Chapter 18 Stella
1868 Words
I was back in the room that Alexander and his mother had prepared for me, carefully unloading my suitcases that were brought over from the hotel when a quiet knock sounded on the door.
“Yes?” I called out.
A woman I didn’t recognize opened the door with a cautious smile. She was short with brown hair and wide brown eyes.
“Your grace,” The woman bowed, “Your friends have arrived.”
She stepped to the side and the girls ran in, immediately surrounding me and asking a million questions.
“Woah, woah. One at a time.” I laughed, covering Oaklee’s mouth since she was standing the closest to me.
“Why are we here?” Wren asked.
“Alexander’s mother arranged for all of us to get ready for the day here.” I said,
“You mean, the former Queen Luna?” Tate’s eyes were huge.
“That’s the one.” I nodded.
“Man, this is weird.” Kinley grumbled. Oaklee started talking against my hand and I dropped it from her mouth.
“What?” I asked.
“Are you okay?” Oaklee asked.
“I’m fine, just in shock,” I laughed, “How about you? Hopefully Sebastian’s Beta is in a better mood than his Alphas.” I said,
“Oh, Owen is amazing.” Oaklee smiled with a dreamy expression, “Wait, is King Sebastian still giving you a hard time?”
“He and I just butt heads a little. He’s not going to be here today.” I confessed, walking away from the group and back towards my bags.
“He left?” Kinley gasped.
“Mhm.”
“You really did it this time, Elle.” Oaklee shook her head at me.
“Wait, what? How is this my fault?” I whipped around, glaring at them.
“Oh, you’re telling me that you didn’t do something to piss him off?” Wren put her hands on her hips and c****d her head at me.
“Okay, yes, I may have said some things. But, so did he! It takes two to tango. Not to mention he stuck his little prince where it doesn’t belong and that’s why I passed out!” I lashed out.
Everyone blinked at me in confusion before recognition slowly dawned on them.
“Ew.” Wren mumbled.
“There are things I don’t need to know about the Kings.” Oaklee grumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Well, you’re all mated with the Kings Betas and Gammas so we’re in deep now.” I pointed out.
“I’m not.” Mylah said,
“You met your mate?” I gasped and she nodded, blushing.
“Who is it?” Wren asked, apparently I wasn’t the only one who was out of the loop.
“Look, I met him at the Ball but I didn’t want to tell anyone because I was afraid of how you’d take it.” She said, looking at me.
“Why?” I was almost afraid to ask.
“It’s Gavin.” Mylah mumbled.
“Oh shit.” Kinley gawked.
“f**k, Mylah, I’m so sorry.” I felt my face going white.
“I’m not upset with you, Ella. Gavin, on the other hand, has a lot of groveling to do.” Mylah smirked.
“Good for you, girl.” I gave her a high five and she laughed, the tension in the room relaxing.
“Has anyone heard from Brady?” I asked.
Everyone shook their heads and murmured various of no.
“I guess he wasn’t invited over?” Oaklee smirked at me.
“I suppose gay doesn’t really mean much to a king who hasn’t been able to mark his mate, yet.” Wren shrugged.
“Not really.” I agreed.
“Let’s start getting ready, shall we?” Kinley suggested and we all started pulling clothes out of our suitcases.
A few hours later, we were all dressed and putting the final touches on our appearances. I was glad to be getting ready with my friends since I was a little more nervous than I expected to be for my first official “date” with the king. I wasn't sure what the appropriate outfit was for today. It was to be a day full of activities but one still wanted to look presentable for one’s mate, especially when that mate is the king of the realm. Honestly, it was easier to prepare for a ball then for today.
I picked out a pair of dark denim skinny jeans and a thin, long sleeve crop top in a deep green color. It was longer than a traditional crop top, leaving just a sliver of skin exposed instead of my entire midriff. It was June in the realm, which meant that it was slightly warmer than usual but still dreary and overcast. It hardly reached temperatures higher than 70 degrees inside the realm and it was rare to see the sun shine for more than a few minutes at a time. I finished off the outfit with a pair of matching green Vans.
I stood in front of the mirror in the large ensuite bathroom, brushing out my dark red hair. It fell naturally straight down my back, reaching my waist. I bunched up the hair that dangled in my face and twisted it into a bun on the top of my head. I left my makeup mostly natural by only applying a small bit of mascara, a light pale pink to my cheeks, and a pink lip gloss that was only slightly brighter than my natural lip color.
