The Nordic Wolves - The Missing Princess

Chapter Six - New Lessons

Kari's POV

I spent the afternoon walking around what I was told was called the packhouse. I was amazed at the number of people who lived here, it was like a hotel. The place was stunning and Henrik wasn't lying, everyone was well looked after. Ingrid introduced me to Heather's nanny, who followed us to try and keep Heather where she was supposed to be. Which wasn't an easy task by any means. I was introduced to the Head omegas, Birget and Soren, who both bared their necks to me when they were told I was the Alpha's long-lost sister. That was definitely something I was going to have to get used to. They were both such lovely people and they told Ingrid that I would be treated with the same respect that the rest of the Alpha family were given and if not, the offenders would be reported straight to either the Alpha, the Beta or the head warrior, who I found out was Josiah, who had been trailing behind us the whole time. I was also introduced to Josh, who was the Gamma, and who was pretty much the Luna's comfort at any time she needed. Hela said she would explain more to me later. She said she would also explain more about what a rouge was and why some members pulled faces as I passed until they caught either Ingrid's or Josiah's eye, and then they hurried off with straight unreadable faces. Once I had been shown everything, Ingrid showed me to my suite where I would be staying for the foreseeable future.

The room was stunning and the main door opened into a matching lounge area to the one that Henrik had first taken me to, which I guessed belonged to him and Ingrid. This room was a mix of magnolia and lilac. The open fire was lit and it gave a warm, homely feeling. There was a door to the left of the room and I opened it to a large bedroom with a kingsized four-poster bed. The purple curtains that adorned the posts had gold lace along the edge, and there was a beautiful purple throw and pillows covering the bed. Next to the door I walked through, there was another door which opened into a large bathroom with a massive sunken bath that could fit four and a shower room with a rainfall shower head that was plumbed directly into the ceiling. The counters were made of white marble. My mouth fell open in shock at the stunning sight. I walked back into the bedroom and found my phone and iPad on the bedside table plugged in and charging. I unlocked my phone to see a barrage of missed calls and messages. I knew they were all from Chloe, as I was supposed to call her last night. Dialling her number, I waited for her to answer.

"Oh, My God!" Came the response. "I was about to call out a full search party for you! Where the hell have you been, Kari?" Came my best friend's voice.

"I'm sorry Clo, I had a small incident with a wolf in the forest last night and spent the night in the clinic here," I told her. "I am fine before you go into a full meltdown."

"A Wolf!?!" She gasped. "Are you OK?"

"Yes, I am fine," I assured her. "Just a little tired, a lot has happened."

"You've been there two days. What else could have happened?"

"Well, I found out I have four brothers, a sister, a sister-in-law, a niece, and a stepmother," I told her as she took a drink from her mug. When what I had said registered she spat her drink across her office.

"You have been there two days, and you have found your family?"

"Well, they found me," I said. "Henrik Pederson, CEO and owner of Nordic Research is my brother."

"And your father? How has he explained leaving you to go and have a whole new family?" She asked, a quizzical look on his face.

"I haven't spoken to him about it yet. I can't bring myself to talk to him." I signed. She smiled in understanding.

"It will happen when it happens," She told me. "Don't force yourself to, I expect he understands."

"I know, Look Clo, I just wanted to call you and let you know I was OK. I didn't want you to worry, but the painkillers they have me on are making me sleepy, so I will call you again soon, OK?"

"OK Kari, I am here if you need me." She said, and we hung up. I lay down on the bed, it felt like a cloud, it was so soft and I was asleep in a second.

I woke to the sound of a knock on the door. Yawning and stretching, I stood and went to open the door. Before I could open it fully, a blur flew past me and I found my niece sitting on the couch swinging her legs and grinning at me. I heard a chuckle behind me and turned to find Ingrid standing there with Gloria, who held a tray of tea. I stood back and let them in. Gloria put the tray on the coffee table, bared her neck to us and left. Ingrid and I sat down.

"So I need to teach Heather about the packs in Scandinavia and I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and teach you at the same time." She said and I groaned. She chuckled. "Henri said it would be good to know this at least."

"OK," I said. "Let's do this, do I need to take notes?"

"No, Hela will remember it and help you if needs be." She said, and I felt Hela come forward.

"Momie, her wolf has pretty purple eyes," Heather said excitedly.

"She does, doesn't she, but shh, we need to keep that a secret until Hela shifts," Ingrid tells her daughter.

"OK, Momie." She said. I was confused as to why that had to be kept secret, but Hela didn't seem concerned, so I didn't question it.

"So, there are six packs all run by an Alpha and his team." Ingrid said, "We are the West Nordic Pack and we cover most of Norway. Heather, what are the other five?"

