Chapter 95

Chapter 95
Walking in, I saw two men and a woman standing off to the right, laughing together. One was shorter, with gray hair, a full beard, and looked to be around sixty-five. The second man was taller, around six-feet tall, brown hair with gray peppered in there, and wrinkles covering his face. He looked to be older, around seventy years old. The woman was stunning with her bleach blonde hair, average height and build, and with hints of wrinkles lining her forehead. They all turned to look at us when we entered the room

“Oh my! You are so beautiful! My name is Theresa! This is Ed and Harry. We are so pleased to finally meet you!” Theresa said as she rushed over and gave me a hug. I was so stunned. I didn’t react at first, but I quickly got my wits about me and gently hugged her back.

“It is very nice to meet you all!” I said politely.

“Come child, no reason to be so formal! We like a relaxed atmosphere,” said Ed. He was the older looking guy.

“This is my mate, Wyatt. Kelly is his sister, and this is her mate and alpha of this pack, Reed,” I introduced to them.

“Thank you for your welcome! The accommodations have been wonderful. I am sorry we won’t be staying past tomorrow. There are many things that need to get done now that the true queen has been announced,” Harry said. We all took our seats.

“You are most welcome. Please do let me know if you need anything else!” Kelly beamed.

“May I congratulate you on your pregnancy?” Theresa asked, looking excited. She was gripping her hands together to keep her from touching the belly.

“You may, thank you. We are very excited!” Kelly said, grinning ear to ear.

“Oh, good! I am happy to hear everything is going well,” Ed said. “We do need to get to business though,” he said respectfully and waited for approval from Reed.

We took our seats, the three of them on one side, and Kelly and I in the middle with the boys on either side. Although the meeting was directed towards Wyatt and me, it was a protective instinct on the boys’ positions. I didn’t mind in the slightest. It did earn us a few glances around, but they didn’t say anything about it.

“Firstly, I would like to go over the ceremony,” Theresa said, pulling out some papers. She handed me a few. “The first one goes over the traditional vows and whatnot. It is like a cross between a wedding ceremony and a luna ceremony. It has some major differences though. We will start out with a speech from yours truly.” Theresa put her hand over her heart with a flattered look on her face. I had to keep from smiling at that. “Next is your vows as queen. I have taken the liberty of writing down a few options for you, or you can use them as a reference. Either way is fine. Next is drinking from the chalice. So, this is similar to a luna ceremony, but it differs because the blood you will be mixing yours with will be from every alpha in the world.”

“Is that why we submit our blood when we become alpha?” Wyatt asked.

“Yes, it is. That way we wouldn’t have to track down everyone when this day would come. However, that will stop once she takes place, and only her blood will be stored. When she chooses to pass the title over, they will use blood from her veins, unless she is dead, then the stored blood will be used. The reason is now all the blood will be in one host, and there won’t be a need to store each alpha’s blood. It is quite the chore to keep up with that, let me tell you!” Theresa said exasperated.

“Interesting…” Reed said, rubbing his chin.

“Then Ed here will have you kneel and place a sword on your shoulders where you will swear under oath your loyalty to the werewolf race. Finally, there is the last and most difficult part,” Theresa said, looking at me with pity in her eyes.

“What is that?” Wyatt asked, his nerves were rising high.

“You will have to be branded with the royal crest…”

The silence was deafening, when I say you could hear a pin drop, I meant it. I could feel Wyatt’s anger rising, Reed also, Kelly felt like she was trying not to cry, and each person across from me was sympathetic.

It was me who spoke first. “Can you elaborate on that?”

“Right where your heart is, we will place a branding iron with the royal crest for a solid minute. Wolves heal fast and royal wolves heal even faster. After the branding, Wyatt will need to mark you again, sealing the royal bond. In history, most people pass out from it, but no one had died,” Harry said, trying to sound reassuring.

“THAT—” Kelly started, and I quickly sent calming feelings towards her as Reed jumped up and took her out of the room.

“Please excuse her, she has had some trouble with her emotions lately,” Wyatt said, rubbing his eyes.

“No reason to fret. We understand this news isn’t good, and although we would rather it not happen, it is tradition and is required,” Theresa said sadly.

“Will Wyatt need to be branded, too?” I asked. “I mean, he will be king…”

“Fortunately, no. Although in the wolf world, men are always above females and alphas have the final say. Even though there are couples who are true equals, if the male wanted to, he could force her to submit. You are the one with royal blood. Wyatt, I am guessing, hasn’t submitted to you because you haven’t asked or forced him to, but if you wanted him to, he would. He will always be below you. Now, however you choose to represent yourself is up to you. Most alphas do not take kindly to a female being above them, so they might respond to Wyatt better, but it is your blood right, and you can force them to do what you want. Only those of royal bloodline will get the branding.”

“So, our kids?” I asked, scared.

