Chapter 200

Maeve’s POV

10 years later.

I pinned my red locks away from my face and brushed the stray strands off my shoulders, giving myself one last look in the mirror. A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts and I turned in the direction of the door, inviting whoever it was to enter.

“Your Majesty, they will be here soon,” my handmaiden, Maggie, said with a kind smile as she took me in. “You are the most beautiful, my lady.”

I smiled at her.

“What have I told you about that title, Maggie?” I asked her pointedly.

Her cheeks flushed.

“I know, but sometimes the title is well deserved,” she told me with a wink as she stepped further into the room. “But seriously, time has not aged you a single second. You still look as vibrant as you did in your 20s, Maeve.”

“You flatter me,” I told her teasingly, giving myself one more look. I couldn’t believe I spent most of my life hiding this red hair when it ended up being one of my favorite features. I brushed my fingers through the soft strands and smiled softly. “Are the children ready?” I asked, turning to face her.

She nodded.

“Prince Asher is out back with some of the gammas for his morning training,” she told me. “The twins, Eloise and Emalyn, are finishing their breakfast. And lastly, Prince Jack is with the King.”

I nodded, smiling at the thought of my husband bonding without a 2-year-old son.

Eloise and Emalyn are 7 years old and Asher is 10 years old, they are a bit more independent.

“Alright, I suppose I’ll down and join the girls,” I told Maggie as I walked past her and down the stairs.

She followed after me as we entered the dining hall and I saw my two blonde-haired beauties seated at the dining table, one with pigtails and the other with a low pony, both in adorable little dresses and stockings, eating the breakfast the kitchen staff prepared for them.

“Mommy,” Eloise greeted with a bright smile. “You look beautiful today; is it for Auntie and Uncle?”

I nodded.

“I’m just excited to see them,” I confessed. “Just like you are excited to see your cousins.”

I sat with them at the table while breakfast was served to me without having to be asked; out of all the years I’ve lived here and been the Luna Queen, I was never going to get used to that. Maggie also joined us for breakfast because I would never have her stand in the corner and watch me eat without inviting her to eat as well.

The door to the dining hall opened and I was filled with the familiar scent of my mate.

“Daddy!” The twins cooed at the same time as Xaden stepped into the room, holding Jack close to him.

I smiled up at him as he bent and pressed his lips to mine in a tender and sweet kiss. He pulled back quickly when he heard the girls making yuck sounds and it made us both laugh. I smiled at Jack who was reaching his little arms out for me to take him, and I happily grabbed him, placing him on my lap.

“Did either of you eat?” I asked as I bounced Jack on my lap.

“We ate earlier,” Xaden told me. “Are you almost ready? They are going to be here any minute.”

As if on cue, I could hear a commotion at the front of the palace and my body tensed. I looked up at Xaden whose eyes had lit up and a smile spread across his lips. He was just as excited to see his family as I was.

“I guess that means they are here,” I said, taking one last bite and standing to my feet with Jack in my arms.

“Yay!” The girls cheered as they too got up.

“Can you girls go find Asher? I think he’s out back training still,” I asked them.

They both nodded and ran off in the direction of the back. Xadne offered me his hand, so I held Jack with one arm and wrapped my arm through Xaden’s with the other as he guided me out of the dining hall and toward the main foyer of the palace.

The doors were already opened in preparation for their arrival. It didn’t take long for a very pregnant Charlotte to enter the foyer, a wide grin on her face when she saw us.

“I’m so happy to see you!” She cooed as she rushed towards us. “I’ve missed you both so much.”

Xaden was the first to hug her, careful not to bump her belly too much.

“Charlotte, you look great,” he told his little sister.

“You are glowing. Must be the pregnancy,” I teased, making her chuckle.

A second later, a young 5-year-old girl walked into the front foyer along with Nicholas, who was also carrying a ton of bags.

“We have people who can carry those. Did you forget, Alpha?” Xaden teased, motioning for one of his maids to collect the bags.

“Never forget the roots, Your Majesty,” he said with a sly grin.

“Hello, Addy,” I said with a fond smile at their 5-year-old daughter.

Addy grinned up at me.

“Hi, Auntie,” she said, giving me a quick hug.

“Addy!” Eloise cooed as she rushed towards her favorite cousin and best friend.

Addy chuckled and met Eloise the rest of the way, the girls hugging as if they hadn’t seen each other in years.

“Knock Knock,” I heard a familiar voice at the doorway.

I turned and smiled when I saw my sister, Sarah, walking through the doorway with her mate, and Xaden’s brother, Henry in tow. Sarah and I didn’t always have a good relationship, but after the war with the bears, and her finding her mate, our relationship grew a lot stronger and better. She realized, after her mother, Victoria, tried to sell her off to the bears in order to save her own life, that she really didn’t have family that cared about her as much as she thought.

