The Isle (Chronicles of the Irish Princess Book 1)

The search for Brayden was still happening, I felt bad partying knowing he was still missing. Alex was trying to keep busy with work and preparations for my wedding. I myself had been combing through the library looking for more information on the creatures of evil. All spirits could be swayed but there were some creatures that were born directly out of the evil bosom. As it turns out sirens can be captured with nets made of silver fibers and as any old castle ruled by generations of powerful beings, we had a good number of them. Anything silver was quite harmful to them also. I had been deep in my research when Luca plowed through the library door and started yelling for me.

"Leah! Leah quick! Where are you?"

"What is it brother?"

He looked at me smiling. "We found him, Brayden. He's being escorted back here now."

I beamed then turned to my maid who was never far away. "Jael, please go to the kitchen have them make some lavender and honey tea. Bring back medical supplies and please send someone to get Alex from the salon."

When the guards burst through the entry doors I welcomed Brayden with a warm hug. We walked over to a room just off to the right of the doors and got him medical treatment for the scratches he had. Because of his shifter strength, some had already begun to heal. The doctor made sure to wipe each one with a disinfectant swab and patch up the bigger ones.

"I cannot thank you enough Princess. How can I-"

"You don’t Brayden. You are a friend and have deep relations with the castle. You and Alex will never need to worry about things or paying us back. My job is to help protect this land, our people. I'm only sorry we couldn’t stop this from happening."

"Don’t be sorry Princess, you couldn’t have known. But in hindsight, I can give you a better idea of what you'll be up against."

I gazed at him questioning, "What do you mean?"

"When I was there, I could hear voices. There weren't many, only a couple I recognized maybe, people I know to be in leagues with the wrong crowed. The evil we all feel coming, she's hiding on the isle, and because you closed the barriers, so many of her followers were stranded. They are trying to figure out a way to undo your spell on the isle. They can't find anything, no leads. Of everyone that lives here, there is maybe five percent that follow her."

"Brayden, you have done a great service to your king and your people. For the time being, I'd like to extend the protection of the castle to you and Alex. He's been staying here since you were taken. You are both more than welcome to stay here for a while." I hugged him again.

As we pulled apart the door opened and there stood a frozen Alex whose eyes were overwhelmed with tears. Brayden gave me a small smile as he stood and walked over to his love. Once he wrapped his arms around Alex they both began to cry. I sat there and smiled a moment at them. Their love was something we all strived for. I motioned for Jael to come to my side.

"Yes Milady?"

"Take care of them for me. Let them stay in here as long as they want and let them know that the room Alex has is theirs as long as they'd like it."

"Yes ma'am of course," she stepped out to make preparations for them.

I lingered in the other doorway for a moment, before closing it behind me. There was a guard standing across the hall. He stood at attention, but acknowledged my presence with a nod.

"Please alert Moriarty that we will need him in the War hall and tell my family to meet me there."

"Yes Princess."

Luca came around the corner then, "So, what did you find out?"

"A lot, it's time to plan for war."

"A big one?"

"I hope not brother."

Everyone stood around the table looking over the map of the Isle. Oran was deep in thought trying to figure out ways that the wolves would do as little damage to the town as possible. He knew that they would be willing to rebuild anything that would need repairs, but if he could keep the amount of damage low that would be for the better. Emilia and Don were trying to come up with ways to protect the people, there were several bunkers placed throughout the town, but would any of them really be safe. Kai was looking at attack strategies with Luca, and that left me to think if there were any loopholes in our spell.

Sarah sat in a chair off to the side, the nausea still affecting her. She noticed my struggling and pulled me down next to her. "I see your wheels spinning out of control. What is it?"

"I don’t know, something is just warning me to be careful. Like maybe something in our spell was overlooked. Like a loophole."

"Maybe your father would know?"

"I don’t want to bother him, he's been so bad feeling since the chemo has really hit him."

Sarah look at me solemnly, "I know that. But maybe, just maybe, he can help. I think you should talk to him."

"She's right Leah," Emeila spoke from across the room. If anyone is going to know about loopholes in magic and spells, it will be him. His power is far greater than mine and he's had much more training and experience. If there is even a fraction of space we missed in that barrier, she will exploit it and it could mean a big advantage for her."

When I walked in Malakai's mom was in a chair next to my father's bed, she was reading to him from an old favorite of his. She went to turn a page and saw me. Instead she marked the page and closed the book.

"Hello, Leah, how are you?"

"I'm okay, we found Brayden today, he and Alex are resting. He told us a lot of interesting information. We are working it all into what we know about the Aideen. But I had a few things I wanted to ask you about father. If you're up to it that is."

"Have a seat peanut." Kai's mom got up to leave. "Siobhan, you don’t have to leave. I'm sure Leah wouldn’t mind."

I shook my head, "No, not at all. You may actually be of help. You see I'm stuck with the barrier spell we did. Brayden told me that they are looking for ways to exploit a loophole in the barrier and maybe bring it down."

"Is it even possible?"

We both looked to my father. He was thinking, hard. "If there is, it's something small. That type of magic cannot be unbound by death. It took four of us to put it there, But only, you, dear one or someone descended directly from you can take it down. We bound it to your bloodline for that specific reason. Not even Luca can undo it, as you are fraternal twins, so there is not 100 percent match on the DNA."

"What will that mean for my children, they won't have a direct match either."

"No, but they will have your power DNA match. They may be wolves, but the power that runs through you will be dormant within them, and accessible only when necessary," Siobhan said. "Meaning now, only the wolves will have power over that barrier. Jeremy, are you sure that was a good idea?"

"I do," he nodded. "our people will forever be intertwined now, because of this war. The bond between the Kings will be strong and Familial. They will be their own pack and it will mean everything to the people."

I looked at my father in awe. He had known, this whole time, he had known what was going to happen last night.

"Are you saying that you knew that the Great Mother would make a new pack last night with our children?"

"Yes, I've known for months now, but I couldn't say anything, who would have believed me? Furthermore, at the time we had no idea when the children were coming to the isle. At the time it wasn't important and I knew that when the Great Mother was ready, she would tell us. As she did."

"So there aren't any ways to break the barrier?" I inquired trying to get him back to my point.

"None that I can think of right now. I'll keep thinking about it and if something catches with me, I'll let you know."

"Ok, thank you papa." I smiled and kissed his cheek before leaving them.

The War Hall was empty, I entered anyway taking a look at the map. It had symbols for different packs all over it, some placed in the city and others surrounding it and the castle. There was a couple packs that were left to defend the Mansion. I knew that there was a bunker that Sarah and the children would be hiding in if needed. Sadly, a lot of the towns people were going to be needed to help protect and defend the town. The town was filled with witches that were able to create protective spells and other shifters that could be helpful in battle. What little human population existed were not defenseless either, they had weapons and fighting skills.

I felt Kai enter the room and come up behind me. "Everything okay?"

"No, I wish none of this had to happen. I wish the children didn’t have to live in fear of this, that families were going to stay whole and that no one had to die. Not yet. I wish it would be the cancer taking my father over that bitch. It just makes me so angry that our children will only have one grandparent. One! Kai we grew up with more than that."

"I know, Luna. I understand how you feel. I'd love to let you stay here too, to spend more time with him."

I felt his sadness for me. I knew that this was going to be tough. We were getting married in two days. I only wished it was further away.

"Leah, they need us back at the mansion. Something about a pack quarrel. The Alpha's need our help."

"Yeah okay." I followed him away from the table numb.