"What?"
"Maths! I don't understand why I need to learn these things because I know how to count. Isn't that enough?"
"You know..." Sean murmured, looking at Kelly, "You sound smart for someone stupid." He laughed.
"Shut up!" She yelled, throwing a grape at him. "So Laura, how are you good at maths?" She asked, giving me a narrowed gaze with a slight grin.
"I had nothing to do at home, so housework was like my only friend," I said, shrugging my shoulders and lowering my gaze to my cereal, which was now soggy. "So maths isn't that biggie."
"You so lucky..." She muttered, then glanced at her wristwatch, "shit!" She jumped up and packed her books, "Laura, I wish I could stay here and chat, but... I have school, so... See ya," she said.
A bit of me wanted to go with her... back to school. I know being here in this beautiful palace can be fun, but so far dull because I had nothing to do than to sit around on my butt and be under watch.
"Laura, you're needed in Nate's office," Sean stated suddenly. I felt heat on my cheeks at the mention of Nate's name, "looks like someone has a crush." He sang, wiggling his eyebrows.
"He's my mate!" I pointed out, standing up.
We walked down the hallway towards Nate's office, and Sean stopped. "Okay, this is where I leave you," he said.
"What do you mean?" I asked in shock.
"Nate said I'm not needed, so good luck." He winked as he opened the door for me.
I enter the office to find Ivy, Smallwood and two elderly men sitting in front of Nate's desk. Nate sat behind his desk with a blank expression. They all had the same expression, making me nervous. I bowed my head in respect, "Elders." I said nervously, slowly entering.
"No need to fear us, child," one of the men said. He had greyish eyes and grey hair, and he had a warm smile.
"Laura, this is Elder Wood and Elder Stone. They're here to question you," Nate said blankly as Ivy stood with a cup.
"Here, you have a drink after answering each question," she said, handing me the warm cup, and then she returned to her seat.
"Is it true you're the daughter of the moon goddess?" Elder Stone asked. He had blue eyes and black and grey hair.
"Yes, I am," I gulped the sweet herbal tea. It almost tastes like honey.
"Do you bear the mark the Lycan brothers spook of?" Elder Wood asked.
"Yes," I sipped the tea.
"Have you shifted?" Elder Small suddenly asked.
"No, but I hear my wolf spirit." I was getting more nervous, hesitantly drinking the tea, and it was becoming sour.
"I've never heard of that... A wolf being able to hear their wolf's spirit before shifting," Elder Stone muttered, and both Elder Wood and Smallwood agreed, which scared me. Was something wrong with me or something? I knew something was wrong with me.
"How about age?" Elder Stone asked.
"Seventeen..." I gulped.
"Pure?" Elder Wood asked. I blushed wildly, lowering my head to look down at my feet. "Drink, child, you just answered," I noticed this was my last drop.
"Alpha Nathan, the moon goddess has blessed you, and as tradition, you must present her to your followers," Elder Stone said, glancing at both elders as they agreed. "We give you two days to present her, and by then, you must have marked her and mated," all three stood, followed by Nate and Ivy.
Did they tell Nate to mark me and my mate before presenting me as Luna Queen to the kingdom? I wasn't ready to draw, even though Sandy was jumping around in having Nate's mark. I'm Nate's mate, but I don't trust him much. It's stupid.
"May I have the cup," Ivy asked with a warm smile. I returned it as Ivy, and the elders bowed their heads and left the office, leaving Nate and me in here.
"Are you okay?" He asked, and I shook my head. He stood before me in seconds, "what's wrong?" He placed his finger under my chin, lifting my head to look into his forest-green eyes.
"Are you going to mark me?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.
He leaned in, kissing my forehead, "I have to... but I want you to agree to it even though we must follow tradition."
How can I forget that the Royal family must follow tradition? It's part of them and listening to the elders? If the Royals follow convention, so must everyone. Doing this is like connecting with the moon goddess, even though some of us don't enjoy doing some of these traditions.
*~*~*
As they walked down the hallway, Ivy stared into the cup she had given Laura to drink, the Alpha King's mate.
"What do you see... was she telling the truth throughout?" Elder Smallwood asked eagerly to inform the Queen about Laura, the young Alpha King's mate.
"She was," she narrowed her gaze down at the tea leaves, unsure about what was wrong.
"How about an heir?" Elder Wood asked.
She stopped in her tracks and gasped, "What is it? What do you see?" All elders asked, gazing over Ivy's shoulder.
"The child will be... powerful... Strong, all werewolves will know its strength and also fear it because it will be... a lycan..."