"The Icelandic Pack, The Greenland Pack, The North Nordic Pack, The South Nordic Pack and The East Nordic Pack," Heather said, and it was the first time I noticed that she had the cutest little lisp I had ever heard.

"Well, that is easy enough," I said, taking it all in.

"Those are the Nordic Packs. There are obviously packs all over the world." She explained. "Then there is the King of Werewolves, who is the Alpha of all packs and sits on the supernatural council. He lives in a lovely castle in Scotland. Below him is the Council of Elders, who pass the Wolfen society laws. King Alexander and his mate, Queen Merida, had two children. Prince Alistair, and his daughter, Princess Laire, who was kidn*pped when she was 3 months old. He has been looking for her ever since."

"That is sad." I said as Hela's ears went flat, which threw me. I had a sudden feeling of loss come over me.

"Yes, he is still searching for her today. It was 49 years ago she was taken." Ingrid explained.

"OK, so you said each pack is run by a team?" I asked, getting interested.

"Yes," She said. "So, the Alpha and Luna, who are the rulers of the pack."

"Which is Henrik and you," I said.

"Yes, and our daughter will likely inherit the pack when she is ready, that is, unless she is mated to an Alpha and then it will be the twins." She said, rubbing her stomach.

"Why is it different if she is mated to an Alpha?" I asked.

"Because she will become the Luna of that pack. After that, the second in command is the Beta, who is Ralf, and the Beta Female."

"Who is the Beta female?"

"Whoever Ralf's mate turns out to be," She said. "He has yet to meet her. Then there is the previous Alpha and Luna who also helps and advises the new Alpha and Luna. We then have The Gamma, who helps to calm the pack and also becomes Luna's confidence whilst also being a Warrior. That is Josh who you met earlier. After that is the Delta, which aids the Beta with war and other strategic needs. Usually, this is a warrior who has been chosen by the head warrior, who oversees the training of the pack warriors. The Delta is usually good at research as well, so he or she is used to looking into previous strategies, lineages and the like. Most packs have more than one. We have four here. They are called Raidon, Fred, Juniper and Ulrika. After the Delta, we have the Warriors, who protect our borders and make sure the pack is safe from outsiders such as rogues and hunters. We have the Epsilons, who look after the security of the pack and make sure that our attack bunkers are kept up-to-date and secure. Finally, we have the Omegas, which we can't live without. They keep us going with the things we don't have the time to look after."

"Wow, that is quite a system," I said. "Rogues, I have heard that term directed at me quite a fair bit, Hela growls every time, and the nurse the other day was quite rude to me about it before I think she threatened to kill me."

"Yes, you are a rogue by accident, your father will explain that when you are ready, but normally Rogues are those who have been banished from a pack or who don't have a pack because their pack was defeated and they didn't trust enough to join another pack. We know who belongs to a pack by what we call the pack scent. A rogue has a scent of dirt and garbage."

My head shot up. "I smell like garbage to people! Oh my God, that is... I..." I felt her hand on my shoulder.

"You also have the scent of the family." She told me. "Henri wants to initiate you into the pack tonight, which means you will have the pack's scent. It's a few days earlier, but he thinks that it would be safer for you in a pack of 13,000 wolves if you become a member sooner rather than later. It will mean you won't have to have a full guard on you all the time. Josiah will put his two most trusted guards on you instead of having 6 and a senior member on you.

"What!" I exclaimed. I had only seen Josiah.

"That is how good the warriors are here." She smiled.

"When does he want to do it?" I asked, a little nervous, but the thought that I smelt like garbage to other members of the pack absolutely disgusted me.

"Tonight, in a private ceremony with just the family." She said to me

"All the family?" I asked nervously.

"I know you don't want to see him, but this is important to your father, he has wanted to bring you here for so long." Ingrid said, "Magnus is at university so he won't be here, and the twins are both on patrol now that they have their wolves. You will meet Angelica. Her name is Ericka Angelica, but she hates her first name. So she demands we call her Angelica. She is only 10, but she is eager to meet you. She has always wanted a sister, and now her sister is the eldest, she is plotting payback on her brothers."

"OK. What do I need to do?" I said, secretly excited about having a sister myself.

"I will come and get you at half eleven tonight and we will go to the clearing and complete the ritual there. Henri will walk you through it all," Ingrid said. "We will leave you to it for now. I think we have taught you enough, and you look like you really need to sleep. Dinner is at 6.30 in the dining hall. Ralf will take over from Josiah at that time, so he will escort you down. Once the acceptance ritual is done, you can roam the house on your own, but if you want to go outside, you need to have at least two guards and a senior guard with you. Josiah and Ralf are at your beck and call. I have programmed their numbers into your phone, along with all the families so that they have them."

"Thank you Ingrid," I said. She hugged me.

"I am so glad you are here." She whispered softly. "This is where you have always belonged. I am only sorry we couldn't find you sooner than we did."