Chapter Eight

Laura Angel POV

Luther and his mother, Selene, help me dress. I am a mess. I can barely stand, and the faires are on their way here to see their queen. Me, the queen, the concept does not seem like something I should be dealing with right now. I should be trying to fit in with Luther and his pack, not trying to figure out what to do with a fairy tribe.

"I feel sick, Luther," I say. I lean over on him.

"You will be fine, and you can do this. You have to be strong and brave for your people. I will be with you," Luther says.

I nod my head—the sudden feeling of faint rushes over me. I feel hot and cold at the same time. "Oh, Luther, I do not understand why this is happening," I sob.

Alpha Luther takes me by the upper arms. He shakes me gently."Snap out of it. Your people need you, Laura Angel. They are your priority tonight. I will make sure they are safe tonight. Tomorrow we will decide what to do about your tribe, but tonight you have to comfort them. That is what a queen does. You have to offer them comfort and be their rock. You can grieve after you have ensured they are okay. They will look to you. Now, listen to me, take a few deep breathes and go out and address your people," Luther says to me.

He is right. I cannot think about my parents right now, and I have to think about the tribe. The tribe does not know I am married to Luther. Do I tell them now? What if I have to choose between the two, my tribe or my Luther.

"What is it, Laura," Luther asks me.

I reach for Luther's hand. "The tribe does not know you are my husband. Should I tell them now or wait?" I ask Luther.

Selene steps forward. "Tonight is probably not the best time to tell them. On the other hand, you do not want to look like you are hiding anything," Selene says to me.

I look to Luther for his guidance. "This is not something that you should have hidden from your tribe in the first place or your parents for that matter, but I want you to do what is best for you," Luther says to me.

"Okay, I will do what is best for my tribe," I say.

Selene goes down the stairs. "Luther, if you had to choose between your pack and your wife, would you choose me?" I ask him.

Luther kisses me on the forehead. "You already know the answer to that question, Laura. I love you. I also love my pack. We have an order, and things need to be done a certain way. You have a tribe to lead, and I have a pack to lead. We will figure out a way to do it together," Luther says.

"I understand completely what you are saying," I say to him. I break away from him and walk down the stairs.

"Laura!" Luther hollers at me.

I turn to him. "You will always choose your pack over me, and I know that in my heart. So I will choose my tribe over you. Know this, Alpha, I am the Faye Queen. Maybe it is time you know your place, wolf," I scream at him.

I walk outside to see the faires and to address them as their queen. I feel a pit in my stomach, but I have to be strong for them. I stand tall. I look to my people, weak, scared, and unsure what we should do now.

"I have no idea what to say to you, but I came out here to be strong and show strength for you. We will survive this. The wolves of the crescent moon pack have agreed to help us. There is plenty of space here for us to stay for the night. We will survey the damages in the morning. In the morning, we all will return to the fairy tribe land and rebuild," I say softly to my people.

My father's houseman comes to me. "My Queen, we will all stand behind you," he says. The faires and the tinks come up to speak with me. I take my time talking with each of them and comforting them. I look back to see Luther standing on the porch with his mother. I am a queen, and I will not be overrun by an Alpha, not even the Alpha I married.

Selene comes down to speak with the fairies and the tinks. "Selene, I need you to help all of them to cabins, make sure they are secure and that there are plenty of wolves guarding my people," I order her. I do not ask. I order her. She does not like it, and I do not care at this moment.

Luther comes and speaks with them and offers to help his mother secure the tribe. "Where will you be staying, my queen," Luther says to me.

"I have not decided yet," I say to him. Luther reaches out for my hand, and I pull back from him.

"Don't be like that. You took what I said the wrong way," Luther says.

"Then answer the question, who would you choose?" I ask him. Luther shakes his head and walks away. He helps secure my people. I watch from a distance. I cannot wrap my mind around the events of the night and how this played out. One moment I was in bed with my husband, and the next, I am trying to decide if I will stay married to him or, better yet, how will this even work. My people need me, but my heart wants Luther.

I walk up the steps to the porch and sit in a chair, waiting for Luther to return. A tiny tink flutters up to me. "Laura, I mean my queen, what will happen to us?" the tiny tink asks.

"I do not know, Shelby; I have no idea what will happen next. I am scared too. Is it okay for the queen to be afraid?" I ask her.

"I think so, my queen. We need you to guide us, but we need you to be honest with us. If we are in danger, please tell us," Shelby says.

"I do not know if we are or if we are safe, but I know we are safe tonight," I say.

