Second Chance Luna
Chapter 79

"Prince Enlil never saw her again," Kleio said. "Records indicate he chased every mention of a silver wolf hoping to replace her but she was a ghost flitting from one battlefield to another. And her words proved correct. The prince never conceived an heir with any of his bed partners. In fact, no Lycan did. And they also lost their strength. The moon no longer enhanced their auras or attributes."

"So sad," Phoebe leaned against Jason as he hugged her close.

"As he neared the end of his life with no heirs in sight Enlil called for a tournament to replace the strongest Lycan to be his successor."

Enlil sipped his glass of ouzo trying to savor the flavor he had always loved but it was a hollow taste. Now it reminded him of her: her pale skin; shimmering silver-gray eyes; and her beast, or wolf. The thought made his beast whimper. It was the only thing it seemed capable of doing even after twenty years. What's more his strength and aura had waned since that day. He could barely muster the energy to shift anymore but he wasn't the only one weakening.

In twenty years not one Lycan pup had been born. Lycans were never very fertile but not one pup in twenty years was unheard of. Making matters worse, vampire attacks were on the rise. They were whittling the away at the Lucan's numbers. There were barely a hundred left.

On the other hand the werewolves, or just wolves, as they called themselves were rising in numbers. The Moon Goddess not only blessed them with speed but also enhanced fertility. In twenty years they had more than quadrupled their numbers. In addition they seemed to have a new ability, telepathy. They called it mind linking, allowing them to communicate and coordinate even over great distance.

On the battlefield their hunting howls preceded their arrival and they swept in like an incoming tide. If one fell under attack and was overwhelmed two or three others would answer its call and come to its aid. When the battle was over the wolves withdrew with the same speed as they arrived barely glancing at the Lycans.

Every battle Enlil strained to glimpse his silver goddess. He followed every rumor of a silver wolf but he never saw her no matter how much he longed for her. And now he felt his end coming. Her words had cut him deep but the truth was settling in his bones. He would never sire an heir but maybe he wouldn't be the last Lycan prince.

He made his way to the arena where twenty warriors were gathered to complete to be his successor. With only a hundred Lycans left twenty was more than he expected. After a few brief words he took his seat and watched the tournament. One warrior in particular soon caught his attention.

Rather short for a Lycan warrior, he was fast taking out his opponents quickly and decisively. Enlil was not surprised when the warrior ended up in the finals and even less surprised when he won. While the others licked their wounds Enlil approached the victor. "That was an amazing show of..." Enlil's voice trailed off as he caught the faint spicy-sweet smell of fennel.

The warrior turned and Enlil found himself staring into very familiar silver-gray eyes. His brow furrowed in confusion. Was he finally going insane?

"Hello, your Highness," the warrior said, "my mother sends her regards."

"... Your mother?"

"After you rejected her she found her second chance mate," the warrior told him. "But you wouldn't know anything about the Goddess's gifts." "Kirke..." Enlil whispered the name he often cried out in his sleep.

The warrior smirked turning toward the exit.

"W-wait."

The warrior paused with a sneer, "You never deserved her. I only came here to keep her promise. You will be the last Lycan prince."

***

"So she found her second chance mate and had pups," Phoebe smiled softly. "But I still don't understand how silver wolves become a harbinger of chaos."

"Well, that is a trick of history," Kleio said. "Lycan's were already weakening and her appearance only hastened their demise but it nonetheless set it in stone. And it wasn't just her."

"There are other silver wolves?"

"One other. You are only the third silver wolf to exist," Kleio said. "The second silver wolf appeared a few thousand years after the first. At the time wolves kept to their own packs and had no central leadership. Vampires were less of a threat but still something for us to fear. When werewolves weren't fighting them they were declaring war on each other. She helped organize the packs under a hierarchy which eventually led to the formation of the royal pack. Of course, she nearly caused a war to do so but there are only a few records from that time so her story is rather incomplete."

