Chapter 68 - The Alpha King and His Second Chance

Edward

"Nice job today." I said, patting Derek on the back. We were walking to the lake so Derek could clean up after a rather messy altercation.

"It doesn't feel like it." He sighed.

"He was abusing his power, more than half his pack was comprised of slaves. We gave him a chance to change his ways and he chose not to."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't change the fact that his mate and pups were watching." He said with a guilty look on his face.

"Our job isn't always easy," I said, trying to reassure him.

I knew all too well where Derek was coming from. It was good that he was an empathetic leader, but he would need to reign it in. Otherwise, someone might come along and take advantage of his trust and sympathy. I speak from experience. I was a young king once too. It was only because I made the mistake of trusting people who said they would change and later getting bit in the ass because of it that I was pushing Derek to follow through with enforcement immediately. That, and he had far too many scummy alphas who decided to ignore Derek's new way of running things to wait to enforce. His army was growing rapidly, but he still had a weak kingdom. We didn't need to give those bastards time to come together and try to overthrow Derek.

Derek quickly rinsed off and we drove in silence back to the rented home where he was staying while his palace was under construction. The newly built palace was nearly complete, thankfully, and would have plenty of room for him to grow into. For now though, he, Jeff, and I have been living in a 950 sq-foot home with three tiny bedrooms. We used the small dining room for our office space as well as part of the living room. It was very humbling. I couldn't wait to go back to my home. Speaking of which, I needed to charge my phone. It died yesterday afternoon while we were gone and I forgot my charger. I made a point to call my pups every day and didn't want to miss talking to them over a dead battery. I quickly plugged it in and turned it on, the ringer going off over fifteen times. My stomach formed in knots seeing they were all from Jackson. I prayed my pups were okay. I dialed his number but it went straight to voicemail. I quickly pulled up my own voicemails and started listening to them.

"First new message..."

"Edward, call me the second you get this, its really important..."

"Me again, call me immediately."

"I know you are really busy but this cant wait...tell him the pups are fine so he doesn't freak out.....oh yeah, your pups are fine. But this is still really important."

"Bro, pick up your fucking phone!!"

"Okay look, im obviously not getting through to you, I'm catching a flight. I'll see you soon."

"The airplane is leaving now. I should be there tomorrow afternoon, be ready to leave."

"Just landed, see you soon."

"I'm fifteen minutes from the palace."

"Where the hell are you?!"

Shit. Shit. Shit.

"Jackson?" I linked, praying he was close enough to hear me.

"Where the hell are you!?" He snapped back.

"In a rental a few miles from the palace, what's going on?"

"I'm heading to Dereks palace. Meet me there. I'll explain in the car."

"Something is wrong, I need to go." I said, grabbing a duffel bag and heading out the door.

"Do you need us?" Derek asked.

"No, you hold down the fort here. I have faith in you," I said over my shoulder.

I quickly stripped down and threw my clothes in the bag. I let Edmund take over and he grabbed our things and ran to the palace like the devil himself was chasing him. We arrived quickly, I was able to get dressed and still had time to wait outside the palace for Jackson. What could possibly be so important? Were we under attack? No, he wouldn't have left the palace for that, and he could have called our father for reinforcements. He and Ella had already said the pups were fine. Did someone die? Goddess I hope not. But if someone did die, he could have just told me over the phone, there wouldn't be much urgency if they were already dead. Plus, I have already lost two mates. Not much else would ever be close to the grief I felt for them.

"Get in." Jackson said, his tone laced with irritation.

"What's going on?" I asked, jumping into the car. I barely had both feet in before Jackson started to take off again.

"Something unbelievable has happened and I need you to keep an open mind." He said, glancing over at me wearily.

"Okay, what happened?"

Jackson sighed and pulled a familiar looking device from his pocket. He handed it to me, keeping his eyes glued to the road.

"Sierra's tracker?" I said, flipping it over, her name displayed on the back.

"Turn it on," Jackson said.

I turned it on and looked at the dot on the screen. "Okay, what about it?"

"Thats not where she was put to rest." He said.

"Well then, where is it? Did someone seriously grave rob her body?!" I gritted my teeth in anger, fighting back a growl.

"Ella and I thought that, so we went to go collect whatever remained. I don't know how to tell you this, Edward. I don't think you'll believe me. But Sierra is alive."

Time seemed to stand still for a moment, his words registering in my head. "There must be some mistake, you're wrong. We were at her funeral, Jackson." I huffed.

"Yeah, I know, which is why this is such a touchy subject that needs to be discussed in person. So here I am." He said. "We went to her memorial, the casket was broken. Your mate broke herself out. We found her an hour away in a small town."

"How can you be sure it was her?" I asked.

"Well, unless Sierra was a triplet and had a sister, it's her. Same voice, scent, body, attitude, everything."

"So why didn't you bring her home then?" I asked, still skeptical of what he was suggesting.

"We tried, she refused. She cant remember anything, Edward. She is living in a human town with three single college guys."

"What?!" I growled, unable to hold it in any longer.

"Yeah, I know. William is there keeping an eye and ear out to make sure no funny business happens."

"Why didn't you just force her to come with you?!" I asked, my emotions colliding within me.

"Oh I don't know, maybe because she could level the fucking building if she wanted to! We were surrounded by humans who could easily record our 'suspicious behaviour' or call the police and get them involved, completely exposing our race!" Jackson snapped.

"Drive faster!" I yelled.

Could this be real? Or was I dreaming? When Hope died, I felt part of my soul go with her. The agony accompanied with her death was unimaginable for months. But with Sierra, I never felt that. I was angry, so angry I assumed it overruled the feeling of our bond breaking. What if I was wrong?

