The Lost Princess (sequel to The Lost Alpha)

Adjusting

Maxi had so many questions for her aunt and uncle. Her biggest question is how they were able to adapt to being omegas after years of living as royalty.

"Your uncle and I had our own house outside the palace," Franki answered Maxi. "We didn't want omega servants in our home because there was just the two of us. I quickly learned how to cook and clean. I also bought a lot of cookbooks to learn all kinds of recipes."

Franki went on to explain how she learned to bake and sew, and she learned how to grow her own fruits and vegetables. She also had a green thumb when it came to flowers and plants. Franki had always been a quick learner. Due to all of her useful skills, Donavan had made her the assistant to the head omega soon after their arrival.

Franki had taught both Maxi and Sandi these skills over the years. Both girls were wizards in the kitchen, Sandi especially. Sandi could bake the best treats out of all the omegas. Maxi was best in the gardens. Whether it was food, flowers or trees, she had a green thumb like her aunt.

After their discussion, everyone went back to their everyday routines. Maxi decided to hit the library to research Guardian wolves. She asked Sandi if she wanted to help and Sandi was more than happy to do so.

The girls spent hours in the library trying to see what they could find. They'd asked the librarian to help them find any books pertaining to Guardian wolves. When asked why, they told her it was for an end-of-year school project.

Once they had all the books the librarian could find, they each grabbed a book and started reading. They'd brought pencils, erasers and notebooks along so they could write down anything they thought was important to their search.

Most of the books had little bits of information here and there. The girls wrote it all down, even if it seemed insignificant. However, there were a couple of books that had more information, and they decided to take those home.

Franki had told the girls to be home for dinner. She'd made Maxi's favorite meal and a cake for her birthday. No matter what was going on, the girl deserved a birthday celebration.

The next few weeks were spent preparing for summer. Young wolves couldn't wait for school to end so they'd have their days free to do whatever they pleased.

Franki and Maxi, along with a few other omegas, were busy in the gardens. It was time to harvest some of the food they'd grown. Some of it was kept for the orphanage itself and the rest was sold to local families and markets.

They also made extra money for the orphanage by selling bouquets of some of the flowers they grew. Franki had taught her skills to the omega staff over the years, as well as the girls. She was always able to quickly tell who belonged where, by how well they picked up the skills.

Franki knew that many packs rotated the omegas' schedules and duties. However, Donavan allowed her and Paula, the head omega, to schedule the omegas as they saw fit. So they did away with the rotating schedules. Now omegas had the same assignments each day, unless they requested something different.

Some omegas only had a few skills, maybe two or three, while others had multiple skills. If anyone wanted to switch assignments, Paula and Franki were usually able to accommodate them. It typically works out for everyone. There were some here and there who would complain, but they were handled, quick and fair.

After school was finished for the summer, Franki asked Donavan to help find someone who could help train Maxi. The young she-wolf hadn't displayed any powers yet, but she thought it could happen anytime.

What Donavan said actually surprised her. "We don't have to worry about her powers for another two years," he said. "Guardian wolves do shift at 16, but they don't get their powers until they are 18, which will also be when they can find their mates."

"How do you know that?" Franki asked.

"After your family came to me, I went to the library and did some research. The same research that Maxi and Sandi have been doing for the last few weeks." He could see by her expression that she hadn't known that information.

"It's natural for your niece to want to learn more about herself," Donavan said. "She needs to learn everything she can. However, at least she won't have to worry about when her powers will start to manifest."

"So what should we do until then?" Franki asked.

"I have a friend I can call," Donavan replied. "She'll know exactly what to do when the time comes. I'll tell her to be ready for when that time does come."

"Thank you so much, Donavan," Franki said. "You have done so much for us, and we are forever grateful."

"Nonsense, you are all family, even if no one knows but us," he said to her. "I will do everything in my power to help all three of you."

"Four," Franki corrected.

"Four?" Donavan asked.

"Yes, my mate and I have talked about adopting Sandi," Franki admitted. "We just weren't sure if it was the right thing to do. But since she's 16, and no one wants to adopt her because of her status, and she is like a sister to Maxi."

"I can make that happen," Donavan said. "However, it has to be done secretly because you both have to use your real names for the adoption.

"That's what we were afraid of," Franki sighed.

"Don't worry about it, Franki," Donavan told her. "I will handle everything for you and no one will be the wiser," he assured her with a wink.

Donavan helped Chad arrange for a private trainer for Maxi. The trainer, Grace, was an elite warrior for Donavan's pack. If anyone could train Maxi in both wolf and human forms, it was Grace.

Grace also had her own training facility. It made keeping Maxi's identity a secret a lot easier.

When Maxi met Grace, she liked her immediately. Grace set her up for training 5 days a week. Three days, she had two hours of training in the morning, and the other two days, she had training in the evening.

For the next two years, Maxi had no personal time. She had training, chores, school and homework. She barely had time to hang out with Sandi. They spent time together at school as much as possible. It helped that they had a lot of classes together, and they had their lunch periods at the same time.

Maxi was grateful that Sandi knew her secret. It gave her someone to talk to about her wolf and her training. Sandi had her own training she attended, along with the other teenage wolves in the pack. Sandi knew how to fight and defend herself if needed.