Chapter 36

After the long silence, Father finally decided that he would speak. He was having a conversation with Mother about the situation through their mind-link. That might have been true, as he seemed better determined.

“Aria, put them under command and inside custody till the morning. We will meet the people of our kingdom and let them decide which one of us should be their king. King Arnold concluded.”

“Sure Father, I said, taking them under the command immediately.”

Mason had already asked Ethan to come here with a few soldiers and take those two to a room to be kept under watch till morning. Ethan arrived in time and took them away as they glared at us.

They were out of sight now, leaving us with my parents. Father let out a sigh as the doors closed.

“Aria, let Caleb know about this and ask him to tell his mother to gather the people by 10 a.m. tomorrow.”

“Yes, I will let them know, Father. Is there anything else?”

“Yes, there is. Let others here know about this as well. He informed me.”

“Sure, I will tell everyone about this and let them be ready before 9.00 a.m. to go to “Werewolf Kingdom.”

“Thanks, you both should get some rest now. We might have a big day tomorrow. Have a good night. Mother insisted.”

“Goodnight, Father, and Mother, we will get going now. I told them.”

We left the room and told everyone about all this personally. All of them agreed to meet at 8.30 am for breakfast and then we would go ahead to “Werewolf Kingdom”. The preparation on the other side was also done. The meeting would occur outside the “Werewolf Kingdom” castle.

We went to our room after finishing the preparations for the next morning. These days were full of trouble, especially the last two days and tonight. We felt tired after all the stuff that happened right now. I fell asleep as soon as I lay down, and Mason, too, fell asleep.

I woke up early in the morning. It was just 6 a.m.; I got out of bed and prepared for the day. Mason got up when I was done getting ready. He gets ready for the day. It was still early, and we decided to visit my parents first. They were looking much better now. They were ready for the day as well.

My parents wanted to meet Granny’s family so, we took them to the room where they were. Blair’s granny and grandpa were in the same room. I took them there first, and later we checked on her parents. I met them last evening. It was early, but we went to the dining hall. All the members were almost there at the table, even Anna’s parents, and my human parents were present.

We started with breakfast immediately and got ready to go. King Arthur and his cousin Evan were also there as we set to go to the “Werewolf Kingdom”. With the help of teleportation, we were at the entrance of the Kingdom in a few seconds. Queen Synthia was there, along with Amanda and Amelia, the wife and daughter of their cousin Evan. Amelia’s mate, Theo, who is also a werewolf, was present.

We were there before the time. King Arthur and Evan, were seething with anger as no one tried to help them out of their chains. They might have felt that they were about to lose this fight now. They started to go silent as the people of their kingdom made their way towards the ground outside the castle.

All the people were there before 10 am and we decided to start our meeting with people. I was getting anxious as to who would win in this. Mason held my hand in his to ease the nervousness that I was feeling. I hope all people will have their freedom after this big decision. We stood in front of the people and awaited my father to speak.

“Good morning, to all the people of “Werewolf Kingdom.” We have called you here to ask you to choose a King for our Kingdom. You can let the ruling king stay or appoint me as a king once again the choice will be yours. Father said, leaving the decision to the people.”

People started talking among themselves as they were left to make the decision. All of us waited patiently for them to discuss among themselves and declare the king. It was taking time to discuss, and we let them do it at their own pace.

Finally, they stopped talking with each other after almost 30 minutes. The decision will be declared any minute now. The representatives of three divided parts of our kingdom had made the decision together. We waited in anticipation of their answers. The three representatives came forward to give us an answer.

“We Choose King Arnold to be our King once again. We are tired of the things he does please do something about it, my King, they said bowing to my Father with respect, all the people following the pursuit”

The final decision was made, and the people seemed happy about it. Only Uncle Arthur and Evan were the ones who weren’t satisfied with the decision. Evan and their families seemed to be overjoyed with the decision. Seems like their family got tired of their antics.

