Chapter 112: Hello

Carter I hurriedly followed Ecstan down the hall to my office where I found Zayden and my father sitting in front of a young man who looked pretty terrified. His clothes were covered in mud and grass making it apparent that wherever he had been there had been a scuffle of some sort. His eyes were bloodshot and I could still see the fear in his eyes, he had seen something that much was certain. "Carter, glad you could join us, I think you need to hear what our young friend has to say to you. He has been through a lot in the past few days and is going his best to tell us about what happened. Why don't you take a seat so we can all chat?" Dad's voice was soothing and firm silently telling me that this boy was traumatized to some degree. Not bad enough that he couldn't talk about what had happened to him, but at least enough to make him wary of talking about it. I quickly made my way to my desk and took a seat on top of it. While I was the Alpha of this pack and the position was definitely not one that showed authority I was closer to him if I sat here. I could see Zayden looking at me curiously as if I had just turned into a lizard or something then shook his head redirecting his attention to the young man who had information on his daughter. Was she really his daughter though? Ecstan was her true father, the one who had given her life along with Elinn's mother's help of course. However, Zayden was the one who had raised her and taught her how to walk and talk. He was the one who had taken her to the playground when she was little. It wasn't for Ecstan's lack of care it was because he couldn't be there for his daughter without risking having something horrible happened to her. Ecstan had wanted to raise his daughter and teach her to do all those things, but he wasn't safe for her to be around. And he did visit her whenever he could find the time, he didn't just completely abandon her to live with the Royals. So who was Elinn's father? I was pulled out of my off-topic train of thought when the young man before me cleared his throat as if trying to prepare himself to give a speech. I took some time to really study the man in front of me and I realized he wasn't much of a man at all. The kid couldn't have been more than nineteen if even that and he was on the scrawny side. I could only assume that the girls found him attractive with green eyes and blonde hair that was expertly styled to look as if he hadn't done it at all. "I….I…..I was on patrol and….and….I just…." It was obvious that the young man was trying hard to find the right words to explain what had happened to him. I knew that this had to be hard for him, whatever had happened had been recent and he was probably still trying to process the information. "Look, I know that this has probably been a very eventful day for you and it has to be difficult trying to remember everything that has happened. I have a meeting tonight with several other Alpha's, I think that would be a good time for you to tell us what happened. Give you some time to go home and rest clean yourself up then explain what happened today." I offered the young man and he nodded eagerly as I expected him to do. As he got up to leave I stopped him realizing that I didn't know his name. He had been sitting here in my office for who knows how long and I had no idea what his name was. "My name's Jaston, I am the newest addition to the warriors. I joined after my cousin was murdered, your mate was a good friend of his. Corbin used to talk about her a lot," Jaston said smiling sadly at me then exiting the office without another word. I sighed and laid back on the desk trying my best not to think about the mess that is my life. How was I going to house twelve more Alpha's as well as their warriors? Moreover what the heck was I supposed to do in order to convince all these people to help me. "That was a good way of handling it Carter, I'm proud of you son," Dad said walking over and putting a hand on my shoulder. "I don't want to talk about it right now Dad, I need to be alone right now," I told him still trying to keep in everything I was feeling. Dad looked at me skeptically and I just shook my head. "I'll see you at the dinner meeting later tonight," I assured him and after a few moments, the three left the room. I laid my head back and tried to relax before I even got the chance to really think things through I was asleep. What seemed like seconds later I was awakened by the sound of the door opening. I managed to pull myself up from the desk and looked groggily at my mother standing in the doorway. She looked as if she was trying to hold in a laugh when she saw what I looked like. "You might want to go freshen up for the dinner, you know since it starts in half an hour." This statement sent me running to my room my mother's laughter following me down the hallways. I hurriedly changed into a pair of black slacks and a nice white shirt. I didn't want to be late for my own dinner and I had to be there to say hello to all the Alpha's who were going to be arriving right as the dinner was starting. I rushed down the stairs towards the formal dining room where some of the lower level pack members were setting up a table. "Alpha, how are you doing? I know that it's been hard for you lately but the staff wanted you to know that we are praying to the Moon Goddess for you." One of the women said reaching out a hand to me and squeezing mine. "Thank you so much, I really appreciate it so much," I tell her sincerely before I could say more the doorbell once again interrupted me. I quickly excused myself and made my way to the door pulling it open to reveal what seemed to be an ocean of people. There were twelve men standing at the front of the door and one stepped up to me extending a hand. I cautiously took his hand and shook it unsure of what to do. "We are here to talk with you about our missing princess, I believe you have an idea about how to get her back. Can we come in?"