Chapter 297

297 The End And The Beginning

The reconstruction of the entire Werewolf Council Headquarters was expected to take at least five months, not including the gigantic Moon Goddess statue.

The gigantic statue was, according to the legend, not built by men.

A long, long time ago, the Moon Goddess lived in the North Ridge Forest with her werewolf children. It was a peaceful period when she got to spend every single day with children who adored and worshipped her.

Unfortunately, the Moon Goddess did not belong to the earth.

One day, she found that she had stayed for way too long. The time had come for her to leave.

When she told her children that she had to go back to heaven, all the werewolves cried bitterly. They begged her not to leave them behind; take them to heaven if need be.

That was one thing that the Moon Goddess could not do. It was not yet time for them to come and live with her in heaven, she said.

To provide solace for the werewolves, the Moon Goddess left an imprint behind. This imprint was the gigantic statue that henceforth watched over the children that the Moon Goddess left behind.

Having sustained a great material loss among others, the Werewolf Council was not particularly satisfied with how things ended.

.....

First, the Moon Goddess statue crumbled into a heap of ruins.

Second, the headquarters too was utterly destroyed.

Third, the perpetrator got to escape trial by dying quickly.

The elderly left the world with a huge bang, but her descendants and pack members had to suffer from the consequences.

In order to not implicate the other Ironclad Claws pack members in Lucrethia’s sins and give other packs reason to initiate wars, Alpha Kieran Locksworth denounced Lucrethia Woodland the same day she died.

Had she survived, she would be tried as a rogue she-wolf.

In death, neither status nor title mattered. All the werewolf society remembered about Lucrethia was the great extent of the harm that she had caused, particularly to the Infinite Eclipse Pack and the Night Prowler Pack. Her name was tarnished forever in the werewolf society for generations to come.

After both Conrad and Lucrethia Woodland had passed away, Vera Woodland no longer felt at home in the Ironclad Claws Pack.

With Kieran’s blessings, she opted to take Conrad’s remaining children and followed Katreena Swifttalon.

Only Lillian and her mother remained in the Ironclad Claws Pack. They would be the last Woodlands to stay in the pack.

Looking back, it was a wise decision for the Woodlands to leave with Katreena.

In the southern continent, the werewolf packs were scattered without a central government body. Without strict rules and regulations to live by, the werewolves lived freely without many restrictions. They did not bother integrating with human civilization and chose instead to live as close as possible to the werewolves of the past.

Though Lucrethia certainly condemned Katreena’s marriage to a faraway pack back then, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. She had found her place there, and gained respect from both her mate and her pack.

In the pack she married into, Alpha and Luna reigned together. They had equal standing, both were highly respected by their pack members.

In a way, she had become a leader of the pack. Was that not what Lucrethia wanted for Katreena all along?

And now, Vera too might find a home in the faraway land. Lillian’s younger siblings, too.

Maybe, just maybe, so Elder Kragen mused that day, Lionel Woodland did not hate Katreena at all. He saw Katreena’s potential, and he did not want her to be crushed by the patriarchal society.

She might be far away, but she would be safe and happy.

If only Lucrethia had seen it through Lionel’s eyes. The lady had automatically assumed that Katreena was doomed. That her future was ruined.

It turned out that among all three of Lucrethia’s children, Katreena was the one who gained the most.

The Woodlands left with Katreena Swifttalon on the same day they reclaimed Lucrethia Woodland’s body.

Their departure marked the end of the Woodland family bloodline in the North American continent, but also the start of happier times.

Spring began in March, but the season culminated in April. Despite losing the ancient building that served as its headquarters for hundreds of years, the Werewolf Council could not just cease its operation.

A smaller building was built post haste near the huge construction site where the new headquarters were supposed to stand, and the council reopened its doors to those who needed its service.

On the very first day, Alpha Ronan Silverback and his future Luna, Lucien Clearwater showed up close before noon. Their fingers were intimately intertwined as they walked toward the temporary council headquarters.

“Welcome, Alpha Ronan and Lucien Clearwater,” the two young ladies at the reception counter beamed at them.

“Are you here to register your marriage?”

Ronan and Lucien exchanged smiles before they answered in unison, “Yes.”

“Then please head to the third chamber from left,” one of them instructed.

Inside the chamber, three people were already waiting for them.

The first one was a High Priest who was in charge of accepting the marriage registration. The second one was Elder Rick, and the third one was Elder Aaron.

“Welcome, Alpha Ronan and Lucien Clearwater. Please join us,” the High Priest greeted them with a smile.

Once the couple took their seats, they were questioned by their elders about their intentions.

“Alpha Ronan, is it your intention to take Lucien Clearwater as your Luna in a sacred wedding that is blessed by the Moon Goddess?” Elder Rick queried on Lucien’s behalf.

“Yes,” Ronan answered.

On the Infinite Eclipse Pack’s behalf, Elder Aaron turned to Lucien and asked, “Lucien Clearwater, is it your intention to accept Alpha Ronan as your mate and serve the Infinite Eclipse Pack as its Luna with all your heart?”

“Yes,” Lucien answered.

Both elders nodded at the High Priest, who then unrolled a parchment and laid it before Ronan and Lucien.

“In that case, please add your thumbprints here and here to express your agreement to marry each other.”

Lucien moved to dip his thumb into the ink pad, but Ronan grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

“Lulu, wait.”