Jackson and I got to the airport in record time, and our flight took off shortly after that. It felt ten times longer than normal, my mind racing with possibilities. We had a half-hour drive to get to the human town where Sierra was staying. I still had doubts, I was naturally a 'see it to believe it' kind of person. But any doubt I had disappeared the moment we pulled in front of a home in the suburbs, my stunning mate working in the garden. I wordlessly exited the car, my jaw slack, my feet moving on their own.

"Sierra?" I said just above a whisper.

She picked her head up and looked my way, flipping her hair over her shoulder, her fresh apple scent hitting me like a ton of bricks.

"I guess that's me." She said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Edward, I'm your mate."

"My mate? What's that?" She said with a confused look on her face. "I thought the other people said you were my husband?"

"Well, yeah, a mate is the human version of a husband." I answered carefully. It concerned me that she didn't even remember what a mate was.

"The human version? As opposed to what?" She asked innocently.

"Why don't I take you back home and we can talk and have the doctor check you over? We can talk on the way." I nodded.

"Okay....but can you tell me about myself first?"

"Absolutely," I agreed, taking a seat on the bottom step of the porch. Sierra sat next to me, looking at me expectantly. "What would you like to know?" I asked.

"Everything."

"You are my very sweet, very sassy mate. We have five pups together. You love to cook. You have some unique talents that keep you busy."

"What are pups?" She interjected.

"You really don't remember anything, do you?" I asked.

She shook her head and took a deep breath. "Its like I feel like I forgot a word and its on the tip of my tongue but I just cant remember it. When you say mate and pups, those words hit something deep inside me, but I don't know what they mean."

"Well, that's something," I said, taking her hand in mine. She gasped and her eyes turned black with lust for a split second.

"What was that?" She gasped, pulling away quickly.

"We belong to each other, that spark you felt was from our bond." I said, taking her hand back and rubbing small circles over her hand. Goddess, if we weren't in a public setting in a human town, I would have my way with her here and now. I still couldn't fathom that she was sitting there in front of me.

"I like that." She hummed.

"Well, I would be more than happy to show you more, but I think we should head home first." I tried again.

"Yeah...okay." She nodded, not taking her eyes off of me.

"Lets go." I said, pulling her to stand.

"Let me just go say goodbye..." She pulled away, heading inside. I followed closely behind her, not liking the idea of her being alone with three single college guys. "Hey guys?" She called out. The three emerged from different parts of the house. Two of them were looking at her longingly before sizing me up. I was easily a foot taller than all of them, I was also ripped with a 'dont fuck with me' look plastered on my face.

"Is this the deadbeat dad?" One deadpanned. I growled, making his eyes go wide. He and the other two even took a step back.

"This is Edward, my mate. Or husband." She corrected herself. "I wanted to thank you guys for letting me stay here, it really means a lot." She thanked them.

"Anytime."

"I'll miss your cooking."

"If he doesn't work out, you are always welcome back."

"You guys take care." She smiled softly.

We were soon in the car homeward bound. Sierra had one hundred and one questions to ask which Jackson and I were happy to answer. I called Derek when we got home and told him I wouldn't be back for a while. There was a lot to do still, but he has grown so much in the past six months I was confident he could handle things.

"Can you tell me what you do remember? If anything?" Dr. White asked while shining a light in Sierra's eyes.

"Not much. I remember a bright light. And then I woke up in a glass tube. A lot of things seem familiar though," Sierra said.

"Have you tried to use your powers yet?" Gwendolyn asked.

"I have powers?" Sierra asked, her mouth hanging open.

"We haven't gotten that far in our conversation yet," I said sheepishly. I didn't think telling her she was a hybrid werewolf was the best way to start off when she couldn't remember anything.

"Have you had any visions?" Gwendolyn asked frustratedly.

"Visions? Well, now that you mention it, I thought I saw my roommate with a girlfriend he apparently works with. He said they weren't dating though."

"Maybe not yet, but probably soon," I said.

"Has your wolf given you any suggestions as to what might be wrong?" Dr. White asked while he checked Sierra's blood pressure.

"My wolf?" Sierra frowned.

"A little voice in your head, not your conscious but very similar. Yours is named Sienna. She can be very mouthy." I chuckled at the last part.

"No, I don't have that."

"So she has her powers but no wolf..." Dr. White said to himself. "I would like to get a few head scans and some bloodwork but I will need time to figure this one out."

"I will consult with my sisters and see what we can come up with. I would bet that whatever spell she cast at the lab caused this." Gewndolyn said.

"A spell could really take away her wolf" I asked, perplexed.

"Its very possible. There is a reason why our species don't typically cross breed. The results can be unstable." She said, eyeing up Sierra. "Even our higher deities don't normally have their followers matched with a different race. Most times it's our own will that makes it happen. But you two were fated, the gods and goddesses surely have favor in you."

"Edward, are you forgetting? This has happened before. Years ago, when you two first met, it's in my notes here." Dr. White interjected. "Besides the memory loss, of course."

"He's right, she cast a spell then too. Her other witch friend was pissed that she tried the spell." I said.

"But she got her wolf back?" Gewndolyn pressed.

"Yeah, after we marked each other." I mulled over.

"Maybe you should try that, see if it works again." Dr. White shrugged.

"Try what?" Sierra asked innocently.

"We'll talk about it at home." I said, saving the room from the sex talk.

"Will I see our pups there?"

"I asked Jackson and Ella to take them out for a movie and then a sleepover at a hotel so they wouldn't overwhelm you immediately. Tomorrow you will see them."

"So what are we going to do tonight?"