Part 2

I had spent four months with Kari, the real Kari, and now, I had only had six months with Adelie. She had been a slave for five years, and I’d rescued her from that life. I fought our imprinting for months, and now I’d lost her,too. 

I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I knew she struggled with her past, but I had no idea just how much. Was I that shallow? How could I not see how much she hated belonging to me. Things didn’t match up. How could she love me and still not want me? I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

I unlocked the side door, knowing that tomorrow morning, Falcon would be in my kitchen. I froze as the door closed behind me. I hadn’t smelled their scents. Two men stood on the other side of the kitchen table and looked at me.

The flames leapt into my hands, and the anger was evident in my eyes. I’d been too preoccupied with my own pain to realize that there were intruders in my house. I could smell the scent of wolf on them and they seemed unimpressed with the flames in my hands.

“Your Highness,” the first man said, and took a knee. The second man bowed his head and took a knee as well.

“Who are you?” I asked them, as I lowered my hands. Even this was confusing. Two men were in my house, each taking a knee, and bowing their heads at me.

“Forgive the intrusion, Sir, but the time has come,” the man said, as they both got to their feet.

“The time for what?” I asked him, and the flames in my hands burned brighter.

“Your Highness, we’re not here to enter into a battle with you. The time has come for you to take your rightful place,” he said.

“What?” I asked him, surprised, and the flames in my hands died down.

“My name is Edmund, and I’m a Zeta from the royal house of St. Claire, of which you are the Crown Prince. My companion is Ashton, also a Royal Zeta,” he said.

“You’re insane,” I said, but the expression on his face remained serious.

He pulled out a chair for me, and I sat down, knowing  these men didn’t pose a threat to me. I wasn’t sure how I knew that, but I just did. Edmund sat down opposite me, while Ashton remained standing.

“There are four royal lines spread throughout Europe. The oldest family is yours. The second family is the Archambeau line, the third family is the Conrad line, and the fourth family is the Anselm line. The St. Claire line ruled in Scotland, and the Archambeau line still rules in France. The Conrad line rules in Germany, and the Anselm line rules in Denmark,” Edmund said.

“My insanity comment hasn’t changed,” I said.

Edmund regarded me carefully. Royal families? This man was delusional, and he was really convinced that I was this prince he was looking for. I could almost laugh at the absurdity of it all.

“Your Highness, I have to ask where the Princess is,” Ashton asked me.

“What princess?” I asked him, confusion taking over again.

“Princess Adelie, we’ve been watching you this past week, and we were pleasantly surprised to find two royals who have imprinted,” Ashton said.

“You’ve been watching me? Why?” I asked him.

“We received intel that the St. Claire family was alive and living in Alaska. We’ve been searching the state for three months and finally found you, and to our surprise, the missing Princess Adelie, as well,” Edmund said.

“Adelie left me,” I said softly, the hurt tumbling back into my heart.

“Your Highness, I can assure you, if Princess Adelie left it was not of her own free will,” Ashton said.

“What are you talking about? She left a note saying she was leaving,” I said, and I felt angry that I had to reveal something so personal. I didn’t know these men, and for all I knew, they could be high on drugs and making this entire thing up.

“Princess Adelie is from the House of Archambeau, and she was taken now to fulfill the promise made before her birth,” Edmund said.

“What promise?” I asked him, not really believing a word he was saying.

“The arranged marriage to Prince Rupprecht of the House of Conrad,” he answered me.

“I don’t know what sick type of joke you’re trying to play here, but this will end with both of you dead on my kitchen floor,” I said, threateningly.

“I am aware of your capabilities. You can delve into my mind and see for yourself that what I say is the truth. The memory of Montgomery St. Claire is in my mind. You being half witch makes this process easier, since we now don’t have to find another witch to do this,” Edmund said, and took a step toward me.

“Don’t move, asshole,” Tala said, as she appeared in the doorway from the living room, aiming a gun at Edmund’s head. Falcon was right behind her, aiming another gun at Ashton.

I held up my hand and looked at Edmund. “Sit down and close your eyes.”

Edmund sat down, not in the least bit worried that he had a gun aimed at his head. He closed his eyes and the flames appeared in my hands. “Segja frá.”

I delved into his mind, and I found the memory he’d spoken off. I saw a line of Royal Zetas outside a castle. I saw a man who vaguely resembled me. He stood in front of his men, ready to lead them into battle. It was gruesome, and he barely survived the onslaught of wolves that descended upon them. They were heavily outnumbered, and the battle didn’t last long. 

He shifted into his wolf form, and he fled for his life. I knew the rest of the story although Montgomery Sinclair had never written down where he had traveled from before settling in Seward. He claimed the territory as his own, and took in lone wolves who, ultimately, became our pack.

Nobody disputed his claim, and eventually, he married a woman he hadn’t imprinted on.  They had a daughter after his wife had given birth to a stillborn son; that daughter had been Georgina Sinclair, my great-grandmother. 

Everything he had told me was the truth. Montgomery St. Claire had been 23 years old when he fled Scotland and changed his name to Sinclair, then became the Alpha of his own pack. The man in Edmund’s memory was Montgomery Sinclair, the drawings we had of him was the spitting image of the fleeing wolf.

I pulled out of Edmund’s memories and released him from my magic. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, and I took a step backward.

“What does all this mean?” I asked him.