"I'm so jealous of you two." Beverly whined at Saffron and Derrick as we all sat on the couches in the tree house. I was lying down next to Beverly with my head resting on my paws while Saffron and Derrick were cuddled up on the couch opposite us.
Derrick rolled his eyes slightly as Beverly continued without noticing. "I want to find a soulmate. A person who is just for me to love forever." Beverly had a dreamy look on her face as she spoke. Apparently the idea of mates was romantic to some humans.
"I thought you and Jarred were getting really close? I actually expected you two to be dating by now." Saffron asked her friend.
Beverly's face went from dreamy to angry in an instant. "I thought so to." Beverly replied, venom lacing her words. "But apparently Jess was getting really close to him as well and he asked her out. Jarred played both Jess and I. Jess wasn't very happy when she found out either." Beverly smiled at the last sentence.
"This girl wears her emotions on her face with no filter." I thought quietly to myself.
"Well I'm not a werewolf and therefore don't get a mate as well so we can be lonely together." I interjected into the conversation.
"See? It's not just me that hates that werewolves get the perfect mate to love and the rest of us have to deal with the rest of the morons that call themselves teenagers or young adults." Beverly said, not quite realizing that she answered my question when five minutes ago she couldn't understand me.
Although it was a fact that didn't slip past the rest of us that were present.
"I thought you couldn't understand Eva?" Saffron questioned as Derrick looked thoughtfully at Beverly and I.
"I can't." Beverly relied. "Which really sucks, Eva sounds so amazing and I can't even speak to her."
"Um, yes you can." I said to Beverly.
"No I can't." Beverly replied without looking at me.
"Yes you can." I replied again with a bit more force behind it.
Beverly turned around to me before replying. "NO i can'-" Beverly stopped halfway through her sentence as she realized she was arguing with me. "But, how can I understand you now?" She questioned.
"I have no idea." I replied with a lopsided grin. "But it's nice to be part of the conversation again. I'm Eva and it's a pleasure to meet you Beverly. Also to answer your question from earlier, yes you may pat me. Just be gentle when you do it.
"It's nice to meet you to Eva." Beverly introduced herself properly as she reached a hand over to run it through my silver fur. "Saffron was right about you." I raised my eyebrows in question at Beverly and Saffron before Beverly continued. "You are far more polite than basically any human I've ever met."
This made me smile as I relaxed into the pats and ear scratches I was receiving from Beverly.
"How is this possible?" Derrick muttered to himself as he thought. "I'd never have thought that humans that weren't part of the pack wouldn't be able to understand the wolf language so easily."
"I didn't understand her at first." Beverly said while still running her hand through my soft fur. "Then all of a sudden it was like we'd always been communicating. I still can't believe that I'm talking to an actual wolf. If all wolves are this well mannered then I want to go live with a wild wolf pack."
Derrick chuckled. "Unfortunately Eva here is the exception to most natural wolves. I can tell you from the wolves that we've tried to bring into the pack in the past that all of them haven't been as accepting as Eva here with the idea of a werewolf pack. They can't seem to understand that there is more to life in our pack than fighting, having fur to keep you warm, hunting, mating to make pups and the power structure in a pack."
"To top it all off, none of them have been polite and pleasant like Eva is. She's a true prodigy of wolf kind that I'm proud to call my pack mate." Derrick finished before looking at me with a genuine smile plastered on his face.
"I'm also proud to call her my pack mate and my friend." Saffron said. "Although I must admit that when I was young I never thought I'd have a wolf as one of my two best friends."
"Wow." was all Beverly said to Derrick's speech. "Would it be alright for us to be friends as well?" Beverly asked me.
"Of course." I replied lazily. "If you promise to give me these amazing pats and scratches I'll be your friend forever." I joked as my tongue fell out the side of my mouth and hung there in a wolf grin.
"Deal." Beverly exclaimed with the same enthusiasm that she displayed when I first met her. "Welcome friend, you're stuck with me now. Muahaha." Beverly joked as she tried to laugh in a really weird way. I just thought it was amusing.
"Back to what we were talking about." Derrick said as he changed the topic of conversation. "If you really want to see if you have a werewolf mate then as the next Alpha I can invite you to the lunar festival that will be held just over a month from now. Nearly every pack in the area, including the King and Queen will be present. So if you have a werewolf mate then they will be there."
"You'd do that for me?" Beverly asked as she choked on her emotions. "I thought no humans were allowed near the pack house. I know I've never seen it."
"Normally yes." Derrick replied. "However I'm going to make an exception just this once for you. But don't go bragging about it please, I don't need everyone in school coming to me in an attempt to see the pack house."
"My lips are sealed." Beverly said as she raised her hand to her lips and made a zipping motion across them.
"Thank you Beverly. I'll talk to my father and let you know the details when we sort them out later." Derrick said to Beverly.
Beverly got up from the couch we were sitting on and crossed over to Derrick and Saffron who were still cuddled up together. She pulled the both of them in for a massive hug before softly saying, "Thank you so much." to the duo, before heading back over to her original spot.
"So does this mean that I get to meet Princess Grace?" Beverly asked excitedly. "I heard that her and Princess Detsy are still looking for their third mate. It would be awesome if it was me."
Saffron sighed, "Unfortunately Grace and Detsy are beyond the age of being able to find mates, nor has Grace displayed any of the other abilities of the Royal line. It appears that Grace is just a high ranking Alpha with the title of Princess and the support of the council of werewolves."
Beverly sighed as I questioned Saffron. "What do you mean by abilities the Royal line possesses?"
"Oh that's right, no one's told you yet. Sorry Eva. Well to answer your question, werewolves of Royal blood used to have abilities that no other werewolf had. These abilities allowed them to rule as Kings and Queens fairly over the centuries."
