Chapter 68

Emmett “You want me to be your Delta?”

“If you are up for it,” Kelly said, looking at me hopefully.

“I’m not a warrior, nor am I a diplomat. I am a physician. What could I offer the pack as Delta? Would I not be more useful here, at the hospital?”

“Really you would just be a fill in when needed. I don’t see myself taking any time off anytime soon, and Jonas has already agreed to be my Beta, and Thorin my Gamma, so really I would only call upon you for an extra opinion or if I need an extra set of hands if one of the other two takes off. I know you belong here, and I hope you will also accept the position of Chief here at the hospital.” She smiled widely.

“Seriously?” I smiled, the latter part of what she had to say sparking my interest.

“Yes, but only if you agree to be my Delta. I promise I wont overwhelm you.” She pleaded.

“You could never.” I half smiled before letting out a sigh. “Fine, I will be your Delta.” I nodded.

“Thank goddess!” She said, relief coming over her. “The ceremony is in a week.”

“A week?” I scoffed.

“Not my choice.” She said, pointing a finger at me. “How is Mason doing, by the way?”

“Not great. I am going to give it until the end of the month, but then I think I will need to speak to Kelsey about making some tough decisions. I just don’t see him improving, he is a vegetable at best. The moment we stop his machines…it just doesn’t look promising.”

“Goddess.” Kelly g*****d, her shoulders slumping. “That’s not the news I was hoping for.”

“Hopefully something will change.” I frowned, wishing I had better news.

“Hopefully,” Kelly sighed before turning to leave. “Order whatever you need here, just send me the bill and I will see that it is taken care of.” She said, gesturing to the hospital.

“I’m going to hold you to that.” I laughed, walking her to the front entrance.

She waved and went on her way, and I got back to work. I was loving every minute of my new job. Even if it did come with the stipulation that I would be made Delta. While not what I had in mind, it did come with my dream job, to have my own hospital. I didn’t mind helping Kelly in the slightest either. I trusted that she would keep to her word and not throw a massive amount of responsibility on me when I am already handling her hospital. Now if only she would decide on who she might choose for a mate…

– – – – – – – – –

Kelly King Edward did a marvelous job at announcing me as the new queen. I felt like a proper princess, no, queen. I was dressed in a deep purple gown with gold jewelry and had my hair in a fancy low bun, highlighting my crown. I nearly lost all my composure and decorum as Jonas, Thorin, and Emmett were presented as my newly appointed leaders. Goddess, they were all very fine looking. Jonas and Emmett were wearing traditional suites, gray and black respectively, while Thorin wore a leather hybrid suit. All equally good looking, but only one caught my eye a bit more than the others.

I felt honored to be the one to perform the ritual on each of them, granting them the moon goddesses’ divine power, giving them a newfound strength and authority. They each looked proud to be up there, even Emmett, who had to be convinced to take the position. I was so relieved when the ceremony was over though, knowing the council wouldn’t be breathing down my neck any longer. Not for several years anyway. Unfortunately, I still have one more hurdle to get through tonight.

“If everyone would please gather, Queen Kelly will begin the first run as a pack momentarily,” King Edward announced.

The first run. Such an outdated practice if you asked me. Yet, everyone looked forward to it. Everyone except me, that is. The first run was just that, the first time a newly appointed king or queen would shift and lead the pack in a massive circle, usually around the entire pack when the moon was high in the sky, and they would celebrate afterwards. I had hoped to forgo this part of the ceremony, but with hundreds of eyes on me, and centuries of tradition, I couldn’t possibly refuse.

I gave a tight smile, looking over to Thorin, who gave the smallest nod. Had I not been looking for his reassurance, I would have missed the small gesture. Jonas gave me a thumbs up and Emmett took a deep breath, silently telling me to do the same. I had to pretend that shifting didn’t hurt, I had to hope that I could stay in control. I stopped taking my pills just for this moment, knowing I needed to be able to do this for my pack. Hopefully Keres will allow it. She has been oddly quiet all day.

Quickly, I stripped down behind a tree and shifted. I was fine for a second, until I wasn’t. I could feel Keres pushing me to the side, her meanicing laugh echoing in my head. I was hardly able to look back at Thorin, Emmett, and Jonas before Keres took off, not waiting for anyone. I think they got the message, running like their life depended on it, trying to catch up to Keres before she caused any major damage. Thankfully, we were far enough away from the other pack members who were probably still undressing, but how long would that last? A minute? Two if I’m lucky?

“Queen Kelly, you are supposed to run with your pack.” King Edward linked, closing the distance between us with his own wolf.

Keres growled and snapped her teeth at him, making a sharp turn, ready to fight. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head, the confusion, apprehension, and then the fight or flight response kicking in. And what alpha king ever backs down from a fight? He came to a skidding stop, getting into a flighting position as soon as Keres came straight for him. Thankfully, Thorin, Emmett, and Jonas all collectively plowed into Keres just before she attacked the king/councilmember, who could literally wipe me out in ten different ways by tomorrow. He had the power and the numbers to back him up. Not to mention wisdom and not one kingdom, but two, and seven other members of the council who, I’m sure, would believe his story over mine. And Keres was hell bent on killing him. Goddess help me.

Thorin shifted back and unfolded his clothes, revealing the electric cattle prod he had hidden inside, while Emmett and Jonas kept Keres occupied and King Edward simply watched everything unfold. This was beyond embarrassing, and what made it worse was that my pack was howling in delight as they did their best to catch up with us and celebrate their new queen. This is exactly what my father didn’t want to happen. They guys thankfully had me back in my human form in record time, and I curled up in a small ball on the ground, trying not to cry out in pain.

“Queen Kelly?”

“Is she okay?”

“What happened?”

My people began to ask, shifting back to their human forms to try and check on me.

“Nothing to see here, twisted paw is all,” King Edward said. “Beta Jonas will finish the run with all of you and we will see you at the celebration shortly.” Jonas nodded and quickly shifted, taking the masses far away from me. “You have some explaining to do.” King Edward said, standing over me.

– – – – – – –

“So you have zero control over your wolf and you decided not to tell me this earlier because…?” King Edward chastised. I felt like I was a teenager again as I sat in a chair in the corner of the room with a blanket wrapped around myself.

“Because why would I? I have gone this many years with only a handful of people knowing. What changed?” I shrugged, not even buying my own argument.

“Because now you are the queen and everyone and their mother has a magnifying glass on you! Because as queen you should be able to shift at a moment’s notice to protect your pack! Because you can’t be the reason your pack is in danger!” He began to shout.

“King Edward, with all due respect, we are working on a cure,” Emmett chimed in.

“Well, work faster!” He growled. “What if she attacks the wrong person one day? You might all end up dead because her wolf is ready to kill anything that breathes!”

“Are you going to tell the council?” I quietly asked.

“I’m going to have to.” He growled, running his fingers through his hair.

“Please, just give us a little more time, we can fix this.” Emmett pleaded.

“I’ll make a deal with you. I will keep this bit of information to myself, trusting that you will in fact find a cure tomorrow.” He growled. “If I hear there is another incident, any at all involving her wolf, game over. I don’t care if she kills a f*****g butterfly, if it was done out of Queen Kelly’s control, and I hear about it, I am going to the council immediately.” He said, looking between Thorin, Emmett, Jonas and I.

“Deal.” I nodded, my eyes still partially glued to the floor. “Thank you.”

“Now, pull yourself together and get back out there, you have a pack to celebrate with.” He said, storming out of the room, grumbling something about the future generations being so irresponsible.

“We will figure something out,” Emmett said, gently rubbing my back. “I promise.”