Lance's POV
I walked the citadel hall trying to clear my head and get things in perspective. Talking to Marshall, my wolf wasn't helping me. Marshall was hopelessly in love with Sheila, Maureen's wolf and he would oblige and do anything she wanted, not caring if it was affecting the human or not.
Maureen was pinning to carry our children. I saw it in her eyes with each passing month for the past year how much she wanted to have pups. I knew what she didn't know which shouldn't be so. I knew I was keeping the secret unnecessarily but I was also scared to hurt her if I told her what I knew.
Over the year, I had downplayed the matter especially when she mentioned that Sheila blocked her out each time she mentioned having pups to her.
"Marshall," I called to my wolf as I closed my eyes. Marshall stared in my head and stood at attention. ‘Have you talked to Sheila again?’ I asked.
"Mate wants what she wants," Marshall answered.
"Tell Sheila to talk to Maureen about it. I am tired of keeping this secret. It is beginning to weigh me down," I told Marshall.
"You can't tell her. You promised to keep the secret, that was why I told you. Besides, Maureen would not agree with Sheila," Marshall said.
"I am giving you and Sheila till the end of the week; if you do not tell Maureen, then I will tell her myself," I threatened.
It wasn't necessarily a threat. It was what I was going to do. Just maybe if I did, Maureen and I could talk about it and seek help.
"Your Majesty," Someone said from the edge of the corridor and I instantly opened my eyes as I recognized that voice very well.
"Alpha," I said smiling lightly. With his presence, I knew the twins and the Luna must be around. He rarely came to the Citadel without them. It would be a good time for Maureen's birth mother to pay a visit because she needed it.
"Do you still call me that?" He asked as he came closer with a big smile on his face.
"You called me Majesty. Respect, they say, is reciprocal," I said,d, returning his smile with a bright one.
"I can't call you anything different. You are a mate to the Golden Wolf. The highest ranking wolf in the Wolf World. You must and shall be respected," Alpha of High Moon, Dominus’ father said.
"I understand that. Still, I do not want to be called that by my own family. And from all indications you are family," I said happily.
"I will definitely bear that in mind. I was hoping to find Dominus. I thought I smelt him in the corridor but as I got closer, I realized you were the one," Dominus' father said.
"His scent must be all over me because I had to pull him out of his apartment so that Lucia could have some breathing space. Believe me, it wasn't something easy to do. He was sweating, and so was I by the time I was done throwing him out of the apartment," I explained, making his father chuckle lightly.
Lucia was pregnant so Dominus and his wolf were going crazy with the idea of being protective of their mate. It was crazy to watch sometimes. So when Lucia's mind linked me to get Dominus away from her, I happily obliged.
"I guess he was making her crazy with his possessiveness," Dominus’ dad said chuckling.
If I had been a normal wolf, there is every possibility that I would have lost an arm last week. Dominus pounced on me because I hugged his mate. I moved out of the way fast and pinned him down till he calmed down then I let him go. He was breathing hard by the time I let him go.
"He is an Alpha wolf. I guess it is normal for him to be this protective of his mate and his pup," I said grinning.
"I am an Alpha too. I wouldn't deny the fact that I was indeed very protective, but it was never this bad," Dominus' father said, sighing.
"I just wonder what he will do when Lucia finally gives birth to her baby," I said.
‘Any idea where he is anyway? He wouldn't even allow me into his mind link,’ Dominus' father said.
"If he is not letting you into his mind link, then he is with his mate," I said, laughing hard.
Dominus’ father shook his head from side to side before he said, "Let me go to their quarters then. I will see you soon Your Majesty," he said smiling.
"Ok, Alpha," I said, intentionally, putting emphasis on the last word, then before he could leave, I asked, ‘Where are Luna and the twins?’
"They are somewhere around. We have been here for a while now, so they are definitely disturbing somewhere, and the Luna is definitely seeking her daughter out as we speak," he answered.
I just nodded absent-mindedly as the thought of my mate sneaked back into my heart as Dominus’ father mentioned her. I stood there and watched him go away.
