~Ethan.
My perked up ears paid keen attention to the chatter and murmuring coming from the ground below me as the members of the high court and other elders trooped into the compound and into the courtroom. From my window I watched them coming in small groups of twos and threes, with some of them throwing angry glances towards the direction of the royal chambers.
“Are you ready?” I shook my head at the familiar voice but, not in negation, rather in disapproval of his choice of word.
“You sound as though they are people I should be scared of,” I replied, my eyes unmoving from the window.
“You should. These people are furious at you, and they are searching for a reason to pounce on you, even the slightest misstep from you could cause a fight between you and them.”
I chuckled lightly and turned to the voice behind me, the worry in his voice evident in his eyes, “then let’s not give them any reasons to.” Tapping his shoulder lightly, I turned back to the window, with a confirmation that my guests were already settled inside, I pulled away from the window and out of the room. “You are to come with me, Sam, you are my right-hand man.”
“Oh, yeah.” The young lad, who was a tad older than I was, jerked back to reality before rushing up behind me.
On getting to the courtroom, I turned to Sam with a shake of my head, and he raised both shoulders in response. We both knew what we were going in to face; the elders and the members of the high court, and though I have enjoyed most of my gatherings with the high court members, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to entertain them. Drawing in a deep breath, I walked into the room.
Feet and seats dragged against the floor as they all stood up, “Long live the king!” they chorused and I hummed a response. Their greeting, I was certain, was merely a chant and not a pleasant wish. None of them wanted me well, if anything, they wanted their incapable king out of the throne.
“Take your seats, please.” I said with a small smile as I assumed my position on the throne. “I was informed this meeting was a matter of urgency, yeah?” They murmured a response, “Okay, so what issue are we handling?”
“What issue are we handling, you say?” One of the elders fretted, and we all turned to him, “people are dying, women and children are dying, your men too, and you ask what issue we are handling as if you are unaware of the issue we have been dealing with for almost a month now.”
“Who else wants to try?” My smile was still plastered on my face as I turned my eyes away from the loudmouthed man and back to the rest of the people in the room.
“My king,” Diane, one of the members of the high court called as she stood, “we are here to discuss no other thing but the epidemic that has befallen us, we have been trying to contain this issue and wait as you told us but, with the tragedy that befell us yesterday, we are not sure if we can keep waiting.”
My smile fell, and my brows knitted; “what tragedy?”
She sighed and turned briefly to the rest of the occupants of the room before turning back to me, “As you may have known, Felicia’s daughter, Anastasia, was supposed to be married yesterday, but the marriage didn’t go through because she contracted the plague. She and her younger brother, they are both in the pack's clinic now and asides them, three other men and Seth’s grandmother were admitted to the clinic yesterday.”
I scanned the crowd and saw Seth alone looking back at me, “Where is Felicia?” she was a member of the high court and was always present at every meeting.
“Still in mourning. Our guests didn’t stay long because of the plague, my king, we think this slickness will reduce our interactions with oth-”
“I am trying my best to contain this situation and to bring a solution.” I knew better than to allow her complete that sentence because if she did, another issue was sure to arise, and I have already had my fair share of the plague talk. Diane sighed and assumed her seat.
“That is all you have been saying, when are you going to provide a standard solution for us?” one of the elders said, and they all murmured in agreement.
“The expert doctor is on her way to us, I have asked and pleaded with you all to exercise patience. She will come to us soon, I promise.”
“We can no longer hold you by your words, Alpha Ethan, you have been promising us this doctor even before this epidemic became this rampant. You couldn’t contain it, how then do you expect we believe you when you say you can find us a solution?” Another member of the high court, Gideon said.
I clenched my jaw to keep my anger in check, it was one thing knowing that some of my subjects consider me to be incapable, and it was another thing hearing them say it to my face and that other thing it came with was anger. Pain. Betrayal.
I kept my palms in a fist and looked up at them, “The doctor will come to us, soonest, I wasn’t going to say it until she got here, but she has agreed to help us, and she will be here in a few days.”
“But my king-” I raised my index finger, shushing the woman who tried to speak.
“The doctor will be here in a few days and that is it.” Murmuring arose amongst them.
“How do we even believe him?”
