The Isle (Chronicles of the Irish Princess Book 1)

When Sarah and I entered the Hall in the Manor everyone around us was dressed in white. Up until an hour earlier I hadn't realized that Sarah was also getting a name. But then it dawned on me she was also becoming a Queen and she was of wolf descent. I wasn't a wolf, but I was becoming their Queen, and I was mated to a wolf. Gran and Chief stood at the front with Oran. As we walked up it became clear that he was once given a name, but no one ever used it. If he had been descended from the Ponca Pack, like Kai, it would have been different. This was just an honorary name that was gifted by the Ponca to their leader. However, in my case I was married to a descendent of the Ponca. When Kai and I were announced at the Ceremony and at every Major Royal event, our Ponca names would be included. It was the first time in wolf history that this had happened. Few members of the royal family had been married to this pack, even then most of them were nephews or nieces of the King, never his own child.

My walk up to Gran and Chief, I began to realize just how special of a marriage Kai's mother and father had. I knew then how special of a King he was. I realized that Oran had sacrificed a lot and that all of his chips were now on me, metaphorically speaking. Sarah and I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and smiled up at Gran. She looked beautiful in her white satin gown, it was embellished with a diamond pattern that sat on the scoop neckline. She smiled back at us and moved to stand between the men.

"Packs, Friends, and Family. We are hear today to name these two beautiful ladies, Sarah and Leah. They are to become our rulers, our great leaders and mothers to our people. They stand before us innocent and prepared to receive these gifts from the Goddess. The Great mother has spoken and given me the names of our Queens."

She made her way down to us. Though she was not the Queen, she acted like one. When she made it to the bottom I noticed the two turquoise necklaces she was holding. The pendants on each of them was engraved, but I couldn't make out the words.

"Daughters of the Goddess, please kneel." Chief's voice echoed through the hall.

Sarah and I knelt before Gran on the small pillows that had been placed at our feet. Our heads were bowed and our hands placed together, like we were praying. The room's candles were put out one by one, the acolytes slowly removing most of the light. I held my breath as Gran began chanting, her voice soon joined by the others of her pack and then the rest of the crowd. I could faintly hear the beating of a drum that kept beat with the chanting. The voices crescendo grew and then all at once were cut off. Taking a breath I looked up at Gran, she smiled back and opened her mouth to speak.

"Be it known today that these two girls have entered womanhood and will forever be protected by the Packs united under our kings almost two thousand years ago."

She placed one necklace around Sarah and prayed over her in silence.

"Rise Wahya, future Queen of Lambay."

Sarah stood and the room cheered. She hugged Gran and then ascended the stairs to stand by Luca and Oran. Gran then turned to me and once again looked to the floor. She placed the necklace around me and her hands on my head. Then unexpectedly, I heard her voice in my head.

Hello dear one, now that you are a part of Kai, and will become queen, you have the ability to communicate with all the other Alpha's and their mates by mind link. With your increased powers, you may even be able to do this without touching us. I wanted to tell you how proud we are of you, how proud your grandparents, father and ancestors are. If you ever need anything please don't hesitate to ask darling.

"Rise Mitexi, future Queen of Wolves."

After hugging Gran I followed her up the stairs. Chief then took each of our hands and turned us to the people. He beamed with pride as he looked at each of us.

"I now present, Lady Sarah "Wahya" of the Irish Pack, future Queen of Lambay and Princess Leah "Mitexi" of Lambay, future Queen of Wolves."

Once again everyone cheered, we descended the stairs hand in hand with our mates. First Sarah and Luca, then myself and Malakai. He was all smiles as we walked past all the Alphas and our friends. Leading the way to the food was Oran followed by Chief and Gran. Once we all had our food the party really kicked up. A small part of me felt sad that my father wasn't here to see it, but I knew he was smiling down on me.

From our table we could see Liz and her kids, they were sitting with Alex and Brayden, who looked amazing considering he'd been though hell about two weeks ago. At that table were a few other friends of the Palace, like Moriarty and his wife, and Corbin whom I learned was Moriarty's nephew. Finn waved at me with a big smile on his face. I waived back and smiled. It was a blessing to have them here for this and for the coronation tomorrow. I couldn't help but notice how interested Corbin was in Liz, and how every time he complimented her she would blush. Sarah who was seated next to me noticed this as well.

"Leah, is Corbin single?"

