Even Tempered

The Belle of the Ball

I flung the door open and ran smack dab into what I can only describe as a brick wall. Although he was in his late thirties, Latham Guise was nothing if not solid muscle, and he was now standing between me and freedom from this time warped nightmare I found myself in.

"Careful, little one, hard floors cause nasty bruises." He chuckles as he picks me up from the floor. How I got on the floor, I have no idea; I must have been moving faster than I thought to have been bounced on my butt. I am a solid girl, not willowy or frail, but he picked me up as if I weighed nothing at all and proceeded to enter with Liam trailing behind him.

"Ladies and young sir, I hope that I didn't catch you at a bad time?" Alpha Latham starts, "But it seems as if we have much to discuss." He says frankly.

"Yes, so it would seem." Queen Mother says, "Would you care for a cup of coffee, tea, perhaps something stronger?" She asks.

"Coffee is fine, two if it's no imposition?" He answers.

"No imposition at all, Alpha Latham, is it Vale?" Queen Mother says while Mama simply lowers her head and rises to retrieve more cups and plates for our new guests. Nicky, still beaming from the revelation of being a wolf, just sits there oblivious smiling at the two alphas like a cat spotting a bowl of cream.

"Tempy, if you would please come and retake your seat." Queen Mother says but I don't move. I am torn between obedience taught to me and this irresistible desire to flee and rebel.

Seeing my hesitation, Alpha Latham says, "I promise that we mean you no harm, ladies, we only came to talk. No one has to do anything that they don't want to, but it will make things easier for everyone if they were on the same page."

Mama sighs and takes her seat a washed in emotions and feeling her resignation, I come back to stand by the mother who raised, loved, and protected me these 18 years.

There is an awkward silence for a while before Queen Mother says, "What is it that you require to know, Alpha?" And nibbles another piece of cake.

"Well, though I was only a beta at the time, I had the extreme pleasure of meeting the King and Queen on numerous occasions and her beauty was uncanny and undeniable. So, to say that I was astounded to see it staring back at me from a sea of fresh faced youth, meant that either she had been reincarnated or that you young lady, are the long lost heir of the Emerald Isle, and my money is on the latter. Am I right?"

Sensing the impeding tension, Queen Mother begins to elaborate on where we found ourselves currently. "It appears that your astute assumptions are warranted and correct."

Addressing Queen Mother, since as of now it seems as if we have no part or desire in this particular conversation, he asks, "They've been here this entire time Ana and you didn't think that it was pertinent information to share. We've been searching for years, all of us, and not so much as a trace. Well I guess I now know why. You hid her under my nose, for 18 years, why?"

Queen Mother Ana answers simply, "They requested sanctuary and as they were unsure who they could trust outside of our Coven, I granted it."

"She is the future of our kingdom and we had a right..." he starts to say when Mama cuts him off.

"She was an infant who needed protecting. She was a baby without a mother or a father whom I and my wolf swore our life's blood to protect. She was my daughter and as such, I chose to keep her safe." I had never heard her so strong. Though I knew that she was omega and for wolves it meant not as strong physically to the higher-ranking wolves, it definitely didn't mean weak, especially not right now.

"Miss, I meant no disrespect to you or your sacrifice, it's just that we would've protected you and helped to train her to take her rightful place on the throne."

"How? Why? We were never supposed to be here. My instructions were to take her to Crowned Paw, not here, but we were deceived by one of the guards and he kept turning us around somehow. And after he saw that his charade was coming to a close, he killed them, he was coming to take her when I killed him and I knew then that I had to get us someplace safe. It wasn't supposed to be this long, but they were happy, Nicky and Tempy, and I didn't..." Mama starts to cry, "I didn't have the heart to uproot them when they had found a little happiness."

As if finally checking into the conversation, Nicky stands and comes over to stand between the alphas and Mama and me. Seeing his change in position, Liam also shifts and moves between his father and Nicky. Sensing the shift, Alpha Latham places his hand on Liam’s shoulder, "It’s okay, son." Looking at Nicky, he says, " As I stated, we meant no disrespect and we mean no harm. I came to offer you the opportunity to visit us at Mystic Moonlight and be our guests until the Supernatural Summit. As you all know, all of the minor and major alphas will be in attendance, it is at that time that I would hope to present you Princess. If Crowned Paw is where the Queen asked you to take her, I can forward ahead to have them come early, if it will make you feel more comfortable and Ana can verify their identity and rank." He pauses briefly and adds, "Princess, I understand that this is a lot to take in, however, there are things that are out of our control and we need you. Your people need you. I know that it is not fair. I know that you all have lost and suffered much, even when you weren't fully aware of it, but please hear me now when I say that I, Alpha Latham Mario Guise and Dax my wolf, will give our life's blood to see that you are safe and returned to the throne as the rightful heir and Queen of The Emerald Isle."

I felt a rush of wind and I smelled what I could only describe as jasmine, it was brief and sweet, and then I felt a peace and calm and something assured me that I could trust this man. I looked at Mama, who still looked worried and Nicky who looked torn between his desire to experience pack life and his duty to protect me and Mama, and I spoke with an authority I didn't know that I possessed,

"We accept your fealty and your offer, Alpha Latham, please make it so and contact Crowned Paw and make your preparations, we shall be ready on tomorrow."

Mama gasps, "Tempy, I don't..."

But I grab her hands and look her in the eye and say, "It’s okay, Mama. We're okay and we will be safe."

