The queen finished her stress-inducing discussion of the coming Alpha-Luna Ball, and then started talking with Arthur and I about a charity function she believed we should attend.
"The media always eats up anything with poor children," she said.
Her words were crass, but also practical, so I didn't argue.
"Showing how gracious and wonderful you are with orphans will really help to counteract the whole Future Tyrant Anne nonsense," she explained. "Plus, if you're anything like your mother, you'll probably glean satisfaction from getting in there and helping out."
"Yes, it would feel good to do something practical."
"So, after the charity gala, we're going to set up a petting zoo for the poor pups of the orphanage."
My wolf perked up in my mind. {Did I hear the queen say we're setting up a buffet for the pups?}
{She said 'petting zoo',} I repeated dryly.
{Kang-ar-roo, kang-er-roo. However you say it, it still tastes delicious.}
{Wait, when did you have kangaroo?}
{Pierce took one down in sixteen seconds. It was so hot, you wouldn't believe it. The kill was so clean." My wolf sighed. {It's never as good as in the physical world though, so I want to try it here, too.}
{Where would we even get kangaroo meat? And don't say the petting zoo.}
{Humans,} she muttered, annoyed at my answer. Then before I knew what she was doing, she linked our mate. {Arthur darling?} she crooned in a sweet tone I hadn't even known she was capable of.
{Maria?}
{Would it be possible to have kangaroo meat someday?}
He looked puzzled. {I'm sure we could find a way to import it. Just a second.} He tapped on his phone for a second before smiling at me. {We'll know tomorrow if and when we can get our hands on it.}
{Thank you, darling.}
It was weird hearing her call him darling. He smiled crookedly.
She turned her attention back to me. {See? Easy. Our mate is the best at providing.}
{Some might call it spoiling.}
She scoffed. {Killjoy.}
I turned my attention back to the conversation, but the queen seemed to be winding down. I took a couple final bites of my food before the servers brought out the dessert course.
After a few weeks of eating like this, it was beginning to feel normal. I'd found my mate, I was engaged, and I was living in the palace, and I could finally believe it. Arthur had made it worth it, and time was making it less weird.
That night, I slept in Arthur's bed again. I hadn't been able to go back to my own after the first night. I wanted to kiss him, but I didn't, mindful of what my wolf had said about his struggles. She had probably intended it to convince me to make a move, but I didn't want to make him do something that he might regret.
He joined me in bed, and pulled me flush to him. He started to move his arm like he wanted to let it wander, but then froze it and returned it to his original position.
"Are you still interested in knowing what's happening in the kingdom, even if it might make you worry?" he asked.
He probably wanted me to say no, but he also didn't want me to lie. "Yes." I slipped away from him and rolled over so that we were face to face.
He exhaled. "You know that I went and dealt with a rogue attack."
"Yes?" How could I forget that gnawing anxiety?
"We realized that the rogues' behaviour was odd. These attacks have been increasing in frequency for a while, but what we didn't notice until now was that the behaviour was changing. They're grouping up more, and acting more strategic."
I bit my lip. Rogues scared me, but I also felt sorry for them. When the inner connection between wolf and human was corrupted, it was usually caused by trauma like violence or rejection. If the human side was too much stronger, the wolf could be suppressed, leaving the werewolf little better than a mundane human while the wolf side shrivelled away into nothing. On the contrary, if the wolf side was far stronger, they became instinct driven, prone to violence, and unreasonable.
Usually fractured werewolves were only problematic at the extremes of the spectrum. I'd initially worried about my sister after Wilson's rejection, but she was balanced, so she was only deeply depressed rather than insane or repressed.
"Do you have any idea why they're acting strange?"
"We're working on that. These rogues are unusually cooperative with each other, but they're still not cooperative with us."
I paused. "Could someone be controlling them?"
"It's not impossible. We've got some witches and other experts examining the ones we caught. They seem like normal rogues, at least on the surface."
There was always another problem around here. "Is this what your life has always been like?" I asked him, suddenly filled with sympathy.
"What do you mean?"
"Constant troubles getting thrust upon you?"
"Not really. I've only been taking over some of my father's responsibilities for the last couple of years now. Before that, it was a lot like the tutoring you're currently doing."
"But, is this how it's always going to be for you going forward?"
"Probably. There's always something, and it'll be my turn until our heir comes of age."
I faked shock. "Our poor baby. I can't believe you're already plotting to throw our baby to the wolves."
Arthur shrugged. "He—or she if we don't have any boys—will get a mate. It makes everything better, I promise."
I raised a quizzical eyebrow, like he was crazy.
"You've already made this better. But you don't see yourself clearly, Anne. You've got untapped power, I promise."
