Monroe - Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Eight. A peek behind the curtain.

The prince of Maldonia, Prince Artemis of House Arteides, the bear killer, the slayer of the elves is crowned King when his father King Arteides dies. The whole kingdom of Maldonia depends on him now, but he puts the throne in jeopardy after he refuses to marry Princess Thelma of House Taelin from the kingdom of Prophis and opt to marry Aurora Kholin, the love of his life.

Aurora is a seer and a powerful witch who has yet to aknowledge her powers, only Artemis knows of it. Lucian Mithandir is in exile recruiting an army to fight Prince Castellan of house Taelin for the throne of Prophis. Artemis wants no parts of this war, but he is very aware whoever wins the war will later turn to Maldonia.

Artemis has no clue that a bigger war is coming which will set kingdoms on fire, Aurora has seen it in her dreams and it’s for the Sweet Waters Throne in Maldonia. The end is uncertain but the ways are clearer, who will sit on the throne after the war between Lord Gandalf of House Old City who owns mighty huge lions and King Artemis of Maldonia who has Aurora and dragons breathing fire.

~ Excerpt Scene ~

The men of the secret council remained behind after the king walked away to further discuss the situation at the borders of the kingdom. The battlefield was named Stonedance and that’s because of its stony surface and this part of the place was usually abandoned and without inhabitants. Some people claimed Stonedance was cursed, that’s because it laid in the middle of two powerful kingdoms.

Stonedance was neither cold nor humid as it stood between the hot and shining Maldonia, and the freezing and gothic Prophis. It was the perfect place to fight and camp, the two battalions had all the space to themselves to prepare for war. Three hundred thousand men loyal to King Castellan Taelin of Prophis laid on the East, and two hundred thousand men keen to keep Lucian Mithandir.

Whatever was going on in Stonedance was of no Artemis’s concern as he focused more on sharpening his swordsmanship skills. He trained from morning to noon, with the lord commander of his kingsguard, Sir Dante Lucan who he befriended and these two became inseparable in a span of just a week.

“Come to me! Hard” Artemis urged his lord commander to not be easy on him.

“If I go hard on you Your Grace, we shall be left without a king to rule” replied Sir Dante Lucan with a smile. “You are getting better day by day; may I ask why the sudden interest in swordsmanship?”

.....

“I am a celebrated knight Sir Dante. I have fought in wars ever since I was nine”

“Exactly my point Your Grace. You are good with your sword, and have been for some time” Sir Dante smiled softly “Is it the war in Stonedance which makes His Grace nervous?”

“Some say I am ought to join my uncle, support the house my mother called it home. While others say my uncle betrayed me the very first day he took Mithandir inside his walls”

“And what do you say, Your Grace?”

Aurora joined them and Sir Dante excused himself. It had been a week and four days since they were last seeing at court.

“I am a warlock Artemis” For the first time ever since Artemis knew Aurora, this was the first she’s declared and accepted her true nature. “I am a seer, spaewife, or any other words you may want to use but I am not normal”

“We have talked about this Aurora, when the time is right…”

Aurora interrupted “The time is now!” she said. “I can feel the flames in my dreams getting hotter. If I don’t seek the help I need now, I fear for my own existence. I saw myself riding a ─” she paused softly.

Artemis leaned on to her “Riding a what?” he asked suspiciously.

“It may sound crazy, I mean I have never heard of such creatures and even if they exist…”

“What were you riding Aurora?”

After a few seconds of not being sure how will Artemis react or take it, Aurora finally exhaled softly and brought herself to speak “A dragon” and then she paused waiting to see how will Artemis take all of it.

Once the ultimate Soldier King and a supreme assassin, empowered by a magical Magic Bracelet, had mastered Cultivation, Medical Skill, X-ray vision, and foreseeing the future… became an omnipotent master of pretense. Come, come, come, watch the omnipotent master of pretense teach you a few tricks of pretense.A demonic man who walked out of a major foreign prison, yet married a cold Queen-like CEO wife, leading a life where “you glare at me with displeasure, and I look at you with disdain.”

She was a mere human who only wanted to live a peaceful life in the countryside when she found her mate.He was the workaholic Alpha who never indulged himself in worldly pleasures, instead, he derived joy from being powerful.Their destiny intertwined when they both possessed what they yearned for, peace and love.__________________Before turning the age of 18 years, Alpha Lucas of the Clown Lovers pack claimed to be Aurora's mate and wanted to make her his Luna.Unfortunately, she was accused of infidelity on her wedding day and was rejected by the man who claimed to be her mate and loved her. She had to witness her parents' death and her inheritance snatched away from her.“I, Dominion Lucas, reject you, Madison Aurora as my mate.”………………………………………..After being sold as a slave, she was bought to be a breeder for the Alpha of the Crescent Red pack, the most influential and greatest pack in the country.Damien, who was the Alpha of the Crescent moon pack, didn't spare Aurora a glance, and she was thrown into the deepest part of the mansion to work with the omegas.Five years later, she had meticulously planned her parent's death, ready to set it in motion.Unfortunately, Alpha Damien, who neglected her for years, suddenly got his interest piqued and won't let her out of his sight.Aurora, who never believed she could be blessed with another mate, decided not to fall in love again. Seeing how the Alpha favored her, she decided to take advantage of his help and avenge her parent's death.The tables turned when she discovered he was her mate, another mate?…………………………………………“Mate? I have no such thing,” she said, denying the spark she felt between her and Damien, even though it was glaring. Her heart warmed at his voice, her face warmed at his touch. He already shattered her resolve, but she vowed not to be weak again.Yet, how could she deny not feeling anything for him when he had such effects on her? But she was afraid, terrified of being betrayed by her mate again!There were rare cases of having two mates, why did the moon goddess bestow such a fate upon her?“You can't deny it forever, and I have no intention of letting you go,” he said, his eyes filled with anger, seeing how she was so disgusted about the idea of having him as her mate.“I have nothing to offer you.” She tried convincing him to snap him out of the trance he was in. Only if she knew he was in his right mind.“I only need my mate,” saying that he took heavy strides toward the door and slammed it shut after him.After finding the strength to release her painful past, Aurora is confronted by her first mate, Alpha Lucas, who seeks to reclaim her.Faced with a choice, will she return to the one who betrayed her, or remain with Alpha Damien, who offered her nothing but peace?

Saintess wants to turn me into a sword spirit; the master wants me to be a rebel disciple; the blindfolded sword fairy senior sister wants to make me her slave; the fox from Qingqiu harbors ill intentions; the little dragon girl always drools over me; the princess wants to keep me in the deep palace...All I want is to cultivate immortality, so why do they always have designs on me!? Many years later, someone asks Lu Jin'an what kind of Dao heart supported him to get this far? Lu Jin'an glances at his charming and alluring wives and sighs faintly：“I just wanted freedom.”