The Wolf Queen (The Queen's Slave, Book 2)

Sixty Two: Evolution

Elizabeth stepped forward, drawing the attention of the crowd. "If I may?" She inquired, and Camille stepped back to allow her the stage, so to speak.

She faced the crowd, her back straight and arms crossed. "Just to make it clear, those who take my mate's blood will do so and then remove themselves," she paused and I recognized the anger she was fighting to reign back. "From her. If there is any issue, their life is automatically forfeit. " She met the eyes of the participants, and my heart squeezed with fear as the time neared for the pack to see their former Queen, for my father to see his mate, alive. I knew he would hate me for keeping this a secret, and I knew Owen would have words as well. But I did not regret dragging it out. I did not have the luxury of a planned out family reunion, and let's face it, there's no easy way to handle this situation anyway. But I knew I'd fucked up, and I needed to own up to it.

I placed my hand on Elizabeth's arm and she looked at me. "It's time to tell them about my mother."

Camille's jaw tightened, and after a lengthy moment she nodded her consent and stepped back, taking her place beside Elizabeth. I blew out a long breath and tipped my head back, taking in the winter sky and the stars that spanned the dark void of nothing that was our existence. I closed my eyes and breathed in, letting it all go before I opened them again. I willed myself to be strong as I faced my father, along with Owen and Castile.

"I have kept a very big secret from this pack and my own blood, for entirely too long. I did not do this maliciously, or with intent to gain something. I did this to protect all of you, whether you believe me or not afterwards is your choice. But know this," I met every pack members eyes and the tension in the air tried to suffocate me. "I want nothing more than the safety of this pack, of all wolves. That is all I have to gain, and everything I have to lose."

I met my family's eyes and shattered their world with just a simple sentence. "Father, mother is alive."

My father face bled white with shock, and he stumbled into Owen, who himself gaped back at me in disbelief as he caught him. Castile looked innocently confused, the wheels of his brilliant mind turning.

"Az, what are you talking about? What do you mean she's alive?!"

The words tasted like ash when I spoke them, but I forced it out. I owed them this and so much more, but this I will not lie about. "She was imprisoned with me in the dungeon. I'd had an.....incident and was unsafe to be around. The second I scented her, I knew it was our mother."

Owen's eyes filled with tears and my father ripped free from his arms, lunging for me. I held my ground, even as my instincts screamed at me to fight. I could feel Elizabeth shift behind me but I warned her away. This was my choice. He grasped my arms tight and stared right into my eyes, dissecting everything for himself, and I let him. His eyes closed when I opened my mind and showed him those memories firsthand, and then finally his grip began to slacken. He sagged into me, and I wrapped my arms around him. Owen came forward next, and I showed him everything as well. I held nothing back, and when they found out she was a vampire, a tidal wave of anger and horror threatened to drown me in self-hatred.

Tears fled down my cheeks. "I hope one day you can forgive me." I looked around him to Owen, who stared at me in complete shock, his face white as a sheet.

"Where is she?" My father's hoarse voice made my stomach hurt and I flinched at the anger in his eyes.

"She's-,"