Third-Person POV

Deveraux Palace; Alhambra, Montana...

"Dominic was a loyal soldier who was dedicated to the cause," King Josiah said as he, his wife Ember, and Zechariah came in from the private funeral that was held for Dominic Olleander, the latest victim from Eric Girbaud's killing spree. "I still can't believe that he's been murdered only one day after laying Anissa and the Errie family to rest back in Oklahoma."

"He was ambushed by that monster," Zechariah said, shrugging out of this black dress suit jacket before handing it to a nearby maid. "One moment, he was getting ready to escort Amberlynn, Wyatt, and Tamera back to El Paso and then slaughtered with his throat slashed and insides devoured the next. Everyone was freaked out as all the guards were out trying to catch Girbaud."

"Emma and Pietro were the ones who were traumatized the most," Queen Ember commented before she and her family were ushered into a waiting parlor where a small lunch was set up. "My heart breaks for Yolanda and Carter, Dominic's parents. They had high hopes that their son would be ready to be ready to help you out, Zechariah."

The young prince sighed heavily, his wolf Jarix whimpering inside his head now that he lost his best friend after losing their mate. His tiredness soon transformed into anger on how Eric Girbaud was still thirsty for revenge even after murdering innocent lives. "I pray every day for the souls of the fallen to find rest in Elysium or being given a chance to start over back on Earth," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "Girbaud is losing more and more of his sanity and is too far beyond reproach for what he's done to his victims: the pups, the elderly, Anissa, the Errie family, even members of the Blue Galaxy pack as well as his pack who turned on him as well as the innocent bystanders both from our world and the human world. None of them were safe from his rage. Everyone's on edge and calling for his head. Sometimes I even wonder if I'm truly worthy of being the future king of the wolves if this goes on any further."

"You are worthy of being the next ruler, boy," King Josiah said in a booming voice, furious and sad as his son was self-depreciating himself. "I've seen you grow up to be a mature prince and a fine young man who is a fair and wise prince who favors all and yet stern in the way of justice. You hold no partiality towards everyone and have been blessed by Cronus and Rhea to be given a second-chance mate after learning that Tauren Knox was posthumously meant to be yours. The way that you eulogized him showed me that you would've been a good husband to him and lead this kingdom into a new era."

"Yes," Queen Ember agreed, setting her glass of tea to the side. "Have faith, Zechariah, and know that it will be made right in the end as the wicked will be indeed brought low and the meek shall be given high honors. Tauren wouldn't have wanted you to mourn for the fallen. He would've wanted you to be a great ruler. Stay strong until the end."

Prince Zechariah nodded slowly. "I just want this nightmare to be over and for Girbaud to finally meet his end."

"And he will, Zechariah," his father assured him. "When the time comes, you will fulfill the duty of ridding this world of the feral alpha once and for all."

*********************

Blue Galaxy pack, Oklahoma City...

"I feel bad for the royal family," Pietro said to Elisse as they were in her bedroom, still reeling from the brutal murder of the future royal Beta. "Dominic was one of the good ones and was loyal down to the end. It breaks my heart that he and so many others had to die by your brother's hand."

"I know," Elisse hummed as the rain began to fall outside with a low rumble of thunder. "I'm only scared for what might happen next. I know that you, me, and my parents will also have to give up our lives before Eric finally meets his match, but I don't think that I'm prepared enough to die just yet. Not because I don't want to die, but because I never had a true relationship with you. There's not enough time for you and I and who knows what might happen next?"

Pietro sat up on the bed, turning slightly to face his mate. "I know the feeling, my love. Neither one of us wants to say goodbye before we even had a chance to say a firm hello to a blossoming romance," he commented. "Even when Joel and Elisse were alive and we began taking things slow to adjust to the mating bond, we mainly saw ourselves as friends who were getting used to each other. It makes me think about what could've been if things might've been on a different level."

"I don't think that would matter since the outcome might be the same if Tauren was alive and exiled," Elisse noted. "If anything, I think that Eric would've still made plans to kill him off and everyone else who took his side. But as for you and me, I think that we might've had a good run of a mating courtship and a marriage that would've lasted as long as possible, which might as well be permanent since I don't want to think about anyone taking you away from me."

"Likewise."

The young couple shared a laugh. "So, what do we do now, Elisse? Pietro asked hesitantly. "With us being fated to die by Eric's hands, there's no telling what might happen beforehand. I don't want to go to the afterlife knowing that you and I never had a chance to seal the mating bond or even get intimate."

Elisse sighed, her wolf purring as they took in the sad look in the dark-skinned fairy's eyes. "Pietro? If I ask you to do something spontaneously crazy with me, would you do it?"

"That depends on what you want to do," Pietro answered.

Before she lost her nerve, Elisse pulled her mate in for a hungry kiss that was full of desperate longing and desire as liquid electricity began to fill the air in her bedroom. "Wow," Pietro breathed as the kiss ended. "Elisse, are you-"

"Pietro, if the next several days are when nothing is ever guaranteed and we might die, then I want to take today to finally mate with you," Elisse cut him off as she kicked off her sneakers. "And as crazy as it might sound, I want us to finally do something reckless and yet feel right."

The fairy nodded once, him feeling the affirmation from Isladora his mother as he and Elisse began tentatively undressing each other before the female wolf locked the door, grabbed a condom for Pietro and a diaphragm for her, and then...began to unleash their inhibitions to do what needed to  be done as young lovers. And for the next two hours, they were lost in the throes of lovemaking and sealing their mating bonds as one knowing that this would be their one and only opportunity to do so.

Of course, gentle reader, you'll have to use your imagination to fill in the holes yourselves.

How do you like those egg rolls, folks!

It's a bit of a filler chapter, but  it does have some elements of what to expect as we're getting closer to the end of this story. Still, you already know  that this chapter should keep you wanting more and more!

Coming up next, we're checking in with Eric yet again as he's planning his next kill and setting his sights for Montana with a plan to dethrone the royal family. Stay tuned!

Dedicating this to MissKatey and Mrsdeemo! Song "Adagio for Strings" by Bond.

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