ONE – The Delegate

PART ONE: The Delegate

ONE – The Delegate

Eighteen Years Ago.

POV – Aviary

Today is an important day. I look at Danni, my best friend and the Beta’s daughter, as she examines the dress she’s wearing in front of the mirror.

“You look fine,” I reply, scanning her figure up and down.

“Easy for you to say,” she states, “you could wear a paper bag and still look stunning.”

“It’s not like they’re royalty; it’s just the fairy delegate,” I answer, picking the nail polish off my fingers.

“Yes, but Pappa says they haven’t been here for almost twenty years, and anyway, I’m eighteen; what if my mate is fay? Wouldn’t that be cool?”

I shake my head.

- Aviary, where are you? - dad links me. I don't have my wolf yet, but my abilities are coming in. Being able to mind link, where I can communicate with loved ones, is the first sign my wolf is coming.

“Hmm, I think the flowery one….” Danni says, taking a step towards her other dress.

“No can do,” I reply, “Alpha calls,” I smile, rolling off her bed and taking her hand.

I lead her down the stairs and towards the entrance of our packhouse. As we approach, Hailey turns around with Ashley in her arms and sneers at me.

- What a bitch – Danni links, making me laugh as I take my place next to dad.

“Hey, baby,” my dad whispers as I stand beside him.

“Hey, daddy,” I reply, smiling. I may be almost eighteen, but I can still call my dad’ daddy.

We stand outside the packhouse as four cars from the Fairy delegation drive up our entryway. Dad shuffles on the spot as the first car stops. The doors open, and five tall, good-looking men walk out, taking their positions around the next car.

The doors to the second car open with four fairies, and then the doors of the following two vehicles open their doors with another five fairies. As I scan the crowd, I notice that this is the Elite Fairy Guard, not just the regular soldiers I’ve seen patrolling their borders.

“Yummo,” Danni whispers softly to me, and I smile.

The men from the second car walk forward- the older one is greying, but the other three are much younger, all looking in their early to late twenties. Two men break from the group, the older one with greying hair and a beard and one of the younger ones, who has brown hair that he wears in a quiff, blue eyes and full lips. Both are wearing different bands on their shoulders, indicating their higher ranks.

“General Birch, Major Greystone!” my dad bellows as the two men approach. He walks down the steps to the older gentleman and shakes his hand.

“Major Greystone,” he then says, shaking the younger man’s hand.

“Alpha,” they both say, smiles on their faces.

“General, Major, this is my Luna, Hailey, and our son, Ashley," dad introduces, “and my daughter, Aviary,” he continues. Both men walk over to Hailey and kiss her on both cheeks before shaking Ashley’s hand.

The older man, General Birch, I assume, walks towards me and kisses both my cheeks. The younger one, who looks in his late twenties, looks at me and then at dad. A smile spreads across his handsome face.

“Aviary?” he asks dad, who nods.

“My, all grown up. How old are you now? Sixteen?” he asks me.

“I’m almost eighteen,” I reply. Major Greystone nods and takes my hand, kissing it.

“I remember when you were born,” he smiles. I look at dad.

“Major Greystone was there at your birth,” dad explains. Aha, I think.

“Well, not really there; I met you just after,” Major Greystone then says before turning towards our Betas, Gerald, and Francoise.

“Lovely to see you both again,” the Major smiles at them. Danni’s mum blushes before he turns to Danni and greets her.

I smile as I guess what Danii must be thinking about the Major. I can tell she’s squirming to say something to me, her eyes shifting in my direction.

After the introductions are done, dad leads the General and Major into the packhouse. I note the seven soldiers from the first two cars follow us from behind, leaving the five from the last two cars taking stances around their vehicles.

“Hailey,” Dad says as he lets go of my stepmother’s hand, “this is not a place for Ashley. Go with Beta Francoise and Daniella and have an early lunch,” dad orders.

“What about Aviary?” Hailey questions.

“Aviary is my daughter and future Alpha of this pack. It is her right to stay,” dad scolds. Hailey growls in annoyance and scoops up her small pup in her arms. She then huffs, glaring at me as she walks out.

“Your second mate?” Major Greystone asks. Dad nods.

“My chosen; she’s a bit of a spitfire. She is the widow of one of our deltas. I adopted Ashley when he was a few months old,” dad explains.

“I was sorry to hear about Eveleigh. I hope you found my gift to your liking?” Major Greystone asks my dad as we enter his office.

“Yes, thank you. Aviary keeps it in her room next to her bed. She loves it,” dad smiles. I look at dad as I realise what he’s talking about.

When mum died, we received many bouquets of flowers from the Fairy Kingdom. But one gift was an azure crystal photo frame with a picture of mum and dad at their wedding ceremony. It’s my favourite reminder of my mum.

“Don’t tell me. You were at my parents’ wedding too,” I state, looking over at the Major. His eyes sparkle as he looks at me, but he doesn’t say anything.

“How old are you?” I ask in a whisper, making him smile.

“Let’s get down to business,” General Birch then states, stopping the chit-chat. I watch as both fairies sit on the sofa while my dad and Beta Gerald sit opposite them. I sit in an armchair beside my dad and prepare myself for a long, boring meeting.

