Chapter 24

Kelly Derek called me the next day to make sure I was okay with the timing of everything. He sounded just as uneasy as I felt. I think the council was really down his throat about the matter. I dont think he had much of a choice about any of it except who he chose. After I expressed my concerns to him, he agreed that we would take the time to get to know each other while we planned our ceremony. We made plans to speak again in a few days, giving us both time to think about what we would want at our ceremony. I felt better about everything after our conversation. Of course, the only thing that would really make me feel good was if I knew the man better.

“Hey mom? Dad..?” I asked, knocking at their bedroom door.

It was late, but they should both still be awake. When Derek called yesterday, I made sure to get out of earshot so I had some time to absorb the conversation myself first. So neither parent knew I was only a few months away from being made the southern queen.

“Come in.” My father yelled.

I slipped inside, finding both of my parents staring back at me. Here goes nothing.

“King Derek chose me as his mate. We are having our ceremony in three months.” I blurted out.

“This is wonderful news!” My father beamed.

My mother, on the other hand, looked at me with pitying eyes. “Is that what you want, Kelly?”

“It will be a good thing,” I said unconvincingly. “King Derek is a good man.”

– – – – – – – – – – –

A few days later, I was sitting at my desk in my room with a notebook, trying to fill it with things I wanted for our ceremony. Derek said he would call me sometime this morning to discuss it. An hour later, my notebook had a few pieces of chicken scratch on it and I was going crazy waiting for Derek, so I picked up the phone myself.

“Good morning Kelly.” Derek said, happier than normal.

“Good morning Derek. Ready to start planning?” I asked, trying to muster some happiness myself.

“Yes, I was thinking we should have it in my territory.”

“I assumed we would…do you have a color scheme in mind?” I asked.

“Your choice.”

“Sky blue?”

“Sounds lovely.” He said.

“The date? Does the sixteenth work for you? It’s a Saturday.”

“That will be fine.” He agreed.

Well, since we are being so agreeable this morning, here is a shot in the dark….

“What about merging our kingdoms? What are your thoughts?”

“Still deciding, I’ll get back to you.”

That’s a better answer than last time. Let’s plead our case a bit more…

“It would strengthen your kingdom.”

“I’m aware.”

“What about marking and mating?” I hesitantly asked.

“What about it?” He bit back venomously.

“Don’t you think we should do it beforehand?” I asked.

“No, it can wait until after the ceremony.”

“I know the council has to witness us consummating our union, but I would prefer our first time together to be just between us. And I would like to get to know you more still, Derek.” I reiterated.

“Yes, I agree, we do need to get to know each other more. I’m sorry to do this but I have an emergency that just popped up and I need to go. We will talk more soon. Goodbye for now.”

He quickly hung up the phone, leaving me hanging. Whatever emergency that was better have been good. I quickly scribbled down some notes about the ceremony. At least now I have a color scheme and a date. Kelsey will be thrilled, she is helping me plan this after all. I tried to involve Kylie, but we both knew it wasn’t her cup of tea. She said she would see about getting mom safely to the ceremony and that was more than I could have ever asked for.

I prayed that my mother was able to come. If she wasn’t, it wouldn’t just be her missing the ceremony. My sisters and I agreed that one of us should be by her side as often as possible. Since the ceremony would be in Dereks’ territory, if she didn’t come, neither would one of my sisters. Her absence was nothing new to me, but I really hope she can be there to see me made queen.

– – – – – – – – –

Derek and I made plans a few days later for me to come and spend the weekend with him. I didn’t have a choice but to get to know him now. When I arrived, Derek wasn’t even home to greet me. I was almost asleep in one of the guest rooms when he stopped by and said hello and apologized for coming back so late. Honestly, I think he just forgot I was coming.

No matter. I decided not to hold it against him, as long as he puts in some effort tomorrow. I slept quite well, all things considered. At breakfast, Derek did seem interested in engaging in conversation, which was a plus.

“So I was thinking today you should show me the kingdom and introduce me to your staff as their future queen.” I suggested, since most of the staff kept whispering behind my back.

“Sure.” He nodded in agreement.

“Great. And maybe later we could get to know each other a bit more?” I strongly suggested. I seriously was not a fan of having to consummate our union in front of the council. And I also wanted to know if we even had any chemistry. I would hate to find out after the fact that we weren’t romantically compatible.

“Kelly, I’m just not there yet,” he said, a slight tone to his voice.

“Alright.” I sighed, setting my fork down harder than I meant to.

“I’ll try to get there soon.” He said wryly.

“Its fine. I know this is a lot for you. Especially given your past,” I said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Derek frowned.

“Come on, let’s not pretend that your father was some nurturing, chivalrous guy. We all know what he did to all those women, including your own mother. I cant imagine relationships are easy for you. Why else would we be sitting here right now?” I said brazenly.

“Youre not wrong.” He said in a clipped tone. “Tell me again, why did you agree to be my mate?”

Oh, he did not just go there. I confided in him years ago that I had been rejected, twice. I could feel my temper rising dangerously high. I needed to get away from him.

“I’m going to go get ready for a tour of the kingdom. I will meet you out front in one hour. I hope that will give you enough time to get into a better mood.” I practically growled, storming inside.

I went inside and took an ice shower to quite literally chill out. If this is what our relationship would be like, then you could count me out. After drying off and getting dressed, I met Derek outside. He looked more relaxed, which was a good sign.

“I’m sorry for being snippy earlier. Talking about my father is a bit of a trigger for me. But I still shouldn’t have gotten short with you and I’m sorry.” He said, taking my hands in his.

Well, this was a good sign.

“I’m sorry for bringing him up. It wont happen again.” I apologized. “Now, I’m dying to see your kingdom, can we please go?”

“Yes, I’ll drive.”

– – – – – – – –

“You certainly have rebuilt a lot during your reign,” I said, taking in all the new buildings.

“Yes, it’s been a massive undertaking, but we are steadily growing,”

“What was the hardest part of it all?”

“Probably getting everyone to trust and respect me as a king. I was young, inexperienced, I had no proper training, and my lineage included the devil himself. I was frequently challenged for my title because of it, and had to take drastic measures to stop crime. Some things I’m not very proud of.” He opened up.

“I can understand that. My father said he wouldn’t retire until I had a mate. He trained me my whole life to rule, but because I don’t have a man by my side, he won’t let me take the throne.” Okay, so half truth, again. I’m not ready to give him my full story just yet though.

“Yes, but he does still have a few years left before the council will force him to retire. Maybe he just wants to stay in power longer?” Derek asked.

“Well he shouldn’t. Our mother is very sick. She has been sick for years now and he should be there for her, but is instead choosing to stay in power longer for the goddess knows what reason.” I huffed.

“That is unfortunate.” Derek frowned.

“Which is another reason why I want to merge our kingdoms. In only two months we are having our ceremony. Two months more and then my father could retire and spend some time taking care of his mate.” I pleaded.

“Kelly, while I applaud your reason, merging two kingdoms is a huge undertaking. My kingdom is stretched thin as is with me trying to manage a business and the kingdom. I don’t know if now is the best time to add thousands of packs to the mix. Packs who probably wont trust me because of who my father was. I only see it causing more problems.”

“What if I took care of it all? All of the western kingdom I mean. And you took care of your kingdom?” I pressed.

“Then what would be the point of merging? To appease your father?”

I didn’t want to answer that. So I didnt. We drove in silence for a few minutes before I started asking more questions not related to merging our kingdoms. Derek introduced me as his future mate to his staff and everyone seemed very excited to have a Luna in the house. If only I was meant to be a Luna. Truthfully, I wasn’t. I was born to be an Alpha Queen.