“You look beautiful as always, Ella.” Oaklee smiled at me as I exited the bathroom.
“Mes beaux amis.” I smiled, looking over the girls, “My beautiful friends.” I translated for them.
“We have some damn lucky mates, don’t we?” Kinley teased and we all shared a laugh.
“Now that you’re the future queen, can you make it so that the women get the list of activities just like the men do?” Wren sighed as she perched on the edge of the bed.
“I think it’s odd that they still practice that tradition with all the changes the royal family has made in the name of equality.” Oaklee observed.
“They are very traditional.” I said,
“Don’t tell me that you’re in agreement with the men getting to decide what we do today?” Wren looked at me suspiciously.
“Oh, hell no.” I scoffed.
There was a knock on the door at that very moment and the short brown haired girl reappeared.
“Your grace, the King Alpha has requested that you read this.” She handed me a piece of paper.
“What’s your name?” I asked the girl, taking the paper from her hand.
“Miley, your grace. I’m a member of the ranked members’ staff.” She said, bowing her head so she wouldn’t look me in the eyes.
“Please, it’s just Stella or Ella.” I sighed.
“I’m sorry, your grace, I cannot do that.”
“You can at least look me in the eyes and not seem so afraid of me. My mother is Annette, does that help?” I said and the girl, Miley, looked at me in surprise.
“Mrs. Annette?” She gasped.
“Yes, Miley. I’m not so different from you.” I smiled gently at her.
“Yes, your grace. May I go?” She didn’t look too convinced. I sighed again and nodded. The petite girl vanished from the room.
“That’s going to take some getting used to.” I grumbled, turning back towards the girls. They were all laughing at me.
I looked over the piece of paper in my hand and felt my eyes widen.
“Well, ladies, looks like we spoke our wishes into existence.” I grinned, waving the list of today’s activities in their faces.
“I don’t care what you say, Ella, your mate is alright.” Wren smirked, snatching the paper from my hand. All of the girls huddled around her to read off the activities.
“No wonder the men get the lists. They want to hide baking lessons and art class from us.” Kinley teased.
“We’re definitely using this to our advantage.” Wren laughed, nudging Kinley with her shoulder playfully.
“We all know that Ella is going straight to the library.” Oaklee said, glancing up at me. I just shrugged,
“Alexander owns a bookstore.” I pointed out.
“That’s true. Maybe you’ve finally bet your match.” Oaklee said,
“Doubtful, unless he can read in French.” I smiled smugly.
“You never know.” Wren shrugged.
It was finally time to leave the room and meet our mates downstairs. The young maid, Miley, led us through the house since I wasn’t very familiar with the layout yet. Betas Carter and Owen and Gamma Hudson were waiting just outside the front doors to the castle. They smiled when they saw their mates but, before addressing them, they bowed their heads to me.
“Queen Luna.” Gamma Hudson said, offering me a smile.
“Okay, okay.” I sighed, waving them off.
Alexander walked up to me then and offered me his arm as we descended the stairs. Wren and Beta Carter, Kinley and Gamma Hudson, and Oaklee and Beta Owen greeted each other with timid smiles and rosie cheeks. Mylah stood off to the side, searching the grounds.
“Mylah?” I stopped walking and looked at her from over my shoulder.
“I’m just going to go off and find Gavin.” She smiled at me but I could tell she was worried.
“If you need anything….” I started but she just waved her hand, dismissing my concerns.
“Is everything alright?” Alexander asked, his eyes pinched together as he looked down at me.
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Shall we?” He motioned towards the grounds.
Before I agreed, I looked over at my friends who were all giddy and clinging to their mates. They seemed more sure of their situations than I was of mine. Beta Carter laughed as Wren whispered something in his ear, throwing his head back and cackling loudly. Owen’s green eyes sparkled as he looked over Oaklee lovingly, bending down to sweetly kiss her cheeks. Gamma Hudson had Kinley laughing at some sort of joke, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to keep from snorting.
It made me wonder how Dallas and Tate were doing with their mates. They didn’t have to attend the ball since they found Nolan and Harvey at my birthday ball. We also hadn’t heard from them since my ball, and none of us dared to interrupt whatever activities were occuring between the newly mated couples.
“I swear, Stella, your friends are in good hands.” Alexander promised me. I looked back at him and nodded,
“Okay.”
- Writer
