The Shadow Howlers

Andrew couldn’t talk to Eros and Psyche in person, so he had to mindlink. Eros could be a real bastard at times, but he loved Psyche and his daughter. Psyche was going to be the hard one. Aglaura and Cidippe had her guarded, but Andrew had his own spy with her. He sat in his room and closed his eyes. He could mindlink Eros and the spy, but it took a lot of energy and concentration. He decided to try Eros first.

“Eros, can you hear me? It’s Andrew.” He mindlinked.

“Yes, I can hear you. What’s going on? Is Selena okay?” Eros responded immediately.

“She is for now. She’s mated to the lycan king, but Aglaura and Cidippe are trying to kill her. They tried to have someone close to Selena poison her, but luckily, their plan was deflected. We know they’ll try again.” Andrew mindlinked.

“Yes, they will. What do you need? Does Selena know who she is?” Eros hadn’t wanted her to know because he was scared it would put her in harm’s way, but if the evil sisters knew where she was, there was no point in hiding her true identity.

“She knows. She has her hearing back, and she can also speak. I have a feeling Selena is going to be showing what she’s truly made of very soon. I’m going to try to get a message to Psyche without her sisters knowing.” Andrew was ready to move to the next conversation before his energy became depleted.

“It’s still my hope that one day I can have my sweet Psyche by my side. Selena won’t be able to come to our realm, but maybe we can meet her sometime.” Eros not only wanted Psyche back, he needed her. She was the only person who could keep him level-headed.

“We’ll make it happen. I’ll let you know when I have another update.” Andrew broke the connection and mindlinked his spy, who worked for Aglaura and Cidippe.

“Jameson, can you hear me?” Andrew mindlinked him.

“Yes, I’m with Psyche now, and we’re alone,” Jameson replied. He was the only one who knew Psyche had a secret.

“Tell her that her sisters are trying to get to Selena, but she has a lot of people on her side to keep her safe. Selena knows the truth now.” Andrew mindlinked.

“I’ll tell her.” Jameson closed the mindlink and looked at Psyche.

“Aglaura and Cidippe are going after Selena. She knows the truth of her birth.” He whispered under his breath, but Psyche heard him. She hid her smile.

Psyche had let her sisters believe they had her where they wanted her, but the truth was, she’d been playing them all along. They thought she was drowning in grief when, in reality, she was devising a plan to escape them while saving Selena and Eros. Jameson was the only one who knew the truth. When she realized he was in contact with the man Eros had sent to protect Selena, she knew she had an ally.

Aglaura and Cidippe may think they will continue making Psyche and her family suffer, but that will end soon. When her sisters entered the room, Psyche turned and pretended to be staring out of the window. They thought she did that because she was depressed, but she really did it because she couldn’t stand to look at them.

“Don’t worry, Psyche. All will be well soon, and there will be nothing to interfere in your life so you can move on. We’ll take care of ridding the vermin that haunts you.” Aglaura said. They left a few minutes later, and Psyche looked up at Jameson with a smile.

“The only vermin I know of just left this room, and they will be taken care of very soon,” she whispered. Jameson nodded in agreement. It was time the sisters were put in their place.

“Zaiden, I just got my wolf. Her name is Leto, and she said she’s a goddess wolf.” Selena said, running to him.

“Leto, as in the goddess of motherhood?” He asked, confused.

“Tell him that I’m the goddess of motherhood, or more accurately, the goddess who sent me to you is the goddess of motherhood. She gifted me to you and gave me her name so I could act on her behalf. I have many powers that were given to me by the gods and goddesses. You, Selena, are more powerful than you think.” Selena told Zaiden what Leto said.

“Wow, that’s incredible.” He replied. A knock on the door startled them both.

“Queen Selena, are you okay in there? Everyone is waiting for you and King Zaiden to train.” Polly said through the door. Selena had forgotten they were outside. She opened the door, and the two pups looked at her with concern.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, girls. I just got my wolf.” Selena explained.

“Oh, that’s so cool. What’s her name?” Trisha asked as they went down the stairs.

“Leto.” She answered as they reached the others.

“Who’s Leto?” Bianca questioned her.

“My wolf.” Selena quickly explained everything as they walked to the training facility. Polly and Trisha listened, their eyes widening.

“Your wolf is a goddess like you, and now you’ll have special powers?” Polly asked.

“Yes. I don’t know what they are yet, though. I’m afraid if anyone finds out, it will cause us to attract more unwanted attention.” Selena said as they began stretching. She had never trained, so she just followed along with the others. Alani corrected her stance a few times. Polly and Trisha stretched with them, making sure they did exactly what Alani said.

“If it brings us more trouble, then let it come. We’ll be ready for anything.” Zaiden reassured her. He looked at Gunnar, who nodded. He needed to know that the Shadow Howlers would have his back.

After they had finished stretching, they began training. Omar and Alani led them. The other Shadow Howler warriors joined them, as did some of the palace royal warriors and guards.

Selena felt stronger and stronger the longer they went. While others were getting tired, she was barely breaking a sweat. Alani kept trying to push her to her limit, but she moved as though she’d been training for years. Trisha and Polly were lying on a mat, half asleep from exhaustion.

“I thought you didn’t have any prior training,” Alani said, wiping the sweat off her face. Selena smiled.

“I don’t. I feel like there’s energy coursing through my veins.” Selena stretched and felt a wave of something run over her body. She began shaking, and her eyes closed. When the shaking stopped, she opened her eyes and looked around. Everyone in the training facility was lying down, sleeping. Selena had no idea what had just happened, but she knew she needed to get whatever it was under control before she made things worse.