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

All is Well...Right?

Laura's POV

Five years...

Five years of peace...

I stared out at the tremendous royal forest. No matter how often I look out the windows and see the sea of forest surrounding the palace, I am still amazed at how beautiful it is, as if it was my first time here. But I've been in Europe for five years, and everything feels like a new adventure. Moving here was sudden and surprising, but it didn't mean I wasn't excited about coming here. However, I never thought we would live here, far away from my old home and family.

Suddenly, I felt tiny kicks under my palm. I glanced down, and a grin graced my lips. I was pregnant again with twins this time, and at the moment, we don't know their gender, but we do know that they are energetic. When Nate and I discovered we were expecting again, it was exciting and emotional knowing we were growing our small family. Nate became overprotective; he didn't want me to be stressed, especially after what happened five years ago.

Five years ago was an overwhelming and challenging time. I was a seventeen-year-old who hadn't shifted and never found my mate. I was the freak of my old pack, and I knew I was adopted, but that never stopped me from loving my family and pack. But I never thought I would get my inner wolf voice and find my mate one night during the crowning of the new Alpha King, who turned out to be my mate. Nathan Crescent.

However, that night went sour when a group- The Lycan Brothers- interrupted the ceremony. Lycans are pure-blood wolves thought to have been killed off long ago because of their cruelty and violence towards those around them. These lycans were looking for someone, and that was me. I was the daughter of the moon goddess and the first Lycan Alpha, Dereck the Great, I was born to not only protect the werewolves but also bring back Lycans.

Of course, the journey was difficult; I never wanted to disappoint my mate, the Alpha King, but he stayed and protected me. I fell in love with him not because he was my soul mate but because of his courage and love for me. Those days, I learned more about him, his friends, and those who laid their lives for him. Everyone trusted him, and I, too.

That year was hellish, but it was a blessing in the end. War broke out with the werewolves and the Lycan Brothers. I risked my life and my unborn child's life for the werewolves. Luckily, we both survived and stopped the war. However, things changed though.

As years passed, Nate had been on edge as if he was waiting for someone to come and attack him or the palace. The palace has guards on watch every day, and when I ask Nate about his paranoia, he shrugs the question and changes the subject. I noticed his tension when I asked about John, the Vampire King who also helped us fight the Lycan Brothers and saved me when I was kidnapped. John and Nate were close friends, and I hadn't seen him since... Well... Since the Ball, when the vampires were poisoned, there has been silence about the two.

Knock...

Knock...

Knock...

I snapped out of my train of thought and glanced at the door as it opened, and two familiar faces walked in. They nervously smiled at me and bowed to me. I sighed, knowing why they were there. "Hades missing again?" I asked.

They both hesitantly nodded, "Yes, Your Grace..." They muttered.

"Okay, let's go look for him," I said with a smile.

Hades was five years old, and ever since he knew how to walk, he always disappeared somewhere, and of course, as a mother, I should be freaking out. At first, I was scared out of my mind, thinking something terrible had happened to him. Nate was going crazy mad and then barked orders. During that panic, Hades watched us playing in the garden, and it was surprising how we couldn't sense him. Nate and I were relieved to see he was safe and sound but also worried that something like this would happen again, and we were right. Hades disappears more often when we leave him with the servants, and they cannot always find him.