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“Iamloyal,” I say. “To the future alpha.” My own words surprise me. Where did that come from? But now that I said it, it feels right. I will be loyal to Elden once he is alpha, but I don’t feel the same towards his father.

He is not a good man, Grandma once said. I think I know now what she means.

Grandma looks at me, surprised. Something seems to flicker in her eyes. “That’s an interesting take,” she mutters, but she sounds content with me.

“He is not nice to Elden, and Elden is my friend,” I tell her, remembering the weird conversation Elden and Jace had. “I don’t know much about Alpha Caelum, but I know that Elden looks sad whenever he talks about him. Whoever makes my friends sad, isn’t my friend!”

Grandma stays silent but doesn’t tell me I’m wrong either.

“The luna was outside when we arrived,” I tell her.

“What?” She looks at me in surprise, now. “Are you certain, honey?”

“Yes, Elden was happy to see her,” I say. “I said hello to her, too.”

“Maybe she is feeling better,” Grandma says, sounding hopeful.

“Is she ill?”

“Yes,” Grandma sounds serious. “She is very ill, Flora. You must promise me not to tell anyone.” I nod at her. I am good at keeping secrets. “Luna Carolina suffers from depression.”

“What’s a depression?” I want to know.

“Sometimes she feels really sad, so sad she has difficulties breathing. It’s like the sadness wraps itself around her, and then it’s almost like her mind isn’t with her. And because she feels sad, she feels tired too. You know, things she enjoyed doing, she doesn’t enjoy them anymore.”

I tilt my head, remembering how tired the luna looked and how skinny, and how Elden was surprised to see her. “Can we do anything for her?” I ask.

“Ah, sweetheart,” Grandma sighs. “I’m trying. The alpha fortunately approves of me being close to Carolina. And you-” she pauses. “I think the best you could do is to be there for her son.”

“That’s easy to do,” I assure her. “Grandma?”

“Yes?”

“The story you keep telling me; that’s a prophecy, isn’t it?” I want to know.

Grandma doesn’t look surprised that I know. “I figured with you befriending Prince Elden, you would find out.”

“So, it’s true? The things told in the story about the prince with the strong wolf spirit and the beautiful, mysterious princess saving the prince… is this going to be me saving Elden one day?”

“Probably,” Grandma smiles. “But sweetheart, the prophecy is not… it’s not an actual prophecy. Prophecies normally come in a spelled-out version, in words. This here, concerning you and Prince Elden, is more like a vision. One of the special wolvesfrom the council saw it. The words to describe it have just been hers and our attempt to make sense out of it.”

I am not sure if I understand it, but apparently, someone saw an awesome movie in their mind, and Elden and I are the main characters. “So, what do you think it says?”

“In the vision they saw two children: the girl surrounded by light and the boy accompanied by a strong wolf. When they touch, they can feel that they are-” she pauses. “They can feel tingles.”

“Like Elden and me,” I say.

“We further know the date these two children were born, and it led them to Elden and you,” she tells me. “It says that the prince will be faced with true hardships, and the princess of the light will save him from the darkness.”

“That’s me!” I beam, although I don’t like that talk about the darkness.

“It also says that the young prince’s powers might either destroy him or help him rise above everyone.”

I frown. “And the princess?”

“The princess is said to carry many secrets.”

“I don’t have any secrets,” I say. “If I had any, I would tell you.”