The Wolves of Ossory

8. A New Leaf

Alma

 I swear to Goddess, Desmond was like a puppy, following me around for the last two days. The ankle biter just couldn't stay away. Maeve was also getting a bit annoyed. If he had been helpful like he said he would be, I wouldn't have been so annoyed. But this man. Messed. Everything. Up! Given, they weren't huge tasks that were detrimental to our special day, but it took more time correcting the man-child and we were just slightly behind schedule. The invitations were ordered in lime green, not our deep green. Luckily, Fable was able to correct it when she dropped our gowns off. She sent them off with a snap of those beautiful long fingers and we made the dead-line. Fable's wife dabbled in the craft of portal travel, which had helped a great deal since she apparently taught Fable. All the invitations held a small bottle of a pearly liquid. You douse the invite envelope in this potion, ignite it with a match and it would open a temporary portal to the palace.

Of course, for safety measures, we also had Fable's wife design the liquid to only allow the guests we invited in specifically. If someone tried to pop in without being on the list, it would propel them backwards and close immediately. Some high-tech witchery, right? I don't understand it, but I'm a wolf, obviously. It was very pricey to conjour up this concoction, so hardly anyone used this method and we selectively sent it to our friends around the world.

Luckily, Maeve killed it with the food catering yesterday, despite Desmond claiming allergies to maple. Seriously? What werewolf in the history of all werewolves has ever had any allergy? Maeve had told him to f*** off and eat the salad instead and that was that. I admired her for that. It was something I would've done, so I absolutely approved. When Maeve stopped acting refined and perfect, she was the funniest and scariest person I ever met. Even more than my dad!

"Alright. So we have gowns, mantles, food, invites, decorations, room situations... What am I missing?" I muttered to myself, absentmindedly wandering the coronation grounds and scanning the area.

"Perhaps the crowns?" Desmond quietly suggested. Peaking from behind one of our wolf-shaped ferns.

"Desmond, you are a 22-year-old man. Stop acting like a timid child and talk to me directly!" I snapped, rolling my eyes at his hurt look. I have come to the conclusion that he is absolutely a narcissist. My poor mother fell for that every time, but I can see through that act like it was my job.

He did have a point though, so I decided to take a lesson from my mother's book on raising strong women and try again. "I am sorry, Desmond. What I meant to say, was thank you for that suggestion. Your attention to fine detail is very admirable and without you, I wouldve completely forgotten. My initial reaction was from a place of stress, and has everything to do with me and nothing to do with you."

He c****d his eyebrow at me, and I swear I saw a small satisfied smirk. That little prick! Artemis growled in my head, sensing we fell for his little game and hating the fact that we had to act above it. I forced a smile and turned to head towards the east wing. I needed to ensure our crowns were polished and ready for Sunday. I made my way to the library on our main floor, checking to make sure no one was following me. Luckily, I could see Desmond walking across the grass to the west wing, seemingly busy.

I entered the library, locking the doors behind me and going to the small hutch built into the bookshelves. I sat down, admiring the picture of our great great grandpa Beaulieu. I looked deeply into his face and Artemis pushed forward slightly, making our eyes glow. The hutch creaked a bit and pushed forward as I used our royal 'key' to open the doorway to the hidden room behind the wall of book shelves.

I quickly slipped through the crack in the door and sealed it behind me. I turned the lights on, walking around the small room and around my mom and dad's ceremonial crowns, coming to a deep blue velvet pedestal with two beautiful gold crowns. Both crowns had eight points, each point holding a deep emerald gem with the gold connecting and twisting inbetween in eloquent designs. Diamonds were crested evenly in the open areas where the gold intricacies didn't touch. Maeve and I designed these and we both loved them. Normally, we wouldn't run around with a crown on; that is impractical! If we needed to shift, then off they'd go, flying into the woods somewhere! So, for special ceremonies and occasions, we would wear these, but in everyday life we would look casual. Well dressed, of course, but casual for a royals taste.

The crowns looked perfect! I quickly linked Maeve to tell her that everything was ready on my end and made my way out of this hidden room, using a different passage that popped out in the walk-in freezer in our private kitchen area. I did the same royal 'key' and hurried through the cold room. Checking once again for any one lingering around, I crept out and into our small family dining room. My mother was sipping tea and reading something in the paper.

"Good afternoon," I walked around the table and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She smiled, her eyes never leaving the page she was on.

"Everything coming along, honey?" she asked me as I was getting ready to leave.

"Yes, ma'am! I think we're all ready for the coronation. Invites were sent out, no help from Desmond, and the family jewels are looking great!" I handed her my written out checklist and all the notes from all the meetings and any changes that occurred. My mother liked to see details and plans written out, it helped ease her mind having all of the pieces physically in front of her to mull over.

