The Wolves of Ossory

5. Queen Amber

Maeve

I made my way down the corridors to the pack dining room. No one was in there yet, as the warriors were out training and the rest of the pack would arrive in an hour or so. Alma walked alongside me and we chatted about my morning run with Aila and how the sunrise looked. We brainstormed a way to maybe incorporate that into our ceremony, as our reign would be the start of a new day and a bright beginning. Cheesy, perhaps, but I felt nostalgic about planning something with Alma that seemed like it was plucked from a fairy tale.

I opened one of the great oak wood double doors, ushering Alma in first. Our mother sat at the head of the table with our father, papers strewn about in between them. They seemed to be in a dispute over whatever was on those papers. My father noticed us and stood up, a brilliant smile on his face as he gestured for us to come sit. We both bowed respectfully and took our seats.

"Good morning, my little rays of sunshine!" Magnus gushed a little overzealously.

Dammit, something is up and he's about to toss us into the fiery wrath of our mother. I link Alma. She covers her mouth and coughs to cover a laugh.

"Good morning, our gracious and considerate father! How can we help you in your missions today by appeasing the Queen?!" I decided to play along, a silent look passing between him and me to let him know he was caught.

I'm on to you old man. We'll get you back for this later. I mind link him, causing him to toss his head back in a hearty, boisterous laugh.

If you can make it out of this alive, then I'll take whatever revenge you plan on me with honor! He linked both Alma and I back, and we high-fived each other, already scheming what we would do.

"Alright, enough you two. Magnus, if you are not going to be of any help, can you at least go make sure security is tight for Sunday?" mother eyed him, challenging him to say no.

Magus straightened up, tightening his lips and saluted his wife. A very unwise move if you ask me. "Yes, Queen Amber! Right away!" he dropped his salute and swiveled around to make his escape as she threw the can of pens at him, shooting us a smile as he slipped out the door. Alma and I started to giggle, loving to see the playful side of our father and the way he irks our mom.

"Alma, Maeve? Care to join the adult conversation or would you like to be dismissed like your father?" she raised her brow at us in annoyance.

"Is that a trick question?" I half-heartedly laughed under my breath. She shot me a warning glance and her aura projected on to me, making my spine quiver and goosebumps cover my body in discomfort.

"What can we do for you!" Alma piped up, taking the heat off of me and distracting the temperamental queen.

"Yes! Yes, of course! Well, as you can see, trying to work with your father on anything having to do with scheduling a historical event has ultimately been a catastrophe. That man of mine cannot tell the difference between iridescent and pearl," she started.

To be fair, I really couldn't either. Alma linked me and I grinned ever so slightly.

Luckily, the Queen didn't catch it and she continued on. "So, as you know, our distant cousins from the Blue Glacier Pack up north will be staying with us in the Eastern wing of the castle, along with the Alpha and Beta from that pack. Also, the Alpha and Betas from Cedar Crest Pack and Ivy Moon Pack are staying in our wing as well, on the first three floors. However, our cousins have requested to be on the same floor as you girls. Will that be a problem?"

Alma scoffed. "Yeah, sure thing! Desmond can stay in my room like the little creep he is," During one of the gallant balls thrown last year, Desmond had a bit too much to drink and got a bit too touchy with Alma. A swift knee to the groin and that was as lucky as he got that night, but he still made us uneasy.

We were distant cousins, sure, but there are still boundaries and respect. He came from my mother's great aunts' side of the family. My mother was the late Alpha of Blue Glacier's daughter, next in line to take his place when she met her mate, Magnus, at the annual Harvest Moon Festival and her fate was sealed. She was crowned Queen a year later and, because she was an only child, her great-great aunt's eldest grandson(our mother's 2nd cousin), Daniel, took the title when our grandpa died. Desmond was the third born, and would probably never see the light of day as any type of leader, and thank the Goddess for that!

"Alma, we will have Benson guarding your doors. Nothing will happen. Plus, this palace will be jam-packed with wolves. I promise, one wrong move and he's out. Deal?" Amber stated, moving on before Alma could respond. "So, full house. We covered that," She paused as she looked through all her scattered papers, selecting one and reading over it. "Your mantles are being delivered this afternoon. Tomorrow we will begin hanging the golden curtains throughout the palace. Alma, you remember how the swags are supposed to look, I presume?" She looked up at Alma, who was seething.

Those f*****g swags! She mind linked me.

"I'll take that as a yes. Maeve, I need you to get the flower arrangements in order and also send out the invites. Have Pam help you with that. Hmmmm, I feel like I am forgetting something," Amber mused, tapping her one remaining pen against her chin. My stomach growled all of a sudden and she exclaimed, "Ahh! Yes! The food! I'm thinking the traditional maple glazed steaks. Your father has been fussing about those for months now. It would be perfect. And a three-tier white cake with cream cheese frosting. Alma? You can get with our chefs for the sides and horderves. Maeve, I need you and Alma to see Fable to get your gowns altered," Alma stiffened slightly at this. I c*****d my head at her and wondered if she wanted to send our measurements down instead. I dismissed the thought and turned my attention back to our flustered mother.

"Anything else?" I asked her in a sweet manor.

She glanced at me, a small wall of tears building up in her light blue eyes. She stood and walked around the table, standing between our chairs and wrapping her arms round both of us. "I don't mean to be emotional, but seeing you girls? No, WOMEN. Seeing you young women sitting before me, I can't help but wish for the days you were just so small and needed me for everything. My miracle rainbow babies. You are my greatest blessing, and I could not leave this kingdom in better hands than yours." she sniffled, holding us close.

Alma and I glanced at each other, a silent look of understanding and worry passing between us. Our mother had miscarried three times before becoming pregnant with us. It took her 6 years and the help of a healer witch to get us past the first trimester. Werewolves have 6-month pregnancies and carrying twins often leads to pre-me babies because of how fast we grow. The first 2 months are the most detrimental for pregnant she-wolves to get through and our mother went through the ringer.

We were her last hope, as Magnus and her decided that this would be the last time they would try before adopting, which would cause a tremendous number of issues with the Chamber, as the bloodline of Beaulieu would end along with their 200-year reign.

Just as quickly as this moment started, it was gone and the queen whisked away to her side of the table, wiping any trace of emotion off her face and getting back to work, composed once again. "Back to the schedule, I have lists here for both of you. Let's walk through this again so we don't miss anything." Alma and I slumped in our seats, groaning in perfect sync at the realization that we would be here all day.

*******Side note: For the life of me I could not figure out how to logically explain Desmond being a very distant cousin. I goodled it, wrote out a d***n family tree and sat staring into space trying to visualize what I was trying to write and I could not wrap my head around it so please be gentle and if you know how to phrase it properly LET ME KNOW! I BEG OF YOU!

Riss