Chapter 7

Ben's P.O.V

I stayed there listening to them talking, they really believed their father was still alive. I had to read that letter, if I could find her father I was sure it would make her happy. I waited for them to both fall asleep she looked so peaceful her rosie lips parted sligtly as she slept on her side so she could see the door when she woke, she rested her cheek on one of her hands. I hated seeing her upset there were still a few wet tears on the outside of her eyes. I picked the letter in my mouth, I was still in wolf form and couldn't risk her seeing me. I knew my ears had perked up at the sound of Celine's name. She was supposed to be devoted to the royals, so I couldn't figure out how her father or even her brother would know of Celine. They were just humans, I couldn't smell anything else on them. When I was far enough into the woods I found my clothes hidden under a fallen tree, I quickly shifted back into wolf form and picked up the paper. I rushed back into our pack house, which was a large farming estate around fourty members of our pack lived here and the rest chose to reside amongst the humans only using the pack house as our meeting place during the full moon.

Two of my cousins were in the living room with my beta and a couple other close friends. "Care to tell us where you've been Ben?" My cousin Tyler smirked, Zach my beta gave me a knowing look and shook his head. 

Ignoring my cousin, I turned to Grayson my third in command and gave him the paper. "I need a favour." There was a slightly worried look in my eyes.

"So... how's Skylar?" My other cousin, Sophia smiled. I glarred at her, how did she know? "Oh come on Ben. We all know, you can't keep your eyes off her and that first night when the vampire was talking to her you would have left her as soon as he was gone but you didn't you stayed with her for hours." Sophia had a smug look on her face, as if she were proud to be the first one to crack it.

"You took her letter?" Grayson asked raising an eyebrow once he had finished reading it. "It seems a bit personal, what are you asking me to do?" He questioned.

"Run the writing through our database and look for a match. They both think that their father is still alive, find him. I want to ask him a few questions too." I stated angrily. If he was alive how could he leave them, and why did my mind keep reverting back to Celine? 

"Questions?" My mother's voice hand me spinning around. "Is this about that new girl? Is that why you've been disappearing lately? Your grandfather called me you know." Her voice turned slightly cold. 

"Sorry mum." I hung my head low, I forgot to see my grandad before school today, the guilt slipped in. 

"Suprisingly he was not as upset as he should be. A young girl actually helped him carry his shopping home, which is what you were supposed to do." She scolded me. "The two of them even offered to put the bags away for him. Why can't you be more thoughtful?" She sighed rubbing her head angrily. 

"Sorry, I've been distracted lately..." My voice was barely a whisper, my mother was the only woman that had enough authority to scold me. 

Sophia smiled, "Aunty Mandz, he's in love." 

My mother stopped to look at my cousin, as she pushed her hair behind her ear. She saw the paper in Grayson's hands. "What's that?" She asked looking at Grayson sat alone in the swivel chair.

"I've asked him to look into it. Her father was a soldier, he was listed as missing in action last year. Neither of them believe he is really dead." I answered.

"And if he is dead. Can't you just leave them to grieve in their own way. They do not need hope if their father really is dead." My mother's words hurt. 

"They don't know I'm looking." I answered the anger seeping into my voice. 

"Say you find him, then what? Is he the person you wanted to question? Why?" My mother spat back defending the girl and she had never even met her. I couldn't help but smile. 

"She was talking to her brother. I think she knows more than she does. He mentioned a woman that came to hypnotise her to take away some memories or something, said her name was Celine?" I shrugged, waiting for their responses. 

"Celine?" My mother looked as if she had seen a ghost. "I need to speak to your father about this." Then she turned to look at us all with a warning look on her face. "This does not leave this room." She stated and headed out of the room as fast as she could. 

We heard her footsteps echoing through the hallway until the door to my fathers office slammed shut. I looked at Sophia who had a suspicious look about her. Tyler was mirroring her expression. "What?" I hissed out, throwing myself down on the couch. 

