I was so nervous about my meeting with the King and Queen that even a shower with Detsy and Grace couldn't distract me.
The thoughts running around my head wouldn't stop. What if Grace's parents didn't like me? What if I accidentally messed up or insulted them? Would I be imprisoned or worse, banished?
Despite multiple people informing me that the King and Queen were quite lovable, it did nothing to help calm my mind.
I eventually felt a smack on my rear end and abruptly pulled myself out of my thoughts to concentrate on Detsy who wanted my attention.
"Welcome back to us Eva." Detsy said just a little dryly. "Now that we finally have your attention again, let's get out of the shower and get you dressed." I hadn't realized that Grace and Detsy had been trying to get my attention before as I was consumed by my fears.
I silently followed my two mates out of the shower, dried myself and went with them to pick out some clothes.
After what felt like hours but was probably only ten minutes, Detsy and Grace had convinced me to wear a black dress with silver highlights that made my eyes and hair really stand out.
"I really love it." Grace said after looking me up and down quite closely. Detsy quickly agreed with her mate as she had a hungry look in her eyes.
Grace chuckled at Detsy before offering me one arm and Detsy the other. "Shall we get going then?"
I didn't grab Grace's arm as my fear took over completely and rooted me to the spot. One look at me had Detsy's expression changed to a look of concern as she took the two steps back to be right beside me.
"You're as white as a ghost Eva, are you ok?" Detsy asked in concern. I simply shook my head at her in reply before trying to talk.
"W-what if they don't like me? What if I mess up and get banished from the werewolf kingdom?" I managed to mumble. If it weren't for the superior hearing that werewolves possessed then my mates wouldn't have been able to hear me at all.
"Well first off I don't think my parents actually have the power to do that to you as you're my mate." Grace said as she also stepped over to me and embraced me in a hug at the same time Detsy did. "Secondly, the only person who my parents have ever hated was Prince Rodney who murdered his own brother as well as his two mates in an attempt to claim the throne. Effectively ending the era of the royals keeping the peace with their unique abilities."
"Besides," Detsy said. "They've already heard all about you and love you already." I raised my eyebrow at Detsy but didn't say anything as I drew strength from the contact with both of my mates.
"Thank you." I said to the two women embracing me. "I'm ok now, I promise."
Detsy pulled back a little to study my face but didn't remove her arms from around me. She gave Grace a quick nod when she was satisfied that a healthy color had returned to my cheeks and they both proceeded to link one of their arms in mine.
I had only known that I had mates for four days and most of that time was spent away from them, but I already didn't know what I would do without them.
The three of us left our room and made our way down to the second floor. Apparently Alpha Leyton had surrendered his office to the Royals when they needed to use it and he conducted his business in a sitting room down the hall instead.
As we approached the familiar wooden door of Alpha Leyton's office I heard voices from inside.
"The attacks have increased dramatically in the last two months sire." A male voice I didn't recognize said. "The wolves are being smarter than should be possible with the way they're disguising their scents. They're attacking anywhere that houses pups that haven't had their first shift yet."
"That doesn't make sense." A deep male voice said in frustration. "There is no pattern to these attacks, they seem to be happening thousands of kilometers apart and the culprits seem to vanish into thin air afterwards, despite the best efforts of our trackers. The few culprits that we have managed to capture simply sit in their cells and refuse to speak a word to anyone no matter how we persuade them or threaten them."
"Add in that many of the natural wolf packs are suddenly disappearing, or all the males disappear and leave the pregnant she wolves and we have no idea what to make of the situation anymore." A gentle but commanding female voice added.
I felt Aurora shift uncomfortably in the back of my mind but I didn't get a chance to ask her what was wrong as the male voice spoke again.
"You have my permission to use as many people as you need, I want you to track down the natural wolves that have disappeared. If we find them then we find the source of these problems."
Grace chose this moment to knock on the door as her consciousness got the better of her for eavesdropping.
"Who is it?" A voice I recognized as Alpha Leyton asked.
"Grace, Detsy and Eva. Here to see mum and dad." Grace replied rather formally to my Alpha.
"Ah, please come in." Said the deep male voice that had lost it's frustration and had taken on an almost jolly tone.
I steeled my nerves as Detsy opened the door for us and the three of us entered the room with the King, Queen, Alpha Leyton and what appeared to be a commander of the werewolf armies. The four of them had been looking at a map spread out over Alpha Leyton's desk before we arrived judging by the way they still stood next to it.
Queen Cynthia Golde was a short slim woman who stood at only 5'3. She had her hair, that made no attempt to hide the grey coming through, in a ponytail and her eyes were so dark blue that you could almost mistake them for grey at first glance. She was also wearing a massive smile that reminded me of when mother's smile at their children, it was so relaxing and comforting.
