The Alpha King's Princess
The Alpha King’s Princess – Chapter 23

I couldn’t go back to sleep after that. I waited all night hoping that Candido would come the way he usually did when I had a nightmare. He always knew when I had a nightmare, but he didn’t come.

When morning came, I dragged myself out of bed and down the stairs. Allen greeted me stiffly, but I had a feeling why. Candido hadn’t come home last night.

He’d stayed at the Red Moon Pack. Whether that meant he was in a guest room or in bed with Sibyl, I didn’t know. I forced myself to eat breakfast and headed out with Team Gamma-2 to school. I got out of the car, hoping not to be bothered. Most people didn’t seem to notice I was in a dark mood, too busy commenting on my change of clothing or the latest rumor they heard.

I trudged towards my first class. Bella walked out of the classroom and froze in the doorway. She went pale, scowled, and stormed off down the hallway as if I was going to chase her.

“Hey, you,” Claire said, coming up to me. She put her arm around my neck and frowned. “You look exhausted. Is everything okay?”

I nodded not really wanting to talk about it.

“Is that her?” I turned my head towards the person who seemed to be whispering about me. “Is that really what Francium’s into?”

“She’s pretty… she’s just fat.”

I rolled my eyes and headed into class with Claire. The room was empty, and a piece of paper was taped to the door.

“Guess he wasn’t kidding when he said he was coming down with something,” Claire said and shrugged. “At least that means I can catch up on my homework before my next class!”

She linked arms with me. “To the library!”

I chuckled, letting her pull me to the library. Her chatter died down to a murmur of excitement in the library before she dropped her head and focused on the homework she had to get done in the next hour.

I opened the Moon Goddess book and pulled out my laptop to take notes. The dream was still haunting me, more because I knew how realistic it was. Maybe Candido wouldn’t just turn a blind eye, but Sibyl could be sneaky enough to tell him I returned home on my own. Maybe he would come looking for me, but there was no guarantee that Bella and Lilian wouldn’t have killed me by then.

I had to get rid of her as soon as possible. I started a list of things to investigate about her. Was she a cheater? It was unlikely, given how much she wanted to be queen and at Candido’s side. She might not be that smart, but she was cunning. She wouldn’t risk getting caught in an adultery scandal.

Going after Sibyl personally would require more research than I had access to, besides Candido knew her character already. He spotted her lie immediately and called her out on it. Whatever was keeping them together was bigger than her personality.

Could Candido refuse to name her queen? I didn’t know much about mating and marriage laws, but it was an avenue I needed to investigate.

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like my best chance was to investigate the pack and replace a way to give Candido the connection he wanted without being tied to Sibyl or her family. But that was a bigger problem than I could imagine. I sighed sitting back and looking up at the images on the ceiling. In the center was the image of the sun. The rays of it split the ceiling into four panels. One panel had the full moon against a dark and starry sky. The next was a blue moon. The next was a red moon. The last was a new moon.

I frowned and sat back up before looking down at the Moon Goddess book. Every pack’s name had been chosen for a reason. There was mythology behind each phase that I was certain was tied to why each pack was named as such.

The full moon was the strongest version of the moon, but the Full Moon Pack had only just become the strongest pack.

Or had it?

I opened the book and flipped through the book, hoping for some hint. All I found was information about the temple bestowing the names of packs upon the alphas who established them. The Full Moon pack was the first pack to be established, followed by the Blue Moon, Red Moon, and New Moon Packs.

I shook my head. I had never heard of the Blue Moon Pack. I took note to look more into it and see if Moon Shadow’s hackers could replace anything on it. The entry about the blue moon wasn’t very long, stating that it simply appeared infrequently. It was considered lucky and rare as opposed to the red moon, which was rare and ominous. The new moon signified complete darkness when the Moon Goddess was considered absent or the weakest.

Then a passage caught my eye.

Those pledged to b***d dance under the red moon and draw power from the Moon Goddess’ rage.

I didn’t know much about dancing under the moon, but I had read the phrase pledged to b***d in reference to vampires and the way they created more vampires. It was a religious phrase, but I took note of it.

If the names of the packs, and perhaps the packs themselves, had some connection to vampires, specifically the Red Moon Pack, there was a good chance that it hadn’t died in all these years and it would be a damn good reason to keep Sibyl as far away from Candido as possible.

Did Candido know about the connection between the packs, the phases and the moon, and vampires? Did he know anything about the Blue Moon Pack?

“Hey,” Claire called, “It’s lunch time!”

“Did you finish?”

Claire nodded and threw up her hands. “I can eat lunch in peace.”

I packed up and followed her to the cafeteria.

“Hi, Hedy,” Francium greeted, walking down the hall towards us. “Hi, Claire.”

Finally, there was something else to focus on. I glanced at Claire and grinned.

“Hi, Francium. Want to join us for lunch?”

His eyes brightened. “I’d love to.”

Claire shuffled forward, but I strode ahead of her, making sure that she was beside Francium in line.

“You like literature, right?” I asked.

Francium nodded. “I’m a sucker for good poetry.”

“Really? How do you feel about the classics?” Claire asked. “The Ode of the River? Moonlight Stars?”

I tuned out as soon as Francium started talking about one of them. I remembered reading them in high school, but if I didn’t read another poem for the rest of my life, I’d be too happy.

We settled at a table as Francium’s words caught my attention. “The author of Sounds of Trees is my great grandfather.

Claire’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding? Really?”

He nodded. “On my mother’s side.”

His lips twitched. “You could say that I inherited… most of my genes, good and bad, from her side of the family.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

He chuckled. “The members of the New Moon pack, like my dad and my brothers, are known to be… broad, huge, more into sports and brawn than literature. They’re the types who recover quick and rarely get sick, but my mother’s side of the family is prone to illness.”

I frowned. “Is… your mother the descendant of the New Moon Pack?”

His eyes widened. “Yes. How did you know that?”

It wasn’t full confirmation, but it was certainly a strong reason to believe that the names, the packs, and the families that run them were purposefully chosen and meaningful even now.

“A guess,” I said and smiled. “I thought the New Moon Pack had a lot of arts-based industry.”

“We do,” Francium said.

“I’ve always wanted to go see The Swallow at the New Moon Capital Theater,” Claire said with a dreamy smile. “It’s my favorite play.”

“Really?” Francium asked, his eyes brightening as he turned to his gaze to Claire.

It was amazing to watch them leaning together. Their eyes glinting with excitement as they talked about the play. I smile, eating in silence. Maybe Francium would end up leaving the New Moon Pack to be with Claire in the end. Candido wasn’t huge on plays, but he wouldn’t abuse Francium.

“I see you’re still barely a man,” a gruff voice broke in before someone clapped their hand on Francium’s shoulder. “Wouldn’t you be more interested in hanging out with a guy like me?”

Francium went pale and let out a hiss of pain as the guy’s hand tightened on Francium’s shoulder. I looked up at the guy and frowned. There was a bit of resemblance between him and Francium around his eyes and nose, but between the two of them, I wouldn’t say anyone would choose him over Francium.

This had to be one of Francium’s brothers.