"You will make a fine queen, my dear. I'll run through this and make sure we are within our budget," She waved me off in dismissal and I took that as a win.

Everything was done and ready for Sunday. We would have a quick rehearsal tomorrow night to ensure we performed the ancient ceremony correctly, but other than that, Maeve and I did a pretty great job. I was sitting on my balcony, enjoying some very refreshing cucumber water and watching the distant house lights begin to twinkle as the sun fell. I felt relaxed for the first time all week and I was relishing this small moment I had to myself. My life was about to change and who knows how many moments like this that I will have after becoming queen.

Preparing for the day Maeve and I take the crown has pretty much been my life since I graduated from university. There are countless charity events I've organized; my start-up Rogue to Riches foundation, which aided in reestablishing wolves that had lost everything and were seeking asylum while they figured out how to get back on their feet. It was also to help them gain the education and skills they needed to survive independently if they chose to do so or to join a pack and find a stable occupation within that pack.

Not to mention taking on the expansion projects as our pack grew in numbers, which was very grueling. Our kingdom came out to about 1000 members, our pack in particular was home to roughly 400. Considering how large our pack lands were, we had the space to expand. Rarely did we quarrel with the packs in the Gale Kingdom, only a few battles over the last 20 years with no major losses. Territory was never an issue as there was so much of it after the Wars hundreds of years ago, which is why wolf numbers were so low. This is also one of the reasons I loved expanding; it meant that we were healing and prospering after a long time of not being sure our species would ever thrive again. I doted on my kingdom and my pack, so naturally I took my job very seriously no matter how draining it felt some days.

The only gripe I had about taking on these duties was that Maeve was never with me. She loves this kingdom, I know, but she hasn't really put the effort into letting this kingdom love her back or get to connect with her. Even in our own pack, she comes off cold and distant. She isn't like that at all either. Calculated and precise, yes. Cold? Never.

A soft knock at the door took me out of my thoughts. "Come in," I called across the room, not moving from my seat. Desmond entered and I groaned inwardly.

"Evening, princess," He strolled through the room and out to the balcony where I was sitting. I became slightly annoyed but allowed him to take the chair across from me.

"Good evening, Desmond. What can I do for you?" I placed my water on the side table next to me and crossed my leg over the other, sitting straighter.

"I just came by to see if you needed any more help. I know I've been a bit of a thorn in the foot lately," Desmond seemed sincere enough. Key word, seemed.

"Yes, and why is that, Desmond? It seems every event you have been at you've coincidently had an issue or made a mistake." I rose my eyebrow at him, clearly catching him off guard by calling him out.

"If I may speak freely, I just feel like the coronation could be better! It seems very cut and dry and you want to connect with your people. I had this idea-"

"Excuse me, but this is Maeve and I's coronation. We planned it with our mother and chose to have a very traditional ceremony," I cut him off abruptly, Artemis growling in my head. "Also, why are you so hell bent on being involved? If we wanted your insight we would've asked and, clearly, we did not."

"Fair, but another thing I was thinking about was the fact that you and Maeve haven't found a mate. I know about how the wolf population is, finding one is a lot harder than it was before. Do you really feel like you can rule without a mate? Or produce heirs? How will this kingdom look to you as an image of power and protection when you refuse to take a mate, even a chosen one?" Desmond questioned, a sly smile creeping across his face. He knows my secret... I thought.

It took everything in my power to not force my royal alpha aura onto him, Artemis was dying to come forward. "You, Desmond, are stuck in the trivial ways that existed in a completely different time. I am in no hurry to find my mate. Maeve and I are more than capable of running this kingdom without some stank-ass man by our sides. And if we find our mates? Well, they'll be more than happy to be our betas," I replied evenly. "And some words of advice, seeing as we are talking mates and all; throwing a woman's insignificance without a man in her face is no way to talk to a lady. Perhaps this is why you do not have a mate, huh cousin?" I brought Artemis forward, my eyes glowing. "And listen real close, because I will not repeat myself again.You are a pervert and you have disrespected your future queen and, quite frankly, I see you as a threat to woman everywhere. You might have my mother fooled, ha maybe even my father, but I'm watching you. When this ceremony is over, you will be escorted off our territory come morning. You get off with a warning this time, but don't think I won't banish you from this kingdom."

Desmond rose and smirked, heading towards my bedroom door, seemingly satisfied. If looks could kill, he would be 6ft under. He turned at the last minute, looking me coldly in the eye. "We will see about that, your highness,"

I felt a wave of anxiety pit in my stomach. Artemis was also pacing slightly in my head, seeming to feel uneasy with this new adaption we witnessed. New leaf, my ass!