The Luna Choosing Game

Chapter 0600

"Oh." Susie's eyes widened. "I suppose you wouldn't have known." She hung her head a little. "Tensions with the Bear People have more or less exploded. Mark says more and more soldiers are being sent to the northern border. War seems imminent."

I didn't want to believe that. "Surely there's something to be done to keep the peace?"

*The Bear People have made demands but those demands are impossible to fulfill."

"What are they?" I asked.

Before us, out on the lawn, Elva sat on the grass with the two wolves, Night and Silver, in sitting in front of her. They were all looking so intently at each other, it was like they were having a conversation. I wondered what they were saying.

Focusing on that was less heartbreaking than thinking of the reality of war.

*They want their princess back," Susie said. She made it sound like I should know what she's talking about.

My brow drew together. "We have their princess?"

Susie tilted her head. "You don't know the story of the lost bear princess?"

I shook my head.

Susie hummed thoughtfully. She tapped her chin with a finger. "Oh. It was something like twenty years ago, I suppose. One of their princesses was stolen away as an infant and believed to be brought across the border into werewolf territory."

I couldn't believe my ears. A stolen princess? "Why haven't I heard of this?"

"I'm not sure," Susie said. "Though I imagine the royals wanted to keep a lid on the whole thing. I don't remember ever seeing anything about it on television. It was only ever discussed in gossip groups. I remember my mom talking about it sometimes."

hot topics among royalty, but not bothered with by commoners. A missing foreign princess did not affect the day to day life of anyone I knew about back in my regular life. And if it made the werewolf royalty look bad, I could understand why they would try to hide

Queen back then denied any wrongdoing." Susie continued. "They said that the princess had been kidnapped by rebels among the bears own people. They couldn't deny that the princess had been brought into the werewolf

the Bear People never believed them, why wait twenty years to start a war?" I

scenes in their own nation. But whatever the reason for it, the bears want their princess back. They said that if she isn't returned,

kingdom without permission sounded like an invasion, even if their intentions were

princess. Even if they hadn't,

be old enough to understand that she's different. She would have likely spoken up by now, or had someone speak

alive, she would come forward now if not before, to stop the needless violence and death that

weighed heavy, and my thoughts were filled with grief. They'd taught us something about war at the Academy. They wanted us to be ready to fight, physically and mentally. War was brutal. It would

an entire generation.

broken apart. Babies would learn to fear the world far sooner than

Susie said, looking

I asked, returning to the

you have... the empathy... not just for royals, or even the soldiers, but for every person that

I never really considered feeling so much for so many to be one of my finer qualities. At least to me, it was

to be of stemmer stuff? Able to make the hard choices no matter who

my heart my break when it all inevitably came crashing down

stayed quiet beside me, and together we looked back to where Elva was now laying down with the wolves.

I could keep

suddenly appearing beside us. Susie smiled at him, but I jumped. I had forgotten how quickly

asked when

Mark said. "He has finished his meeting

course," I

you there,"

She was resting so peacefully with the

an eye on her," Susie said. "Between the wolves and me, I think she's well