Chapter 7

"We are the family of the Hades and Brookes." "The noble blood high royals?" the guard asked in disbelief. "Yes," Anna answered him again, feeling anger she didn't know she had kept simmering from her belly. "It's been a long time, Anna, a long time." "Thank you…Sir," Anna answered, unsure of how the security guard had come about her identity. "What about him?" he asked, pointing the muzzle of his gun at Dave. "Rental driver, we were too lazy for the seven-hour drive down here, and we wanted the kids to see the scenery," she looked back at the cute triplets, "it's their first time here." The guard acknowledged and gave them a pass, smiling widely at confused Anna. They drove into the mysterious city. Blue City, named after the glorious Blue Moon pack, was a physical and magical wonder. It was a hidden city that could only be navigated if the people inside allowed it. It was not hidden from the human eye, but the road to the city was a complete maze, allowing itself only to be solved whenever it wanted. Despite being a werewolf city, the lower populations of the city were just ordinary humans who had learned to cohabit with the paranormal species. Over the centuries, they had formed an unbreakable union and had advanced the city farther than human grasp. The history of the town had it that the first alpha to set foot in the town was so powerful that he could speak to the moon goddess himself. They had gotten into a war with another clan of wolves from a foreign region threatening to take away their lands and rule their territories for them. Never backing down, the alpha had vehemently refused despite the fact that he was outmanned, outgunned,and underpopulated. He had spoken to the great men of his tribe that night, and they had decided to fight for what was theirs and never give room for fear or defeat. Using an element of surprise, they had first started by channeling their strength through the earth, lending the power of the moon as they galloped. As long as the moon was up, each man would be given the strength, skill, and the senses of a thousand wolves. The fight had started, and favor was already on their side when suddenly the moon started to wane, giving the other enemy the upper hand. Seeing what was happening, the alpha wolf had pleaded to the moon goddess was to keep the moon up and bright at the cost of whatever she wanted. Fulfilling her part of the deal, the moon goddess brought the moon back up and made it shine so bright it started to look blue, giving more than enough power to the soldiering wolves fighting in the mountains. They had won ruthlessly and returned home with the spoils of war, howls of victory filling the environs as they galloped back home in the blue moonlight. On getting home, the alpha knew it was paramount to fulfill his part of the deal, and he went to the shrine, asking the goddess to request whatever she wanted from his kingdom. The goddess requested that HHiss'soul and his family's go to rejoin the ancestors whose strength they had borrowed to win the war. After considering him, the goddess spared one of his male children so the bloodline would continue, and they did as instructed, laying down enough instructions for the peace and harmony of the land. Since then, anytime there was an important event like the initiation of a new alpha or a full moon or the birthing of a new wolf with the king's star, the blue moon would flash continuously for some minutes, casting a blue shade on the city that came about the name. Georgia waved her mind off the history, trying to be focused on what was ahead of he, caring for her children at Anna's place. She thanked the goddess that they were on holiday, giving her enough time to ascertain if this place will be suitable for her children. It took over an hour of weaving through the heavy traffic before they finally got to the mansion of Tades, perched on a hillside with a view of the Blue Waters. Annabelle's father had been a decorated officer of the Blue Navy, serving for over two decades before retiring into the council as the National Security adviser to the alpha. His job was to collect reports from scouts all over the region and tackle anything that might become a security issue ishortlyI.f there was one thing Annabelle knew for sure about her father, it is that he loved his job as much as he loved his family. Pulling up to the heavily guarded gate of the house with wolves in human forms whose aura alone was enough to scare off even the most formidable prey, Anna stopped the vehicle and got outside, extending her hand to them. Immediately, they saw her step out of the vehicle, about three of them switched to defensive mode, their claws lashing out and their fangs baring. The glowing yellow color of their eyes indicated that They were attuning their views to the heat spectrum, trying to run her heat and smell signature through the database they had locked onto their brains. One of the sniffed at her and sniffed harder th en suddenly switched back to human form, his clothing material also switching back with him and immediately adjusting to his new frame. "Annabelle Hades, oh god of the wind and seas," the guard exclaimed, moving towards her. "By the stars and by the clouds, Andre Khaid. It is you." She moved forward and jumped into his outstretched arms in a hug, sending ripples of unexplained emotions through Dave. Georgia, bringing her mind back to the present situationn swiftly turned her head to look at her children, who had suddenly gone silent. To her amazement, the two boys were both asleep, their heads on Keira's lap while her hands rested on their heads as if she had patted them to sleep. Georgia found herself amused by what she had seen and took a photo with her phone, hoping to keep the memories till they were grown, but knowing she would selfishly stare at the pictures with every passing day. The guards at the gate waved at Dave and told him to drive in, the electronic metallic gate sliding open. With steady pressure on the accelerator, Dave glided the car to a steady stop at the base of the hill and switched the gear to parking, opening the door and rounding the vehicle to the trunk to go help unload. Before reaching there, two hefty men had unloaded in less than ten seconds what had taken the three of them over thirty minutes to load up. Georgia also got down, looking worn out and tired, exchanging pleasantries with the guards before they were ushered to an elevator that led to the house on the top. As if they had been expecting sleeping triplets, one of the guards had arranged a mini bed that could be pushed and meticulously arranged the sleeping angels inside with a soft touch so lightthat none of the triplets even stirred. The head guard pressed a button, and the elevator began its ascent, electricity,y and power humming through the cables as they did the job they were programmed to do. "How is this powered?" Dave asked curiously. "Geothermal electricity," a mean-looking guard replied to him. "I never learnt how that worked out." Another guy looked at him meanly and shushed him, putting one of his fingers to his lips, indicating that he should keep quiet and pointing to the sleeping triplets. It warmed Georgia's heart to discover that even people she could refer to as strangers cared so much for her and her children. It melted her heart so warmly she was afraid she wouldmelt into a puddle and float right down the netted flooring of the elevator. The elevator completed its ascent and made a ding sound, its door sliding open to reveal the residence. Georgia looked at the house and was awed. Even though she had been here a couple of times when Anna was still around, the renovations that had been effected to this building were nothing she had expected. The rocky hillside had now been leveled and expanded to seem more like a mountaintop, allowing for more decorations and changes. To her side was a fountain with a wolf statue that shot water high intoThee air, and beside it was a sparkling pool that felt inviting; Georgia made sure to take note not to let the triplets anywhere near it. She had always described the Blue City as paradise, but when she saw this place, she knew that the Blue City was just a gateway, a passage, a hallway to the original paradise that was situated here.