“What doctor is he even talking about?”
“I will be leaving this pack at the break of dawn to find a physician for my son, I can’t keep waiting for him.”
I chuckled in disbelief at their words, it was quite disheartening knowing that everyone thought of me as incapable, first Isadora who practically left me for my best friend, then my beta who also stands by my best friend and now my subjects.
“There is no reason for anyone to be bothered, the doctor will be here in a few days and that is all I can say to you for now. And this meeting is over.”
They grunted as they rose to bow in greeting before leaving the room, some even dared to curse under their breaths, but I turned a blind eye to their mischief. The plague has brought extreme fear and stress to everyone, especially to me, who had sent a thousand letters to the doctor without a response.
I sank into my seat with a sigh once the room was void of them. Realizing I hadn’t heard Sam’s voice during the meeting, I looked around searching for him to notice him gone and just I began to wonder where he was, he hurried into the room beaming with smile.
“She replied, Alpha! She has responded!” I sat up in my seat and reached for the envelope in his hand. I knew it was just one person who we had been awaiting her response. Hurriedly, I tore the envelope and took out the letter to see three simple yet infuriating words staring back at me.
‘I humbly decline.’ and that was it, no explanations, no courtesy.”
“You do know where this doctor stays.” I said through gritted teeth, my anger, and irritation visible in my voice and face.
Sam nodded, “I do know the where she lives and works."
“Good,” I sapped the letter against his chest and he took hold of it before it kissed the ground, “then go get me that woman and bring her to me at all cost. Bring her to me alive.”
~Aurora.More letters from Sturgeon Moon pack came in within the consequent weeks and when I got tired of shredding them like I did to the first one, I began keeping them in my drawer to collect dust.Their request -asking me to come back to the pack - was absurd. I couldn't help but wonder if Ethan knew that it was me, the same Aurora he banished from his pack, or if my new identity as 'Rory' was keeping him in the dark. The name 'Rory', I knew, was a good disguise, but not good enough to erase the similarity of my original name. Did Ethan really not notice, or was he playing dumb?I was reaching into my drawer to take out the most recent letter when Arne ran into my room to throw himself on the bed.“Mommy's bed is not the playground, Arne,” I cautioned as I kept back the letter and closed the drawer, turning to face him.He chuckled, “Don't blame me, your bed is as bouncy as a bouncing bed. Here,” my face fell at the sight of the familiar seal, “Audrey said I should give it to you.
~Ethan.I dragged my eyes lazily between the two girls dancing before me. It was an eyesore, their presence, and actions, yet I kept my eyes fixed on them to remind myself that I wasn’t who they said I was. I was Ethan Balor, the Alpha king of Sturgeon Moon pack, the one who has imprinted fear and respect in the hearts of all other packs, the king who has elevated his pack to the second richest and most resourceful pack in the whole werewolf kingdom, I was Ethan, I wasn’t less of a man, right?Right?Adjusting myself on the couch, I signaled with my index finger to one of the girls, she was pale skinned with a dark long hair that dropped to her waist. With a wide grin, she cat-walked to me, her boobs bouncing in her loose bra.“At your service, my lord,” she whispered into my ear, slowly running her hands up and down my chest. Her fingers against my skin burned, like my body was being destroyed by some toxic chemical. I wanted to push her away and find my way back to the solace of my
~Aurora.If Ethan's jaw hitting the ground gave him off as surprised, then color me shocked. The fact that he acted surprised about seeing me was shocking, if not infuriating. Did he not know I was the doctor or was just so good at lying and pretending? The letters I received had the royal seal, meaning that it was he who addressed the letters to Dr. Rory Aldrich. Dr. Rory Aldrich-me, or did he really not know I was the same person?I blew out the hair on my face to allow myself access to his face. His brows were knitted, and his sea blue eyes bore into me as though they were searching for something crucial, like they could see through my soul.“Is there a problem, Alpha?” A voice asked softly and cleared his throat, and Ethan took his sweet time to drag his eyes away from me and dropped them on Arne.“Did I say there was?” He said slowly as he ran his eyes from the crown of Arne's head to the sole of his feet.All my senses stood on high alert and I made to draw closer to block Eth
