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."

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

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 kingdom, but

the Bear People never believed them, why wait

know," Susie admitted. "There might be more going on behind the scenes in their own nation. But whatever the reason for it, the bears want their princess back. They said that if

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

they hadn't, surely her bear would have manifested by now, given how

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

she was still alive, she would come forward now if not

and my thoughts were filled with grief. They'd taught us something about war at the Academy. They

an entire generation.

their children. Children, their parents. Families would be broken apart. Babies would learn

Susie said, looking at

returning to the

not just for royals, or even the soldiers, but for every person that

gave her a sad kind of smile. I never really considered feeling so much for so many to be one of my

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

hope too much, afraid of how my heart my break when it all inevitably came

the wolves. She

could keep them safe,

smiled at him, but I jumped. I had

I asked when I

said. "He has finished his meeting with his parents and wishes to speak with you at

course," I said,

you there,"

She was

her," Susie said. "Between the