Mama looks distant for a while like she's having a conversation with herself, to which now I know she's probably talking to Hazel, her wolf, and when she sighs and relaxes, I know that she's okay with everything that is about to happen in these next few weeks.

"Okay." Alpha Latham says almost elated, "Tomorrow it is."

As he and Liam are about to leave, Mama adds, "Alpha, only tell those in your command and those in command at Crowned Paw, no one else must know who she is until it's time. She must be kept safe, even from the children at the school. Please?" She adds almost pleading.

Alpha Latham looks understandingly at Mama and says, "Ms..." his eyes cloud for a second showing he was mind linking, probably Liam, "Ms. Hale, you have my word and solemn promise."

"Thank you." Was Mama’s response.

"Well, I guess I, too shall take my leave." Queen Mother says and rises to leave with Alpha Latham and Liam.

Liam's POV

I have no idea why dad wants me to accompany him to this troll hut. It looks like it's made straight into the tree. What are these people witches or trolls? I kick a couple of more rocks as I shuffle behind him not the slightest bit interested into where we're going. Witches have lived in these woods for as long as I can remember and as far as I can tell, they're white witches, so they don't really bother anyone. And they seem to be alright for the most part and live pretty decent lives, so who would be forced to live out here in these substandard conditions. I am lost in my thoughts when I accidentally run into the back of dad, who seems to have stopped abruptly and I hear him say, something cheesy about falling on the floor. As I am still standing, I doubt he's talking to me and then he resumes walking and enters the hut, so naturally, I follow him inside. Standing by the door is the weird witch chick from school and her brother is sitting at the counter with some lady, I assume is their mom and Queen Mother Anastasia. I raise my eyebrow and wonder what this is but decided that it was best to keep quiet. Dad seems to think that the weird witch is really the long-lost heir to the throne and the others aren't exactly being forthcoming about the details until the mother breaks down and starts shouting at dad and baby wolfie boy decides to check in and flex his muscle. So, I simply step in front of dad and dare him. This may prove to be entertaining after all. But then I feel dad's hand on my shoulder.

"It’s okay, son." Looking at the young wolf, Nicky, he says, " As I stated, we meant no disrespect and we mean no harm. I came to offer you the opportunity to visit us at Mystic Moonlight and be our guests until the Supernatural Summit. As you all know, all of the minor and major alphas will be in attendance, it is at that time that I would hope to present you Princess. If Crowned Paw is where the Queen asked you to take her, I can forward ahead to have them come early, if it will make you feel more comfortable and Ana can verify their identity and rank." He pauses briefly and adds, "Princess, I understand that this is a lot to take in, however, there are things that are out of our control and we need you. Your people need you. I know that it is not fair. I know that you all have lost and suffered much, even when you weren't fully aware of it, but please hear me now when I say that I, Alpha Latham Mario Guise and Dax my wolf, will give our life's blood to see that you are safe and returned to the throne as the rightful heir and Queen of The Emerald Isle."

The young lady, who I now know is Princess Temperance Prince pauses and I feel a rush of authority flood the room as she says,

"We accept your fealty and your offer, Alpha Latham, please make it so and contact Crowned Paw and make your preparations, we shall be ready on tomorrow."

Her mother gasps, "Tempy, I don't..."

But she grabs her hands and looking at her says, "It’s okay, Mama. We're okay and we will be safe."

Their mother looks distant for a while like she's having a conversation with her wolf, and then sighs.

"Okay." Dad says, "Tomorrow it is."

As he and I are about to leave, their mother adds, "Alpha, only tell those in your command and those in command at Crowned Paw, no one else must know who she is until it's time. She must be kept safe, even from the children at the school. Please?" She adds almost pleading.

My father agrees and we and the Queen Mother leave. I couldn't hold it.

"So, what's the plan, dad? We're going to what, house her and then hand her over to Crowned Paw. She's the Princess to the kingdom, that's a prize for any pact." I say excitedly.

My dad stops and looks at me, "Do you think that she’s your mate, son, or are you asking as some sort of political move?"

"Well, either way seems to be a win-win wouldn’t you say?" I ask.

"No, I actually would not. That's not the way things work and that young lady has been through more than her fair share of things being taken from her, even if she didn't know it at the time. Knowing that, how could you even suggest depriving her and even you of your mates? What happens when you're mates show, son? How do you explain that to them? Oh, it seemed like a good idea at the time?" He mocks.

"It was just a suggestion. I'm just trying to get a handle on what's happening." I speak.

"There is no handle. Yes, she is the princess and heir to our kingdom. Yes, she's a beautiful young lady. Yes, she'll need us in the future, but until said time, she's a girl who's just had the rug pulled out from under her and her life flipped upside down. Now in addition to you keeping this under wraps after the briefing that we’re headed to, I need you to help provide cover and friendship for her and her brother at school. Whatever has been happening and given how children are, wolves in particular, I need you to help cap it so that she and her family feel safe enough not to go ghost again." He reiterates.

I chuckle, "So we have rogue princess that we’re trying to keep from going rogue again?"

"They’re not rogues." He clarifies.

"Huh, but I thought that they don’t belong to a pack?" I ask.

"Technically, they are still members of the Emerald Star Royal Pack seeing as to how they were never cast out and they never rejected their pact. They are actually lone wolves, wolves who choose to live separately from a pact for whatever reason." He explains.

"So how are we supposed to house lone wolves who have no idea about pack life?" I question.

This time he chuckles and we resume walking, "Carefully!"