The Broken Crown

Innocence

Within Evercrest Ridge, rumors spread fast, for Luna Olivia was never one to allow a chance to stir up trouble slip through her fingers. I was constantly filled in on the constant pack drama either from my friends or my own mother from what she had heard at the pack house, the stories having been twisted by the Luna. My parents once told me you can tell much about a person by the type of partner they choose to take on and marry. Alpha Edward always seemed like a strong leader, a man of wisdom, but his one shortcoming was marrying Luna Olivia - a woman who would rather watch a pack member fall victim to her rumors. I used to think it was just the workings of the mate bond, but now as Alpha Edward has shared these false rumors of my pack not answering the call of aid, I have begun to notice that every bit of rumor started or tension between pack members was not caused by Luna Olivia, but Alpha Edward himself.

The silence of the night allows me to pounder the instances of my past, make me reflect upon the pack I was once part of. Many of the men who fought and died when Alpha Vaugh attacked, Terrance once led them as their Gamma. Some of the other pack members who perished alongside their families and friends were people I once knew and grew up with.

Alpha Edward knew who I was since Quinn and Terrance adopted me as their own. They told him the very child who would be residing within his pack under a different name. He had nothing to lose from me being made Alpha of Crimson Lock, for it would mean strong treaties between our strong packs because he was my origional Alpha, yet here we are with false claims tearing our packs apart. Could Alpha Edward have called the attack upon Crimson Lock and killed the Steward's daughter? No one was really fond of Steward Cade, not even most of his own pack members, but I know no one from within Crimson Lock would have called such an attack. Alpha Edward is where I should start my search.

Leaning my back against the cold stone wall, I look up to the painting ahead of me, the ostentatious gold trim around the oil painting only capturing my attention more as it details the joining of elf and wolf in one pack. The elf stepping forward under a haze of silver look to be Keva, for the lavender eyes and silver hair instantly mark her. There are two who step out from the wolf side of the painting, a couple only dressed in simple attire as they carry with them a child. Knowing the truth of this pack, these paintings are so clear to me now, for this painting shows how Zion and Sybil brought their son into the world and took him to Keva, promising him a pack he would one day rule. Since River was a child, he was told all of this would be his, just as any child of an alpha would be told.

The sudden noise from down the opposite end of the hall draws me from my concentration and I rise to my feet, looking down to where the small crowd of elves and wolves of Eternal Shadows disappeared just three hours ago. Everyone dressed in ceremonial attire, they each walked down this hallway and towards the observatory, then past the staircase of it to a corridor I did not notice ever before.

I watch as what once was a stone wall begins to pull open, a light hum sounding in the air as the stone wall appears like a haze. There is some form of magic taking place which isolates a piece of the palace from everyone else and I desperately want to find out what it could be. Quickly, I step out of the hallway and into a sitting room where the fireplace is going out and the curtains are pulled shut. I remain silent as I sit upon a couch, hearing the footsteps go by as their voices are mere whispers in some ancient tongue I cannot decipher.

"Eavesdropping is not a desirable trait in anyone," a voice calls out from the darkness of the room.

I jump in my seat, looking towards the dark corner of the room to see the silhouette of a woman sitting in an armchair with her legs crossed. "Do I know you?" I ask, turning around as I remain seated.

"Perhaps."

"Then you would know who I am and that with Alpha River playing games with his pack members rather than performing his duties as an Alpha to attend council meetings, I have my reasons to be here," I state, keeping my voice steady as I know to stand my ground.