Their son Matt ran in behind them like the small devil child he was and immediately went to Lucas, who was pretty much the only one who could tolerate him. Their daughter, Sasha, walked in next and went to Emalyn who cooed upon seeing her.

I smiled as the children all paired off with their favorite cousins and took off somewhere in the palace.

“Glad to see you’re still in one piece,” Xaden said, shaking Henry’s hand.

Henry grinned.

“Could say the same about you,” he simply replied. “I only have to run Burton’s old pack; you have to run the entire Kingdom.”

“Only for now,” Xaden reminded him; he turned and spotted Asher standing off in the distance, watching everyone with curious eyes. His eyes were like no other; they were green with black swirls; they were like marbles and incredibly beautiful. His dark hair was long enough that I could tie it into a ponytail.

Asher always kept to himself, even when he was younger. He faced a hell of a lot of power, and he worried he would hurt somebody with it. He has cufflinks that keep his powers to a minimum, but he is still very powerful, and anybody can tell from just looking at him.

“He will need proper training you know, and I don’t mean royal training,” Henry pointed out; he was talking about magic, and we knew this already, but it wasn’t something either of us wanted to face just yet.

Xaden nodded and then glanced at me, I bit my lower lip, glancing at the ground.

Xaden had mentioned summoning Athena and her Coven. She was the leader of the Red Oak tribe now and Mirage was her second in command.

“Is Lucas and Mia coming?” Charlotte asked as she reappeared, her hand entwined with Nicholas as she pulled him along with her.

“Yeah, but they said they were running a little late,” Xaden replied. “I can’t imagine the trip is easy; they live in the Vixen territory after all.”

“Still can’t believe Lucas is their King,” Henry laughed, shaking his head. “Never would have thought.”

“What did you think would happen after he married, their princess?” I asked teasingly. “It was written in the stars from the very beginning.”

“He’s just jealous, don’t mind him,” Sarah said, kissing his cheek gently.

A footstep sounded down the corridor and soon, someone was entering the foyer. I looked up to see former Queen Leonora enter; she still lived in the place, though she kept to herself mostly.

“Packs are starting to gather in the Capital center. We should get going,” she announced.

“But not everybody is here yet,” I said with a frown.

She gave me a small smile.

“The rest will meet us there,” she assured me.

I nodded and, after gathering up all the children, we went straight to the Capital Center. It was so crowded and a bit overwhelming, but it was gorgeous with all the lights and the decorations.

As we approached, all heads turned towards us, bowing in respect as the royal family made their way through and towards the podium where the missing puzzle stood.

“Eric…” I said with a small smile. “You made it.”

“Do you really think I’d miss this?” He asked. “You’d never be able to keep me away. Besides, I’m representing my people.”

My smile grew as I hugged him tightly.

Eric did some time in the Capital prison, but he was only locked away for a couple of years before being released. He gladly did his time to make up for the crimes he had done. Once he got out, he completely turned his life around. He not only helped to rebuild our nation after the bears and the witches attacked the werewolf kingdom, but he also became the prime leader for humans and witches. The world is starting to repopulate humans and creating more breeds of witches.

Though they are still a small population, they are continuing to grow every year and Eric remains by their side, supporting and protecting.

It didn’t take long for Lucas and Mia to join the crowd as well, both breathless from running. We all chuckled at the sight of them.

Everyone was given a floating lantern and as the sun completely set, Xaden and I stood at the podium, staring around at the crowd, a mix of humans, witches, vixens, and werewolves.

Xaden started off with his speech as the Alpha King, getting their attention and gaining their respect with ease. He was the kind of King that everyone respected and looked up to, including his children. Then he turned to me and gave me a warm smile.

“Now, your Luna Queen would like to have a few words as well.”

I too prepared my own little speech, and I spoke confidently to the crowd as I did before.

I ended the speech with, “Though there were many lives lost… they will never be forgotten, and these lanterns represent each life that was taken over the years, either by the former Alpha King himself or by the bears.”

The lanterns had the names of those deceased on them, created by Leonora herself.

With my speech wrapped up, Xaden and I were the first to release the lanterns into the sky, then the royal family followed our lead. Soon, everybody was releasing their lantern, watching them as they floated into the sky, lighting it up like stars.

Xaden wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close as we watched the lanterns dance along the starry sky.

“You know what I just realized?” He asked, his tone low and for my ears alone.

“What?”

He smiled.

“I realized that you’ve always been a hidden Luna Queen,” he said, nudging me gently. “I knew you always had it in you.”

My heart warmed as I gazed up at the sky, watching as the lanterns disappeared across the horizon.

I snuggled against my mate as he wrapped his arms around me, we watched the lanterns for a bit, and then we watched our children. I smiled when I saw our family gathered and running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

“Are you happy?” Xaden asked, kissing my temple.

I nodded.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been happier,” I whispered in return.

“Me neither,” he admitted.

With those words in the air, Xaden and I joined the rest of our family.

The End