Chapter 3: A Fateful and Divine Reunion

The Black SUV pulled down the long drive that led to the Stone Hill Creek packhouse. King Reginald fidgeted nervously in the back seat the closer they got to the house. It was a large, royal beauty, perfectly suited for the Royal Beta Family, but his old friend had not been the Royal Beta of the kingdom in two decades. The two of them hadn't spoken much since Reginald exiled his oldest friend's youngest daughter from the Kingdom. He had only done it for the girl's safety, and he was sure that James had understood the precarious situation that he had been put in. Alpha Caldwell had already had terrible things done to the girl to ensure that his daughter's place as Alexander's Marked Princess was secured, but who knew what extent he would go to if he believed Alexander still loved Korrine even after he'd sent his minions to destroy her and her reputation.

Yes, sending Korrine away was for her best interest. Of course, being a rogue wolf had its own challenges, but King Reginald was the only one in the kingdom, outside of her own pack, who knew that she had been birthed by a rogue and left at her father's packland borders. With any luck, she had found her birth mother and adapted into rogue life seamlessly. He didn't doubt that the girl was capable, he knew that all too well. She would have made quite the Marked Princess, had the Kingdom's treasury stayed full. But, as fate would have it, the kingdom had gone bankrupt and needed Alpha Caldwell's help to keep from falling into complete and utter poverty. Not that it mattered much any more. Almost all of his packs were completely broke, or those that were struggling to keep their head above water. All of them except for the Warden's Council and the elderly Alphas who had yet to conceive heirs. Eleven Alphas, Ten packs in total that had financial security.

That ofcourse, complicated things for King Reginald. The entire kingdom was at Caldwell's disposal because all of the packs depended on his financial support, which made it impossible for King Reginald to get rid of the man. Twenty-six years ago, before everything went to hell, he had every intention to secure the Kingdom's finances. Ofcourse, everything had gone to hell and the money and assets he had intended to invest to financially secure the Kingdom's future had been stolen by the vampires and rogues that had ambushed Kevin, Alexis, Alexander and Andrea. His own son, Alexander, had been the only one of the four to walk away from the battle. That day, Alexander had lost his mate, the European Witch Queen Andrea, his little sister, Alexis, and his best friend, Alpha Kevin Prescott. That night had set his kingdom on this course, forcing them to be dependent on the filthy rich Alpha Caldwell.

Now, though, now the Vampires were attacking his packs, four so far in the past two months. Which meant they were facing a war that they were woefully unprepared for, physically, mentally and financially. The Kingdom treasury didn't have the money to fund a war, and he knew that Caldwell wouldn't help fund the other packs war efforts, let alone help them after the attacks. King Reginald couldn't believe that eighty-seven Stone Hill Creek pack members had been lost in a matter of hours, especially since Stone Hill Creek had always been one of the Kingdom's strongest packs.

They pulled up to the front of the Stone Hill Creek packhouse and King Reginald couldn't help but to smile as he saw his old friend standing there on the packhouse steps, next to his Luna. Aside from appearing exhausted and drained, Alpha James and Luna Dianne seemed to be doing alright. King Reginald exited his vehicle, and James and Dianne bowed to him as they always did.

"Your Majesty, welcome. We're happy to have you on our packlands once again. Please forgive our Alpha for not being here to greet you. As you can imagine, the hospital is packed and there are many members in need of aid. Our new Alpha is pitching in to help." James told his friend as he walked forward and shook his hand.

Alpha James knew that there was going to be quite a bit of push back to Korrine's new position as Alpha, but he was prepared, and he knew Korrine was too, as he had trained her to be an Alpha. James wasn't quite sure how to tell his friend and King that the daughter His Majesty had once exiled was not only back, but the Alpha of his family's pack, but he knew it needed to be done before Korrine came back from the hospital.

"So, what I felt was correct then, Rodney is among the dead. But this new Alpha? Who is he? Where did he come from? Was it a mutiny? Did this wolf have these vampires attack and use it as a reason to kill the Alpha and take his place?" King Reginald questioned as he sniffed deeply, trying to catch a scent.

That was when he realized, that much like Callahan's pack, the Stone Hill Creek pack no longer had scents.

