Frozen Atonement - The Beginnings

My Queen

Keturah moved to take a seat in one of the large leather chairs and made a motion towards Alex to do the same. The office was on the smaller side, like a private study, but it was tastefully decorated and comfortable. Glancing towards Alex as he had a seat, Ket smiled as she relaxed into the chair. “I am sure that you have more questions than answers. I can answer most things for you in time. I do not want to overwhelm you with a ton of information, but I know that Tazina will have many questions when she awakens.”

Alex had a seat and just stared at Keturah for a moment. She was so calm, so well put together. Alex doubted that the woman lost control very often, if ever. He just stared at her for a moment, giving a nod of his head. “Does Taz know?”

Keturah shook her head at Alex. “No. Taz fully believes that it is her family. She was so young that she does not really recall much and that was the preferred option to keep her safe.”

Keturah just sat for a moment, giving Alex several minutes to get himself in a position ready to listen before she offered him a small smile. “The great fire Taz speaks of which displaced her family is both true and not. Her family was and has always been the Werewolf Royals and she is the only surviving heir. As you know, many years ago, the mi-bheus nearly wiped out all royals, but by Selene’s grace, there is at least one heir to each line that was hidden in one way or another. As spoken of before, I control all the heirs, here. They will always remain under my roof until I am certain of their mate and the ability of that mate to control the kingdom and keep the heir safe.”

There are stand in King’s, most of which are stepping down, as Les did already. What the general population does not know is that there are true-blood heirs left. Nearly everyone thinks it is by selection now of the current King, which has been true over many years while waiting for the heirs to come of age. Now that they are of age and more people are coming to Frozen Atonement, it is a matter of time before the pure-blooded royals have their mates and the kingdoms are reborn and regain their strength.

Even the small shifting breeds that the majority of the world thinks have died out are here. They are not quite ready to make their comeback, but they are here, around. I won’t divulge much of anything about them currently, but know that there are a lot bigger things at work in these walls than just the rumors outside would lead one to believe.

Alex gave a slow nod of his head as he listened to Keturah, understanding that by her own admission she was knowingly hiding and controlling the fate of kin, but with a purpose. Without those kin, they could not have hoped to win this war and rebuild what has already been lost. He also understood it to mean that until he proved himself, Tazina would never be leaving this place. “The cook…” Alex could recall the way that Catori looked, screamed power and something about her was just so damn elegant he couldn’t help but to stare at her.

Keturah gave a nod of her head as she smiled a bit more. “Heir to the Werecat throne.” There was a small laugh then as her head tipped to the side, watching Alex. “You know the Dragon heir, Faith. Handful, both. Hot-headed worse than Tazina. The difference is, they both know their fate. Taz did not, as was asked of me by her family. Their power was never masked and any shifter of their breed would bow to them. They are the royal family of that breed, kin or not. Tazina’s fate was hidden and in a magical lockdown, as you will. Her true power has never been unharnessed. I am sure that you saw her eyes glowing. She is not only tired because of the entire wolf kingdom tethering to her, but because the magical bindings are lifting, and she will come into her powers very soon.”

Keturah glanced at the door for a moment, seemingly in thought as she took a breath and launched into it. “The King and Queen were hosting a party, Tazina’s fourth birthday, to be exact. Many were there from all around, including different breeds. The mi-bheus had attacked the castle grounds and a lot of lives were lost. Yes.

The worst part of it was that they set fire to the palace, but they had already lit the land on fire. There was little escape for many. They fled the fires of the palace and into the waiting clutches of torment, fires, and destruction. They ran right into the trap.

Due to the limited number of other shifters there, they could only save so many as only a few of flight were present. Tazina’s birth parents asked me to take her and keep her safe, they were going to try and defend their people and their home.” Keturah’s voice dropped a bit, for a moment the woman looked sad, as if she had seen far too much loss in her lifetime. “They did not survive.”

Keturah paused for a moment, a breath taken, some thought being toyed with in her mind as she leaned forward a bit. “They made me promise to find her a family to raise her as their own and until the day she was claimed, she would not know her identity. Her adoptive parents would, but no others would. Her siblings do truly think that Tay gave birth, as my mind manipulation powers are strong, but the threads will break soon enough, and all memories will return to each of them. It is a process, and one they will be unhappy with me for, but I upheld my promise to the late King and Queen of the Wolves. Tazina has always had the life she wanted, which she would not have been able to have had she been announced as the Heir. She will be in danger when it comes out, they will come for her. Until you have a solid guard and those you know you can trust surrounding you, I’m sorry, but I must say that Tazina cannot leave the lands of Frozen Atonement. I have many safeguards in place to protect her, many fae, mages, witches and warlocks and a whole hell of a lot of magic keeping this place in power. Taz must stay within its walls until it is safe.”

Alex just stared at Keturah for a long time as they both sat in silence that was oddly comfortable. Tazina’s parents had given her up trying to save her, to be raised by others, and knowing that they would probably never see her again after that moment. Keturah had been there, and obviously an adult. Just how old was this woman? Alex didn’t dare ask that question aloud as he gave a nod of his head for a moment. He was not thrilled that Keturah said that Taz could not leave, but he also recognized that it was only out of love and care for his own mate and the world as they tried to right it on its axis back to being in favor of the good rather than the bad. Clearly, Keturah had gone through great lengths to get them all here and safe. For the moment, he was just watching Keturah before finally speaking. “Were they able to save anyone?”

