I'm kind of surprising myself at how fast I'm updating and how fast the story is going. I've decided to stop worrying so much about "keeping it close" to anything the author (Amelia Atwater-Rhodes) might have and just have fun with this and create my own "version".

Note: If any of you have also read Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause, then you might now where I'm getting all my "wolf facts".

She closed her eyes and sat on the forest floor, taking all in with her sense of smell and hearing. Those senses had never failed her. She was a wolf. She was a daughter of the moon and destined to be queen. The oldest and wisest of the pack, Vesta, had seen her fate when she was born.

Auria felt the wind tousle her long dark brown hair and caress her richly tanned skin. There was a shift in the winds and with that, a change would eventually follow. The sun would soon set and would be followed by the beauty of the moon. Tonight, she would not run with the others. The others in the pack were still far too stunned by the fact that their tyrant ruler, Istain, had died a mysterious death. Now her pack was being lead by another imbecile, Ierek, the son of that tyrant, and who would soon meet his end as well. She could easily lie with Ierek and be his mate, thus gaining her place as queen, but there would be no joy or pleasure in it. Besides, Ierek was not meant to be alpha male of that pack, as neither was his father. Her mate would come soon, the man who had submerged himself in the shadows of the forest would come back to claim her as his queen and his mate.

She stood from the soft ground and brushed off the dirt that had clung to her. Auria made her way back to her packs dwelling, the footsteps intertwining with the sound of her pack's thundering run under the moon that was beginning to show. The leaves that were falling from the forest tumbled and dance about the soft ground in a whirl of color, something that had been unseen in Istain's dark reign. She stood facing the stone pillars that had been started on by their brave and true leader, Orien. He was dead now as well. No one dared to admit it, but Istain had been the cause of his death. With Orien's death, he took Ivanka, Orien's mate, as his by force, and left Orien's son and only heir to his fate. Now, what was left of Orien's reign was nothing but stone remains of his dreams that now covered by the green life of the earth.

"When my father first glimpsed the beginnings of the kingdom between the avians and serpiente, he dreamt of a permanent home for us as well…"

Auria closed her eyes at the sound of the voice that had been familiar to her as a young girl. His voice had changed from a boy's to a man's but she had known it was him when she sensed him by her side. She could feel the wind play with her hair and the leaves caress her body in their dance.

She breathed the cool air as it filled her lungs and a small smile of relief spread across her face. "You have returned…" she breathed out those simple words as she opened her eyes to face him.

He nodded his head and a small glint of the pup she had grown up with could stoll be seen. She began to speak once more but with a finger to her lips, he stopped her.

"Where is she?" Auria blinked her eyes at his question and knew instantly who he spoke of. Ivanka, his mother, had isolated herself in the ruins of what had once been the beginnings of their own court and rarely followed the others after Istain died. Istain had not been kind to her and it was clear Ivanka regretted losing her son.

Auria led him to Ivanka in silence and stood far off to the side when she had them both face to face. Ivanka looked up, her face haggard and her eyes empty as she beheld the man in front of her. Auria looked up to the sky and could see the crescent moon reveal itself from the clouds that had hidden it moments ago. As she glanced back at Ivanka and her son, she could see that Ivanka had realized who the man that stood before her was and received him in her tired arms. Auria walked out, not looking back at such an intimate moment, knowing that her pack would be led by a good leader and that her fate would be entwined with his.

Reviews/comments?