"It's Korrine. The Moon Goddess made her Alpha when Rodney fell in battle with the vampires. And thankfully she did or our death roll would be much higher. As soon as Korrine was made Alpha, wolves started coming from this direction and heading into the thick of the fighting, in human form. They chased the vamps off and secured our borders. Korrine got here early this morning. She and her leadership team have been working hard to get all of the information from this pack into their systems since." James told King Reginald as he took a step back to examine the King's facial expressions.

King Reginald had to stop the laugh that wanted to escape his lips. Perhaps it was the shock of the news, but he couldn't help but find it humorous. The young woman he had exiled from the Kingdom had not only returned to, but had been sent back to his Kingdom, as the Female Alpha, by the Moon Goddess herself. He knew too, that she would bring hell and fury to his Kingdom, and perhaps that was exactly what he deserved.

Everyone knew the tale of the Female Alpha. It only happened every few hundred years, The Moon Goddess hand picked an Alpha-born female and elevated them to Female Alpha. The Female Alpha was stronger, faster and had a more powerful Alpha aura than any other Alpha on the planet, strong enough to rival an Alpha King's. The last time a female had been blessed as the Moon Goddess's chosen Female Alpha, it was in the southern European Kingdom over three hundred years ago. Many of the male Alphas had banded together, jumped her and chained her in silver before burning her alive. And with her death, the fated mate bond died too. Now, each Kingdom held a mating season each year, from May 1st to September 1st, so that any single wolves would have the chance to mingle, meet and court a chosen mate. Or rather, his Kingdom used to. These days the newly of age, young she-wolves were often sold or auctioned off to the highest bidder under King Reginald's new regime of Wardens.

They had managed to work through the loss of the fated mate bond for a while, until about a century ago when the infertility issues began. Now their birth rates were low, and very few mated couples actually produced heirs. While the idea of Korrine Prescott being nearly as strong as him slightly terrified Reginald, he couldn't help but to wonder what changes would come from her Alphaship.

"Korrine is the new Alpha? A female Alpha on American soil. That's both shocking and terrifying. Though, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, you wanted to make her Alpha all those years ago. With how things have been going, its no wonder the Moon Goddess made her of the she-wolves the female Alpha and sent her back to us this, time around. Is she aware of the danger she faces holding that title, especially with the enemies she already has here?" King Reginald asked his old friend as they made their way through the packhouse to the Alpha office.

He knew he shouldn't worry about the girl, afterall, no one would expect him to after the way he publicly exiled her from his Kingdom, but still, he cared for her. Korrine had brought his son back to him after he had lost his first mate, best friend and little sister all in the same night. He wasn't sure Alexander would ever be the same again, but then, eight years after that unexpected tragedy, James had brought a then sixteen year old Korrine to the castle for one of their meetings. The girl had brought out a side of Alexander that Reginald hadn't seen since that fateful morning before the tragedy struck. The two of them had spent the weekend before Alpha Week just walking around the palace grounds talking and laughing, which only led to them being inseparable that summer.

"If I'm being completely honest, Your Majesty, I don't think that she cares much about who will or will not like the fact that she's returned, let alone how they will feel about her new title. She's... different now. She always was my bold and fearless daughter, but now she has this unshakable confidence in herself as well. It's, well, just prepare yourself. She's not at all the same girl that you exiled twenty years ago," James warned.

Just as James finished his warning, the clicking of heels on the old hardwood floors could be heard echoing down the hallway from where they stood in the nearly empty Alpha office. It seemed Korrine had spent the morning going through the documents and records that Alpha Rodney had kept before boxing them up in the boxes that lined the wall near the door. Besides those boxes, only the furniture remained, bare of any personal items that he knew Rodney had once kept in the office.

James stood silent as he awaited his daughter's arrival to the Alpha office, and King Reginald soon understood that James had been following her orders in bringing him here. James stood tall and silent, with his hands behind his back next to the open office door. He was a tall and broad man, and even in his retirement, he remained as muscular as he had been in his youth. He was a true born Royal Beta, with the strength, power and aura only second to Reginald's own, yet King Reginald had no choice but to release him from his duties when the Kingdom had gone bankrupt. That had been one of Caldwell's stipulations in order to secure his financial aid, he had wanted the title for himself and his heir, especially since James' heir had perished.

