" The story everyone has heard about the White Wolves is.. true some details have been left out," the old woman began, piquing Felix's interest. He was still weary of the nameless old woman, but something inside urged him to give her his attention. Mercedes had fallen asleep on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her waist securely. The old woman told him that it was nothing of concern. Mercedes would wake up in some time.
" So what is the true story?" Felix asked, looking into the eyes of the old woman, trying to see if he was lying.
" As you know, the White Wolves were the first of the werewolf generation. They were blessed by the Moon Goddess with immense power as well as wisdom. They lived peacefully with little conflict, but that all changed with the power struggle. With White Wolves being on top of the supernatural food chain, every other supernatural creature wanted a taste of that power. The first is Drakoen, the mage of darkness. He was just a mere mage who wanted to be something. The only way to do it was through marrying the White Wolf, Princess Alvira. She was a bright and kind young woman who just wished for eternal peace," she paused.
Felix was shocked to hear what she was saying. This was completely different from what everyone knew. Drakoen was a simple mage and married to Princess Alvira. Now, who is reborn as Mercedes? All of it just didn't sit well with him. He felt possessive about Mercedes and just couldn't imagine her with another man, much less Drakoen. Was she his mate then? He asked himself and clenched his fist. He was forgetting that what was true was Mercedes's past life and, in the present, she was his soul mate.
" Once the discussion of betrothal was done, Alvira agreed to marry Drakoen with no objections, believing he was a good man. It didn't take long for Drakoen to change and show his true colors. On his wedding day to Alvira, he began his murder spree and completely invaded the pack with his followers. Drakoen managed to kill some wolves and took possession of their powers and built up his energy.
It was a bloody, fierce battle and a lot of people died. Alvira was distraught to see her people die. Even though they had the power, they were outnumbered. Alvira gathered the courage to fight to the death. They were not going to be able to win and Drakoen was going to get their power for his evil intentions. She couldn't let that happen.
Her people put their trust in her and gave her all the power they had. She risked death on the spot with all that power, but it turns out she was special. She obliterated all of Drakoen's forces. Lastly, she fought Drakoen, who was trying to put up a fight, but he was no match for her anymore. She managed to seal him in a cave not far from the place now known as the temple of Alvira. For a thousand years, he was isolated from society, but the barrier weakened, and he was able to break out." The old lady finished the tale like that.
Felix kept quiet and looked at the sleeping Mercedes, wondering how it must have felt to lose everything and sacrifice bet life for the realm. Was it fair for her to have to do it once again? Why was her fate so cruel to her? No one should have to go through what she went through twice. Felix felt that now the Moon Goddess was just being unfair to them.
" Why her? Why should she place her life on the line again? Can't something else be done instead of her having to go up against him," Felix shared his thoughts out loud as he removed a strand of hair that fell over her face? The old lady took it upon herself to answer him.
"It's fate. That's just how it is. It's cruel, but nothing can be done. If your fate has knots in it, you will have to work hard to detangle the knots until there are no more and that's when you will be free. That is what is happening to her. As long as she doesn't destroy him, this cycle will never end. No matter how many times she is reborn, she will have to face him over and over again."
" Well, I don't accept it. It is unfair. The one who created such a fate should be the one to fix it," he argued, looking agitated.
" Unfortunately, you and your mate need to brace yourselves. This is going to be a hard and long fight. A lot of blood will be shed and bodies will drop. It will be the adversity of your lifetime. Stay strong and never give up," said the old lady.
Felix furrowed his eyes. He asked," Who are you, by the way. You know so much about all this, but I don't know about you. And what are you doing in the human world?"
" Me? I am a person who knows everything but nobody knows me. I've been here from the beginning, and I've been watching the world fall and rise again repeatedly. I'm sure I'll leave to tell your story so live well so I will be able to say nice things about you." The answer was so vague it left Felix confused. But she is strange like that, so it wouldn't help to ask her to explain better.
" So what should I do now? How long is she going to stay in this state," he asked again, referring to Mercedes. The old lady didn't say anything and just snapped her fingers. Mercedes woke up gasping for air. Her eyes were wide, and she seemed out of it. Felix didn't know what was going on so he held her shoulders so she didn't struggle. He helped her stabilize by taking deep and slow breaths.
Mercedes was calm and looked around before her eyes landed on the old lady.
" Welcome back Princess," she said to Mercedes with a knowing smile. The only one confused was Felix when Mercedes smiled back with tears in her eyes.
" Thank you, Marina. Thank you so much. I don't know if I will ever be able to thank you for what you've done."
What the hell is going on? Marina? What are they talking about? Felix thought to himself as he listened and watched their interaction.
" There is no need to do that. I told you that no matter what, you will come to find me and I will put everything in place. Now you remember everything and what needs to be done. Tell me, are you ready for this," Marina asked Mercedes.
Mercedes hesitated before shaking her head no. " I don't think I am Marina. I don't think I can do this again, but... I know that I need to put an end to this so no one will get hurt by him anymore. The problem is, I don't know if I will be able to defeat him. There is no one to lend me power. The powers I have won't be enough," she replied, expressing her worry.
" Don't worry about that. I'm sure Alexa already knows what to do. Just listen to her and follow her guidance. Everything will be alright," Marina said assuringly. Felix couldn't take feeling left out anymore and grabbed Mercedes's hand to get her attention.
" Mercedes, what is going on here? I don't understand anything." Mercedes smiled brightly, realizing she had forgotten about her amazing mate.
" Right. Although I've been reborn again, one thing is different. I've been blessed with you, my mate. I'm sure it's all because of the sacrifice I made. Nonetheless, I am grateful to the Moon Goddess." Strangely, she was different. She was like a new person and Felix didn't know how to feel about it. It was overwhelming, but maybe it was for the best.