"I'm not sure, I assume so since he didn't bring anyone to this. He seems to have taken a liking to our single momma over there."

"I agree," she gave me a knowing look. "Maybe we should set something up?"

I nodded, " I think I can coerce him into helping her with the decorations for tomorrow at the Palace. Lord knows Liz shouldn't be handling all those heavy flowers by herself."

Kai dipped his head over and joined our conversation, "Are you to meddling again?"

"Dear cousin, I highly doubt the two will act on their own. I think here a little push is necessary."

"Just be gentle with them."

I leaned into him and kissed him. "Relax Kai."

He smiled at me wickedly and I knew he was thinking about some naughty things. Playfully, I smacked his arm and turned to Gran.

"Gran, what does it mean?"

"What does what mean, darling?"

"My name, Mitexi, it sounds so regal and important."

She smiled at me. "Have you not looked at your necklace?"

Shaking my head I picked it up and looked at the engraving. On the front, was my name in Ponca writing along with my first name. The back side also had engraving on it. Reading it, it was written 'Mitexi; sacred moon' I smiled over it and looked back up at Gran. She smiled back a knowing smile.

Maybe one day soon I'll teach you how to communicate with the ancestors.

Her voice was soft in my head, but I still heard her. If there was a way to communicate with them, I was all ears hoping that maybe I could connect with my father and other past rulers and their queens.

Towards the end of dinner, I couldn't stop staring at my brother. He was quickly loosing time to pop the question. My stares went from casual smiles to urgency. Yet he just sat there looking like a lost puppy. I sighed again and took a drink of water from my glass.

I know, he's getting on my nerves too. He needs to get it over with; the Elders are becoming impatient. Kai leaned in and kissed my temple.

"Luca, drink?"

"Yeah, I'll go with." He said standing with Kai.

When they were out of earshot, Sarah scooted into the seat next to me and let out a big sigh. I could tell something was bothering her, but I wasn't sure I should ask.

"Sarah?"

"I know something is up. Yesterday my mom was so pissed off and anytime I mentioned your name or Luca or Gran she got even more upset. Did I miss something?"

I let out a laugh, "Oh yeah. She's pissed at me."

"Why?" She didn't even sound surprised.

"Well, yesterday she was saying shit about Luca and how he was acting from the night of my wedding. It was like she hadn't cared one bit about what you said. After everything that had happened with the funeral the day before I was still emotional and I may have snapped at her for what she was saying." I took a breath, "Sarah, you know I love your mother, but she was really out of line and I wasn't appreciative of her attitude."

Sarah bust out laughing. Her outburst lasted a good couple of minutes. When she finally caught a breath she smiled at me, "Leah, you don't have to explain yourself to me. She may be my mother, but she's going to be your subject after tomorrow. I honestly would have backed you up had I been there. She's been weird lately, always on edge and super angry. Monday, I had to stop her from slapping Sammy over a broken cup. It was a complete accident, he tripped over a rug that wasn't flat. Dad said she's been on edge since...well, since the wedding."

I sat back confused. I'd known Kate for a better part of my life, this was unusual. Kate was normally a sweet and kind person with a soul that overflowed with the need to care for others. "Since the wedding you say?"

"Yeah, her and my father have been arguing more than usual, over literally nothing. I'm worried."

"That isn't like her."

"No, it's not. I'm worried."

We sat quiet for a moment, I looked around for Kai and Luca, they were taking an awful long time. I figured he was talking to Luca about proposing to Sarah, trying to calm him down and get him to relax his nerves. But I couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. The feeling was strong in my gut and growing with each passing moment. I reached out with my powers to try and find them. Locking in on my brother, I found them at the bar.

Kai, I need you.

"Leah, is it possible to become infected after someone has crossed the barrier. Especially if She was already here?" Sarah's concern was as loud as my gut.

Kai and Luca came back over to us, both of them had been listening in on my thoughts, which were thinking what Sarah had just said. Luca instinctively took Sarah's hand; Kai placed his on my shoulder. My breath hitched with panic.

"Luca, now would be a good time to dance," Sarah smiled pulling him onto the dancefloor.

Taking a chance I clinked my knife gently on my glass and it echoed through the Hall. Luca stared at me frozen, I'd just pushed him into proposing.

Luca, do it. I have a feeling about this, just trust me.

He nodded and took Sarah's hand. "Ladies and gentlemen, please pardon the interruption, but before this night can go any further, there's something I must do."

