The Dawn of Blood [Sequal of The Rise of the Lycans]

Epilogue

Laura's POV

Three years had passed, and there was nothing but peace, and there had not been any attacks on packs or the vampires' covens. We were relieved because it gave us more time to train and test a unique team of wolves to deal with the Doves, but we still needed more time to be ready. All packs are high on guard and prepared for an attack. Whatever the Doves had planned would be as massive as when they attacked the vampires.

But so far, we were joying the peace, and I was still getting used to my role as moon goddess; I never thought it could be hard work dealing with wolf spirits in the heavens. Luckily, I kept the wolf spirits in check and controlled the wolf selection.

"HADES! Come play!" I chuckled as Chase and Bree, my brother Pete's and Chloe's children, called out Hades, quietly seated under an oak tree, reading a book. Hades glanced at his cousins, then sneered, shook his head, and continued reading his book.

My family decided to visit early because Hades was turning eight years old in a few days, and I still could not believe how time passed and how fast children grew. I was happy my babies were growing, but I wish they stayed for me. "Hades, be nice!" I said in a warning tone.

Hades grew to be a lone wolf; he enjoyed being alone with his books and played his piano and violin when he wanted to refresh his mind. He goes out for strolls in gardens and still hates being followed by guards, but he has learned to ignore them as much as possible. But other than that, he was my pup.

"Artemis! Lucina! Stop pulling your shoes off!" I called out at the two mischievous twins seated in the sandbox.

"No, Luc, take your shoes off," Artemis said to her twin sister while she was still pulling her shoes, trying to take them off.

"Art, you are taking the shoe off!" Lucina whined back at her sister, and I chuckled at the two; they both look identical, especially with their greenish/grey eye colour and also their personalities because they both like joking around by mocking and screaming to get a reaction from people everywhere who would think they are in trouble. But the only difference one can use to tell the girls apart was their hair; Lucina had silver blonde hair, whilst Artemis had a dark shade of grey hair.

I remember one time we had a new nanny, and she was still getting used to the twins, and the girls noticed that. One day, when their nanny called them out and pointed at them, they shook their heads and told her that she was wrong: Artemis was Lucina, and Lucina was Artemis. When Nate and I found out, we laughed but told the girls they shouldn't do that. But those two never stopped, especially when it came to strangers; they would switch names and poke fun at the stranger.

I heard chuckling coming towards me; I glanced over to see Chloe approaching the table, "Twins are cute, but they can be naughty because they have a partner in crime." She said as she placed the tall glass of lemonade in front of me, then sat next to me and took a sip from her glass of lemonade. I nodded, "It's hard to believe that children can grow so fast..." She muttered softly.

"Indeed, I feel like it was just yesterday when Hades said his first word," I said, glancing over to the oak tree where Hades and his cousins were; he was still reading as his cousins tried convincing him to play. "Now he is turning eight years old, and he calls Nate and me formally 'father' and 'mother'. It's weird because I was so used to hearing me 'mommy' or 'mom'."

Chloe chuckled, "Yeah, that's a sudden change, but it shows he's growing up and fast. Some day soon, he'll be breaking hearts." She joked, and I rolled my eyes, then sipped my lemonade. "I hope they all find their true love..." She said nervously.

I glanced at Chloe as she stared at the children; a year later, I suggested that wolves choose whom they wanted to love. After a year of argument from elders, there was finally a decision. Starting from teenagers who hadn't reached shifting age and below, I put in place the mate choice, meaning when they shifted, they had a choice on who they wanted to mate with. We will still see how this would play out, even though almost all the wolves praised me for this decision. I didn't know a lot, though they never had a choice in whom they wanted to be with.

"That's too early to worry about!" Mom said as she sat at the table. She placed a tray of five cups filled with lemonade on the table. "They are still pups, and you shouldn't worry about that... Yet," she lifted an eyebrow, and we laughed.

"Imagine how their dads would react when you ladies are talking about future boyfriends," Kelly said, approaching the table with a jar of lemonade in one hand and two empty glasses in the other. "I wished you started with my age group," she whined as she placed one glass in front of Mom, where she would be sitting and poured some lemonade into the empty glasses.

"Kelly, you should be looking for your mate. You run away from them being a coward!" I said, rolling my eyes.

She groaned, taking a seat, "what should I say? 'Hey, we're mates! Sorry for running away from you eight years ago because I wanted to experience some freedom out there!' Well, that would be awkward for us and embarrassing for me." We all laughed at her, and she pouted, "Anyway... What's this talk about a werewolf school?" She suddenly asked, changing the subject.

"Where did you hear that?" Mom asked. Kelly smirked and glanced at me, which caused everyone to look my way, putting me in the spot.

"I overheard the guys talking about building plans for a school," Kelly said.

"Is there going to be a school for werewolves?" Chloe asked.

I closed my eyes and groaned, "Yes, there are plans for opening a boarding school for high schoolers." I said, then opened my eyes, and I saw the shocked looks on their faces. "The council is worried that the Doves may take a chance on attacking schools where wolves would be attending and fear that the lives of young wolves and the humans there would be in danger. So they suggested that a heavily guarded school for werewolves would be suitable for their safety and, hopefully, build a strong social experience among young wolves, who would be future leaders of their packs."

"Whoa, it sounds cool to be in a school full of werewolves, and you don't have to worry about being exposed for being a wolf. I would have enjoyed it, especially since I would be far away from annoying parents' watchful eyes," Kelly gasped, grinning slightly, earning glares from us all. "What?" She chuckled.

"Indeed, it sounds like a good idea to have the future pack members go to a school where they don't have to fear being exposed and be protected by guards, but having them stay in the school could give the Doves ideas if they were to find out." Mom said.

"Yes, that raised some concern, but have you forgotten I'm a goddess? I would put in place protection on the school such that only werewolves and trusted few can enter and exit the school with no problem," as I said this, I thought of Hades' gift from my grandmother; as much as I was the new moon goddess I still couldn't break her seal. Only Hades could once he turned eighteen, so that gift remained wrapped and unknown until Hades opened it.

"Wow, I never thought this could get any more serious," Chloe said, looking down at her hands, then she glanced at me. "When will this school open?" She asked.

"Once the school has been finished being built and we get approval from all packs, Alphas and Elders. The talk about the school will be introduced in the next Alpha meeting. Then, two years from now, everything will be completed. Once we get the green light, teachers, trainers and guards will be hired. Students will start coming in. There, they will not only learn the general subjects taught in ordinary schools but also the history of wolves and combat skills that they'll need for their protection."

"The next Alpha meeting is next month," Kelly muttered, and her eyes brightened. "I would love to teach in that school!" We all chuckled.

"So you can eavesdrop on teenagers' conversation?" Mom joked, and we all laughed.

I do hope peace remains... 

*~*~*~*

Thank you to wilde446