87: Welcome, Mr. President

ALEX

It’s the morning of the ceremony, and I stare nervously at the sun steadily rising in the sky.

~Ariel isn’t home yet.~

Where in the Goddess is she?

To make it worse, she’s not answering her phone. Each time I call, it goes straight to voicemail.

I have to trust that my mate is safe. She’s shown me countless times that she can take care of herself.

But no matter how much I’ve come to trust her, I’ll always have that anxious churning in my stomach whenever she’s gone.

~As if I didn’t have enough to worry about today…~

I stand on the stage set up in the royal palace gardens. This is where I’m going to meet the president in a few hours.

Everything is quiet, except the Royal Pack flag and the human flag above me, flapping in the wind. Spread out in front of me are endless rows of empty chairs. It seems like enough that the whole kingdom will be sitting in attendance.

~My~ kingdom.

Counting on me to make the right decision.

Hoping that this treaty is what’s best for all the wolves in the territory.

I hope so, too.

All I know is that this will be the first time a human president has visited werewolf territory in hundreds of years.

My name will go down in the werewolf textbooks, right alongside my father’s. Today, I’m truly making history.

Let’s just hope I’m on the right side of it.

I turn to see my mom walk up onstage toward me, looking dignified. She scans me up and down, adjusts my collar, and then smiles.

“Are you ready?” she asks.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I say. “I just wish Dad was here to see it.”

She turns and looks at the sea of white chairs expanding out into the distance.

“When your kingdom fills these seats to see you today, just imagine he’s out there, somewhere, watching you proudly.”

I smile at the thought of my father watching over me today. But the joy is short-lived.

I can’t just imagine that Ariel is sitting there next to me.

I need my mate today.

~Where the hell is she?~

VIVIAN

I stand in front of the palace, watching the long convoy of shiny black cars enter the driveway and approach the front entrance.

My father, trailed by a hundred of his bodyguards.

~Typical.~

I walk down the palace steps toward the limousine when it pulls up, standing up straight and trying to keep my face blank.

Nothing but professional.

A security guard in a black suit opens the limo door, and my father steps out.

He’s a short man, with silver, slicked-back hair, and a face filled with lines from a lifetime of scowling. And he doesn’t exactly look happy to see me.

“Mr. President,” I say. “Welcome to the Royal Pack.”

He flares his nostrils, barely acknowledging me, sniffing the air.

“Is it just me or does it smell like dog shit around here?”

I don’t know what to say, so I flash my practiced, diplomatic smile. “Would you like to follow me and meet King Alex before the ceremony?”

He grunts. “I’d rather not get too close to any of these mutts if I don’t have to. Don’t want to catch any fleas.”

I nod, trying my best to ignore the comment and praying he doesn’t say anything like that to Alex. We start walking up the stairs, and a dozen Secret Service men follow on our tails.

“If you’d like, I could give you a tour of the palace,” I say. “It’s quite beautiful actually.”

He waves his hand. “No need. Once this treaty is signed and I’ve taught them all how to heel, I’ll just tear this place down anyway.”

~Destroy the palace?~

What the hell is he talking about?

“Mr. President,” I say, choosing my words carefully, “I’ve lived here for the past few weeks. It’s a beautiful place. It’d be a real shame to tear it down for no reason.”

“It’s too nice for a doghouse,” he grunts. “These mutts either belong outside, or in a cage.”

My father has hated werewolves ever since I can remember, and growing up I never gave much thought to the nasty things he would say about them.

But that was before my time in the pack. Before I had actually met any werewolves.

Before I had met ~my~ wolf.

Alex and Ariel have treated me with nothing but kindness and respect, and I’ve tried to make this treaty as good for them as it is for us.

But now that I’m hearing my father talk about it, I realize that what will happen to the werewolves is far from what I’ve been promising them.

“Da—Mr. President. About this treaty. What exactly are you planning to do once you’re allowed to bring your military in?”

He looks at me, eyes narrowed. “That’s not for you to worry about.”

“You’re planning on destroying the Royal Pack aren’t you? You never had any intentions of peace. After everything I’ve tried to do here, after all the time I’ve spent creating a relationship with the king and queen, you’re going to fucking throw it all away! You—”

~SMACK!~

My father’s large hand swings out and slaps my cheek in a flash, cutting me off. His face grows red with rage, and he stares at me with bulging eyes.

