The War of the Royals - Chapter 5

Holy shit was I freaked out when she manifested in my head and started talking to me! She told me all about being a wolf shifter and the Moon Goddess, Selene. How I was special and stronger than all other shifters. Because of that, I got her earlier than others normally would get their wolves. Much, much earlier.

I thought I was going crazy, so I checked out book after book from the public library on psychology and mental disorders. Just trying to understand what was happening to me.

Once the initial shock and freak out was over, I relaxed and began to hone my werewolf senses. When I focused on that instead of myself, I realized that others in my life were also shifters. It was the scent of them that alerted me to the fact that they were different than the humans. Most humans have a fairly boring and faint smell, but shifters’ scents are complex and tend to swirl. It’s very inviting and overwhelming, until you get used to it.

Patty and Stanley were the first ones to stand out for me. But so were many of their diner patrons along with some other students and teachers at Zeus Academy. I felt an overwhelming sense of relief to know that I wasn’t actually crazy.

Also, before Infinity, I never felt like I really belonged anywhere. Even at Zeus Academy. I was smarter than all my peers so that intimidated most away from me. Once Infinity came into my life, I found myself suddenly being comfortable with those around me. The realization that I would, one day, finally be accepted into a culture and society, helped me settle into the knowledge and accept that I was special, even in the werewolf world.

As the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months with Infinity in my head, we pieced together several things. A few were incredibly disturbing. The biggest is that I am a by-product of rape.

My Mama suffered severe PTSD because of what my bio-father did to her, and that PTSD mostly manifested through her dreams. As we shared a small bed at the time, I was well aware of her nightmares already. But until Infinity came, she never really spoke much during them; just tossing and turning and heavily crying.

After Infinity, the screaming and begging began. She begged over and over again for someone to not hurt her. When she would finally jerk awake, she was always be gripping her neck and struggling to breathe.

In each instance, I always did my best to calm her down, even though it never seemed to help her all that much. But Infinity said that she wouldn’t suffer her nightmares for too much longer. That she would meet her mate soon; the Goddess said Mama was just as special as I am. She would be mated to a great Alpha and that their destiny together would positively change the shifter world. It made me so happy to know that Mama would also have her place in my new society. That I wouldn’t lose her in order to keep the shifter world a secret.

When Mama met Tyson, to say I was thrilled is an understatement. He adored her, right away and that is something she desperately needed. Her confidence was shot, and I just knew he would build her up and be there for her, like a mate should. What I didn’t expect though was to have our friends killed and to be kidnapped by my insane bio-father right after meeting Tyson.

Yeah, that was kind of a shocker.

I spent three months away from Mama and Tyson, being held hostage, in a way. I spent most of that time at Pine Woods pack. My Uncle Cain and Aunt Melinda’s pack, although they weren’t mated at the time. While there, I started learning how to spar and how to run a pack as it’s Alpha. Cain was an amazing teacher, as was his Pup Trainer, Garrett.

Unfortunately, Alpha Cain was held to contracted secrecy having me on his territory. He owed money to Kent, my bio-father, because of Cain’s brother’s gambling debts. Cain kept me ‘hostage’ for those three months as a way to pay those debts off and hopefully, save his pack from starvation and bankruptcy.

When Kent picked me up from Pine Woods, Cain immediately went to River View to ‘turn himself in’, so to speak, to Mama and Daddy. He wanted to do the right thing by me while also ensuring his pack would survive. He didn’t expect to find his mate when he went to do that, but he did.

Mama couldn’t stand the idea of Cain being executed for his violation of shifter laws by keeping me hidden. Mama and Daddy chose to help him instead of punishing him or turning him over to the council. And I am forever grateful that they spared him. Cain is an amazingly wonderful male and fantastic Alpha to his pack.

The years that followed after Daddy rescued me from Kent, and he temporarily took over leadership of my pack, Blue Meadow, were the absolute best years of my life. Yes, they were filled with lots of training and schooling, important things to learn and remember. But they were also filled with love, laughter, and acceptance from my constantly growing family.

Mama and Daddy gave me ten siblings during that time. Yes, ten! The Goddess told Mama early on, that it didn’t matter if they used protection. They were fated to have a certain amount of pups and trying to prevent was useless. She proved it to them too. After a while, they stopped trying to prevent pregnancy and just enjoyed the pack house being over filled with chaos and the proof of their love.

Daddy had to remodel the Alpha quarters and combine it with part of the Beta floor below us in order to accommodate all the pups in the house. Uncles Thomas and Adam, the beta couple of the pack, moved to another home near the packhouse when they adopted their pups so they could have enough room. As did Uncle Niall and Aunt Amanda, the Gammas, with their pups. The Gamma residence was turned into a live-in area for the nannies. We had four live-in nannies. Then add in the security teams for each heir and when we needed to go anywhere as a family, it was like bringing our own professional football team. So, as you can imagine, we didn’t go out to the human areas much.