Chapter 70
“This is not how I imagined it,” Savvy let out a littleugh as Elene tried to open an old chest in her
room, which, luckily, wasn’t touched by the recent fire.
The Northern Princess tried key after key to unlock one of her secret treasures. “I figured that it would
be best if I didn’t tell anyone of my thoughts until just a few hours were left before the event. After how
things wentst time, there were no illusions about making any announcements,” she confessed, finally
finding the right key and opening the lid. “Ah, here it is!” she gasped in delight as her trembling fingers
brushed over the shimmering pale blue fabric. The Princess’ smile faded, and her eyes glistened as a
few tears formed in them. She was supposed to be the one to wear this dress on her wedding day. Her
mother’s dress that was passed from one Luna of the
North to another for generations.
However, this felt right.
It was right.
Because Elene was simply a princess, and Savannah was her Queen now. There was no time to shop
for designer gowns, and there wasn’t a more perfect dress for the asion. Now that Elene looked at
it, she knew that this dress belonged to her brother’s Luna. After how Bjorn twisted everything again,
they had to prove to the people of the North, who were still forn between two possible kings, That they
were the real deal. Kai and Savvy. They were the true King and Queen of the North, and they did not
have anypetition. They were the ones whom people should follow into the battle and to whose
heirs they would one day bow their heads.
ude, Chloe and Kyle were already working, spreading the videos from the sh card that ude
managed to bring back from the white bears. They were already giving a different narrative to the
recent events, but a final blow was required.
The idea struck Elene instantly when she heard that monster’s words. Bjorn called her brother a
walking corpse who conspired with demons and made a fatal mistake by doing so because now they
could prove once and for all who was the main liar and maniptor in this story. Elene remembered
how her eyes met with Riannon’s when they watched the video on the tablet. Wasn’t it just perfect?
Bjorn has given them a gift they couldn’t have been dreaming of receiving.
Elene knew that the Western Luna somehow was aware of what she was thinking. She hated to admit
that, but in the past few days, she grew to understand one thing she liked Riannon. A part of her still
hated herself for liking that woman, but it was hard to deny that she now understood what all the fuss
was about. It was impossible not to like her, considering she obviously meant well and always found a
good word even for her. So, Elene made the only right decision and chose to leave the past behind.
She had her chance with Gideon. She really did. When She came to visit Kai during his Alpha training,
Gideon was nice to her. He was talking to her, epting her attention, and it could grow into anything if
she were smart about it. Unfortunately, she wasn’t, and she had realised it only recently. When Amarok
and the others left to rescue Savannah, Elene got to work. L dealt with the warriors, and she got
to the information war. She knew that this was one crucial piece they would have to handle cautiously,
and they would have to show Bjorn in his true light sooner orter. She was checking their system for
any videos from the day Bjorn abducted Savvy, hoping to make apelling short film about his lies.
Then she decided to go further and dig for anything else she could use about him back from the Luna
Trials. And that was when she encountered something she did not expect. It was hidden in a separate
file, and she stopped breathing when she saw the words “Penelope’s Death”.
They told her that there was no footage of that, but there it was right before her eyes.
At first, Elene did not want to watch her beloved friend being ughtered by a monster. Butter… after
biting her nails way too many times and pacing around the room, she decided to rip the bandage off.
She had to see it. She had to know. This decision was supposed to help her and fuel her for the current
war with their enemies, but she couldn’t even imagine what she would actually see. She wanted to hear
Penelope’sst words during herst moments alive, and she heard more than she counted on. What
her best friend said about her was an eye-opener, and for a few seconds there, the Northern Princess
didn’t know how to react. The Penelope she saw on the screen was spiteful, arrogant and cruel. It
wasn’t her best friend at all. Or was it?
She never doubted anything that Penelope told her, but after hearing what her dear friend really
thought about her, how she belittled her and was annoyed at the mere mention of Elene’s name, she
started questioning everything. That fateful day when Gideon stopped talking to her once and for all
came to her mind as well.
That day Elene and Penelope came to the Lycan practise field and found Gideon and an Alpha she-
wolf who was actively flirting with him. It was just some werewolf, and she couldn’t be a real
competition for a Princess, but she sure did her best to seduce the Western Lycan King. She asked
Gideon to show her some battle moves, and while he was doing just that, she tried to touch him or
showcase her impressive curves, which Elene herself did not possess. The whole thing was annoying,
to say the least.
“You’re not going to leave it like this?” Penelope whispered into her ear in her usual innocent tone.
“He has just be the Lycan King,” Elene shrugged his shoulders. “Women will always be around
him.”