The men begin their talk about land borders and security. My pack, Redwood, shares the same territory line with the Fairy Kingdom territory. Our warriors and their soldiers work together to protect the border.

Recently more humans have begun to move out into our smaller towns and villages on our lands. Humans aren’t perfect, but they bring many more issues our pack hasn’t had to deal with. Keeping our secret is a major one.

“What strategies have you taken to protect the human population?” the Major asks.

“We have men in Worthington police force, and we also own businesses there too,” dad explains. Major Greystone nods, happy with this response.

It’s a win-win; having businesses in the human world has kept our pack afloat, making us wealthier and building up our numbers. Currently, our pack has around two thousand members, and although the human town of Worthington has grown, so has our smaller village of Worthing River.

“When you have children, you need to make plans,” dad says proudly, looking at me. I nod in agreement.

They then talked about medicines and herb recipes, things that generally didn’t interest me. Apparently, we grow a particular herb by the river that runs through our territory, and the Fairy Kingdom wanted to continue to have permission to harvest it. My dad doesn’t object, and then I begin to zone out.

“And what do you think?” Major Greystone then asks me. I look at dad, who chuckles.

“He asked you if you’re hungry?” dad whispers to me. I’m glad fairies don’t have the same sensitive hearing we do.

“Yes, yes I am,” I smile.

Major Greystone looks at dad and then at me.

“Well, let’s go to the Food Hall. I believe it is still in the same place?” the Major smiles, asking dad. Dad nods, and we all get up and leave.

I trail behind the four men, dad walking with the General and Gerald walking along with the Major. Behind me are the men’s soldiers. I watch and listen as dad and the General talk openly about our pack and warriors. Dad asks the General about training and if we could have some Fays come in and train with us.

This would have been a topic I would have talked about in the office, but I keep this to myself.

Dad leads us into the food hall, which is empty except for a few warrior stragglers and the alpha and beta families.

Hailey turns and stands up as we walk towards the table, giving dad a hug and smiling at the General and Major. She continues to stand as they take their seats but then scowls at me. There is a spare seat next to the Major, but not wanting to experience her wrath, I decided to sit next to Danni instead.

“So?” Danni asks, wiggling her eyebrows at me. I laugh and help myself to some sandwiches and fruit from the plate in front of me. The table falls into a quiet conversation, and it’s peaceful, considering who the company is.

“Aviary. Your dad says it’s your birthday in a couple of days. Will you be having a party?” the Major asks from the other side of the table. I look at him and see that he and dad are smiling while Hailey holds no expression on her face.

“I’m not really celebrating this year; I’m just going to have a quiet dinner at home,” I reply, looking at Danni. I know Danni would love me to have a party, but my last party was when I was thirteen; Hailey putting her foot down at any mention of a party for me since.

“She’s such a good girl. She likes to stay home and watch her brother for us,” Hailey then smiles. But the smile doesn’t reach her eyes. Dad doesn’t notice, but Danni gives me a slight shake of her head, knowing the lies she’s spouting.

“That’s a pity. We would have liked an excuse to celebrate. The delegate will be in town for another week.”

“Worthington has several pubs and clubs you may want to visit,” my dad offers. I look at my plate. He would know. I love my dad, but having a mate seven years older than his daughter has meant he’s reliving his youth. Hailey loves to go out and party.

The conversation changes again, and we finish our meals.

“Let’s go back to the office. We have more things to discuss,” dad states as the General and Major sit there. Both men nod, and the people at the table begin to stand.

“Danni and I have work in the gardens, but it was nice meeting you both,” Beta Francoise says, shaking both men’s hands before kissing her husband.

“And I should put Ashley down for his sleep,” Hailey says, going in and giving dad a kiss on the cheek before walking off.

I watch as they all leave and begin piling a few plates onto each other and taking them back to the kitchen. Suddenly someone knocks the dishes out of my hand, and they fall to the floor, breaking on impact.

“Just because you are the Alpha’s daughter does not mean you will become the future Luna,” Hailey snarls, staring at me.

“Your dad adopted my son, who is male, making him the true heir,” she growls, pushing me against the wall and punching me in the stomach. I keel on impact, and then she slaps me hard against my face.

“Don’t think you’re better than me,” she snarls, walking away.

I coughed and watched her go, another bruise from her to add to my collection. Some of the omegas come running out from the kitchen.

“Are you okay, Aviary?” some of them ask, checking on me.

“I’m fine,” I reply, putting my hand out, “don’t tell anyone,” I continue. The omegas shake their heads, but they know better than to say anything. I’m a werewolf, and all Hailey did was hit me; bruises fade quickly with wolves. The last omega who told my secret ended up being transferred, dad stating that he didn’t want ‘liars’ in his pack.

I remember when it happened. Dad yelled at me and sent me to stay with Danni’s family for a week. He didn’t believe me either, choosing his chosen mate over me. I know he loves me, but at the time, Hailey was his hot new chosen mate. Who would he believe? A thirteen-year-old and an omega, or the woman in his bed?

~

Edited using Grammarly.