"That girl that helped grandad this morning... was her." Sophia smiled, "You could have been there to see her before school." A smug look settled on her proud face. Her blue eyes sparkled as she spoke she was trying to mock me.

I gave her a pointed look, "Zach find out as much as you can about Celine. Grayson find her father. I'll see what she can actually remember, see if she will give us any clues." I spoke clearly the authority echoing through the room as I spoke. They all nodded in agreement and I headed to my room, which was on the third floor of the main pack house, there were only five rooms on the top floor, which belonged to each of my siblings and then a room for my parents, the second floor hand all the other family members rooms even those that didn't live in the pack house, then the first floor had around thirty guest rooms open to the pack on full moons. The groud floor had a large hall, a dining room for the family, a gym, my fathers office, the kitchen and a couple of reception rooms, games rooms and a large livingroom, there was a cinema in the basement which was soundproof and had a large amount of love seats. I walked up to my room, upon hearing my footsteps my little sisters door crept open. Lily was only four, she always wanted me to read her a bedtime story before bed. 

"Benny, Benny. Daddy told me a stowey. Let me tell it to you." She raced up to me and I scooped her up into my arms bringing her back to my room. 

"What story was it?" I asked freigning excitement. 

"It was the stowy about the pwincess... There once was a baby, her hair was as dark as night, her eyes a lighter shade of the deep blue sky, she was only six months old when she was taken from the palace. But the witch that stole her cast a spell so the princess would never be found and the witch was never seen again. Every year on the princess's birthday they still hold a huge ball and send off lanterns to try and guid their child home, but she has never returned. Daddy says she will be seventeen soon. That's nearly as old as you. You're seventeen now. They invited us to celebrate it, she was their only daughter after she went missing they refused to have anymore." As she finished her story she started to hum a lulaby. 

"That Princess wasn't a wolf, I wonder why we are invited?" I asked, as my door was pushed open by my thirteen year old brother, his curly brown mop of hair bounced with each step. 

"I know why." He smiled deviously. "We are the strongest pack if anyone is able to find her it would be us. But I also heard dad talking with mum just now about Celine. I think somethings wrong. The royals are the most respected, they share the blood of the gods. Celine was the most devoted to their cause but she took their child away sixteen years ago and they never saw her again.There are talks however that the Queen Mother made her do it, for the childs protection. We wont know until we go to the ball and see them though, Dad said there was chatter amongst the vampires that the girl had powers that would be too dangerous and could bring an end to our world." 

My dad appeared in the doorway just as my brother got seated on the foot of the bed. He was so startled he nearly fell as the door flew open. "And what did I tell you about eavesdropping." My father warned. "No one knows what powers the girl will have, it is guaranteed she will have something but. She doesn't have the training of the royal family, they are right in thinking she could be a danger." 

"But if the Queen Mother really was behind the kidnapping, then she would have given the child to someone trusted." My brother argued.

"Celine." The realisation snapped in my mind. My mate. Was she. Was she the princess?

My father nodded, I knew my mother would have told him about my mate. "Son, I need you to get her to open up. No one is allowed to know about this. Find out what you can and we will try to locate the girls missing father." My father was the Alpha, he could use his aura to force the other packmembers into secrecy but he wouldn't use it on his kids. 

"You think it's her?" I asked him raising an eyebrow. 

"Could be, no one has mentioned Celine in over a decade and suddenly shes resurfaced? Your grandfather seemed very happy today, I haven't seen him that happy since your gran." My father changed the topic without knowing he had seen her. 

"Does that not seem strange to you?" I asked cautiously. "Sky was the one that saw him this morning, and he's happy so suddenly?" I let my thoughts get the better of me. "I don't think she's dangerous, but she said her stepfather is a hunter." My mother came in to take my brother and sister to bed.

"A Hunter? or a hunter." My father put emphasis on the first Hunter. 

"I don't know." I said rubbing my forehead, I pulled back the covers and my father left, ripping my shirt off I climbed into bed, tossing and turning my thoughts of her keeping me awake until I felt the pull of what I thought was sleep.