"Do you need me to stay with you, my queen?" Shelby asks.

"No, I will be fine, I promise," I say to her.

"Goodnight, Laura, I mean my queen," Shelby says as she flutters away.

I have to be honest with my people and myself. I am not sure how to do that. I need Luther, to be honest with me. He has tortured my heart so much over the last few days.

Selene comes up on the porch and looks down at me, sitting in the chair. "Your people are secure and safe. Luther is posting wolves to guard them," Selene says to me.

"Thank you," I say to her.

"You know, he does love you. You cannot ask him to choose between his people and you no more than he can ask you to choose him over your tribe. The two of you are very immature, and both need to grow up and lead your people together," Selene says.

She goes into the house and leaves me alone to wait on Luther. I wish I could speak to my mother. I want to know what she would do in this situation. How would she handle my father? She always handled him, but she let him think he was the one leading. He never was in control of her or the tribe. My mother was the Faye Queen, and she carried her crown well. How will I ever be like her?

I see Luther coming. I need to talk to him, but not in anger. I am so angry and upset. He has to understand that my heart has been ripped out of my chest tonight. I have lost my parents. I have no idea how many Fairies have perishes or what has been destroyed. I cannot wrap my mind around everything that has happened tonight. I am hurting. I need him.

Luther steps onto the porch. He stops and looks down at me. "Do you need me to prepare you a room, my queen," he asks.

"No, I have a room here, Alpha," I say.

"It did not sound like it earlier," Luther says to me.

"I have to tell them and be honest with them about everything. I cannot lie to my people," I say to him.

"I know, and I know you have been through a lot tonight. But even the Faye Queen cannot talk to her Alpha in such a manner," Luther says.

"The Alpha will not disrespect the Faye Queen, either, Luther," I say to him sternly.

"Okay, Laura, is all of this about your question or your people, or is it about who runs the house?" Luther asks me.

"I am not asking you to leave your pack and come with me to be the Fairy King. I am asking you... Damn Luther, I do not know what I am asking. Yes, I do know. How will this work?" I shout at him.

Luther kneels down in front of me. "Laura Angel, I love you. Is that not enough?" Luther asks.

"I love you, too, Luther. How will we make it work?" I ask.

"I do not have an answer for you. I really do not. I know that I love you, and I know that we will just have to figure it out. We can find a way to take care of both the Fairies and the wolves together," Luther says to me softly.

Tears begin to stream down my cheek. Luther wipes the tears away. "We cannot just give up on each other when things get tough, Laura," Luther says.

"I want my mother, Luther. I cannot live without her," I sob. I lay my head on his chest.

"Let it out, Laura. Let it out," Luther says to me. He rubs my back and holds me tightly as I sob.

"I am sorry I was mean to you. I just do not know how to do this, how to be a faye queen. My people need me to be strong, and you need a luna. I am only one person. How can I be both?" I sob into his chest.

"Laura, you are strong. You can do all of this. You can be the Faye queen and the luna to my pack just as I will be beside you for your tribe. We can do this together," Luther says to me.

He gently rubs my back as I continue to cry. A tiny tink flutters up. "Alpha Luther, Queen Laura, I have to tell you both something. I wanted to tell Laura earlier, but I was afraid. I saw Shelby talking to you, but I was too scared to say anything with people around watching," the tiny tink says.

I look up to see Shelby's sister Sammie. "What is it, sweetie? You do not have to be afraid. We will protect you. You are safe here," I say calmly.

"I saw who came to the fairy tribe land. I saw a big man and....," Sammie stops. She looks at Luther.

"Go ahead, sweetie. What did you see?" I ask her.

"Queen Laura, the men I saw, looked like wolves," Sammie says.

"What?" I question her.

"Wolves? Are you sure?" Luther questions her.

"Yes, Not like the wolves here with you, Alpha Luther. I have seen all of your wolves. These wolves looked different. They were strange-looking wolves," Sammie says to Luther.

"What do you mean?" Luther asks her.

"They had a mark on their face," Sammie says.

"Are you sure?" Luther asks Sammie.

"Yes, I am positive. They had the mark of the full moon on their forehead," Sammie says.

"Laura, go inside. I will take Sammie to her sister and have more wolves secure your people. The wolves probably will not come here, but if they do, I want enough wolves awake and watching for them," Luther says.

"Wait, I should go with you," I protest.

"The queen needs to be protected. Go inside and stay inside until I return, my love," Luther says. He kisses me on the forehead and watches as I go into the house.