Chapter 5: Family Reunion

Before reaching Ace’s office, Mikki was able to hear Fitz’s voice from the other end of the hallway, even with the door closed. She should’ve been used to her brothers being overprotective over her, but somehow, she felt really surprised and also loved whenever they did anything of that sort.

Fitz, however, was a special case. He was really close to Mikki, and they had a very nice sibling relationship, something it was harder to get with someone much older than her, like Ace; or much younger, like Don.

Ace was eleven years older than her, and Don was four years younger. Even though the distance from her and Don was the shortest, Fitz, being five years older than her, was still the closest she had.

Maybe the fact that Don was still a kid in her eyes made her feel like a mother figure to him, something she wasn’t able to do with Fitz or Ace.

“Don, what really happened? Why is he yelling like that?” she asked before they reached the end of the hallway.

Don halted and turned to look at her.

“Well, I thought that you better than anyone else, should be able to tell me, since it seems to be all about you anyway,” he shrugged. “Are you really getting married?”

Mikki looked around, making sure no one was listening. She didn’t want anyone knowing about it yet, and Fitz shouting it from the rooftops was also not helping.

“Shhh—” she ordered, putting her finger on his lip. “Keep it down, Don. No one is supposed to know it yet.”

“So it is true,” he whispered, his eyes widening in surprise. “How did this even happen?” he wondered.

“I will explain everything to you both, but let’s just try to shut Fitz's mouth first. By the way things are going, everyone in the continent will know about it.”

They followed the path until Ace’s office, and Mikki tried to ignore the fact that the guards outside were probably very aware of her future now. It was impossible not to hear it.

“Come on, Ace. Do you really think this is the best solution? She’s only twenty. What does she even know about marriage? Or men?” She heard Fitz complaining.

Mikki walked towards the guard and nodded, as he made way for them to pass. She opened the door and got inside, being followed by Don.

“Why are you shouting like a mad man, Fitz? Everyone can hear you outside,” she said, crossing her arms and sitting on the chair she sat when she received the news about the prophecy for the first time.

Fitz stared at her like she was speaking another language and his jaw dropped.

“Mad man? Well, if thinking that you getting married to someone you don’t know at twenty years old is being insane, well, then I am,” he huffed.

Ace rolled his eyes at her before he tried to speak.

“Apparently, he heard about the news,” Ace stated the obvious.

“Who told you?” Mikki turned to Fitz, waiting for an answer, even though she was pretty sure she knew what it was. Ace didn't seem to be the one who did it, so there was only one option left; Max Grosvenor.

The council would never share an important information like that with Fitz, even though he was part of the Royal Family. Things like that should be passed on by the King, so it was not a possibility. But why would Max tell him then?

“Does it even matter?” Fitz asked in disbelief.

“Honestly, I’m the one being married, and I don’t remember throwing a tantrum like the one you are throwing right now,” Mikki teased.

“Can we all calm down first?” Ace asked, looking at Fitz and Don. “I can explain everything since everyone is here.”

Don took a seat before he was told to. He respected Ace like he was his own father, so even though he used to cause some trouble every once in a while, he never liked to receive a lecture from his oldest brother.

But Fitz kept looking from one to another, trying to understand why no one else was freaking out like him.

After a few seconds, he seemed to recompose himself and did the same as the others, finding a place to sit and listen.

Ace summed up everything that Mikki already knew and heard earlier today, but this time, she had paid more attention, since she was no longer going through the shock stage.

Fitz seemed more calm now, which was a good sign, Mikki thought.

“I guess it does make sense that it is Max then,” he murmured after Ace concluded.

“So Mikki will have to move out from the palace?” Don asked, trying to put the pieces together after listening to the whole story.

That was a topic she didn’t want to reach just yet. In fact, she was hoping she could postpone it as long as she could.

“That’s something I still need to discuss with Max, but yeah, that’s how things work, I guess,” Ace said.

“And who is this other guy? Do I know him?” Fitz wanted to know.

His question made Mikki look at Ace anxiously. She was also dying to know who it was.

“I guess you do. He’s the Alpha from the Landalf Pack, Farkas,” Ace simply said.

Fitz’s jaw dropped.

“You're kidding, right?” His voice cracked.

“What? Why? Who is he?” Don wanted to know.

Mikki also meant to ask those same questions, but he was faster.

“He's caused us trouble several times before. I’ve never really met him, but everyone knows who he is. He’s extremely dangerous,” Fitz explained. “They say that he managed to slaughter an entire village once, simply because one of the wolves there had stolen some prey from his pack.”

“He did what?” Mikki whispered. Was someone even capable of doing something that evil? Of course she heard about wars before, even though she was never allowed to participate in one.

Her brothers were always talking about it, and she managed to experience one or two big fights during her life, especially when her father was still alive.

But she never heard of someone as evil as this man. It was natural that wolves used to fight for territory and food, but putting their pride and ego before anything else was just incomprehensible for her.

“Well, then I think you shouldn’t even have pondered about your decision, brother. Between Max and Farkas, I’d marry Max myself if I had to,” Fitz said, making Don laugh out loud.

“Anyway, you need to be very careful, Mikki. Especially after you go to Aveline City with Max,” Ace warned her, ignoring Fitz’s jokes. “Unfortunately, you'll need to get to know his pack before the Ceremony, so we can’t keep you here for much longer. Max’s pack is very powerful though, and he’ll be able to protect you, but it doesn’t hurt to be extra careful. I heard Farkas didn’t seem very pleased when he received the news of my refusal. I don’t know if he’d be stupid to try to do anything to you, but anyway, just be careful,” Ace added.

“Does he know about the prophecy at all?” Mikki suddenly realized. “You said no one knows about it, except you and the council. And us now, obviously,” she added. “But if Max knew, do you think Farkas could also know?”

Ace shook his head.

“He doesn’t know, and Max didn’t know it either. He made his offer before I even told him about the prophecy. I had to let him know after we signed the deal, so—”

“You signed a deal?” Mikki interrupted him, her mouth open in shock.

“I had to, it’s how things are done here, Mik. It’s just some bullsh*t bureaucracy. But answering your question,” Ace continued. “I don’t think Farkas knows, but it’s hard to tell what goes on inside his crazy mind. I think he just saw an opportunity to get closer to the Royal House.”

“When are we announcing the marriage then?” Fitz wondered, looking like an entire different person now. “We need to have a dinner party, right? Something royalty style.” He punched Don’s shoulder slightly, provoking his younger brother. “It’s a nice opportunity for Don to find some nice lady to hang out with.”

“You should be worried with yourself first, brother,” Don teased back. “I still have plenty of time, which I can’t say about you. You’ll be thirty in a few years, won't you?”

Mikki almost forgot that they were talking about her love life a few minutes before. It was always so fun to be around her brothers, that she couldn’t imagine living a life away from them.

Fitz looked like he wanted to murder his younger brother, but Ace stopped them before they could even start.

“I'll ask them to arrange the dinner. Now, can you all leave? I have some things to deal with.”

Mikki left, being followed by her two other brothers who were still bickering over who had more women on their feet, but she didn’t pay attention to it. She wondered when she’d meet Max again and what it would feel like when they had the opportunity to have a real conversation. Would she like him? Would he like her?