“Peace? You’re gonna start talking about fucking PEACE?”

I hold my stinging cheek and try to contain my anger. My wolf is begging to send a claw back, but I manage to contain her.

Now is not the time.

“I…I’m sorry, Mr. President.”

The president steps forward, grabbing my arm with a vise grip and keeping his voice to a low hiss so the bodyguards won’t hear.

“It seems like you’ve gotten a little too comfortable here with these wolves. I tried to raise you as a human, but I guess you really can’t teach a ~dog~ new tricks.”

Hearing those words, I feel like I can’t breathe. A rising anger burns inside me, and I want to howl as loud as I can to let it out.

“Now, if you want to be ~my~ daughter, act like it. Put a leash back on that animal side of you and help me finish what we’ve started.”

He lets go of my arm, and I use everything I have to fight against showing him any tears. I straighten my suit jacket, collect myself quickly, and put on my practiced smile.

“Well, let’s continue on then, Mr. President.”

My dad nods. “That’s better. Never use that tone with me again, do you understand?”

On my exterior, I slip right back into the perfect diplomat role my father trained me to be, nodding in agreement.

But inside, my wolf and I are shaking with anger and howling out for revenge.

ARIEL

My motorcycle roars as it speeds toward the Royal Pack Palace with Natalia sitting behind me and holding on for dear life. We’ve managed to make it back from the Crescent Moon Pack in record time.

The whole ride home, I cursed myself for ever trusting Vivian. I need to tell Alex the truth about the ambassador as quickly as possible.

If I can do that, then there still might be a chance we can stop this ceremony.

But when we approach the gates of the palace, my heart sinks as I realize it might already be too late.

The massive entrance gates are tightly shut, and a blockade of human soldiers stands guard at the entrance.

~Shit.~

I quickly count them.

~Ten.~

~Too many to take on.~

~I’m going to have to try to talk my way through.~

“Stop right there!” a man says, holding up his hand and bringing my bike to a halt. Tucked under his arm is a glinting machine gun.

I pull off my helmet, shaking out my hair and not even trying to hide my annoyance.

“Get out of our way,” I say, staring him down.

He snorts. “Why should we?”

“Because I’m the luna.”

The man looks confused. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

I sigh. “I’m the queen.”

He lets out a laugh. “Guys, this chick on a motorcycle says she’s the queen. Can you believe that?”

Another chuckles, shaking his head. “She sure doesn’t look like a queen. Looks more like a filthy rogue to me.”

I clench my fists. It makes my blood boil to have a human stopping me from going into my own home, but Natalia puts her hand on my arm before I shut him up and do something I can’t take back. She shoots me a look that says ~don’t~.

“Sir, we don’t want any trouble. Call anyone in the palace,” Natalia says, trying to flash a friendly smile. “They’ll confirm who we are right away.”

The man shakes his head. “The ceremony is just about to start, and the president’s security is top priority. We’re under strict orders to keep out any strays while he’s here.”

~That’s it.~

“I don’t have time for this. Move aside,” I say, taking Natalia’s hand and trying to push past the soldier, but he doesn’t budge.

He shoves me back, and, in an instant, ten guns are pointed directly at us.

“I said get out of here!” he yells.

“Or what?” I say fiercely. “You’re gonna shoot a werewolf on the day of the unification ceremony?”

“Just one less mutt to me,” one of the men mutters.

My heart thunders and adrenaline fills my body. The air is thick with tension, each of the men scowling at me, fingers on their triggers.

In their eyes, I see the same look that the Hunters had when they kept me in their lab all that time ago.

In these men, I can see Curt.

I can see the Silver Soldier.

And if it weren’t for how it would affect Alex, I would shift right here and leave them exactly like I left the Hunters that haunt my past.

“Stand down soldiers!” a female voice commands.

A familiar voice.

All of us turn to see Vivian approaching, her high heels crunching through the asphalt of the driveway.

I let out a growl under my breath.

“Ambassador,” one of the men says, “this wolf—”

She cuts him off. “This wolf you’ve been harassing is the queen. You’re in the presence of royalty, so have some fucking respect. Let her in.”

Natalia and I exchange stunned looks as the grumbling men open the gate to let us through.

There’s no way I can trust her but…

I have no choice but to walk through the gates and follow her.