“It’s one thing to be around him and another to be all over him.” Penelope yed with her shiny ck
hair, tossing it to the back when she was done. “But he is looking for a Luna now. And you know the
qualities of a good Luna. A real Luna should be fierce and domineering. She can’t let some she wolf
touch her man like that. She would put the brat in her ce to demonstrate who is the real deal!”
“As a royal, I have to disagree,” Elene simply rolled her eyes at that. “We need to know when to act.”
“Fine,” Penelope giggled, but that giggle seemed cold and… cruel. “Follow the etiquette while that she
wolf arouses his… instincts.
Elene looked at the girl again. She was already bending right in front of Gideon, and his gaze grazed
over her bottom at full disy. It was such a basic thing to do, but she couldn’t help and ignore a spark
of male interest in his eyes. The girl said something, and heughed. All while she watched them both
from the top of the stairs near the spectators’ seats.
Soon he left, and the werewolf girl turned to give her a sneer. She knew the whole time that the
Northern Princess was watching.
“That b*tch!” Penelope hissed. “Seriously, El. You can’t let her get away with it!”
The said girl was next to them in seconds, meeting Elene’s gaze with an ominous re..
“Enjoyed the show?” she asked arrogantly, making the princess’ blood boil. “I can give you a master
ss on how to do it, Your Highness! You’ve been around him for weeks and barely had any results.
Such a pity.” She was clearly mocking her, and Elene raised her chin up high to give her a cold
northern stare.
“It’s funny how you think you can teach me anything.” the princess smirked.
“One word of hers and your whole pack would be wiped,” Penelope interjected, crossing her arms on
her chest.
“Is that so?” The girl raised her brow. “She doesn’t look so terrifying with those lousy snacks in her
hands.”
That was too much, and Penelope’s voice rang in her mind through their link, “Show her now or regret
saying nothing and losing to her until yourst day!”
Elene handed her friend the lunch box with Gideon’s favourite sandwiches she made with her own
hands. Making those was her way of showing him how much she cared. Usually, royals did not cook,
but in this establishment, all shifters were required to cater to their own needs as a way of teaching
them to be more independent. And Elene grabbed this opportunity. Someoneughing at her sincere
attempt along with Penelope’s whispers made her angry.
“Is this terrifying enough for you?” she asked with an arched brow and pushed the snarky girl lightly.
“Remember that Gideon
Stormhold is minel”
It was supposed to be a light demonstration. Only that she forgot the difference in strength between the
royal lycans and simple werewolves. The girl’s eyes widened as she flew down the stairs of the
stadium andnded in the dirt at the very bottom.
“What happened?” Gideon came back for some reason at the worst time possible, shocked by the
scene before his eyes. He helped
the she wolf to stand up, and she said something to him that Elene couldn’t hear. A bad feeling rose in
the pit of her stomach.
“It was an ident!” The Princess was next to the two of them in seconds and noticed how Gideon
clenched his lips tightly. As if…. he did not believe her but had to tolerate her. “She was-
“I understand,” he told her politely and lifted the other girl in his arms. “Don’t worry, Princess Elene. I
will take her to the infirmary.”
“I’ll go with you!” she suggested as Penelope gave her the box she was holding back. “I prepared
some-
“No need,” he replied and left without sparing her another nce.
She did not see him talking to that girl anymore, but at the same time, their own conversations were
limited to a few brief words required by the royal protocol and nothing more. Kai found her crying once,
and she told him about her feelings for the Western King. Her brother got tense but offered her hand in
marriage to Gideon nheless. However, when a rejection letter came, things between the two
kingdoms that were never too friendly only turned for the worse.
There were many other moments with Penelope that she now questioned, and sadly, she realised that
she had never had the friend she imagined.
Nevertheless, there was another realisation. Savvy knew all that and never told her during her
mourning. She could have used Penelope’s speech to gain points for herself, but she chose to keep
this information away so as not to hurt her. Life had peculiar ways of
showing her what was really important, and although Pen was her fake friend, she now knew that
Savannah was a real one. They would need time to get to know each other better and move on from
the Luna Trials, but… there was definitely something good there, something worth exploring.
“Are you sure?” Savannah asked when Elene stretched her hands with her mother’s wedding and
coronation ceremony dress. The
Lycans always celebrated both events together. “I know what it means to you. I mean, Kai told me–
“I have never been so sure about anything in my life,” Elene nodded with a timid smile, blinking her
tears away. “You will look beautiful in this, Savannah, and everyone will recognise it. It’s the Queen’s
dress, and now it means that it’s yours.”
She helped Savvy into the dress and pinned it at the back for her, noting that the seamstress would
have to make a few urgent adjustments.
Savannah gasped when she saw herself in the mirror. She saw this dress in one of the books she had
read during the Luna Trials.
