walked out, leaving her alone.

Minutes after the door closed, the small figure started to rustle under the blanket. She slowly sat up and yawned tiredly. Looked around the room and felt confused. She noticed a beautiful new pink dress at the end of the bed and jumped excitedly, quickly taking off her nighty and putting on the dress. On the legs of the bed, there were pink ballerina shoes. She tried them on and they fitted perfectly.

Before she could think of anything, her belly rambled loudly and she giggled. She walked outside and jumped her way to the kitchen.

When she got near the kitchen, loud voices were heard and dishes making all kinds of noise filled her ears. She opened the door without anyone noticing her, grabbed two cookies from the counter, and ran outside, heading towards the gardens.

She hurried down the hall giggling happily, heading straight for the gardens. Turned back from time to time to see if anyone was following.

As she walked outside, the air was filled with the aroma of many different flowers. Birds chipping was the only sound. The sun-washed her frame. She continued running until she turned around, missed a step, stumbled on a small rock, and fell scratching her knee. Her small figure immediately curled, pulling her knees to her chest. She started sobbing in pain as blood oozed from her leg.

“Mommyyy…” She cried out. Her beautiful blue eyes filled with tears.

“Hey, it's alright.” A boy's voice averted her attention from the pain and she lifted her eyes to see who it was, but they were filled with tears and the sun behind him was preventing her from it.

“It hurts. It hurts so much… I want my mommy…” She said sobbing, curling up again.

“Hey, you are not alone and you are very strong and brave. You can do anything. You know why?” He said, cooing to her.

“Because I am a werewolf?” She said and stopped crying for a moment. Her curiosity spiked and she looked up at him again.

“Exactly.” He said and smiled. She turned her head to the side, tears still streaming into her cheeks and she started to have hiccups.

The boy took out a small handkerchief from his pocket and gently cleaned her wound, his finger brushed against her skin and small sparkles tingled on his hand.

“It tickles.” She said with a small giggle. 

He looked up and their eyes met.

“Mate.” They both said simultaneously, staring at lost at each other's eyes. 

"What did you say boy?" a voice from behind was heard chilling them to the bone.