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Roxanne yanked me back. "Later, Rosie. Let's stop this war first."
"R-Right," I stammered, looking up at my mates who seemed just as confused. We'd deal with that later, I promised myself. "Guys, form a circle around me."
Obeying, my four mates huddled around me but left me with enough room to move in the middle. Roxanne already had a barrier around me, making sure we wouldn't be interrupted while we worked. Taking a deep breath, I sat on the ground with my arms crossed. "Join hands." The boys did. "Close your eyes and focus on the thread that connects you guys to the Wolf Moon's gift."
I closed my eyes, not even bothering to wait and see if my mates understood what I needed from them. Instead, I traveled inside my subconscious to where the Wolf Moon's gift was stored, and let it send me back to the Wolf Moon Sanctuary.
When my eyes opened, I found myself where I needed to be: the Wolf Moon Sanctuary. Sure enough, when I looked up, there it was in all its pale white glory.
"You came," a soft angelic voice said. I looked in front of me and froze. Unable to say anything as I gazed at an image of utter beauty. A woman stood in the center of the water, her skin richly tan which made her glittering white gown glow in the night sky. Her dark hair was a soft velvet that cascaded down her back. Her eyes, turquoise in their color, looked me up and down as she smiled. "Rosalinda Mendoza."
"Selene?" I questioned. I wasn't expecting to see Mother Moon in the flesh, yet here she was. I didn't know what to do in that moment. Do I kneel before her? Expose my throat in submission? Scream at her for making my life a living hell for the past six months? All sounded really good, especially the last one.
"You're here to fully accept your role as the Queen of Wolves, aren't you?" Selene asked.
I nodded, starstruck at seeing the being we wolves considered our deity. I then snapped out of my daze when I remembered why I was here in the first place. "Selene, Mother Moon, please help me. There's a war happening right now. The New Moon's Curse, it—"
"I know," Selene cut in, dipping her head in acknowledgment. "I know what's happening, and you made the right call coming here."
She must've sensed what I wanted to do. If she said I made the right call, then did that mean my plan would work? "I can end this fight, right? Can I break the New Moon's hold on the wolves?"
Selene smiled at me. "You know, in all the years I've chosen strong young women, such as yourself, to carry my power over the Wolf Moon, you were the first to ever think of coming back here. To absorb enough of the Wolf Moon's essence to command all shifters to stop. Most believed that they only needed their pack to reach their Lycan form and win their battles with blunt force. But you." She pointed at me. "You sought to find another way."
I blushed, surprised that I was the first to try this method, but I held onto hope that it could work. I thought back to all the people Mordred snatched for his army. Kai, Thomas, the other betas, and the hundreds that came from other packs. I clutched at my heart, thinking of all the lives that were lost so far, and not wanting the other packs to end up empty handed. Even if we couldn't save everyone, their bodies deserved to get back home to their loved ones for a proper burial. I didn't want more lives to be lost, not when there was a better option to end it.
"If anybody can pull these lost wolves out of the darkness, it's me. My job isn't just to rule as alpha of alphas, it's also to help where I'm needed. And right now, they need me."
"Spoken like a true Queen of Wolves. I'm very fortunate that you were chosen to bear the power of my wolves, Rosie. Your journey was full of hardships, but you never lost your resolve. You never lost sight on what was important to you. Even when all hope seemed lost, even when others have told you it was pointless, you kept going. You knew what you were born to do and accepted it right away. You've chosen mates who found themselves along the way as well. You've all grown and matured and found strength and courage you never thought you had. That has always been my hope for all my Moon Chosen and their mates. That the gifts I bestow to you all will help you find the path that best suits you, not the path you're forced to follow."
I thought about how far I'd gotten all the time. It almost felt surreal to look back at my life and see how much of it had changed. All I wanted was to find my own path in life. To find somewhere I belonged. I never expected to find it when I moved back to Kingsrose. I thought it'd be a start, but now Kingsrose was a part of me. The town, my Renegades Pack, the people, I couldn't imagine my life without them. A life without my mates.