"The most widely known ability was called the Royal command." Saffron continued. "Unlike an Alpha command, a Royal command cannot be shaken off and must be obeyed, no matter who it's used on or their place in a pack. It would work the same on an Omega as it would on an Alpha. The giver of the Royal command can also use it on any werewolf in existence, not just their own pack. It made keeping peace and order in the werewolf kingdom possible without bloodshed. While the current King and Queen may be well loved, they don't possess the Royal command and have to instead rely on the army to keep peace."
"The Royals also are immune to any sort of command including a high powered Alpha command. They don't even have to try and throw it off, it just doesn't affect them. As well as they were the only ones that had the ability to turn humans into werewolves. Although this was rarely done because the sire bond was extremely strong. Apparently a turned werewolf would choose their sire over their mate and the bond doesn't get a whole lot weaker over time." Saffron shuddered at the thought of it.
"That's a lot of power for one person, or even one mated pair." I commented after I processed the new information.
"Yes it is." Derrick pick up where Saffron left off. "That's why the Moon Goddess gave the Royals two mates instead of one. To help balance all that power and not let it control them. Hence why Beverly here is so eager to meet Grace."
"Okay then." I stopped for a minute to process before asking my next question. "So if Grace is a Royal princess, why does she only have one mate and why can't she use a Royal command?"
All three of the people around me looked sad as Saffron answered. "Because 19 years ago King Adrian, King Arthur, Queen Elizabeth their unborn child were murdered by King Adrian's brother in an attempt to claim the throne for his own."
"King Adrian was the only direct descendant of the Royal line who could use the Royal abilities. So when he and his unborn baby were murdered, the Royal line died with them." Saffron finished sadly.
"That's a really sad tale." I said. "So what happened to the king's uncle?"
"He got his just deserts." Beverly said.
"He did indeed." Derrick agreed. "The two King's, the Queen and the werewolf council had been worried about rumors of an attempt for the throne so they collectively agreed to secretly pass a law. Quite simply the law stated that unless a candidate for the throne can demonstrate the use of the Royal command then they are ineligible to rule the werewolves as King or Queen. The law also stated that if no candidate was found to possess the Royal command then Grace's parents would care for the werewolf kingdom as King and Queen."
Saffron laughed at this. I looked at her funnily as I wondered what she was giggling about. "Sorry for interrupting Eva. It's just that Grace's parents were basically the secretary for the King's and the Queen before their deaths. They weren't Royalty and had no idea that they had been chosen as the next in line to sit on the throne, until after the murders of the current two Kings and Queen and everyone else failed to demonstrate the Royal command.
It was a shock for them, but they were trusted by the previous Royals and had the support of the entire werewolf council. Who better to sit on the throne than the two mates that had experienced ruling a kingdom beside the previous monarchs for most of their lives. Even though they're not true Royals, they've done a good job and are loved by the people all the same."
"As for the Uncle." Saffron continued. "One of the first acts Grace's parents did was to have him arrested and charged with the murders of the two Kings, the Queen and their unborn child. Long story short, his trial went on for nearly 10 years before he was executed about 6 years ago now."
"I feel sorry for Grace's parents and Grace." I said. "That's a lot of responsibility to be suddenly thrust upon them."
"Yes it is. But from what I've heard from my father, The King and Queen worked very hard to bring the kingdom back to it's peaceful times after the uproar around the sudden deaths of the previous monarchs and deserve the titles that were thrust upon them." Derrick said.
"So does that mean by that law that is someone was to come along and be able to demonstrate the Royal command then Grace's parents would have to give up the throne to them?" I asked Derrick and Saffron.
"That's right Eva." Derrick said. "That's why the council was really hoping that even though Grace isn't of the original Royal bloodline, the Moon Goddess would grant her the abilities of the Royals. That way the throne would be secure with a bloodline that the people love. Unfortunately for Grace and the council, Detsy and Grace never found a third mate or displayed any sign of the other Royal abilities. They trained and searched for years to no avail."
"I feel sorry for Grace and Detsy." I said frowning. "All that work for nothing."
"It's not for nothing." Saffron said. "They learned how to be fair and just rulers for their people."
I mumbled an agreement to Saffron as I still thought about all the pressure that Grace had on her shoulders, yet she was still this amazingly thoughtful and caring person.
"We should start heading back." Derrick said. "It's the full moon tonight and Lydia will have her first shift. As the next Alpha and Luna Saffron and I have to be present for that."
"That sucks." Beverly said as she got off the couch. "I'll see you in school then?" She asked Derrick and Saffron as they got up as well.
"Of course." Saffron replied before walking over and giving her friend a massive hug.
"I expect to see you around too." Beverly said as she turned to me and gave me a scratch behind my ears as goodbye. So I returned the favor and licked her hand as she pulled it away. Leaving wolf slobber all over her hand.
I laughed as Beverly reacted and desperately tried to clean her hand and promised that I would see her again soon.
Derrick stood by the ladder back down to the ground as he held out his arms to me so he could pick me up and carry me back down.
"No thanks." I said to the waiting Derrick as I casually jumped off the tree house platform and landed easily on the ground.
"You're getting stronger." Derrick commented as the three remaining people in the tree house all made it to the forest floor.
"Will she be alright on her own?" I asked as Beverly turned and walked in the opposite direction of the pack house.
"Of course she will." Saffron replied, proud of her friend. "She doesn't have far to go as the tree house is right near the border of our pack land that the humans live on."
"As long as she safe." I said while still worrying a bit about my new friend.
As it was already late afternoon the three of us started to head back to the pack house. If everything I'd heard about first shifts being so painful was true then Derrick, Saffron and Grace, who were expected to be there for Lydia's first shift, had a long night ahead of them.