Chapter 2 - Fated Meetings

Meeting the Human King - West Constantia - The Moretti Castle: Beta Ivan

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Tensions were high as Alpha Alexander addressed the pack for the meeting with the humans. This new development meant more for us than any other species, it meant everything for the Alpha.

His life would begin with the humans and possibly end with them as well.

"Do not under any circumstances follow me into the castle. Ivan will accompany me into the Kings throne room. Once negotiations are complete, I will send him outside to call you all in."

The pack murmured their understanding in one harmonious chatter of voices.

My eyes scanned the other King and his servant ahead of us. King Kade and General Greyson, both substantially mysterious and unpredictable. I must have been looking at them for a while because the King turned his head towards me and lifted a perfect brow. The General followed his gaze to me and sent me an admonishing glare.

I rolled my eyes. Greyson was truly like a dog, territorial and intensely aggressive towards any entity that posed even a modicum of a threat to his Master.

His betrayal to our kind was amplified by the fact that he was unapologetic about his loyalty to the vampires. King Kade was a known killer in small villages, and a known practitioner of liberalism. He was everything the werewolf Kingdom stood against.

I scoffed as I passed Greyson on my way to my horse.

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The Moretti castle was every bit gigantic in size as the rumors described it. I stared up at the turrets of the building and the royal insignia on the drawbridge ahead. Everything was elegant and if I was alone, I would feel intimidated.

"Ivan. Make sure you stay close to me."

I nodded obediently.

Two human guards walked in a uniform line beside one another towards us. We all exchanged greetings.

King Kade and Greyson were escorted to the stables first. Once the Alpha and I had unmounted our horses and disassembled our armor, we were led into the castle through a door on the side of the west building.

I scanned the passages and kept a close eye on the Alpha ahead of me, my ears were preened for any suspicious sounds and my nose picked up all the new smells of the human kingdom and committed them to memory.

Everything seemed safe but I couldn't risk missing any signs of foul play.

We entered a grand hall and two guards placed in front of the double French doors pushed the doors open.

"The King will receive you now." One of them announced.

Trumpets called out into the room and a chamberlain called out our 'titles', I huffed when they called me the royal advisor.

Alpha Alexander sent me a crude look from the corner of his eye an I held back a sigh.

Once we stepped into the room, I felt the air warming up and my skin prickled with warning. Alpha Alexander tensed beside me and I could hear his heart rate increase. A deep, loud pounding sound in his chest.

I lifted my gaze. King Kade stood up ahead, his aristocratic features already charming the human King, who with tousled grey hair sat on his throne with a welcoming smile. Greyson stood beside the King with a dim look, his arms crossed and his expression unchanging.

Then my eyes fell on the throne adjacent to King Moretti's.

A woman, petite and fair, sat with her head held high and her eyes watching us all with inquisitive sparkle. She had long obsidian hair, wise eyes framed with long lashes, her perfectly carved grecian nose and heart shaped lips all made her look innocent and kind. But her stare of Alpha Alexander was anything but kind.

She scanned him with disdain and when I turned to watch the Alpha, his tensed jaw clenched tighter. His cheeks were colored red and he wasn't blinking.

I looked between the two for a moment. Something was brewing.

"Welcome King Alexander, and you as well Advisor Ivan. I am Oliver, and this is my daughter Princess Evangeline."

I bowed in respect.

The Alpha remained stagnant.

Then the Princess spoke, "It is customary to bow to the King of the territory on which you stand. I may not know much about your customs King Alexander, but certainly it includes manners?"

His eyes seemed to widen back into focus and because I stood so close to him, I heard him utter his next words, "My Queen."

My eyes immediately snapped back to the Princess. Usually I would deem anything like this impossible, but with all the chaos at hand; I supposed anything was possible at this stage.

I tilted my head to the side. She was beautiful, and she was young. She looked too young...

Her father spoke again, "It is quite alright, I reckon you mean no disrespect by this. You have traveled far, you all must be exhausted from the journey."

King Kade smiled diplomatically.

"I shall try to lighten the load. My guards will escort you all to chambers to rest well and we will return here in the morning to discuss the... events occurring."

The Princess rolled her eyes and looked away from us all. Her gaze falling outside to the view of a garden.

I watched the Alpha closely. His lips parted and his chest heaved. The initial shock of finding his mate here had yet to settle since it clearly hasn't worn off. It certainly must be a surprise.

Especially since she turned out to be human, and a child no less.

I braced myself for a rough time. As Beta of the pack, it was now my responsibility to keep this information discreet and keep Alpha Alexander at bay. Having a human mate would create plenty of obstacles for the Alpha and the pack. A few discrepancies amongst other things.

This trip was becoming a lot more tedious than I had imagined it would be.