I came around the table to stand next to Kate. Kai was on my other side holding tight to my hand. I swallowed as my brother continued.

"From the day I first met Sarah, I knew my life was changed forever. I just never knew how different it would become. But since that first day two things became very clear to me. First, that I was head over heels in love with this girl. Her eyes, her smile, the way she cares more for those around her. Second, was that one day I was going to marry her. At seven years old, that was a lot for a kid to be so sure about. But I knew even then that you were the one," He smiled turning to Sarah. "So, before I take on the crazy adventure of becoming a King, I knew that I would need my Queen with me."

Sarah let out a gasp as my brother let go of her hand and got down on one knee. I felt Kate tense next to me and her anger rise. If Aideen had jumped bodies, we were about to find out.

"Sarah Marie Walsh, will you do me the honor of marrying me, becoming my queen and being the mother to our future children?"

"Yes!" She cried. "Yes, a million times over."

Luca slipped the ring he'd picked out onto her finger and swooped her into her arms. In that same moment Kate began to charge at her daughter screaming. Swiftly I snagged Kate by the arm and spun her around. When I looked into her eyes they were as black as night, no sign of white or her normally blue irises. Taking a deep breath I realized I was face to face with Aideen, she was using Kate as a shell. There was no telling how much of her was left.

"You, do you really think you can take me on. Alone?"

"Who said I'm alone?"

Then it was like my powers took over. I grasped her arms and held her to me. I knew that my eyes had glossed over, but I could still see, I could hear all the commotion around me. People were scattering around the room and trying to get out. Others were looking to defend me if needed. I could feel Kai he was standing near Luca and Sarah at the edge of the circle that had formed.

"Luca, get Sarah and the children out of here! ALL of them! GO!"

Faintly from the back of the room I heard a woman scream out for her children. "FINN! ANABELLE!"

I'd already given my brother his mission. But a small voice sat closer to me.

"Leah," Anabelle was standing behind me. "Bad Lady! Leah help!"

With one hand still on Kate, I held her down with my powers and turned around. There was a woman, my mother to be specific that was holding onto Anabelle by her hair. I could see the tears running down the poor baby's face as she stood still helpless against the fear my mother was using to trap her there. I looked back to Kate, her eyes were still black, as were my mother's. That could only mean one of two things, Aideen was powerful enough to possess more than one person at once, or her followers were helping her and had learned how to possess others as well. I took another breath and looked back at Ana. She was still paralyzed in fear, looking around I saw that Kai and Corbin were holding Liz back who was spilling tears of her own over her baby girl.

"Anabelle, look at me. We are going to play a little game and have some fun. I promise that you are going to be ok and that you're going to be safe. Do you trust me?"

She nodded.

"Okay, here is what we are going to do, I want you to tell me what you are seeing."

"Spiders. Lots of them."

Spiders, a typical fear for a small child. I can work with that. I needed to get her to safety. There were a few warriors standing behind my mother and more standing in front of me they were ready to grab Kate and my mother and haul them off to the cells. My biggest worry was that my mother would harm Ana in the process.

"You're running out of time, my dear daughter. Every moment you stand here debating, your friend's mother looses more of her soul. You need to decide. You can't save them both." She cackled

I felt deep inside of Kate and found her inside her own mind she was cowering in a corner.

Kate, Kate look at me. You're going to be okay. You just have to trust me.

Leah, be careful, they're so powerful. There's no way to save both of us. Ana is more important.

Kate, don't believe that for a second. I'm getting you both out of here. Ana is an impressionable small child, capable of conquering small fears. You need me most. Ana is powerful enough to help herself. I'll be right back for you. Stay positive.

I looked back to Ana, "Ok, sweets this is what we are going to do. I need you to picture those spiders in roller skates. Can you do that?"

She nodded.

Corbin can you hear me?

Princess?

Good. When Ana gets laughing at her spiders you need to swoop in and grab her. Aideen won't be able to hold her if she thinks her fear is funny. The guards will hold her. I need to save Kate.

Understood.

"Alright Ana, how are those spiders looking?"

"Funny spiders," She began to giggle a little louder.

I turned back to Kate and dove back in. She was standing now and she looked determined.

Kate are you ready?

Yes.

Good. Think about your family; Sammy, Sarah, Scott. They need you. You've got to help me fight.

My family doesn't need me.

