Veritas

Chapter 77

Rei closed her eyes, knowing she was going to die. She mind-linked her children to send them her love one last time.

"Take care of each other, I love you" were her last words before the wolf's jaws clamped down.

Or so it appeared.

At the last moment, something had stopped him. His sharp, hot teeth were already piercing Rei's skin; but, unbeknownst to everyone else, his temporary King had ordered him to stop. So, the brown wolf pulled back, but kept his paws on Rei to keep her pinned to the ground.

Seeing the wolf had left her unharmed, Rei's loved ones let out a sigh of relief. Ryan was ignoring Aislinn's frantic and confused demands for an explanation as he focused on the scene. He scrambled to his feet, preparing to shift to defend his mother, but Gwen pulled him back.

"Sit, boy" she hissed, watching what was unfolding. "You're going to learn a thing or two about your parents" she said by way of explanation.

It had become clear to Gwen that Conri hadn't stopped the wolf because he recognized his mate; but, he was a wolf out for blood. His son had been kidnapped, and Rei was the culprit, so he intended to be the one to end her life. Once more, the wolf prowled towards Rei, and once more, Reinhold intended to interfere.

"What do you mean?" Ryan demanded of the witch. "Is that brown wolf my dad?!" He growled, once again trying to get up.

"I said sit, don't make me put those shackles back on you" Gwen said, sparing him a glance to glare at him. "Everything will be answered" she explained, then held out her hand and whispered "arregrus veritas", while wiggling her fingers as if beckoning something to come to her. As commanded, the talisman unbound itself from around Rei's neck and returned to its creator swiftly. Similarly, the one she'd loaned to Reinhold did the same, revealing the large black wolf who now stood between Rei and Conri.

As with the initial transformation, Rei's body began to glow. Cracking and rearranging of bones could once again be heard as she returned to herself, scent and all. Before her shift had completed, Conri had seen his friend standing in his way, and released a guttural snarl with his ears pinned back to show his displeasure.

"Step aside, Lex" Conri said, issuing an Alpha order that Reinhold and his wolf, Lex, could not disobey.

Unaware that the talisman was being removed, Lex was surprised to be discovered. Upon receipt of the command, though, he tried to ignore it, unwilling to step aside from protecting his sister. Slowly, his head bowed submissively, his paws forced themselves to lift, and drag him away from shielding Rei.

Until her scent hit them both.

He'd been hoping the whole time that Gwen was telling the truth; but, was still fearful she was tricking him. When Rei's familiar scent filled his senses, his heart ached with happiness and relief, and distracted him from his task of protection, so his body obeyed the King's order and he stepped aside. While doing so, he turned to stare at his sister.

She'd aged a bit over the past two decades, and was in clothes that were much too big for her now that she was in her daintier female body. She looked more like a battle-worn warrior than the polished and confident queen she had once been, especially with a wolf pinning her down. Still, though, Reinhold knew in his heart that no spell could so perfectly recreate his sister. It was her.

On the other side, Conri had frozen in disbelief as the scent of his mate hit him. With Lex moving aside, he could see the woman who was now in place of the man he'd so intended to kill. Temporarily, he lost all sense, and only saw that another wolf was threatening his mate. He shifted his attention to the brown wolf and let out his most vicious snarl yet, leaping for the poor man.

The brown wolf was young, and had not been born when Reina had been Queen. He didn't understand the significance of what was happening, so was taken entirely off-guard when his King tackled him off of the woman. Thankfully, before Conri could rip his throat out, Reina called out to stop him.

"Conri, stop!" She screamed, causing him to pause in a similar position to where he had formerly stopped the brown wolf from killing her.

Hearing her voice had the desired effect, and he immediately whipped his head to the side to stare at her. Considerate of the poor brown wolf, knowing he was only trying to protect his King, Rei got to her feet and knew she had to get Conri away from him.

"Please, come to me" she called softly, holding out her arms as if inviting a hug.

Conri stared at her for a long moment before he stepped back off of the brown wolf and turned to her. The brown wolf realized that his life was just spared, and didn't dare question what was going on. Instead he scrambled to his feet and ran for his life, leaving the mess to those above his standing.

During the time that all of this had been happening, the crowd that had been gathered for an execution was still urgently trying to escape. Some guards had stood their ground, while others had made a run for it to flee from the witch. Now, there were others who had stopped to spin around and take in the scene when that familiar scent reached their noses. Many remembered their kind and loving Luna Queen who had been taken from them so young. Even if they didn't remember the scent belonged to her, it still was familiar enough to turn their attention to the scene. This prompted others to do the same, calming the frenzied crowd more so those who still feared for their lives could continue to escape.

Unable to ask the questions that plagued him, and sufficiently stunned to have control taken from him, Conri allowed Derek to take over. The man shifted back to himself, and stared in stunned disbelief at his mate, back from the dead.

Seeing Derek again, up close and face-to-face caused Reina's eyes to well with happy tears. She never thought she'd be able to see her mate again, and never thought he or Ryan would know one another. Yet, here was a chance to change all of that.

"Reina..." Derek whispered hoarsely as he stared at her. "But...How...How can this be...? You died!"

"It's a trick, your majesty! It's the witch's doing!" Someone from the crowd shouted.

"It is not" Gwen shouted back, glaring in the general direction of the crowd before getting to her feet and returning her attention to Derek. "King Derek, do you remember me?" She demanded.

Derek reluctantly turned his eyes away from Reina to look at Gwen, inspecting her face from afar. His eyes widened in recognition, as he realized she was the same young girl that his mate had found trapped in the trunk of a tree all those years ago.

Taking the recognition on his face as all the acknowledgement she needed, she spoke for Reina, who was now shaking like a leaf from nervousness. "I see you do. My name is Gwen, I am, to my knowledge, the only surviving witch from the Moon Thread coven. When I was 16, my coven and the werewolf pack of the same name were slaughtered, and nearly all were killed" she explained to him, in case he had forgotten; but, also to keep the crowd informed. "When the King's guard finally arrived, it had been far too late...But, you saw the massacre, and the damage that those monsters left in their wake first hand, because you and Queen Reina were there in person. It was she who found and saved me from the shelter my mother, the former Oracle's sworn Oraculi, Cate Celimine had locked me in. And it is she who, I swear on my mother's good name, stands before you."

Derek turned back to Reina, whose tears had spilled over and now cascaded down her cheeks. His heart broke at the sight, and finally, taking Gwen's words as enough evidence, he closed the gap between them and pulled Reina into his arms. Words weren't enough, and he instead let his emotions speak through his kiss as he dipped his head and captured her lips with his.

Reina's heart soared, and she clung to her mate desperately, unwilling to ever be apart from him again now that the truth seemed to have been confirmed. She kissed him back with equivalent passion and love, relishing in once more being engulfed in her mate's arms and scent.

Gwen smiled at the scene, happy for her friend and the reunion of the tragic couple. She looked down to see Ryan staring at his parents with an expression that words could never describe. This elicited a laugh from Gwen, and she gently nudged his shoulder with her hip. "Okay, maybe that didn't answer everything; but, you'll have your answers soon. I promise" she said with a grin.