"Your Majesty, what a pleasure to have you visit us after such a tragedy. No need to worry though, border security, the injured, and the widows are all being attended to and I assure you that another attack like the one last night will never happen at Stone Hill Creek again." Korrine spoke calmly as she entered the office and headed towards the desk, never taking her eyes from her phone.

She hadn't even bothered to glance over at King Reginald, instead choosing to focus on whatever she was doing on her phone. Reginald couldn't help but to notice how much she had changed. Before he had exiled her, Korrine had never entered a room that he was in without properly greeting him with a curtsy and a smile. Now, she hadn't even bothered with a glance in his direction. Besides her attitude, demeanor and clothing choices though, she still looked almost exactly the same as she had before the incident that ultimately led to her exile. While she stood easily at five foot eight, he knew that the height was due to the six inch stiletto heels she wore effortlessly. He also noticed that though spring was upon them and werewolves normally ran hot, she wore a hunter green silk top that tied around her neck, leaving only a small slit where her cleavage poked out ever so slightly. He then realized that though she looked almost exactly the same as she always had, her body now had the curves of a fully grown woman, and not the newly of age one that he had exiled all those years ago.

"Its quite the surprise to have you back with us after all these years, Korrine. Your father has told me all about how you came in started getting the pack organized and squared away. To be completely honest with you, I expected to come here today and hand over this pack to Alpha Callahan. Things have changed quite a bit since you left Korrine. I know you've been rogue for quite some time now, but there are laws that you will be expected to follow, just like everyone else. If that's going to be a problem, tell me now so that I can go ahead and hand over the pack to Callahan and let you go back to your life." King Reginald told her as he took the seat infront of the desk.

Korrine sat her phone on the desk, and folded her perfectly manicured hands together before laying them on the desk infront of her. She stared at King Reginald with such intensity, that he couldn't help but to shift uncomfortably in his seat and avert his gaze to his down to her French manicured fingers. The sight of watching the King shift around uncomfortably caused her to snicker. There were very few who dared to hold her glare these days, and that was exactly the way she preferred it. No longer was she the naive, innocent young girl she had once been, now, she not only commanded the largest and strongest werewolf army this world had ever seen, but she had several units of other supernatural entities in her ranks as well. After a moment of awkward silence between them, King Reginald glanced back up just as her glazed eyes cleared, letting him know that she was coming out of a mindlink.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, I just... I'm having some trouble understanding how or why you would expect me and my pack to follow laws that I don't even believe that you, yourself, actually believe in. I understand the situation you have been put in, truly, I do. However, as a pack that is now financially independent of the Kingdom, I just do not feel that it is necessary to follow barbaric and archaic laws that put my she-wolves at the mercy of your predator Alphas and the rest of the predators in this Kingdom. But I do feel for the Alphas who are just as financially dependent on Caldwell's pocketbook as you are and therefore left with no choice but to follow these barbaric laws or else risk the starvation of their people. It really is a rough situation, Your Majesty, and I do not envy you for being stuck in it at all..." Korrine spoke until she was cut off by a tall, red haired girl walking into the office to hand her a vanilla envelope.

"Thank you, Alana. Now, Your Majesty, this envelope is for you. It has informative reading materials on my pack, as well as outlines the benefits of having my pack become a part of your kingdom. There's also two checks inside. One is an equity tithe, just to help even out the tithes that you haven't received from Stone Hill Creek over the years. The other is a quarterly tithe. While I may not have been Alpha for the first quarter of this year, this pack will still spend the majority of this year under my leadership. Therefore, I wanted to ensure that you began receiving quarterly tithes from me now, to help you adjust to receiving tithes from the newly reformed Stone Hill Creek Pack quarterly. Now, I know that tithing is usually a yearly occurrence, but my pack members are all on membership plans. My highest earners receive their income quarterly, so they tithe quarterly. My lowest earners are on a monthly budgeted plan. They pay anywhere between $4.99 to $9.99 a month and still receive the same full benefits as my top earners." Korrine explained as she slid the envelope across the desk towards King Reginald.

