PREQUEL: Royal Ancestors
Prologue

The year is 1920

She crept through the halls of the castle, her heels echoing off the large stones that made up the floor and the sound traveling through up the cathedral ceilings. Her gown and cape made of some sort of sheer fabric in varying shades of blue fanned out from behind her and cascaded down her body like a roaring waterfall. Her dark brown hair was stuffed up in the hood of her cloak and her headband crown was secured in place, glistening from the warm candle lights all around her.

She was holding a lit candelabro which was casting shadows down the lonely hallway. There were arched windows all around her letting in the dim sunlight from outside. It nearly always rained inside the realm, the sun almost constantly covered up by the fluffy gray clouds. As she ran, her swollen breasts bounced bruisingly and her wounds, which had yet to heal, ached and oozed with fresh blood. In her free hand was a swaddle of blankets which she clutched to her chest like her life depended on it.

“Your highness!” A familiar voice whispered and she waved the candelabro in the direction that it came from.

“Joanna!” The woman gasped, sighing in relief as she recognized the mate of one of the members of her royal guard.

“Come quickly.” Joanna waved her hand fiercely, beckoning the woman into a darkened hallway.

“Where are the others?” The woman asked.

“They are safe. Elisa, Marybelle, and Noelle have the children and are making their escape now. I was hoping to replace you and Austin.” Joanna looked around the woman, trying to locate her young son.

“Austin….” The woman sobbed, covering her mouth to muffle the noise, “Ember is our only hope.” She finally said, controlling her emotions.

“Ember?” Joanna asked.

The woman pulled the blanket from her chest and pulled at the blankets until the pink, squishy face of her newborn daughter was revealed. Joanna gasped,

“You had the child?”

“Yes but it's all been in secret. Arlo and I suspected that someone was planning to move against the crown so we kept the pregnancy and her birth a secret. She’s the only help our realm has. You must take her.” The woman shoved the bundle of blankets in Joanna’s arms.

“Your highness, you have to come!” Joanna tried to grab the woman’s hand but she refused.

“No, I have to give you all time to escape. They are after me and will follow my scent. My wounds are still bleeding, they will replace me easily. I will lead them away from the tunnels while you make your escape. Please, Joanna, keep my daughter safe. She’s the future of the werewolves.” The woman begged Joanna, gripping her hand tightly in hers.

“Your highness….Beatrice.” The woman’s name caught in Joanna’s throat as her eyes began to water,

Beatrice smiled and hugged Joanna before kissing her daughter’s forehead.

“It’s okay, Joanna, I’ll be reunited with Arlo again soon. We’ll be together as we are meant to be and our daughter will be free. One day, we will all rise up again and take back what is ours. The Moon Goddess will show us kindness and provide us with our revenge.” Beatrice whispered in Joanna’s ear, giving her one last hug.

“We will raise the princess as you and the king would, your grace.” Joanna promised.

“No, you must not tell her where she comes from. She must not know that she’s the princess and she must not know the names of her parents. You must take her somewhere that she’ll be safe and protected. Find a loving set of parents for her and leave her with them with one simple direction, to love and protect the baby. Do you understand me, Joanna?” Beatrice asked sternly.

Joanna didn’t understand. She didn’t understand why this child shouldn’t be raised as the princess she was or why she couldn’t know her parents. But, she knew better than to question her courageous queen and so she nodded.

“I understand and I promise.” She vowed.

“Now, you must go, quickly.” Beatrice said, looking down at her baby one last time before pushing Joanna away.

Joanna ran away from her queen before she could shed a tear, rushing through the corridors of the castle and towards the secret door to the underground tunnels. She had smartly traded out her high heels for a pair of flats so she could make a quiet escape through the castle. She was wearing a heavy cloak to protect her from the chilly wind that was raging outside and a heavy wool gown that was gray to match her environment.

She tucked the bundle of blankets that contained the princess protectively against her chest as she ran careful to stay hidden in the shadows of the corridors. Mercifully, she made it to the secret entrance without being spotted. Located inside one of the rarely used parlor rooms was a bookshelf that opened with the pull of a strategically placed book to reveal an access point to the underground tunnel system. Joanna slipped inside and quietly shut the bookcase door behind her.

Now enclosed in darkness, she sucked in a breath and held it as her eyes began to adjust. When she was sure that she was alone, she released the breath and continued through the damp tunnels. She saw light finally appearing at the end and she knew she was nearing the grounds located just behind the castle.

At the end of the tunnel would either be her friends, their children, and her own son or soldiers waiting to kill her. She had no choice now but to go forward with her plan and run towards the light. She held back a scream as she stumbled out of the rocky tunnel and across the damp grass.

“Joanna!” A woman gasped, grabbing Joanna’s arm so she wouldn’t fall, “Did you replace the queen?”

It was Noelle who steadied Joanna, her eyes wide as she looked around.

“I did. She’s leading the invaders away so we may escape.” Joanna explained.

“What? Why did she not come with you?” Noelle asked,

I revealed the baby in my arms.

“The queen had her baby, Princess Ember. She wants us to run with her, to keep her safe, to keep all of our children safe. She said that they are the future of the realm now.” Joanna tried to make sense of what the queen had told her, but it was difficult to rationalize it all.

“Nevermind. We have to take the distraction and run while we can.” Noelle sighed, grabbing Joanna’s hand and dragging her off towards the woods.

Inside the tree line were Elisa and Marybelle along with our four children, Todd, Phillip, Riley, and Samuel.

“We have to run. Now.” Noelle told the others, taking her 6-year-old son, Samuel’s hand.

Elisa, whose son Phillip was two, and Marybelle, whose son Riley was four, looked at Joanna in shock as she cradled a baby that wasn’t hers. Her infant son, Todd, was being held by Marybelle. Joanna hurried to Marybelle’s side to make sure that her baby was safe.

“We are charged with the safety of the princess, the heir to the realm, Ember. Our escape is no longer optional, it is required of us by our Queen.” Joanna said with a strength she didn’t know that she possessed.

“Then, we shall run.” Marybelle said, clutching Todd closely to her chest and gripping Riley’s hand.

The four women, the mates to the royal guard, took off running through the woods. They had all dressed warmly and in their most comfortable shoes so they could move with haste. They knew these woods better than anyone, thanks to their mates who ensured that they knew every possible escape route from the realm for their safety.

They knew that miles away from the castle and deep inside the Golden Woods was a portal. A portal that would lead them out of the werewolf realm and into the safety of the human realm. Once inside the human realm, they would locate a safehouse not far from the portal in a state called Oregon. The portal was designed to only be used in an emergency and only once. After it was used, the portal would implode within itself and seal off the realm.

“Joanna!” A voice called through the woods and the sounds of howling filled the forest air.

“Faster!” Noelle yelled and the girls ran as fast as they could in the direction of the portal.