I decided to go seek out Grandma Gina. I could actually start by talking to her about the secret that was becoming heavier by the day.
Marshall suddenly stirred in my head and the scent of my mate came to me like I was hit by bricks. Her scent became so prominent each time Sheila was on the surface.
Thinking something was wrong, I started jogging towards where Marshall was leading me.
I stopped at the edge of the corridor as my mate walked in the opposite direction heading towards Rocha and Torrent's quarters. I frowned wondering what she was doing there.
I called out to her several times but she didn't hear. I broke into a jog yet I couldn't get to her before she disappeared into the quarters.
By the time I got to her, she was almost falling on her ass. She asked me a question that seemed weird to me, but I didn't ignore it and answered to the best of my knowledge. I took her out of the room as she seemed to tremble. I took her to our quarters, then made her sit and take water.
"What is it?" I asked gently when I was sure she was okay.
"Sheila showed me where Rocha is, but I am just wondering why he was running away from me," Maureen said, then used her hand to rub her face severally as if she was trying to remove dirt from there.
"Are you saying Rocha is in White Sky?" I asked frowning.
"Yes. But what I am more concerned with is why Sheila is just telling me this?" Maureen said looking worried.
"By now, you should be used to the way your wolf does things. Maybe she is trying to put something in place before she reveals it to you," I explained.
"Will it be a weakness on my part if I say I don't understand my wolf?" Maureen asked with an expression that made my heart hurt. I didn't like it whenever she doubted herself. I sat down closer to her and touched her face gently.
"I don't like to see you like this Reen. Right now, Marshall is whimpering in my head. We don't want you to feel as if you are inadequate. You are the Golden Wolf. You don't have a deficiency as a ruler. For us, you are perfect. All you need to do is relax and let your wolf lead the way," I said passionately.
"Thanks, Lance, you make me feel better each time I feel this way," Maureen said, smiling a little.
I pushed what was at stake out of my mind and pulled her closer for an intense kiss. By the time I pulled back, her eyes were golden in color, exactly how I liked them.
"Sheila?" I called gently.
"Lance, I …" Whatever she had to say was cut off by a knock on the door. She looked at me with questions in her eyes just as her eyes changed back to their normal color.
"Imind-linkedd Asher. He knows the White Sky Pack more than I do," I quickly explained before I asked him to come in.
"Your Majesties," Asher said with a bow. They have all refused to address us formally. At first, it was weird, but with time, we adjusted to the formal address.
"What do you know about White Sky, Asher? I want every detail," Maureen said.
"White Sky's Alpha is young. Around thirty years of age. He has a mate, but she just packed one day and left, which gave him no option than to take a chosen three weeks after his mate left," Asher explained.
"Just three weeks? Isn't that too soon for him to move on?" Maureen wondered.
"The rumor has it that the chosen had always been there. He was on the brink of making her Luna when he suddenly met his mate. So when his mate left, he went back to his chosen and made her Luna," Asher explained.
"Interesting. But what if his Luna was taken?" I asked.
"She left a note behind stating how she was not cut out for mateship and the bullshit that comes with it. She was too much of a feminist to accept male domination," Asher explained.
"Shouldn't we pay a courtesy visit to White Sky and see what is going on there?" Maureen asked.
"No, I think I have a better idea. There is an unclaimed land he filed for a while ago. You can invite him over to the Citadel under the pretense of asking him questions about the land. We can visit the land later, only we will not be telling him that we are coming. We cannot just show up on their doorstep like that. It will make them hide whatever they have to hide deeper," I reasoned.
"I think that is reasonable enough,’ Maureen said then turned to Asher and said, ‘Call up the team and tell everyone to meet me in the meeting room. Also, ask Dominus to send an invite to the Alpha of White Sky."
Asher nodded before he left to do as said. I laced my fingers through Maureen's as we sat there. I knew she would not rest until she found Rocha. I just hope we got something from White Sky, even if it is only a clue of where he was.