"My wolf, you mean?"
He shook his head. "No. Well, she is strong, but you're as strong as she is. Think about it. You've been putting all your energy into keeping her in line your entire life. I understand why you needed to since you were lower ranked, but you don't have to do that anymore, so you're not weighted down."
His words sounded so nice, and also so reasonable. I found I believed him in spite of myself. My adjustment had been so much easier than I had anticipated.
"You know, right after we met, I had a nightmare that I just drove by your town and never found you."
"That's awful."
"It was. But not anymore. I think that if we had missed meeting each other that day, eventually you would have lost patience with your alpha, challenged him, and took over the pack. We'd have met at one of the Alpha-Luna Balls then."
"Do you really think so?"
"I do. The whole situation with your sister was a ticking time bomb with your wolf. It's good that I got you out of there before you did something that you would regret."
"We were doing fine with controlling ourselves."
"I know you were, but did you actually have to see Wilson after the rejection?"
"Well, no," I admitted.
"So picture this: You're called to a mandatory pack meeting. I know Desert Night doesn't have many, but eventually there would be something. And you're there in the crowd, and Wilson steps out with his chosen mate, looking completely content with his choice..."
{We'd kill him,} my wolf supplied helpfully. {And it would be glorious. Pierce would love it.}
"Maybe you're right. Except we would have met at my murder hearing, not the Alpha-Luna Ball."
Arthur chuckled. "Good thing I got you out of there, then. If you think the media is bad right now, imagine what it would be like if you killed your alpha?"
"It might actually be better. Wasn't everyone saying I was too normal for you? A murderess is less normal."
"They do adore a good scandal."
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The days passed by, and suddenly another week was gone. Every day that drew the wedding closer was wonderful, but at the same time it also brought the next dreaded hurdle, the Alpha-Luna Ball.
Velda, along with a few other maids, primped me until my appearance was media ready. The press wasn't actually allowed into the ballroom, but specific individuals were allowed to take pictures of the attendees as they entered if they agreed. Most guests did want their pictures taken, because glamorous photography was like dognip to the drama hounds.
Thankfully, Arthur and I didn't have to attend for the first few hours, giving all the ranked wolves time to mingled before we and his parents stole the spotlight. Arthur was in his office finishing up something. Turned out he basically rolled out of bed looking like perfection personified, so all he had to do was take a quick shower and change into his tux to be camera ready.
I, on the other hand, required more prep time. I just submitted to all the fussing, not worrying about it too much because I was too busy worrying about what sort of nonsensical drama would be generated tonight. Even right now, all the testosterone puffed males and territorial females were probably already posturing and getting offended by various slights.
They'd be all worked up like tired caffeinated toddlers by the time we arrived.
There was a knock on the door, and Velda rushed over to see who it was. "It's your sister, my lady," she said.
"Please let her in." Maybe Ellen could distract me from the things I had no control over.
She did a great job of distracting me, but not in the way I had hoped. I wasn't able to turn my head to look at her, but as she came into my field of vision, I saw that she was all dressed up. Her soft hair was falling around her shoulders in soft tousled waves, and she wore a slinky maroon dress off one shoulder. My sister looked beautiful.
And definitely not like she was having a comfortable night in.
"Why are you all dressed up?" I asked. If I didn't know any better, I would think she was coming to the ball, but that was crazy. She wasn't a ranked wolf, and the word 'alpha' made her sad, because it reminded her of that unworthy wolf.
"Well," she began, "Lucas invited me to go as his plus one to the Alpha-Luna Ball, and I agreed because it sounded fun."
My mouth dropped open, and the maid who was working on my face made a distressed sound of protest.
"Sorry," I said.
"No, please don't apologize, Lady Anne."
I didn't argue. "I didn't think you'd like it there."
"Well, normally I wouldn't, but Lucas is great to be around."
I'd been resolutely not interfering with her decisions, but this pushed me over the edge. "Elle, you can't just string Lucas along."
"String him along? Who said I was doing that? We're going as friends."
"Does he know that?"
"It was his idea. He's not interested in me. And I'm not interested in him." The way the two kept checking each other out told another story, but she still somehow seemed to believe her own words.
"Okay, and what if he shows up?" I asked.
Her breath hitched. I regretted deflating her excitement, but it would be a heck of a lot worse if Wilson showed up and caught her off guard. She licked her lips nervously. "He won't come. The alpha never comes to these things."
I didn't shrug because Reynold's nagging was getting through to me, and also because I'd probably send the maids into a tizzy if I dared.
"If you're sure," I said.
"Of course I'm sure. I'm going to have a wonderful night."
Well, if her words weren't going to work the drama hounds up, I didn't know what would.
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