My fists shook at my side as I stood tall and faced Selene. "I'm ready to take my place as the Queen of Wolves. I'm ready to end this war."
Selene held out a hand for me to take. "Then come join me."
It was as if my body moved on its own. I stepped closer, taking Selene's hand as she guided me in the water, standing in front of her under the light of the Wolf Moon. Rustling came from my right, and when I turned, I saw the dark wolves I'd seen often in my visions. The ones who were meant to be my chosen mates. Their turquoise moon markings stood out against their dark fur. Their eyes glowed with energy as they stood and waited. The scent of my mates filled my nose. These weren't just random wolves anymore; they were the men I fell in love with. Joaquin, Kai, Kao, and Byron.
"They're ready to lend their support," Selene informed me. "Now, Rosalinda Marie Mendoza; daughter of the Wolf Moon, Queen of Wolves, do you accept the path that you've followed to get to where you are today? Do you willingly bind yourself to the forces of the Wolf Moon and become one? To govern and defend all shifter kind. To respect the laws of free will?"
"I do," I said proudly, the words coming out before I could register them. After I spoke, my mates howled in unison to the Wolf Moon as if making their own vows. The light of the Wolf Moon rippled as its essence glittered down around me and Selene. My body felt warm as the familiar turquoise aura surrounded my body. It was followed with the bluish flame that spiraled at my fight when I forced more power out of me to help Joaquin and Kao reach their Lycan form. It spread through me with ease, no longer struggling to coax it to the surface.
"Go, Queen of Wolves." Selene's voice began to fade. "Go, and take your place among your subjects. Go, and save your friends."
Everything blurred around me until I opened my eyes again, realizing I was back in Kingsrose, my body still immersed in the overflowing power of the Wolf Moon's gift. The bluish flames danced in a circle around my mates. My hair glowing with streaks of turquoise, billowed in the air from the force of my power. My mates, coming back to our plain of existence, released each other's hands and stared at me in awe. My eyes looked off to the fighting that was still taking place. All the chaos, the destruction, the many lives already lost. My mind traveled outward, focusing on all the shifters, from both sides, that remained. With one, firm command, my power fluttered like water, traveling across the entire town to make sure they all heard me and obeyed.
"Stop!"
My voice echoed and carried across all Kingsrose. The wolves that were fighting on our side stopped immediately, while the ones under Mordred's control struggled to resist my command. I narrowed my eyes and stepped further into town, drawing out more of my power into my voice. "My name is Rosalinda Mendoza. I am the Wolf Moon's Chosen. I am the Queen of Wolves. And as your queen, you will obey my orders. Expel the darkness that has ensnared your minds. Take back your control and stop this fighting."
I could tell the moment it happened as I demanded, the wolves breaking free of the New Moon's control. The dark glow of their eyes fading, and the dark tendrils beneath their feet sinking into the ground. Suddenly, the eyes of hundreds of shifters were directed at me, waiting for their queen to give her next order.
"Kneel before your queen," I said, my power magnifying my voice. In perfect unison, they all dropped to one knee, exposing their throats in submission. It didn't matter if they were from my pack, or a neighboring pack, or a rogue who lost their way. They all submitted to me.
Well... almost all of them.
The faintest sound of slow clapping rang all the way on the other end of town. As if reading my mind, the crowd parted down the middle so I could face my last opponent. There, standing in the entryway to Kingsrose, was Pierce. He looked rather impressed with my display of authority over all shifters, including overpowering the influence of the New Moon's Curse over his precious army. But I could also see the lust for power in his blue eyes. The power he'd been wanting since he first laid eyes on me, knowing the Wolf Moon chose me. The power he believed should've been his but kept from him the night I rejected him as a mate. Now we were here once again, standing face to face.
"Bravo, Queen of Wolves," Pierce drawled as he applauded me. "Your powers are remarkable, as expected. To command two armies as if they were your own. You truly are the alpha of alphas."
