Eighteen Years Earlier
“Craig, Jordan, it’s good to see you. I wish it were under better circumstances, though.” Alpha Bruce said.
“You too, Bruce. We can’t tell you how much we appreciate your help.” I replied.
“Nonsense. You’re family Craig. I thought I made that clear when I mated with your sister. Now, why don’t you fill me in on what’s been happening since you joined Jordan at the Castle?”
I took a deep breath to steady myself. It had been two years since the royals made it clear that I would have to leave my position as Alpha of my own pack to join my mate at the castle. She was second in line for the throne until her brother assumed the role; she wasn’t free to live her life as Luna to my pack. Bruce had been kind enough to offer my pack shelter, many of them opting to join rather than remain in limbo waiting for our return, which could take decades.
Things at the castle had seemed fairly boring. Jordan had to sit in on meetings occasionally; it was required of her that she learn the ins and outs of running the entire Lycan kingdom. I spent most of my time training with the royal guard or finding various things to keep me busy. I had decided to look at the royal family lineage to keep me busy one day when I noticed something odd.
There had been a string of deaths among the royals, but nobody had thought too much of it. Maybe the king did, but he never told anyone. It wasn’t until I was looking at Jordan’s family tree that I realized every death was of someone in line to the throne. I wasn’t too sure what would happen once all of the blood heirs were wiped out; it was something that had never happened in the history of our kind. Unless you count bloody coups that replaced one dynasty with another, but this seemed like something else was afoot.
I didn’t want to alarm Jordan. All of the deaths had appeared to be of natural causes on the surface, though it was highly unusual for illness or disease to take out a wolf. Our species was generally healthier than humans, untouched by things that would take them out easily, but it did happen on occasion. I decided to investigate deeper into the deaths. I wanted to know if my mind was creating suspicion out of boredom or if there was actually a plot unfolding under our noses.
I spent the next few weeks sneaking around, gathering information. I had tried to go directly to the royal physicians, but they had refused to give me any information. My status as an Alpha held no bearing in the royal court. Here I was simply Jordan’s mate. I tried to use her own Alpha status as leverage, she was after all, the oldest, but since the crown passed first through the male line, that hadn’t helped either.
Without assistance in gaining access to the deceased royal’s medical records and autopsy reports, I had been delegated to sneaking into offices after hours. In order to avoid my activities being detected, I had stolen the files one at a time, making a note of anything that seemed important. By the time I had sorted through all of the records, there was one thing that stood out to me in my notes. All of the dead royals had been the picture of health prior to their deaths.
With the exception of a handful of the deaths, all of them had been labelled accidental. They had consumed a deadly amount of wolfsbane. The royals were known to consume small amounts of wolfsbane in an attempt to inoculate themselves against being poisoned with the stuff, some of them taking it in small doses with their evening meal. Even so, the amounts detected by their toxicology reports were well over what they would have consumed. They had been intentionally poisoned. I would need to talk to their omega if any were still working at the castle after the demise of their masters.
Making a note to look into the location of the omegas, I turned my attention to the few deaths that weren’t from wolfsbane poisoning. They seemed straightforward, a training accident, a run in with a vamp, a heart attack. All fairly mundane and not so unusual in the general wolf population. These were, however, royal wolves, all in line for the throne should anything happen to Jordan or her brother. They should have been heavily guarded and undergoing regular physicals to detect and treat any ailments. I knew I wouldn’t get anything from the physicians, I had needed to steal the records to learn anything in the first place, but I might have some luck with their personal guards, if I could track them down. Before I could decide how to proceed with getting information on them, Jordan burst into the room, panic written across her face.
“What’s wrong love?” I asked, rushing to her side.
“Ezekiel.” She sobbed. “Ezekiel is dead. He was found in the gardens with his throat slit.”
I wasn’t certain what that meant for my suspicions, but I wasn’t about to have us stick around the castle and find out. I hurriedly packed our belongings, explaining what I had found and what I thought it meant to Jordan as we raced along the highway toward Silver Moon pack lands. Jordan agreed that it looked like someone was trying to kill off the royal line, but her grief was so fresh that she couldn’t think deeper into it to offer any insights. I had called Bruce on the way and we found ourselves in his office a few days later.
“We need somewhere safe to hide out while we figure out what all of this means.” I told him as I finished explaining the things I had found.
“Well, we have an empty compound on the edge of pack lands. It’s registered under the Silver Moon pack, of course. I expect your pack members that haven’t joined here will be more than happy to move there under their Alpha. None of your soldiers have joined us officially so you will have plenty of protection.”