Reginald opened the envelope as Korrine continued to speak about her pack, noting that she spoke of the pack as if she had been leading it for years. He said nothing as he pulled out pamphlets on health insurance packages, grants, loans and specialized classes. The last two sheets he pulled out were the checks she spoke of. He noted that she had quit speaking and was watching him intently as he pulled the checks out. They were written on a business account, which he noted was listed as URKA, and he wondered what the acronym stood for, before glancing down at the amount the check had been written for. He nearly choked on his own saliva as he saw it. Five Hundred Thirty-Three Million, Six Hundred and Twenty-Two Dollars. This check was the one she had mentioned as an equity tithe, so he lifted up the bottom right hand corner to see the price listed on the other check. Had he not been trained to keep his emotions in check, he may have cried. Three Hundred Twenty-Six Million, Five Hunded and Seventy-Five dollars was the amount listed on the second check, the one that was meant to be her quarterly tithe. If she tithed him that amount every quarter, the Kingdom's treasury would be overflowing by this time next year. He looked up to see her mauve lips smiling knowingly.

"Korrine, I, honestly, I'm not sure what to say about these checks. Surely you've made a mistake? It just seems like this is a bit much for only being a quarter into the year. Are you trying to buy my favor? Is that what this is?" King Reginald asked as he showed everything back into the vanilla envelope, prepared to hand it back if necessary.

"Of course not, Your Majesty. Who do you think I am? Caldwell? No. Absolutely not. However, if those tithes allow your to free our Kingdom from Caldwell's grasp, and allow you the freedom to set our laws back right and make the necessary changes that this Kingdom needs to thrive, well then, its both my privilege and honor to have the ability to tithe you with them. But I would never put expectations on an income that is my responsibility as an Alpha. That, Your Majesty, is the difference between a strong, respectable Alpha and a weak, conniving one. But please, take some time and look over the reading materials provided in the packet and let me know if you have any questions. I am happy to help you set up and create similar plans for the other packs and kingdom members as well." Korrine told him as she stood from her seat behind the desk.

"Yes, thank you Korrine. I will take some time to look over all of this information on the flight home. But, if you are going to insist on remaining Alpha of Stone Hill Creek, I must warn you that there are many Alphas, particularly the Royal Beta and the Wardens, who will not approve of having a female among our ranks, so I assume theres going to be quite a risk of danger to you. Other than that, I expect to see you at Alpha Week which will take place May seventeenth through the twenty-first. All Alphas are required to check in on the sixteenth. I expect for you to have all of your pack paperwork for the year to turn in at that time as well. Your father can show you where to pull it from and how to fill it out if you have any questions. Welcome back, Alpha Prescott." King Reginald told her, standing from his own seat and walking to the office door.

Korrine gave him a slight nod before walking toward the door herself. Reginald gestured for James to follow him out to his vehicle, but said nothing as they walked walked down the hallway to the front door. The only sounds in the packhouse were the sound of Korrines heels clicking off the hardwood floor as she followed behind them. Once outside, Korrine walked past them toward the pack hospital as the two of them stopped at the black SUV that Reginald had gotten out of.

"I truly hope your daughter knows what she's doing and who she is going to be going up against Jimmy. After what they did to her Twenty years ago, I don't know whether to be frightened for the girl or excited to see how this plays out. The other Alphas aren't going to take to this lightly. Especially Caldwell. He's going to be furious that she returned, and even more furious that Callahan can't take over your family's pack. Hell, Callahan is expecting me to return and pick him up to introduce him as your new Alpha as we speak." Reginald chuckled to his friend as he opened the back door of the vehicle.

"As I told you, Your Majesty, my daughter that arrived here this morning is not the same scared young woman that left here twenty years ago. She's completely changed, and worse off, I'm quite certain that the woman who returned fears no one. She hasn't yet gone into any details on what her time as a rogue held, but it has definitely changed her," the Dowager Alpha answered as King Reginald reached into the vehicle.

"Well, in any case, give this to her. I suppose when she receives it, we'll see if there is any trace of the young girl I exiled twenty years ago." Reginald told him as he handed him a paper flyer about the main event that this summer at the Royal Packlands would hold, before getting into the vehicle himself. He waved goodbye and shut the door before the SUV starting driving away.