Iris:
Four Years Later:
"Mama is a princess, Mama is a princess."
I giggled and laughed as I watched my two precious little babies sing for me while lying in bed.
After the hard labor of every day, observing the fighters and doing office work, I would return home and, when I looked at my babies, all the tiredness went away.
My pregnancy after I returned home was, strangely enough, very comforting. My parents took care of me, and the people around me loved me. Even though I still did not have my lycan, they didn't treat me badly like they used to.
I gave birth to a baby boy and a baby girl, and after that, everything changed. Their voices filled the mansion. All the sadness that had once hung over our home was gone.
These babies brought smiles to everyone's faces. They were loved by all.
My father gave me the task of observing the warriors after I had trained for one year.
After giving birth, I wanted to do something. I wanted to finally take the crown and place it on my head—not only to wear it, but also to work hard for our people.
We had been cast aside long ago as beasts, but I had lived with the werewolves. They were no better.
Colin and Amy were my entire world, and I could tell the whole community loved them.
"Okay kids, you have to go to bed now because Mommy needs to make plans for the fighters, alright?" I said as I tucked them in.
I leaned down and kissed my baby daughter's forehead, and she giggled. Then I turned to Colin's bed.
When I bent over and pressed my lips to his forehead, I felt he was still a little warm.
"Are you okay?" I asked, and his lips pushed into a pout.
"I've been having headaches these days, Mommy," he said, his lips trembling.
"You've been complaining about headaches for a while now. I'll get you an appointment with a doctor," I told him, trying to smile even though deep down I was so concerned and scared.
I loved my children so much, and anything that worried them always worried me even more.
My baby gave me a small smile as he closed his eyes.
I left their room and went straight to my father's study. He usually met there with his right-hand man and my mother to discuss the prosperity of our community.
As soon as I entered, I could tell they were ready for this moment. I sat down, feeling anxious.
"He is showing the same symptoms as Brother Wilson," I said, holding back tears as I bit my bottom lip.
They exchanged worried glances.
Wilson was my elder brother, similar to me but not exactly like the rest of us. He complained of headaches, and then he began killing his own kind. He was locked in chains in a basement for a long time until my parents told me he had passed away. And now my son was showing the same symptoms.
I didn't want him to lose his mind at a young age and end up chained somewhere.
"Oh, that is so sad," my mother murmured, reaching for my hand. She had never been the same after that. She always demanded perfection. She made me suffer because she claimed that if I was fine, then her son should have been too.
"There is only one thing we can do now," my father said, almost as if he already knew the answer, as if he knew I would bring it up.
"What is it?" I asked, anxiously looking at them.
"After your brother, I tried very hard to find a cure because I didn't want anyone else to go through it. But there seemed to be only one option," my father said softly, yet with determination and confidence.
"What is it?" I asked again.
"The river. The water from the river's heart."
As soon as my father mentioned the blue river, my chest tightened.
"Why do you think everyone wants that river? It has healing properties, as many claim," he explained, and I took a deep breath.
"How are we going to get it?" I asked, already prepared to fetch it for my son.
"How are you supposed to do that? The river is guarded not only by the Alpha King of the South but also by the North," my mother hissed as she mentioned my alpha mate, and I clenched my fists.
"I'm sure there must be some way we can get it," I insisted, and my father exchanged a long look with his right-hand man.
Silence hung in the air before my father finally responded.
"Well, you can always go back and ask your husband for help. You are still married to him, aren't you?" His tone was mocking, but I ignored it and stayed focused, even though I was afraid.
"You want me to go back and beg him for help?" I asked, showing through my intense gaze that I was unsettled. My father nodded.
"Yes. It is time for you to face him. He did not treat you well. He left you, forced you out, and replaced you. Now, for your son, you must return. Win his trust the way he once won yours, play with him the way he played you, and bring us the water from the blue river," He spoke so calmly that it sent a chill through me.
"I will not do that. I will never go back to him and beg him for help." I slammed my hand on the table, met my father's eyes, and wondered how he could suggest something like that.
"Well then, you will have to go through what we went through. Watch your son go insane and then lose his life." Those were a grandfather's words to his grandchild's pain that made me uneasy. He could have said it differently. That showed me something was wrong.
My mother saw my expression and spoke up.
"Do you think we only forgave you because you were pregnant and alone? No. We forgave you because we wanted revenge. You have to pay for all the years you ran away from us and betrayed us." She paused to narrow her eyes at me intently.
"And those werewolves do not deserve that river for themselves. So either you help us or nobody helps you." My mother finished, and I stared in shock.
It was all a plan. A fucking plan to get the water. All these years I thought they had been honest with me.
"Before you start crying, think like a mother. You have to go back. You will be the punishment your husband never got. Go ahead, ruin his life and save your children at the same time," my father said, and I kept looking at his face in disbelief.