On the other hand King Tom Golde was a plump man who stood about 5'9 which is short for a werewolf male. Most of the top of his head was already bald and the remaining hair on the back of his head and around the sides looked like a salt and pepper crown that was missing part of it at his forehead. He had light blue eyes and his face split into a massive grin upon seeing us, revealing that he had several teeth missing.
"Gracy." King Tom yelled out cheerfully while extending out the c sound. "Come here my little girl." he told Grace while extending out his arms for a hug.
Grace surprised me by basically turning into a child at this point. She yelled out "Daddy." In a gleeful voice and charged over to her father before jumping in his arms.
King Tom chuckled as he caught his daughter who was bigger than he was before lifting her off her feet and twirling her around once.
Queen Cynthia was the next to receive Grace's assault hugs as the young Princess greeted her mother who never lost her smile. Although you could see how much both parents loved their daughter as it was written on their faces.
I could tell that Detsy also wanted to go and greet the King and Queen but I was secretly thankful that she choose to stay with me and hold my hand in support instead of leaving me alone. Even if she only would have been feet away.
"With your permission I'll take my leave now." The werewolf commander said and King Tom dismissed him with a friendly wave of his hand
"How are you my dear." King Tom asked Detsy who was still beside me.
"I'm fantastic Pappa Smurf." Detsy replied with a grin before taking a step forward and giving him a one armed hug as she hadn't let go of my hand.
"So are you going to make us wait all day or are you going to introduce us Grace?" Queen Cynthia asked her daughter in amusement after they'd split apart.
Grace blushed in embarrassment before stepping back to us and taking my free hand in both of hers.
"Mum, Dad, I'd like you to meet Eva. She is Detsy's and my mate." Grace introduced us. "Eva, I'd like you to meet my mother and father, who are the current King and Queen of the werewolves."
I bowed my head in respect to the monarchs before greeting them. "It is a pleasure to meet you King To-"
King Tom interrupted me mid sentence by raising his hand in a stop talking manner suddenly.
"Let me stop you right there Missy." He said to me as my heart sank and my belly filled with fear. "No one in this family calls me king anything, I am Tom or Pappa Smurf to you."
He was smiling at me as my head shot up in confusion. His comment had completely caught me off guard.
I retraced myself and tried my introduction again. "It's a pleasure to meet you Tom and..." I left the sentence open and looked hopefully at Queen Cynthia to prompt her to tell me what she wanted me to call her.
"You can call me Cynthia or Mamma Bear." Queen Cynthia informed me as her smile got even deeper with amusement. "Although I do prefer mum or Mamma Bear as Cynthia still sounds to formal for my taste."
"Tom and Cynthia." I finally managed to finish as I blushed in embarrassment. Although everyone else in the room seemed to be relaxed smiling as I made a fool out of myself.
"So tell me Missy." Tom said as he sat down in a chair and relaxed. "Is it true that you grew up in a natural wolf pack and didn't know your parents or that you are a werewolf until recently?"
"That is true." I confirmed as the relaxed attitude of Grace's parents started to affect me and I in turn relaxed. "I was found as a newborn by the pack and was raised without any idea of my heritage."
"How did you find growing up without a mother or father?" Cynthia asked me curiously.
"In a wolf pack the birth mother and the genetic father don't play as much of a role in raising the children once they're weaned as they do in human culture. That's because every member of the pack considers a pup of the pack their own and everyone helps parent them. So I had plenty of parents if you think about it." I replied while Tom chuckled and Cynthia nodded.
"Can you tell us about your brother that we've heard so much about?" Tom asked me with what appeared to be hope in his eyes.
"I found John just outside our territory when he was no more than a day old. It looked like his mother had fled her old pack to protect her pups. By the time I found them she had given birth to five pups and perished. She had serious bite and scratch marks on her that were both fresh and old. I came to the conclusion that she was mistreated by her previous pack. Although Alpha Pierce declared that she was attacked by an animal or rival wolves when she fled her old pack because he couldn't wrap his head around the idea that any wolf could hurt their own family or pack." I said, pausing before continuing.
"Of the five pups I found three were boys and two were girls. Only one of the boys and one of the girls were alive by the time I found them and the little female passed away two days later despite the desperate attempts of the pack to save her. In the end the pack allowed me to care for and raise the remaining pup, but I was too young to have pups of my own. So therefore I became John's sister instead of his mother." I finished my sad tale.
Alpha Leyton looked furious and Tom just looked plain stunned at my story. The three women besides myself were in tears as they learnt of John's history.
"John doesn't know any of this, he simply thinks that he was found alone and adopted. I don't want to tell him until he's old enough to understand what actually happened. I'm fearful that it would destroy him so please promise me to keep it a secret until I decide the time is right." I asked everyone in the room who nodded in acceptance of my plea.
"Where is the little man?" Cynthia asked her daughter.
"He's settling in with the other wolves from the Shallow Waters pack mum." Grace informed her parents.