Phoebe sighed. So she was only the third silver wolf? Were they really so rare?

"From what I've been able to gather silver wolves appear when the Moon Goddess wishes to correct us," Kleio said, "Kirke appeared when the Lycans were practically killing themselves off. Eris appeared when we were poised at each other's throats fighting for dominance."

"So what about now?" Phoebe asked. "What am I supposed to be doing?"

"That I can't tell you," Kleio said, "although I do have a thought. We all know how many wolves are taking chosen mates instead of their fated ones as well as the rise in rogue attacks. Since silver wolves appear in times of turmoil I'd say one or both of those issues is why you have appeared now."

Jason's embrace tightened as he growled at the thought of Phoebe not being his mate.

"I mean, in addition to your mate, of course," Kleio chuckled.

Phoebe pondered everything she had learned. Yes, she supposed she could see why silver wolves were labeled agents of upheaval if their emergence brought such drastic change. But it seemed chaos already existed before they appeared. In fact, it seemed silver wolves brought things back into balance. Why then were they known as chaos bringers?

'Not a clue,' Máni stirred from her own contemplation.

'Are you sure you don't have an idea?'

'Not my area.

'Is there anything you do know?"

'Our time is nearly here.

'Time for us to do what?'

'I'm not sure.' 'Máni.

'It's not like I have all the answers. It's just a feeling I have, like when I cautioned against showing ourselves in our old pack. It's not like I knew the royal family would react that way when we showed ourselves!

'I wonder why the king hates us so much!

'Maybe our new friend knows?'

"Do you have any idea why the king is so vindictive toward me?" Phoebe asked. "If a silver wolf established the royal family wouldn't he be grateful?"

"That's a good question," Kleio agreed. "I don't have an answer for that."

Phoebe sighed but she supposed she could hardly expect less. The situation seemed a lot more complicated now than when she didn't know anything. Jason nuzzled her sensing her disquiet. He was desperate to reassure her. They would replace their answers together. She smiled at him allowing his comfort to ease her worries. That's right. She wasn't alone. They would be together, always. That was why Máni waited so long to reveal herself. But what did the rest of it mean? How was she supposed to know what to do? "Can I ask you some questions?" Kleio asked.

"Of course," Phoebe nodded.

"Your wolf, what is she like? I mean, is she like other wolves?"

"I'm not sure how to answer that," Phoebe said, "she's the only wolf I have. If you want to know if she is some great mystical sage, no. I'd say she has a greater connection to other wolves, like how I can tell rejected wolves, even years afterwards. In fact, she seems to have a great concern for rejected wolves but I don't know if it's because if that is part of her purpose or because we were rejected."

"Why assume it's one or the other?" Kleio asked. "If you and your wolf are here for a purpose then it stands to reason all of your experiences contribute to it in some way."

Phoebe considered that. She supposed she was thinking about it the wrong way. Máni described their rejection as a trial to prove themselves worthy but maybe it was an experience for them to gain empathy and wisdom.

"So, safe to assume the Goddess doesn't speak to you?" Kleio said with a note of disappointment.

"I'm afraid not," Phoebe shook her head. Sometimes Máni had surprising insights but nothing that pointed to direct communication.

'Should we tell her about your resistance to silver and wolfsbane?'

'No. Definitely not.'

'You don't trust her?'

'I don't think she is malicious but I don't think she'll keep this information to herself and the less others know about us, the better! 'Then telling her about our pup is definitely out.

'Definitely."

'Can you feel it yet?'

'Not just yet.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give you more answers," Kleio said after a moment.

"It's all right. It's more information than we had but it does raise the question why none of this is in our history books," Phoebe said.

"Actually, I can tell you that," Kleio announced. "Several generations ago the king ordered all history of silver wolves destroyed and purged all books mentioning them. New Moon hid copies and prevented them from being destroyed. Knowledge and history is our pack's preview."

Jason and Phoebe shared a confused look. Just what was the royal family trying to hide?