The Mallapers Are Rising: A Rejected Werewolf Story

Chapter Forty

I couldn't help my anxiety that was coming from my mating ceremony with Elisha. It would less than a week before it was a full moon. The time was ticking and all I was finding was my mother's erratic behaviour and snippets of whispers and secrets that were elusive and hard to decipher. I felt like I was running round in circles with no sense of direction. My wolf was pushing me to be optimistic but I couldn't help but feel like I was drowning in secrets and lies. 

It was then that I decided to search my mother and father's room hoping that there may be something physical which would evidence that my mother was involved with something shady. It was late and dark and I knew that my mother was in meetings this evening. Elisha was occupied with her family making preparations for the mating ceremony, that would never happen. 

My mother's chambers was one of the few places that was not guarded heavily. If I was caught lingering it wouldn't be suspicious because our quarters are close together and it hadn't been the first time I had been in my mother's room. I just needed to be prepared to answer her questions if I was caught. 

You are certainly becoming the person I always thought you could be. You may have lost your way but I'm proud of your actions. You are fighting for what is right. Reginald compliments me as we make our way to our parents chambers. 

I can't help but feel guilty for treating my mother as a suspect, I can sense there is a change with her that I don't like. It makes me feel like a bad son for thinking badly about her. She is mother after all. I admit to Reginald. For years I had been the doting son that only wanted what was best for his mother, I felt extremely protective over her but after the conversation I heard her have with my uncle and that unknown man, things had changed. 

I understand, remember I feel what you feel. You need to look at things from a different perspective. You think your mother has changed all of a sudden but maybe she has always been like this and you are only just seeing it now. You also need to remember that she is the parent, it is not your job or role to protect her. Her job is making sure that she raised you right, that she puts your needs above yours. Reginald explains. 

His words resonates with me on a deeper a level and I start thinking about if the roles were reversed, would I manipulate my own son for my own gain? It's then that Reginald's words really hit me like a ton of bricks. I was so quick to condemn one parent and treat him with disrespect. My father never asked anything of me, he never made me keep secrets from my mother, he only tried to teach me how to be a good king, a good mate. Both things that I had failed at doing. The shame I felt was overwhelming. 

Don't be so hard on yourself, it is not just your fault. As I said to you before there is a bigger plot at play here. Reginald reassured. 

I nodded my head and made my way into my parents room. The mahogany door was heavy as I pushed it forward, there was a small creak as it swung open. Nothing had changed in appearance wise, I know my mother was desperate to refurbish this room but she accepted that my father found comfort in it's old decor as it was my grandparents room. 

The dark wooden floor was polished, it still had the same four poster bed that was draped in a light white linen that floated around the bed. I remember the times my mother would have her arms wrapped around a pillow while she cried about my father's behaviour. She talked about the pain she felt when he was intimate with another wolf. It was then that she revealed that she found my father having secret meetings with Leyla. 

She was crying hysterically, shouting that she had caught them in the act. That they were rolling about in the field by the river. I didn't believe her words at first, my father never once showed a romantic interest in Leyla. It wasn't until I followed my father and found them both on the floor. Leyla was sat on top of my father as she pinned him down. My father quickly shifted and flipped them over, holding her arms above her head. It was then that I thought that my mother was right, I couldn't look at my father for weeks. When I speak to Reginald now, he simply tells me it wasn't what it looked like and that Leyla was very much still a virgin. It was another mark against my mother that confirmed that she had manipulated me. 

I stalked around the room and made my way to mother's beside cabinet. I pulled open the draws hoping to find something that would clear her name. However, there was this imminent dread that filled my stomach as I scurried through her draws. The first draw had nothing but miscellaneous items, chapstick, tampons, everything was normally. I looked through the bottom draw and there was random pieces of paper with notes on it. My eyes scanned the paperwork but there was nothing unusual, nothing worth noting. That is until I came across a hand written note. The writing was familiar but as my eyes scanned the paper, my stomach dropped at the contents. 

I know something is not right, the wondering gazes you have, the lack of touch you share with your mate. There is something unbelievable about your relationship. My love can not go without five seconds without wanting to touch me, yet when I look at you I do not see the air leave your lungs when your mate pulls away. I don't understand your reaction to Lamia son. I don't see the connection that I share with your father. 

I want you to know I wouldn't be disappointed if she wasn't your mate, it is alright to admit that you made a mistake. It wouldn't make you less than a King. What would disappoint me is if you didn't speak to me and your father, we are always here for you. If you have made a mistake we can help you. Lamia displays no qualities or traits of a Queen. Please son, make sure you are making the right decision. 

The reason for the letter is I know it would be a difficult to have a conversation out loud, there are too many ears around the palace but if you want to discuss this privacy please meet me in my secret room tonight at seven in the evening. 

I love you Son, 

Your mother 

Xxxxxxxxx

The ringing in my ears become loud at what I have read. My wolf is silent but I can hear the clogs ticking in his head. Did my father make the same mistake that I did? Did he mistake someone else as his mate? Did he have a chosen mate? Is this why my mother was talking about her mark disappearing and was this the reason for her lack of control, power and authority that I had sensed?

These questions raced through my mind. I know I never met my grandmother but from what my father and the Kingdom had shared she was an extremely intelligent and kind woman. I knew that I couldn't take these words lightly. It was then that I started searching through the bottom draw looking for anything else that could give me answers, but there was nothing. 

I slammed my hand on the bottom of the door and I furrowed my brow at the echoing noise it made. It's then that I brought my knuckles to the drop and tapped it lightly. Knock. Knock. Knock. The hollow noise that reaches my ears surprise me. My nostrils flare, sniffing the air, trying to scent if I have missed anything. 

It's a hollowed out draw. Lift the bottom of the wood. Reginald commanded as he elongated my finger so the nail from my wolf could lift it with ease. It was then that I looked in the bottom and there laid a black leather bloom with intricate gold designs on the front. I picked the book up from the bottom of the draw and clasped it in my hand. It was then that I returned the wood in the draw and made my way to my mother's dressing table and sprayed her perfume to hide my scent, hoping that it was enough to hide my presence in her room. 

I took the letter that my grandmother wrote and slipped it in the black leather book and made my way out of my parents room. Finally hoping that I would find the answers I desperately sought.