Chapter 27

Lia~

"So you're telling me that my beta and mate have been missing for 4 days without scent nor trail and you, the greatest and most skilled werewolves in the entire kingdom, have NOTHING?!" I growl out the words and my palms slap against the wood making the table, as well as everyone sitting around it, jump. The current king and queen beta, current and future king and queen delta, Clarissa, my mother, and my council are all seated around the table, some staring at me in fear while some look at me with judgment in their eyes, the latter being my mother and some council members.

I run my fingers through my hair and look over the map again. Their scent vanished into thin air south of the border, less than a mile out. They were all headed this way for some reason, I just can't figure out what. I turn to face the window overlooking the forest, the sight always calming me down but it doesn't seem to be working today. Out of the corner of my eye, I see two council members talking in hushed tones. I can vaguely make out what they're saying but pay no attention to it until I hear one word "unfit". I spin on my heels and slam my hands back against the table making them jump. " Councilman's John and Richard, care to share with the rest of us what could be so important it had to be discussed in hush tones at a meeting with your alpha queen?!"

John has the common sense to shrink into himself and bow his head, but Richard, well Richard clearly isn't that smart. He squares his shoulders and raises his head high.

Oh boy...

"In fact, I was just about to say that some of us-" he looks around the table for support. No one looks his way. "-some of us feel that you're wasting your time searching for them. If your beta were strong enough she wouldn't have been kidnapped and let's not get started on your mate, the future king of werewolves is a human for goddess' sake! Imagine if this got out to the other species, we'd be under attack by nightfall." Some of the council members start nodding their heads in agreement and he takes this as a cue to continue, only this time he makes the mistake of going too far, "And with all due respect, Lia, you're just not the right one for the job. When your mother was pregnant we had all hoped for a boy, a strong future king to rule, but got a girl instead and frankly, we were disappointed. Now with your mate gone, we think it would be best if someone else took the throne, someone who could actually rule a kingdom." That was the last straw.

I let out a roar so loud it shatters the glass windows behind me but I don't care. This man disrespected me and I would put him in his place. "Councilman Richard, firstly you will address me by my proper title, Queen Amelia Knight, I treat everyone equally but you will know your place. Secondly, I would like to remind you that I am the crown princess, heir to the throne, and the only daughter of the late King Matheus Knight which means that I, alone can take his place and if you want more proof then I will gladly tell you how I defeated Queen Evangeline Knight in an alpha challenge, one of the most sacred rituals of wolf kind. I have trained for years to become the next queen so tell me, Richard, who do you think belongs on that throne more than I do because I will defeat them, in the same way, I defeated my mother and if you decide to make yourself an obstacle, the same thing will happen to you." By now I am directly in front of him, staring him down and watching with a satisfied smirk as the bravado fades from his eyes. "Do I make myself clear?"

He swallows hard before answering with wide eyes, "Christal clear, Queen Amelia Knight." I nod my head in approval, moving back towards the head of the table. I've never been one for confrontations, especially with my council, but they will know their place, council or not.

There's a knock on the door and we all turn towards it. Gretchen enters with her head bowed low and a slight shiver in her step. Poor thing must be terrified by all the high-ranking wolves in the room. "What are you doing here you lowly omega? You know better than to disturb us!" Gretchen sinks into herself at my mother's words.

I growl at her and turn back towards Gretchen," That is quite enough mother. Unless you've forgotten I am the alpha and Gretchen belongs in this pack just as much as any of us. I will not tolerate any disrespect aimed at my pack members, be it a warrior or an omega. Now, Gretchen, tell me what's the issue."

She raises her gaze and it meets my reassuring one. She smiles warmly at me, "You're Majesty, I am sorry to intrude but there is a woman downstairs. She says you know her and..."

"And what, Gretchen?"

"She's a rogue werewolf but she claimed to be your mate's mother."

***

"Let me go! I'm telling you she knows who I am!" I walk through the doors into the throne room and see Meaghan struggling against the chains they've bound her in.

"What is the meaning of this?" They all bow at the sight of me, the omegas scampered off before I even entered the room. I descend the stairs, giving each guard a hard stare and they loosen their hold on the shackles ever so slightly.

"You're Highness, this rogue says you know who she is-"

"- And she's right. Now release her at once and return to your posts, you've done an admirable job but please for future occasions try and detain prisoners more humanely." They unlock the shackles and walk away.

Meaghan rubs her wrists and curses under a breath while I laugh under mine. This woman is unbelievable. Speaking of unbelievable... "Meaghan, how the hell are you here?"

She finishes dusting herself off and looks back up at me, "Well that's a rather complicated question..." Her voice trails off and I wonder what she means.

"Meaghan, what do you- "

"What the hell are you doing here?" I turn back to see my mother coming down the stairs, pointing at Meaghan with pure malice in her eyes.

Meaghan's eyes grow cold at the sight of her, "Hello, Evangeline."

"You're supposed to be dead!" Okay, what is going on? My mother and Meaghan are standing face to face, staring at each other, mother with hatred while Meaghan's stare is cold and calculating.

I push them apart and stand between them in case my mother tries something, like attack for instance. "Can someone please explain to me what's going on here? Meaghan is a werewolf and somehow knows my mother who apparently hates her guts."

"I'll tell you what's going on, this woman is supposed to be dead!" My mother's eyes start glowing red and I can sense how close she is to shifting. The castle is full of servants and pups all preparing for the ceremony so the last thing we need right now is a full-on catfight. I put my hand on my mother's shoulder but she shakes me off. Now that just made me mad. I look towards Meaghan and her eyes are glowing golden brown, so she really is a werewolf.

Okay, this has gone far enough. I growl at both of them and release my aura, making them both submit to me. I look between them for an explanation and Meaghan speaks up first. "I will explain everything if you give me a chance." I nod for her to continue, "I am a werewolf but I guess you already know that but what you don't know is that I am an alpha wolf. I am, or I guess was the luna of the Shadow Wolf pack. Amelia, when you and Lucas were 10 years old our pack was attacked by rogue wolves led by the vampire King. Our entire pack was slaughtered with only a few survivors. Your family was there the night of the attack and they were trying to get to you and Lucas. My mate was injured. He died that night fighting by your father's side. When your father realized that you and Lucas were the targets he fought off the rogues so we could escape. We hoped he could escape but the Vampire king killed him. Your mother and I were running when we got separated three miles from your pack lands. She made it back but I couldn't go. I couldn't go back there and face all of them after losing my mate. I found a witch who disguised our scents and I raised Lucas in the human city. The witch manipulated his memories and he grew up thinking he was 100% human. He never shifted so I'm sure that's all he is anyway. I never came back and I never made contact. I wanted to forget this life so when they believed I was dead I made sure it stayed that way."

What. The. Actual. Fuck?