The Moon Goddess' Chosen

465 Talking to the Moon

Cole sat on a well-crafted mahogany chair at the top of the balcony joined to the Lycaon king’s chambers. Structures of this nature were difficult to build into the circular nature of the Great Arena but a few still stuck out… just like the one that he now had the luxury of using.

The king stared into the sky, his thoughts wandering aimlessly in his mind. Thoughts that were his and his alone. Blocked from the comforting mind link, free from any manner of eavesdropping.

Well, there was the wolf at the back of his mind that never once let him feel lonely… as well as the multitude of voices that swarmed within his mind oblivious to his all-listening royal abilities. Being able to keep his thoughts to himself while still paying attention to the general moods of his subjects.

Such was one of the many luxuries that came with being king.

The turnout for the royal games this year was more than he remembered it from four years ago. There were so many wolves and hunters from all over the world that had come to attend this year’s games.

…probably seeking some sort of entertainment.

The past two years had been quieter than ever in the history of Lycaon. Well, in terms of trouble with the rogues but that’s where the silence and peace stopped.

Everything else was one dizzying roller coaster.

From taking over the kingdom to losing his mate to watching Kyle grow into a powerful beta alpha. Between the kingdom and the three beta alphas, Cole had his hands full.

.....

Even then, however, he allowed himself time like this.

Time to look up at the moon… To the very vessel that held his mate, holding her captive in the one place he couldn’t get to even if he wished to.

“I guess I see you every day, don’t I?” the words escaped him. He didn’t care when they did. In fact, this had become a habit, “Kyle met someone today. She’s avoiding him, but…” the man paused, letting a smile spread across his face.

The wind blew through his hair, which he had allowed to grow longer than normal, “…I don’t know. I think he might find a reason for living on that’s not serving you.”

Whether the wind washed over his face during these times because his mate was watching or otherwise remained a complete mystery to the king.

It was comforting to think she was listening though… and so he looked up to the moon and went on with his one-sided conversation with the glowing half-moon.

“Don’t worry though. I don’t think anyone can ever take your beta alpha from you but then again, you are in the Moon palace, far from me.

Kyle’s far too loyal. Well, they are all like that, I suppose… beta alphas…” the man continued.

Cole didn’t know if it was his imagination and didn’t allow himself the time to question his sanity either.

He felt closer to his mate when he spoke to the moon like this and that’s all he needed, “Lina has grown so much too. She’s looking more and more like you. I almost mistook her for you, actually.

Not that I would ever be fooled. It just caught me off-guard. Could you have looked like her when you were a child? I’ll have to take another look at those pictures of you when you were younger…”

The wind whistled louder, whipping his hair into his eyes abruptly. The king chuckled, “I control the elements, not you. There is nothing you can do to stop me.”

The wind didn’t react this time, however.

The king sighed and sank back into his chair, staring off at the half-moon in the sky, “I feared that we’d have to delay the games but the contestants are fine. So, tomorrow, we face off against your sister and her champions. Without Drake on her side, I’m not sure she stands a chance against us. It’s not like we’ve done nothing this whole time… Should I go easy on her?”

The wind went completely still this time. The silence in the wind felt almost ominous but the king had learnt to ignore those nerves by now. There was no proof he had that his mate actually spoke to him through the wind… thinking of it that way gave him a form of comfort, nothing more…

He didn’t allow himself the luxury of interpreting the messages in the wind… if there were any, to begin with.

“I’ll keep my eyes peeled. She must have a plan. After all, she did defeat her brother during the Trials. I wonder what will become of the Sirius pack now that she has completed the sacred Trials,” the man scowled, his mind launching deep into thought.

Just then, another consciousness crept closer to him through the mind link, “Hey, do you have any idea what’s happening to the prince of Sirius?” Jason asked, curiosity thick in his voice, as long as a tone that suggested he was in the mood to gossip.

“I don’t know what runs through that man’s mind but if he has a reason for what he’s doing, he’ll reveal it when the time is right,” the king replied with a heavy sigh, “Now get some rest, Jason. We’ll need our strength for tomorrow.”

“We’ve had one whole day of rest and the person we are going against doesn’t necessarily scare me,” Jason scoffed through the mind link.

“You will do well to respect the same girl that managed to defeat Drake during the Trials.”

“Drake was attacked out there. You don’t think…”

“I don’t know what to think Jason. I had no idea the Sirius pack was having this much drama brewing. They don’t even need the rogue incident to cause the commotion that could rattle a nation,” Cole replied.

A part of him was worried about the Sirius family.

Unlike the Sirius family, the Lycaon pack had been quiet and healing since the attack on the capital two years ago. The damage caused by the rogues back then was starting to fade. The king did everything in his power to usher in a new age of peace within the Lycaon pack even though the Rogue King was still out there.

Training everyone including civilians so that they could be able to protect themselves and issuing a curfew in the capital. The hunters that protected the capital coordinated with the pack warriors to bolster their defences.

Cole had also visited a number of packs within his kingdom and implemented similar measures to try and raise awareness in Lycaon. This helped his people grow closer to him and trust him more. It was his way of doing everything he could to protect those under his care.

Running an empire was no easy feat. And it was even harder without a Luna.

It had also never happened before. A king was never allowed to take over the throne without having a Luna by his side. The ceremony to declare Cole’s luna was what Katie was going to go through shortly after his coronation.

However, she hadn’t made it that far.

By the time she vanished with the moon goddess, Cole had already been crowned king. That’s how he ended up being one of the first kings of the two empires to take the throne without a mate… in a long time.

Even then, it had happened before.

Long ago, in a time long forgotten. Cole sighed, sleep finally weighing down on his eyes. His eyelids got heavy as he stared at the half-moon in the sky, “My time is up, it seems,” he spoke into the wind. Turning away from the glorious moon in the sky, he said his last words, “Good night, dear Katie.”

Little did he know that his words were carried by the wind.

They soared high aimed at the destination, soaring higher in pursuit of their intended target.

Messages that were carried through the wind were heard by few. A select few… among them, however, was the goddess watching over the world below in a magical pool.

In that same pool, a beautiful girl floated lightly, sending minuscule ripples through the clear water surface. With no sky to reflect, this water surface was clear as glass. All it showed on its clear surface was what the goddess wanted to see.

The goddess floated above the pool, staring at the retreating form of her other Chosen. She’d watched him grow in the past months, watching his steady progress, both physically and emotionally.

“He does this every day,” the goddess muttered to herself, “I’m sure you can hear him.”

The girl she was talking to, however, did not respond to her words. The male god standing on the other side of the pool sighed but continued with his work on the floating girl.

‘Of course, she can hear him. She’s abnormal that way,’ the diligent god of medicine secretly thought to himself.