They said that each Luna made her own adjustments to it. Initially, she nned to take just a few
embellishments from it and add them to the dress of her choice. However, now that she was looking at
herself in the mirror, she knew that this dress was the one. There could be no other gown for her in the
whole wide world.
Long off-shoulder sleeves and a sculptured corset gave her a regal look, while the pale blue silvery
fabric cascaded down to the marble floor, creating a magnificent ball gown. An intricate design of silver
sequins and beads was adorning the corset and the skirt, and only when taking a closer look did Savvy
realise that the pattern reminded her of the northern mountains and some of the ancient symbols she
saw back in the cave and the shrine. It was a masterpiece! A subtle shine emanated from the sequins,
making them look like pieces of ice or maybe the crystals from that cave Kai once took her in. It was
indeed something a Northern Queen should wear. There was a beautiful North Star brooch at the top of
the corset, right in the centre of her chest, and Savannah unpinned it, noticing how Elene’s lips parted.
“Here,” she handed her the brooch. “I want you to have it for when your dayes.”
“Savvy, you don’t have to-“The Princess tried to protest, but it did not work.
? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org.
“I know I don’t have to, but I want to. It will suit you, Princess of the North,” she smiled and then turned
back to the mirror. “Besides,
I already have a ne and a huge shining North Star mark. I think they are statement enough.”
Elene traced her fingers over the cold metal with a smile. It was nice that a part of this dress would still
belong to her. Something that was her mother’s would be with her on her big day. If it ever happened,
of course. She was about to stop believing in it.
“Oh, there is also the veil!” Elene remembered suddenly and went back to the chest, producing the
most gorgeous tulle with silver north stars embroidered all over it.
“It’s gorgeous,” Savvy covered her mouth with her delicate palm and tried not to cry as Elene attached
the veil to her hair.
“It’s perfect on you!” the Northern Princess smiled. “Are you at all nervous? About the whole
wedding/coronation thing?”
“No,” Savannah did not hesitate with her answer. “How could I be? Kai is the one for me, you know. I
love him, and there is not a -single bit of doubt in my heart. If anything, I can’t wait to be done with it!
The sooner we are married and crowned together, the better.”
Elene smiled at her sister-inw. It was the perfect response, and she was so happy for them, but a
part of her felt a little prickle of pain. Everyone around her was finding their mates and experiencing this
huge unconditional love. Everyone but her. Even that white bear traitor Brigit was mated to Aspen and
dared to throw this kind of blessing away, but Elene still had no one. It did not seem. particrly fair,
and she started to get worried that maybe it was her punishment for all her past mistakes? Yes,
Penelope was feeding her ideas, but she was the one to follow and act on them. The responsibility was
hers. Was she punished for it? Or maybe it was as simple as her mate never existed because she
wasn’t worthy in the first ce?
“El,” Savannah turned to face her with an understanding smile. “You know, just a few months ago, I
was helping Riannon into her coronation dress while my own heart was broken by my first mate. I
thought there was no hope for me, and this was it. And then…. couple of monthster, I went for the
North, thinking that it was the worst thing that could happen to me. I really thought I was sacrificing
myself for my people!” She chuckled, and Elene snorted, her eyes watery. “What I am trying to say is
life is unpredictable, and you may not know it now, but the experience you had… It was necessary. For
something bigger and better. You’ll see.”
“Oh, Sawy,” Elene pulled the other woman into a tight hug, “I always knew I wanted a sister! And finally,
Kai gave me one!”
It was the truth, and for now, it was enough for the Princess of The North.
Savannah thought that some of the northern traditions had to be changed! They couldn’t be serious
with all that stuff! Who in their right mind was marrying in the mountains during night-time?
However, she wasn’t going toin. Not anymore. Not after she lost him and got him back.
“We can still turn and go back home,” Gideon told her as he offered her his hand in the dark cave
where only rare crystals were glowing in the darkness. “Just saying.”
“A bit toote for that, don’t you think?” Sawy giggled, happier than appropriate. In the morning, the war
would start, and they would all have to fight. She had no right to be this excited now. None of them had,
but dying or losing everyone they cared about made them look at life from a different angle.
“You mean the marks?” Her brother rolled his eyes. “Big deal! I’d whisk you back home in an instant if
you give me a signal. So, whenever you are ready, sis.”
“I wasn’t talking about the marks,” Savvy let out augh that echoed through the cave walls, and now
he looked at her with an arched brow. “I was talking about your niece or nephew, silly!”
“What did you “Gideon’s breath hitched, but this was when Zara entered the cave.
“The time hase!” she announced, ignoring her King’s startled face. “The aurora has started!”