The Moon Phase Trilogy | Protected
Twenty-One

Ericka and Jayden were still hugging when Winston came over to separate the two. Ruby had healed him for the most part, he would do the rest of it as time went by. Shaun just rolled her eyes, but was actually very happy for them. “Sir, you’re okay!” Jayden exclaimed.

Winston cracked a smile, “Indeed I am, Jayden. Thanks to Ruby and her healing work,” he gazed over to Ruby thankful. He looked down at his chest with a sigh, “Where are the artifacts? We are going to need them more than I thought.”

Ericka looked at him perplexed, “Artifacts? What are we going to use those for?” Her necklace she wore was over her clothes and Winston glanced at it with a smile.

“I’m glad you decided to put it on. Do you feel stronger?” He asked, dodging the question. He was more interested in Ericka than the artifacts. Ericka nodded her head in response and Winston gave a subtle grin. “I am glad to hear that. Jayden, do you have Ericka’s artifact?”

He turned to face the werewolf boy with a raised brow. “Yes sir, I do,” Jayden replied, handing him the artifact that belonged to Ericka. It was a bow with a quiver of arrows hanging from the top of the bow. They were connected and the arrow heads glowed when it got close to Ericka.

“Whoa...why is it glowing?” Ericka asked in interest. She held her hands out to hold it and when she got it in her hands, her whole body glowed. “Why am I glowing?!”

Winston smiled and stepped back from Ericka, admiring her and the artifact together, “This only happens when a royal has found their artifact,” he mentioned. “I have been waiting for this since you were young. Your father has been waiting for this since you were in your mother’s womb.” Everyone in the room just looked at the vampire man perplexed.

The artifact slowly dissolved and it went into her necklace. Ericka began to panic, “Um...sir, why is it dissolving and getting sucked into my pendant? Is that supposed to happen?” All Winston did was nod. “What does this mean!” Ericka continued to panic.

“What are you talking about, sir?” Ruby asked, her head tilted in interest. “I know there are royals within the werewolf and lycan community, I am one myself, but what makes us royals are different from other ones. Unnatural royals have always been a mystery. I’ve also never heard of these artifacts that make our kind stronger. Care to explain?”

Winston turned to face Ruby, “You of all werewolves should know this, my dear. You are the Patron of Wisdom for a reason,” he commented calmly. He knew she would figure it out in due time. Ruby pouted a little and heard the twins outside the door.

“Daddy, we did what you asked of us!” Noelia chimed.

Grant could be heard groaning at his sister, “Why do you have to be so childish?”

“I am not childish!”

“Are too!”

“Children, that is enough, either come in or go to your rooms!” Winston hissed. The door slowly opened and the Lytle twins stepped in the large office. “Now, you two need to explain to me what my job for you was, because what you did was not what I asked of you,” his voice grew louder and louder as he spoke.

Noelia glared at Ericka and Shaun and Grant glared at Ruby and Jayden, “Daddy, we didn’t mean for it to go this far...” Noelia commented.

“Noelia, how far did you mean it to go? I don’t understand what was so difficult about following my directions for your task.”

“Daddy, we were told to get the necklace from Ericka and bring it to you.”

“Did you do that?”

“Um...yeah!”

“Noelia, we didn’t do that. Uncle Zandyr told us not to,” Grant whispered.

“What did he tell you to do with it and with her?”

The twins glanced at each other, fear in their eyes. Winston narrowed his eyebrows and the others just stood there, interested in what the vampire twins had to say for their explanation, “Well, um...daddy, he told us to take the necklace and give it to some lady he had crowned his queen. And then...” Noelia gulped, shaking in her boots.

Grant continued, “and then he wanted Ericka killed. He told us that the new ‘queen’ should do it, but I don’t believe she is able to.”

Ericka’s eyes flickered from her normal blue to the dark blue that Dusk’s were. Anger filled her blood and a low growl escaped her lips, “How dare you speak of my mother that way?! She is the strongest woman I know!”

Grant raised his brows, taking a step towards her, “I wasn’t saying she wasn’t strong. I was simply stating the fact that she can’t kill her own daughter. I respect her for that. I’m sure dad wouldn’t be able to kill Noelia or I if it came down to it,” he explained simply.

Noelia nodded frantically, “Yeah.”

Winston gave a soft smile, putting his hand on Ericka’s shoulder. Ericka could feel her whole body tingle and relax, “Children, it has been an eventful day. We are all tense and on edge, which we should be since we know Zandyr is out to kill me and Ericka, along with anyone that gets in his way.”

The others looked at him and Skull spoke up, “What about Asher? What will happen with him?” Her voice was quiet and fragile.

“He will deal with punishment from me, Skull. Don’t worry, I won’t harm him too badly, but I do need to see why he had become so hostile.”

“I think I may know why...”

Winston looked at the girl in interest and gave a sharp nod, “We shall converse later on about your theory, dear. Everyone may go to their rooms, which the twins will show you. Ericka, I will let your guardians know you are alright.”

Ericka nodded and looked to the others, “Shall we?” she grinned.

“Sure,” Shaun replied and Jayden came up behind them with a wide grin and wrapped his arms around their shoulders.

“Where are we goin’?” Jayden asked.

“Follow us!” Noelia chimed with a fangy grin.

The others followed the twins down the long corridors in the west wing of the building. “This is our family’s history hallway. And this is our uncle and daddy.” Noelia explained cheerily.

Grant rolled his eyes, “Can you stop explaining our family’s history and move faster?” He complained as he pushed his sister.

Ericka and the others snickered at how the twins argued. Ericka looked at the picture with Winston and Zandyr, a shiver running up her spine. She felt a rumble in her gut and a low growl escaped her lips. Shaun glanced over and raised her brows, “You alright, Rick?”

She wasn’t paying attention, Dusk was trying to take over, but Ericka was pushing her down the best she could. The feeling she had for the one that took her mother away from her was strong and she wanted to get her revenge. “Earth to Ricky. You there?” Jayden asked, waving his hand in front of her face.

Ericka shook her head, her eyes squeezed shut, “Um, yeah. Sorry. Just in my own world.” She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. “Can we catch up with the twins now?”

Shaun and Jayden stared at her concerned, “Yeah. You sure you’re okay?” Shaun asked.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

“Alright. I don’t believe you, but alright.”

Ericka stuck her tongue out at her best friend and Shaun copied. “Girls, come on! We are gonna get lost in here if we don’t catch up to Grant and Noelia!”

“No we aren’t!” They said in unison. They looked down the hall and couldn’t see Grant or Noelia. “Okay...we just did...”

“Now what are we gonna do?” Jayden threw up his arms.

“Panic?” Shaun suggested.

“Scream, and run around to find them?” Ericka mentioned.

“Oooo! How about both?” Ruby suggested with a grin and shrug of her shoulders.

Skull snickered quietly to herself, watching them all panic. “I know where we are going. Relax. Just follow me.”

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