“Only those who inherit the abilities. The one who is destined to rule will be branded once the throne is handed over.”

“Well…” I paused, thinking my next words over carefully, “I am no stranger to pain. I will handle it just fine. We can figure everything out as it presents itself.”

I was rewarded with three smiles and a feeling of approval from Wyatt. “Spoken like a true queen,” Theresa said.

“Now, when the ceremony is over, I understand there are a few people who need trial,” Ed said, taking over.

“Yes, sir.” That ‘sir’ earned me a glance from Ed, but nothing was said about it.

“This is generally how trials work—You will get presented with the accused, either through email, fax, or physically presented, and you will set a court date. On said date, people who wish to testify or bare witness will show up, and you will hear each side of the story with facts and evidence. You will decide their fate and set a date for it. Here is a timeframe that has been used in the past. Again, use this as a reference or guide or you can do whatever feels right for you.” Ed placed a piece of paper in front of me. There was a list of crimes and suitable punishments for said crime if found guilty. “There is a jail in the U.S. that has not been operational in a while that we will get renovated for prisoners to be, and there is the current one in Europe that will stay functional.”

“Please know that ruling fairly and with justice will reflect on your success. Please learn from your ancestors. Don’t get cocky. Don’t lie, cheat, or steal. Don’t use it for your own agenda, for we want you to succeed. Be careful who you trust into your inner circle and who you give information to. Reed has shown his loyalty to you guys over this whole war. Kelly has done more for those people affected by it than any luna has ever done,” Ed said sternly, like I was getting a lecture from my parents. Raven didn’t mind as it wasn’t like he was actually lecturing us but more like pleading.

“Here is a list of titles we have thought of for them and responsibilities that would come with it. There are a lot of spots that will need filled. Do you have a location you wish to make your homebase?” Theresa asked.

“Yes, we actually started building something. I will show you blueprints afterward if you wish,” Wyatt said.

“Excellent, that would be perfect,” Theresa said has she clapped her hands together. “Lastly, we never had the ability to adjust laws or do any changes with anything since we were just standing in. Here is one last list. It has laws that have affected our community and the suggestions I have made to them. Please look over them, and if you have any questions, my personal number is on there as well. Again, you do not have to change anything, but this is a start to a lot of sexist and immoral things that were appropriate a hundred years ago but not anymore today.”

“Of course, I will look into these! We would like outdated laws changed as well.”

“Good, good. On the back is the process that laws will have to undergo for them to change, but basically, if you sign off, it will happen,” Theresa said as there was a little tear in her eye. She was feeling very appreciative.

“I think that ends our meeting. I am starting to get hungry for supper!” Harry said.

“I believe Kelly had arranged a gathering for you guys to meet our families. Nothing large, but something so our parents can meet you guys and whatnot since we will be working together in the future!” Wyatt said politely.

“That is wonderful! I will need to change, but I can’t wait!”

“The party is at 5:00 p.m. in the backyard. Please dress casually, and we love to have a fun time!”

“Perfect! See you there!” Theresa said and we walked out of the conference room, straight up to our room.

Opening the door, I saw Kelly laying on the couch sobbing, and Reed just looked defeated. He looked at me with so much desperation I couldn’t take it. I threw so much happiness at Kelly that she instantly stopped crying and sat up smiling. She walked over to me and hugged me without saying a word. Next, she went over to Reed, gave him a kiss, and said she was going to go lay down, so I threw sleeping feelings at her next. That girl needed to rest. Too many emotions for that little baby. She walked out the door and shut it quietly.

“Don’t worry, I won’t stop until she is out cold…” I said. I didn’t even give him a chance to respond as I went straight to the closet and stripped out of my dress. I hung it on a hanger, then I grabbed a crop top and leggings. Instantly, I felt more like myself and comfy. Walking back out, Reed was still apologizing to Wyatt.

“…we have like four more months, dude!” Reed said.

“I know, it will be okay.” Wyatt tried to comfort him.

“I know what you need,” I said and made my way over to the counter, pulling down the bottle of Jack Daniel’s and poured three glasses, neat.

“You are a wise woman!” Reed said and downed his drink in one shot. He got up to refill it as Wyatt and I sipped on ours.

“That dress didn’t last long?” Wyatt said frowning. “I wanted to take it off of you!”

“JUST STOP! That is the kind of talk that gives you babies that gives your mate devilish mood swings and it’s not good, bro!”

I snorted into my drink as I was taking a sip when he said that.

“Have you not put Mom on her yet?” Wyatt asked.

“No? Was that an option?” Reed said flabbergasted.

“Yes, tell Mom and she will rein Kelly in.”

Reed plopped down on a chair and loosened his tie. “I am ready for some food. I think Kelly said it was pulled pork and brisket for supper with cheesy potatoes.”

“That sounds amazing!” I said, and it did.

“I have a serious question though,” Reed said, leaning forward. “Brooke and Zach?”