YES they do. Sarah can't go through this alone. She's going to need her mother every step of the way. Sam is only eleven years old. He still needs his momma, even if he doesn't always say so. And Scott, well as much of a pain he is, he needs you the most. You're his light Kate. You are his mate and without you, he has no reason to live. Don't let your children become orphans. Fight it Kate, fight this hold. I'll help you, just take my hand. Let your wolf have control, she wants to fight.

Kate reached for my hand that I'd outstretched to her mind. Her eyes began to scream a magnificent blue. I knew that her wolf was fighting for her, for them to stay alive. I pulled myself out of her mind and saw that blue begin to break through the black that was holding her back. My ears told me that Ana was full on laughing at the spiders falling in the skates. This was it. Now or never.

"CORBIN NOW, " I bellowed as I released my hold on Kate her fur beginning to surface on her body.

I transferred my energy to my mother who was now in the hold of four warriors. She was screaming out. Unlike the last time we had been face to face, I was aware of my powers. I had it all at my disposal. With the force of a hundred suns I reached out and slapped my mother across the face. The blow was so forceful that it knocked her out. I let out a small breath of relief. Luca brought me a set of handcuffs. They were special and diffused someone of their powers, I only prayed it would work on her.

"Get her into lockdown and make sure her eyes are covered," Luca said to the guards.

"Right away Sir."

I felt the weight of everything and my legs buckled. I didn't pass out, but I fell to the ground. Instantly my hands covered my face and I began to cry. I couldn't believe what had happened. How could someone take advantage of such a sweet little girl and threaten her life to me? When was all this going to end?

In the midst of my tears, I felt a pair of small arms wrap around my neck. I looked up seeing Anabelle smiling at me. Her tears had dried on her face, but her little white dress was still stained with them. She handed me a handkerchief and sat on my lap. I gave her a weak smile and dried my eyes. Then Ana did something I didn't expect. She placed her forehead to mine and began to talk to me.

Princess, I know my voice on the outside is still small, but inside it's big. Thank you for showing me it's okay to be afraid and that you can always make things better on your own. The Great Mother visits me in my dreams sometimes. She came the night before we met and most recently last night. She wanted me to tell you that she's happy again, with your papa. They're watching over us.

She pulled away and smiled more. I looked at her in amazement. Until now, I never would have guessed that her and Finn would have had any powers. Their mother was human, I never thought to ask about their father. I looked up at Liz in amazement.

"Liz, was their father supernatural?" Kai asked her.

She turned away from Corbin who had been holding onto Finn. "No, not that I was ever aware of."

"It could have been dormant, a gene only passed to one gender of his family," my aunt Emilia said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well with witches, most cases only the women are powerful, on occasion some of the men will also develop powers, but it's rare. However, they carry the gene. Is there anyone in his family still alive?"

"Uh, yeah, he has a sister that lives on the island. She owns a little boutique."

Luca turned to my aunt, "Emilia, can you track this in the morning? I think we've had enough for tonight."

"It would be my pleasure. I agree we should all get some rest."

"Liz," I said picking Anabelle up as I stood. "You and the children are more than welcome to stay at the main Palace. I think you're safer there or here. There is an extra room or two."

"Princess, they can stay with my in my apartments on the Palace grounds. I think they'd be well protected," Corbin spoke up.

I nodded agreeing. "I just want them safe Sir Corbin. I trust that you can protect them at all costs."

"Yes ma'am."

Liz seemed surprised, but I wasn't. I knew my instincts had been right. With a smile I handed Ana, who was now asleep, off to Liz. "You'll be safe there. Tomorrow morning I'll check on you three. Just go get some rest."

She nodded and followed Corbin out of the hall. Once they were gone I turned around and fell into Malakai's arms. He'd been there, ready to catch me at any moment. I could feel his worry and concern for me and Anabelle and the others.

"Kate?" I asked.

"She's fine, resting in her room with Scott by her side. I don't think he will be sleeping tonight."

"Sarah?"

"Leah they're all fine. You did great. And now we have her locked up in a cell. We can deal with her after tomorrow. You need to rest." He commanded picking me up and carrying me. "Luca will notify us of any issues in the morning. That was a lot of power and it drained you pretty well."

I hummed in agreement already beginning to slip into a slumber. In the safety of my mate's arms I felt him carry me to our room and place me carefully under the covers. Only when he slid in with me did I let myself succumb to a deeper state of sleep.