"Can you get someone to go and bring him here?" Tom asked Alpha Leyton. "After all, if I have a grandson then I want to meet him." I could of sworn that the smile on Tom's face should have split his face in half by now.
"I'll ask Beta Rebecca to bring him up. I'm sure it won't be a problem once he learns that his sister is also here." Alpha Leyton said with a small smirk before letting his eyes glaze over as he contacted his second in command.
Cynthia spoke once Alpha Leyton's attention had returned to us and John was on route to this study. "You right Grace, Eva really does bear a striking resemblance to Adrian."
"Who's Adrian?" I asked in confusion.
For the first time since I saw him, Tom's face fell and all traces of happiness disappeared. "Adrian was my best friend for a very long time. We grew up together and I even followed him when he went into business."
Tom paused for a second as a single tear made it's way down his face before continuing. "He's been dead for a long time now. He had a daughter who disappeared at the same time he died and I have a strong suspicion that you might be her."
I looked into Tom's face that showed an age old grief at the loss of his closest friend before asking quietly. "You know who my parents are?"
"We think we know who your parents were." Cynthia answered for Tom. "But luckily for us there is a method called DNA testing that can prove whether or not we are correct. With your permission we would like to collect a sample of your DNA and compare it to samples of your parents that have been kept safe over the years."
"That sounds like it would hurt a lot." I said quickly while instinctively backing up, trying to find a defensible position in case they forcefully came after my DNA.
However Detsy was behind me and simply wrapped her arms around me when I backed up into her.
"Getting a DNA sample doesn't hurt in the slightest." Detsy reassured me. "All that's required is a tiny bit of saliva out of your mouth."
I looked at Detsy like she was crazy. "That's it?" I asked baffled. "A bit of my saliva can tell me who my birth parents are?"
"It can only tell us if you are the child of predetermined parents. It's not like a database where we can input your DNA and find a match. We must have a DNA sample of your parents so the test can tell us if you are their child or not. Without the samples from your parents we would have nothing to compare your DNA to so it wouldn't tell us anything." Cynthia tried to explain to me as my brain nearly exploded.
"I have no idea what you just said." I admitted. "But if you need a tiny bit of my saliva then you are more than welcome to take it."
Cynthia looked relieved as she went over to one of the book shelves and grabbed a test tube off of it after putting on latex gloves. She unscrewed the lid and retrieved a cotton bud from inside before walking back over to me.
"Open your mouth as wide as you can for me sweetheart." Cynthia said. Once I'd opened my mouth up she stuck the cotton ball in my mouth and gently rubbed it against the inside of my cheek before withdrawing it. She quickly put it back in the test tube and screwed the lid on tight.
"Were all done here so you can shut your mouth now sweetheart." Cynthia told me with that motherly smile on her face.
After shutting my jaw and rubbing it for a bit to relax the muscles that had started to hurt while holding my jaw unnaturally wide I asked. "Is that it?"
"That's it." Grace confirmed from where she had settled next to her mother.
Any further discussion was interrupted as the door opened and a brown ball of fur shot it's way inside at full speed trying to find me.
John ran a lap around the office not slowing down from full speed before locating me in my human form. He redirected himself as much as he could in the small space and raced over to me.
Unfortunately John's path took him right by Cynthia who almost casually bent down and picked the running pup off the ground, as he tried to race by her at full speed. Scaring the daylights out of him.
I don't think I've ever heard John yelp that loud and I felt like a bad sister for it, but I couldn't help but laugh.
"W-Who are you?" John stuttered as he was held in the air at arms length so Cynthia could examine him.
"I young man, am your Grandma." She promptly informed John before holding him to her chest and facing him towards Tom. "This is your grandfather Tom."
"Is she being serious?" John asked me with wide eyes as he attempted to get out of Cynthia's arms, who in turn simply held him tighter.
"She is John." I replied to my brother. "You have three sisters and two grandparents little brother."
John's face made it look like he'd just won the lottery of life and in a way, he kind of had.
We stayed with Grace's parents for the rest of the afternoon while Alpha Leyton left to oversee the last of the Luna festival preparations.
After getting to know each other and John getting spoiled rotten, I was finally comfortable around Tom and Cynthia even though they were King and Queen. Although truth be told, they started treating me like a daughter from the moment they met me.
After dinner Grace, Detsy and I went to check on how the she wolves were settling in. None of them had come to the pack house for dinner. Even though they had an open invitation to join the pack at anytime, which includes meal times, it wasn't surprising that they stuck to their new home on the first night.
Strangely enough Detsy and Grace insisted that John stay with the pack tonight instead of coming back to our room with us.
After losing the battle to have John come with us I bid him goodbye and the three of us made our way back to the pack house.
As we were walking back Aurora spoke to me. "Hey Eva." Aurora said very hesitant.
"Hey yourself." I replied in a happy tone. "What can I do for you this fine evening Miss Aurora?"
Aurora responded with "We need to talk."