Ch 1 - What The Hell Is The Point Of Being King

“That’s the fifty fifth pack to sign that ridiculous document.”

“It was ridiculous about forty-five packs ago. Right now, we’re in the middle of a serious problem.”

“Garrett Marriott is the root of my problems.”

“Then take him out. You’re the King.”

Cain and Calypso smacked their sister’s arms. “He can’t just kill people who are problematic to him.”

Cassidy rolled her eyes. “Then what the hell is the point of being King?”

Zen chuckled, turning to the new Werewolf King. “While none of us agree with Cass’ insane solution, I do agree that you need to deal with Marriott somehow.”

Nathan groaned, rubbing his temples. “I’ve only been King for two weeks. How do I already have these many issues?”

Killian patted his shoulder. “They aren’t your issues bud. Your uncle was running one hell of a shitty ship that you just so happen to have to fix.”

“So, how do I get rid of Garrett?” Nathan questioned.

“You don’t. You bring him in,” Vera suggested.

Noting the doubt on her audience’s faces, Vera continued. “Hear me out. Nate’s been King for only two weeks, and yet Marriott managed to rally more than half the packs in the country against him. The quickest way to squash this is to bring Marriott in. He has influence, and if you can get him on your side, then you’ll be able to sway everyone else to your side.”

“That actually makes sense,” Calypso agreed.

Nathan crossed his arms. “How do I know I can trust him? You’re suggesting I bring someone we don’t know into our circle.”

“You don’t, and you make it clear from the beginning that you don’t. He’s stated time and time again that he only cares about the wellbeing and safety of werewolves, which is the same things you care about, so he’d have to prove himself on that front. He’ll have to earn your trust,” Killian submitted.

“And you can always have him killed if he betrays you,” Cassidy added with a devilish smirk.

Everyone shot her a look, with Vera shaking her head at her. “I fear for the Werewolf Kingdom with a Queen like you.”

Cassidy stuck her tongue out at her. “Shut up!”

“It sounds like a reasonable plan, and at the very least, it shows the other Alphas that you’re willing to collaborate and work together with them to move things forward,” Zen stated.

Nathan nodded before turning to Cain. “Is there an update on the kidnappings?”

Cain shook his head. “I last spoke to Dumont and Kevlar yesterday. The trail they were following went cold. Bradley isn’t getting anywhere either.”

“What about Jeremiah, Jordan, and Tyson’s whereabouts?” Zen asked.

“Truman and Presley are scouting any possible leads,” Cain responded.

The gang was aware that the trio had disappeared together. They’d gone looking for Jordan at his pack, and when they couldn’t find him amidst the wreckage, they checked the security tapes. Those, together with some witness accounts, they were able to find out that the trio disappeared together.

They all knew what was at stake, and what needed to be tackled. It had been two weeks since Nathan had become King of the Werewolf Kingdom, and nothing had slowed down. Word had made it around the world, and with Philip dead and Jeremiah missing, they were left dealing with the cracks that were starting to show.

On top of questioning the royals’ way of doing things, Alpha Garrett Marriott was also spreading doubt on Nathan’s eligibility, despite there being witnesses to Nathan’s ascension. Nathan hadn’t had the chance to truly explain how Phillip had betrayed the crown, and how he was the true heir to the throne.

Instead, the new King had to keep the growing tension at bay, while also dealing with the rising rates of kidnappings and shady dealings. The group still didn’t know who was running everything, but they had their suspicions.

“We’re all thinking the same thing when it comes to the possibility of those three working together, but I just can’t put my finger on who would be running the show if that’s the case,” Calypso commented.

“Tyson is too hard headed to follow anyone else’s lead, but Jeremiah may still be hanging onto his royal status,” Killian noted.

Cassidy giggled. “One thing we know for sure is that Jordan is not running that ship.”

That had them laughing. “Mean.”

“Speaking of Jordan, did your mom check on the spell she placed on him?” Calypso asked her mate.

Killian nodded. “She did. It’s still in place. He’s not going to remember Sam anytime soon.”

“And is Sam still gone with them?” Ivy asked.

Killian nodded once more. “She figured it was better for her to start learning about her true self, rather than sticking around and feeling helpless. I tried to tell her that her input is valuable, but she insists that should we be attacked, or anything of that nature, she wouldn’t be able to help in any way, so that’s why she feels it’s better to leave.”