“Thank you for choosing me as the king of this kingdom. My first order is to release the children from the dungeons. All the families that were forced to be apart can get back together. You are allowed to go to the “Shifter Territory” and “Vampire Kingdom” and you won’t be restricted anymore. Their people can come here as well. All the people are free to be with their mates no matter the species. Father declared.”

The people were so joyful that some of them cried tears of joy. The soldiers obeyed the orders, immediately releasing the children from the dungeons and allowing them to go to their parents. Mason’s dad had informed this in his territory and the people who were forced apart due to rules were able to reunite. Mason informed “Shifters Territory” as well.

We were viewing many families reunite again after almost 18 years. The moment was so emotional that it brought tears to my eyes. The people of this kingdom can be themselves now without restrictions. My wish has finally come true. Mason wiped the tears from my cheeks, noticing I was crying.

Prince Caleb and Anna were crying tears of joy as well. They could finally be with each other. Anna’s parents and Aunt Synthia were happy as well. Aunt Amanda, Amelia, and Theo were happy for us. I was meeting my real family for the first time. I never knew I had two cousins. The only unhappy people were my two uncles, Arthur and Evan.

People had left to go back to their homes. It left only us. We went inside the castle and into the meeting room. One more decision was to be made, the head of the “Shifter Territory” and his luna joined us in the meeting. The decision to be made was punishment for my both Uncles.

“How about 18 years of imprisonment in silver cells? King Joshua and Alpha Carson suggested.”

“No, that would be too much for them. How about 18 months of imprisonment in silver cells? Father asked.”

“Aren’t you giving them too little punishment? They didn’t think twice before trapping you there for 18 years and making you suffer. King Joshua enquired.”

“I think similar to King Joshua, Alpha Carson spoke.”

“I think the time of 18 months would be enough to make them see the reality that they will be away from the family and placed in different cells. They will learn to respect their family if they are away, and they will also feel the torture of the mate bond and learn how they made others feel when families were torn apart. This might be the perfect punishment. Father declared.”

“What are your views about this, Synthia, Amanda? Father enquired.”

“We think this punishment is appropriate for them. Let them see how people suffered, Aunt Synthia said while Aunt Amanda nodded her head in agreement.”

“The punishment has been decided then, Arthur and Evan say your goodbyes to your family. You won't meet any of them for the next 18 months. Father concluded.”

Their faces fell as they looked at their family. There was no going back now that the decision was made. They gazed at their wives and children, who were happy with their mates for a few minutes before they were taken away to the secret cells and locked there. We saw them locked and left the place. Four soldiers would guard this place from now on.

Alpha Carson and his Luna congratulated us for uniting after 18 years as a family and for Father being the King once again before going back to their territory. Mason’s parents also left after congratulating us while Mason and Ethan were still here with us. Anna’s parents had left as well.

I saw my human parents about to leave and went to meet them with my Mother and father.

“Father, these are my parents who took care of me until I found out I was a hybrid. I let them know.”

“Thank you so much for taking care of our daughter all these years. Mother said appreciatively.”

“I am grateful to you, Mr. and Mrs. Woods. You knew there was so much risk to keep our daughter at your house but, you did and treated her as your own. I can’t thank you enough for doing what you did. I hope you and our daughter can always stay as you were before. Father acknowledged.”

“Yes, King Arnold, Aria will always be our dear little daughter. We will come and meet her from time to time and she can always visit us if she wants. Dad told Father.”

I pulled them into an embrace before we parted ways. I was going to start over as Princess Aria. We still had one decision left; to go with our mates to their kingdom or stay with our family for a while. The decision is tough, as we want to be with our parents and mates.

Blair and I have to make the decision. We exchanged worried glances. We wanted to stay with our parents as we just met them after all these years. And we couldn’t live without our mates. Ethan and Mason had heard our thoughts. They held our hands, giving us a knowing smile. We have grown attached to them too much in a short amount of time. I don’t think I could even sleep without him beside me.