~Ethan.Admiration, pain, pride, and jealousy surged through me as I looked down at Aurora who was meticulously attending to the patients. She had been engrossed in taking care of the patients since we had them transferred to the royal infirmary.I found it difficult to believe that I was seeing her after many years, after ten years of her sudden disappearance, and she was back and better and… better, handling the patients like a professional. I mean, Aurora was now a professional doctor with a son!The small smile on my face fell as I shifted my eyes to the little boy by her side, his smile matched the one on Aurora's face, both their smiles big, bright and beautiful. Aurora was now bigger, brighter and more beautiful than she was ten years ago.Aurora cleared her throat, pulling me away from my thoughts as she came to stand in front of me, slowly slipping the gloves off her fingers. “I will do it. I will take care of the patients but,” she raised a finger, “not because you forced m
~Aurora.Not sooner had we settled in the room than morning came. We got settled a few hours earlier, and I was still trying to get another round of sleep when Arne stirred awake next to me.“You should get some more sleep,” I said as I planted a kiss on his temple.“Is this where we are going to live from now on?” He asked, paying no heed to my request.“No. No, we will be out of here as soon as possible. I just have to do a little job of taking care of some patients. Those patients we saw yesterday and just a little more, then we will be out of this place.”Arne pinned a look on me for a second before shifting his gaze to the ceiling. “Is he a good man? The man who took us, can we trust him?”“I…he, yeah…well. It will be best if you stayed out of his way.” I set my lips in a thin line and looked away as Arne turned back to me.“Why? Because he's not a good man?”No, because he is your father and he just may be out for your head. I bit back the sentence and swallowed it back with a sp
~Ethan.I rubbed against my temples as I listened to the nth complaint from the same person since the meeting began. We had gathered to discuss the health issue of our pack, and he chose to use the medium to talk about his farmland. I wasn't really concerned about his farmland, if pests were disturbing, him, then he should find a way to get rid of them without making it an issue, besides, he wasn't the only farmer in the pack.“...all I'm saying is that…"“Can I know the main reason for this early morning summon?” I asked, cutting him short.“The main reason, you say?” One of the elders, Lord Harrison, said, jumping to his feet. “Like you didn't hear or see rather what happened last night. Do you know how many lives that were at risk?”I corked my head to the side and raised a brow as I scanned him from head to toe. The brevity of this man, speaking to his Alpha with such disrespect.Some of the other elders who were wise enough to notice my stare tried to drag him back, but he stood
~Aurora.“Here she is, Dr. Rory Aldrich, the doctor we have all been waiting for.” Sam announced as we stepped into the room.The once rowdy room fell silent as I stepped into it. I had made sure to hold my head high as I walked behind Sam and into a room full of Sturgeon Moon pack elders; elders that never once cared about me.I had once dreamt of standing before them but, that was when I had believed I would be their queen and Luna, when I was being misled by Ethan's lies. After my flight from the pack, I swore to cut off Sturgeon Moon pack and everything that had to do with it, but alas, there I was standing before Ethan and his honorable wise men.With a big smile, I scanned the room and met their dumbfounded faces, and my heart swelled with joy. It was good as they learned that I didn't fail, I wasn't standing before them as their Luna but, I definitely was standing tall with a great significance.“Is this a joke? Are we jokes to you? Forgive my outburst, my Lord, but, what hogw
~Ethan.My cheeks hurt from grinning as I watched Aurora address the elders. Never had I imagined that Aurora, the Aurora I used to know, would ever have the courage to command such authority. Her voice was firm and bold, and the vibration of her voice forced the elders to lower their eyes from meeting hers.When she addressed Harvey, the man who called her an imposter, I almost melted in my seat from blushing. Seeing Aurora was amazing but seeing a bold, confident and outspoken Aurora was thrilling.Who or what made her strong? I bit my tongue as I realized the weight of my question. I wasn't the reason she was stronger, I had always been satisfied with her being on the sidelines, with her being a wallflower.What was I thinking?“... isn't that right, my king?” Her teasing voice came, distracting my line of thought and I blinked as I looked up at her to see a scowl plastered on her face. First was the mocking tone, then a scowl. All I've done was sit and listen to her speak, I have