“I mean, she just found out something huge about who she is. None of us can dictate how she should then handle anyway. Besides, we’re not in any real danger right now, and if her powers will come in handy later, then it works in our favour for her to start tapping into them now,” Zen argued.

“I know she’d like that very much,” Calypso agreed.

“We’ll just have to wait and see how that goes on her end. What about our firecracker?” Cain questioned.

Calypso rolled her eyes. “I’m not a firecracker.”

Killian chuckled. “She hasn’t had any episodes since.”

“And you still have no idea what you saw or what you were saying?” Nathan asked his sister.

“For the millionth time, no. I don’t remember,” Calypso huffed.

Except that was a lie.

While she couldn’t remember the things she’d said, the vision had made its way back to her that very night in her dreams. She could almost hear the creature calling out to her. The sound stayed in the back of her mind, together with the feeling she felt when she’d heard it.

It would creep up on her every now and then.

But she chose to say nothing about it.

She knew that mentioning it would mean that she’s the focus of everyone’s attention again, and she didn’t want that. There was a lot happening around them, and she didn’t want their attention on her when it was clearly needed somewhere else.

For as long as she wasn’t having another episode, she would keep quiet about how the creature haunted her at every moment, waking or not. Instead, she put her everything into helping her brother navigate his newfound position.

“Alright! When am I supposed to call Marriott in?” Nathan asked.

“The sooner, the better,” Killian responded.

It was late afternoon as they sat in Nathan’s office at the castle. “Tomorrow?”

“If he can make it. He strikes me as the type to make you work for it,” Zen commented.

“If he does, use it against him. He doesn’t hold all the cards,” Vera suggested.

“And how would I do that?” Nathan asked.

“By offering the invitation to someone else. You make him see that you’re willing to work with the Alphas, and not just him,” Killian caught on.

Vera snapped her fingers. “Exactly! If he’s serious about working with the castle, then he won’t play hard to get, but if he happens to, then he needs to know that this isn’t about him but about the bigger picture.”

“The Vampire Kingdom is lucky to have a Queen like you, unlike some unfortunate Kingdoms,” Calypso taunted.

“Oh, screw you!” Cassidy shot her the finger.

They laughed, before deciding to call it a day. The royal kitchen staff was still preparing dinner, so they headed to one of the grand lounges to chill. It was Killian and Calypso, Nathan and Cassidy, Zen and Vera, and Cain and Ivy. They had gotten together as siblings to try and solve the issues at hand and help Nathan and Cassidy settle in.

“How are things going with the packs?” Nathan asked his sister.

“The White Star Pack is officially all moved this side, and everything is going smoothly according to Hunter and Wayne,” she informed.

“Jethro and Grant have been managing things on the Lycan side, while Eddy, Harlan, and Wyatt are running things with the werewolves. They’re almost done with building the two new pack houses,” Killian added.

“I still can’t believe how big your pack is. How are you guys handling everything?” Vera asked.

Killian shrugged. “To be honest, we aren’t. Everyone else is running the packs and reporting to us. We only step in to handle the big issues.”

Cassidy laughed. “Something about that sounds so sinister.”

Calypso grinned. “Nothing sinister about it. Just all smarts.”

Zen laughed, shaking his head. “It’s not right. Aren’t you afraid of them banding together against you once they realize that they don’t need you?”

Calypso was the one to shrug this time. “I mean, the werewolves can try, but the Lycans know that they’re stuck with us.”

“Again, something about that doesn’t sound right,” Nathan chuckled.

“It sounds like a power trip,” Ivy found the term for it.

The mates scowled. “A power trip?”

The redhead nodded. “You’re abusing your power because none of them are going to go against you.”

The mates were stunned, while their family laughed. “Oh, she’s got you there.”

“That’s not what we’re doing, right?” Calypso asked unsurely.

“Not intentionally, but you do need to sort out your pack situation before it comes across that way. You need to be present leaders,” Nathan told them.

“We are present leaders. We just have split priorities. While normal Alphas only have their packs to worry about, we have a Lycan pack, a werewolf pack, and a vampire war to worry about. On top of that, we have to bring balance to the supernatural world. I think you can cut us some slack,” Killian argued.

Zen cocked his head to the side. “He makes a good point.”

“Besides, it’s barely been a month since we merged our packs, so we’re going to take our time to find our feet. I doubt any of our pack members are in any particular rush to get things moving,” Calypso added.

“Fine, we’ll lay off the dictator jokes,” Cassidy taunted.

“Speaking of merging packs, any word on Jordan’s pack members?”