Queen of Midnight

Chapter Three.

"I'm... her mate," he said finally, quickly looking at me again. When I didn't offer anything but a dumb stare in return, he turned back to the King, whose expression was one I couldn't read.

"This is the one?" James asked me, pointing at Ethan. I would have laughed at his tone if I weren't frozen in time.

"What do you mean?" Ethan shot back, looking severely offended. "What has she said about me?"

"That you are no longer mates," James replied coolly, keeping his gaze even but cold. "Why are you here?"

"Why are you here?"

James lifted an eyebrow. "Are you asking me, your King, why I am here?"

Ethan paled slightly. "No, I'm-"

"Both of you, get out!" I suddenly exploded. Both men turned to me quickly, surprise filling their eyes. I myself was surprised at my outburst, but their voices were getting too much for me, and my head was beginning to pound. "Now!" I added, pointing at the door. "I need space! And time! Fuck!" I clutched my arm to my chest as a shot of pain echoed through the limb, and I threw my head back against my pillow with my eyes screwed closed. When I opened them minutes later, both James and Ethan had vanished, and suddenly I let out a deep breath of air that I didn't even know I had been holding until that moment. My heart thudded in my chest and my head pounded in my skull, while my entire body shook with pain as I was still going through the healing process.

Why was everything suddenly so different in my life?

Days later, when I had healed enough that I could now walk and move around, I left the infirmary and headed straight to the pack house. After the King's words with me about who I was, I was suddenly curious myself. I couldn't let anyone know what I was doing, but if I could get a little information from a few people, I would be able to figure out what actually happened with those wolves when I turned back into my human form.

The first person I went to find was the Alpha of the Silver Moon pack, Ethan's dad. He didn't like me just as much as the next person, but I knew he would be honest with his answers.

"Rhea, I see you have recovered."

After I stepped in to the main hall, I looked up and made eye contact with none other than King James, who was looking at me with a hint of amusement in his eyes. He was standing with Alpha Turner, who had his eyes narrowed at me, as if he couldn't understand why our King cared so much about me, a lowly slave.

"I am, your Highness," I replied stiffly. "I should like to thank your attendants for helping bring me back that day."

"I shall deign to let them know."

I nodded again and turned my attention to Alpha Turner. "I do apologize for the interruption, Alpha Turner. But I was wondering if I might have a word?"

Both men looked surprised to say the least. But James wouldn't let their secret come out like this, and Turner wasn't going to disregard the needs of one of his pack in front of the King. So he nodded, murmuring his apologies to the King who left the room with one final glance at me. I avoided his gaze, instead keeping my eyes trained on Turner.

"Right, what's this about Riverwood?" Turner snapped as soon as the King was out of earshot. "This better be important."

"I want to know where I came from before you took me in here, Alpha," I explained honestly, a frown creasing my brow. "I have the utmost gratitude to you and the Luna for taking me in and providing me with food and shelter, truly. But questions have been coming up lately that I haven't been able to answer because I don't know where I actually came from."