“My royal guard will join us as well.” Jordan interjected. “Even if this is some plot and not a coincidence, they are loyal to me and me alone.”
I nodded in agreement. Jordan was right, her guard was extremely loyal to her and they would relocate in secret with just a word from her. With the existing warriors from my pack and her guard, we would be well protected. We could remain hidden under the guise of being an extension of the Silver Moon pack as far as anyone in the royal court was concerned. It would help conceal us further as we tried to find out just what had been happening. We could deal with Jordan being the sole remaining heir to the lycan throne once this mystery was solved.
Tree branches tore through my hair as I ran, my wolf refusing to come forward. I was in danger. The sound of paws thundered behind me and I pushed myself to run faster. I found myself suddenly in the clearing with nothing to provide cover. Not that it would have helped anyway, the wolf would sniff me out. My only chance was to reach the water. I tripped over a protruding root as I moved towards the stream. Before I could stand, the wolf was flying through the sky at me, shifting into human form as he sliced through the air.“HANNAH! COME ON, WE’RE GOING TO MISS BREAKFAST.” An irritated voice yelled through the door, waking me from my nightmare.
I was waiting for Toby in the quad after finishing my last final exam when the scent of cedar and rain reached me. Our mate is near! My wolf yipped in my mind. Panic and desire began to war within me as my eyes scanned the empty quad. I knew Barb had spoken to Alpha Tristan yesterday, but that didn’t change the fact that I was still a rogue with Alpha blood. I screamed when a hand grabbed my shoulder. “Shit Hannah, I think you burst my eardrums!” Toby exclaimed.&nbs
“We’re going to have to come clean, sooner rather than later, Alpha.” I said. “From what I know of the young Alpha Tristan, he’s going to want to push her emancipation instead of wait for her birthday.” “Barb, you worry too much.” Alpha Bruce chided. “She turns eighteen in a month, and with you covering at the orphanage, he has no reason to push for it.” Shouldn’t the Luna be involved in this conversation? Hannah is her niece after all.” I demanded, breaking protocol by challenging my alpha.
The Iron Hide pack house was much larger than the rustic pack house of Silver Moon pack. It was obvious from the size of the place that the pack was both extremely large and extremely wealthy. I felt ridiculously out of place as Tristan led me inside. He led me by the hand to his office, not bothering to stop for introductions to any of the wolves we met as we passed by. Their stares made me more nervous than I had been since the night I met him in the woods. I didn’t know anything about pack life, but it seemed odd that an Alpha wouldn’t stop to introduce his mate to the pack.
I had managed to unpack all my belongings and change before Jaxon and his mate arrived. I opened the door to my room to find a small brunette grinning at me as she stood beside an oversized blonde male. I knew it was the beta and his mate, but his size was terrifying. “Hannah! I’m so excited that you’re finally here! I can’t tell you how happy I am that Tristan has found our luna!” The woman squealed, pulling me into a hug. “Cam, let her go bef
My hands shook violently as I pulled on my clothes in the pack changing room. I wanted to run back to the safety of my room in the orphanage, but I knew that wasn’t possible. Cam watched me, the concern on her face plain to see. I felt guilty for screaming my fear into the minds of the entire pack, though Cam assured me that they understood. I was new to the area and had been threatened by a wolf I didn’t know. More than that, I was hurt that my mate had not come when my fear had been broadcast to the entire pack. I understood logically that he was keeping his distance until I was of age, but even I knew that a mate’s primary drive was to protect their other half. I didn’t need extensive knowledge of my species or experience as a pack member to know that.&nbs
“Hannah!” Cam called to me across the dining room. I waved her over and she sat down beside me. “So, Alpha Tristan’s birthday is tomorrow. I know you haven’t spent much time with him, but I thought you would like to go shopping for his party with me.” “Oh, um, I don’t really have any money Cam. I don’t have a job yet. Barb offered me a position at the orphanage once I turn eighteen, but I’m not really sure if that’s still on the table since I’ve found a mate.”&nb
Court was boring. Tristan had said I wasn’t required to be there, but the pack lawyers had recommended it. Appearing in person, rather than just sending lawyers would make me look like I had my shit together for the judge. We spent most of the day waiting outside of the courtroom for our docket number to be called. Once it was our turn, things moved rather quickly. The judge swore me in, I attested that I had a place to stay and was able to support myself. It helped that they didn’t question where I got my money. I didn’t think it would look to good to tell them it all belonged to my mate. The judge looked over a few documents the pack lawyers had submitted, and my emanci