From The Ashes Novel – Welcome, your majesties. As promised, this is my first born daughter Indigo. She will be the mate to one of the princes, my jerk father announced. “Well, then it is our pleasure to welcome you, Indigo. And these,” King Ruben said motioning to the men in the back, “are my sons. The princes of the kingdom, Valen”, he pointed to the one with black hair, “and Von,” he said while gesturing to the other. “So, you’re supposedly one of our mates, eh?” Von asked. I gave him a stiff nod and he laughed. “This whole thing is ridiculous! She could end up not being either of our mates, and then we’re stuck with a pathetic she-wolf who is probably good for nothing. She’ll just take up room in the kingdom, or we’ll have to kill her. We should just leave now and forget this nonsense,” Von said while his eyes flashed red. Valen huffed in annoyance. “I am not a good for nothing she-wolf. I have worked hard to achieve the top student title in our academy, and I will not be talked about as if I’m not here,” I said.
Indigo’s POV “Now its time for the acceptances. Our students this year have been working extremely hard, and we’ve had more failures than usual due to the new testing and training tactics we have implemented. However, a select few were able to overcome these challenges and really excel, gaining the right to be given the title of warrior before the whole pack tonight. One student among all has truly proven her worth and excellence in all forms of combat. Not only that, she has shown resilience and determination through the years and grown farther than we’ve ever seen,” Beta Alexander paused and took look down at the paper in his hand, and upon seeing the name, his face contorted in confusion. “Please, give a warm welcome to our top student of the year, Indigo Murray.”
The crowd fell silent aside from a few shocked intakes of breath. I straightened my shoulders and rose from my seat. As I began making my way toward the stage, I could hear people whispering about me. “How did she of all wolves make top student?” one said. “Something must be wrong, she must have changed the card so it said her name,” another replied. “She’s so tiny, it doesn’t make any sense.” I sighed, but continued walking with a blank look on my face. I took the stage and Beta Alexander moved away from the mic to give me room to speak. “Thank you, Beta Alexander, for that wonderful introduction. Thank you as well, to the master trainers who gave me the honor of top student. I know not all members of this pack may agree with the decision, but I can assure you all that it is not a title I take lightly. I pledge my life and blood to protect this pack, and will do whatever it takes to make sure we remain in harmony and peace, and to fight for all at times where we may not.
Again, thank you for the honor and I hope you can all see this as a promise to keep you safe,” I said with more confidence than I felt. It was silent for a beat, before Artemis began clapping, her family and Aunt Maddie following just behind her. Reluctantly, the rest of the pack clapped as I exited the stage as well. I dared a glance to my father, who was regarding me coolly. I quickly looked away and took my seat. The rest of the announcements went by quickly, and soon we were all gathered again on stage and being presented with medals that signified our status of official pack warriors. We all received small golden pins with a crescent moon enveloped in a circle and a long intricate sword in front to signify protection. However, mine differed a tiny bit, as there was another circle of silver wrapped around the gold one to prove my abilities. I looked down and the small pin in my hand and grinned. It would take a lot to gain trust and respect from the pack, but in this moment I couldn’t be more proud of myself and what I had accomplished. – What felt like hours later, the party was finally coming to an end. I had mostly been in my seat all night, aside from the times Artemis dragged me out to dance, but despite it all, I felt happy.
This was a chance for me to really change mine and Aunt Maddie’s lives. We would finally be able to move out of our shabby little cabin, and get her the care she needs. My thoughts were broken up as Aunt Maddie approached me. “Come, dear, it is time,” she said in a lowered tone. I frantically scanned the room for Artemis, but she was no where in sight. With a sigh of defeat, I linked my arm in hers, and we made our way to the spiral stair case. I supported most of Aunt Maddie’s weight as we made our way slowly up the stairs. When we finally got to the top, we had to take a seat for her to catch her breath. Just after she sat down, the double doors at the end of the hall were thrown open and Gina was making her way toward us. “I hope no one saw you come up. Get in here, in case people start snooping their way up here,” she commanded while looking at her perfect nail polish.
Aunt Maddie rose, taking me with her and we stepped into the King’s office. It was a large, well cared for room with dark wooden walls and a large window on one side. There were bookshelves on either side of the large wooden desk in the middle of the room and two chairs were placed in front of it. That’s where we were to sit, I presumed. I glanced around and saw the Queen and Jackie and Jamie lounging lazily on soft white couches near a roaring fireplace. “Sit,” the King’s voice boomed. We did as we were told. He turned his chair so he was facing us and linked his fingers together. He leaned forward and said, “Do you have any idea why I’ve called you here today, Indigo?” “No, your majesty. I am not aware of why,” I replied with my eyes trained on my hands.
“As you know from your studies at the academy, our kingdom is one of the largest in all of werewolf history, rivaled only by the DarkBlood kingdom.” I glanced up, the question clear in my eyes. “DarkBlood and Moonlight have had an uneasy alliance for many generations, but regardless, their savage ways seem to get the best of them. They have some demands that they want met in order to keep the alliance active and not delve our packs into war,” he continued. “I do know this from my studies, but what does this have to do with me? What kind of demands are they making?” I asked. He smirked at me. “DarkBlood has demanded my first born daughter, the heir of this kingdom, as a trade for continuing our alliance. You, Indigo, are to fulfill that role. They believe you will be the mate to one of the princes.” I couldn’t breathe. I was shocked. I was being traded? Just like that? Just as my life seemed to be looking up in this pack? Aunt Maddie shifted beside me.