Chapter - 2 " Devil Return "

Painted in orange and blue, teamed up with the golden rays of the emerging sun. The sky looked promising enough to offer freedom to fly high.

Driving in the sea of people in Manhattan is quite a challenging task, but it also gives me an illusion of normal life.

I know it was stupid of me to hope to have something like this because my life was anything but normal. Not a chance.

***

I’m Alice Michaelson, a royal member of The Originals.

Originals were the first family of werewolves, or, as some people say, wolf-shifters on the earth.

As the first creation of the moon goddess, royals were blessed with special gifts combined with the strength of werewolves.

And as a one and only heir of the great ‘Queen Amelia’ of Entalia (werewolves and Lycans realm).

I was the crown princess of Entalia. And next in the bloodline of the Original’s to rule after my mom and her half-sister, my aunt, Luciana. Who died after giving birth to her first daughter, Ellyn, because of some major complexity in her pregnancy.

I was going to be the new queen of Entalia after tomorrow night’s crown ceremony. It was a ritual, in which the new king or queen took a vow to protect their subjects (wolves and the Lycan) who submit themselves to the new emperor whilst the new king or queen claimed his/her right on Entalia’s throne.

The ceremony was ended by none other than the moon goddess herself, by sealing a bond between the new king or queen and their submitted packs. And at last, the moon goddess announced the new ruler herself and gave her blessings.

***

After driving half an hour from my apartment building. I reached my destination exactly at 10:30 am, on time as always.

I parked my car at my usual reserved spot and made my way inside, greeted ‘good morning’ with a bright smile by one of the security guards.

Thomas, the same height as mine, with a mess of blond hair and warm brown eyes. He was in his mid-forties, but with his tough build frame. He looked younger than his age.

With a small smile and nodding in reply, I made my way inside my office building towards the elevator.

The Elevator door opened with a usual bing sound. I entered inside and hit the button for the 13th floor.

I reached my boss’s office floor and made my way to his office. His secretary, William, greeted me ′good morning’, with his usual wide smile, gray hair, wrinkled face, and bright brown eyes.

The old man had been working here since I found out about this place. He always treated me like a daughter and was a very kind-hearted person.

I turned the knob of the office door and entered inside. Instantly I spotted the boss of the E&D Inc, and our honorable King of Entalia, my dad.

Mr. David Michaelson was sitting on his office chair, behind his magnificent black glass desk, glaring at the desktop screen while holding a coffee mug in his hand. As usual, he wore his busy billionaire expression on his face.

He sniffed my scent, mingling in the air, and instantly snapped his neck from the top of his desktop screen with a warm smile to glance at me.

Nobody dared to enter his den without prior permission, except me. An old habit is hard to die, but he didn’t mind, anyway.

He stood from his chair in full glory of the king. He had dark eyes and midnight black hair like mine. The tall and muscular frame of a human.

Nope! My father wasn’t human anymore. Once he was half blood wolf and half human, which we called hybrid. However, he turned into Lycan after mating with my mother, who was a pureblood, a Lycan from the bloodline of the first royal family, Originals.

If you hadn’t guessed yet. Yeah, I was a hybrid, both of which were ‘werewolf- Lycan.’

And only hybrid- born with supernatural gifts by the moon goddess of undeniable powers called ‘Spirit’, to rule the queendom of Entalia, as a rightful Queen after my mom.

I walked towards his desk, engulfed him in a hug, and greeted ‘good morning’ with a sweet kiss on his cheek.

“Morning, my little princess.” He replied with a proud smile, “Always on time, little champ.” and patted my hair. 

“Yes, sir,” I replied with a salute. He snickered and shook his head at my childish behavior.

“Oh, I have a meeting with Ms. Riley at 11 am,” I said when I noticed the time on my wristwatch. I still had 15 minutes to reach my office floor, which was on the 25th floor in the same building.

“See you tonight, Dad.” I kissed his cheek before retreating towards the door. About to grab the doorknob when dad’s words stop me.

“Alice, Red Moon is tomorrow night. Are you sure you are ready for this?” A hint of concern and anxiety was clear in his voice.

I kept my gaze on the door while tightening my grasp on the doorknob slightly, purposely avoiding eye contact.

“Sure dad. You know, I am kind of moved on now. Don’t worry, I also have you and Ellyn for support. Right?” With that statement, I opened the door and stepped out of his office, not wanting to discuss that topic anymore.

I fought hard to escape from the grasp of my past demons. Moving on was kind of tough, but I was done with my past trauma.

It was not true. I still had nightmares of my demon from hell every single night.

Nightmares. Yeah, the spiritual dream of my tormented past. It happened with the Lycans, who refused to complete mating and seal the bond soon.

Some say it was a way of the moon goddess to help Lycans, to complete their mate bond. However, according to many historical books about the Lycans, it was a curse. The moon goddess puts on Lycan, who rejects his or her fated mate or chosen one.

I don’t know why I had that horrible nightmare every single night, but I had told nobody about that ever.

I didn’t want dad to worry about me any more than he already does. It had been eight months. Eight months. How many times do I keep running from my accountability for my realm?

After mom died in a car accident, everything got harder with every passing day. I know Entalia needed their queen eventually, and I had to do this.

Dad and Ellyn had done a good job handling Entalia’s matters so far, and I loved both for their unconditional support.

But in the end, I know I was the fucking one who needed to step forward, and I hoped the moon goddess never made me looked back, towards that hell from my past.

***

After finishing my work, I left my office building and walked toward my car in the parking lot.

That was when a scent of forest rain and the masculine smell of men’s cologne filled my nostrils. My wolf, Rhea, howled in happiness in the back of my mind.

She was happy with his mere presence near her. Him. Devil. My fated mate!