Keturah gave a nod of her head as she offered Alex a sad smile. “They saved quite a few, just not themselves. The dragons and Gryphons came to help but the King and Queen were lost long before they arrived.” Ket watched Alex for a moment, as if she were studying him and his soul before she made a motion towards him. “You can tell her, if you wish, or I can. She will likely not awaken for a while, all the tethers of every wolf are opening for her, she’ll be pretty exhausted when she wakes. However, as King and Queen, you will be able to reach out to myself and all the other heirs to the throne. Technically speaking, Catori, Faith, Sorcha, Niamh, they can all be reached once you learn to see who is who in your mind. Catori is felines, Faith is dragons, Sorcha is fox, Niamh is the Queen of them all, she is a gryphon. You may feel a tether that you do not know, because it is unlikely you will meet Niamh or Sorcha anytime soon.”

“All unmated?” Alex arched a brow as he stared at Keturah for a moment, kind of amazed that they were all here and that she thought well enough of herself to be able to protect them all. It was clearly a long game in the making, and his mind was buzzing with the what if and wondering just how he had come from being displaced from his home to King of the Wolves.

Keturah gave a nod of her head as she smiled. “Yes, you are the first. I can lay out what is expected of you after you have had a bit of time to adjust. You may stay in the location of your pack currently, if you wish, or you can allow your Beta to take control of your pack and you can move into the castle itself. All ruling Kings and Queens will be set here, located at the castle grounds, or in their homes. The crown property is made up of each individual's land with their homes as lookout towers currently and patrolled. All the Kings Guard is stationed around and currently, they answer to me. Once you have had a bit of an adjustment period, I will go through the options a bit more in depth and we can decide what is best for you, though I suspect Tazina will not leave the castle even when it is safe, as her and Faith have always been close, and she enjoys her job.”

Alex groaned, a King’s guard? Release his pack and let Finn take over? Though he knew Finn would give him hell for it and joke, he also knew Finn wouldn’t want it that way. They had already been through so much and it was a lot to discuss, a lot to think about and f**k… what was Tazina going to think when she found out her parents were not really her parents? “Thank you. I think a bit of time to think about it is needed, but I think we should both sit and have a discussion with Taz, when she is awake. She may have questions I cannot answer, and you could.”

Keturah gave a nod of her head as she continued to remain relaxed in her chair for the time being, not seeming to be in a rush to do much of anything. She was happy to take her time and what time it took is what time it took. “We can plan on tomorrow afternoon; you can come to my office.”

Alex just nodded his head, his mind still a whirlwind of ideas, scowling a bit. “And if I do not release my pack and we stay here?”

Keturah gave a shrug of her shoulders at that. “Then they remain where they are. My only stipulation is the same as those past. Any member that wishes to leave is allowed to leave, no questions and no repercussions. Palace life is not for everyone and not everyone is happy here.”

Alex gave a firm nod of his head, seeming to agree in that regard. He was glad that Keturah was enforcing the ‘new’ laws because so many had just brushed them under the table and were not allowing pack members to leave. Everything had been upended in the past few years, shifting to be more favorable for the kin and giving better treatment to those of lower status, but several places were still refusing to do so, and he had heard horror stories. “Understandable.”

Keturah sighed for a moment, looking like this was not a conversation she wanted to get into, but dove right into it anyway. “Niamh and I have made the laws in order to protect the kin, because they have not been over the years. As you know, there are a lot of places that do not take heed to the new laws, and I have more complaints and tips coming in hourly from packs and caerns that are mistreating their kin and omegas. We cannot live without them. We need them. I need these packs to obey the law, or those unwilling will be dealt with accordingly. Seeing as how my place is here, for the moment, until Niamh is ready to step more into the picture or until there are more Kings in play, I do hope that you will be open to travelling a bit and enforcing these laws?”

A brow arched as Alex just looked at Keturah. For a moment, he hadn't realized the magnitude of which this would be, in such a short amount of time. His brain was running a mile a minute as he hankered a bit. “I think I can come up with a happy compromise… perhaps I can travel some, yes, but also, being the King now, I can proxy a bit out? Perhaps, say, a particular upset older brother?”

Keturah laughed at that, giving a nod of her head and a grin. “Spoken like a true King.” Giving a small shrug of her shoulders she sat back in the chair a bit more, semi-slouching. “I have high hopes for you and Taz, though I am sure there will be an adjustment period. I do have two caerns that I would have you go to visit. A strong force is what I feel is needed if the rumors I hear of them are true. Do not worry yourself about that now, I am still gaining intel. Settle in, adjust. We will discuss it in a few weeks and move forward. I feel Taz is going to need a bit of adjustment, but understand… despite the fact she is kin, Tazina is not weak. She will never submit to you, and that is not an issue I would ever push with her. I am sure you have the burning question of her prior mate, but I feel that is a conversation you will need to have with her.”

Alex gave a nod of his head; he did have a lot of questions. He probably had more questions than answers at this moment. “I believe time would be wonderful, but I also would like to help dive in and help where I can. Perhaps a couple of days and then we can start meeting for an hour or so a day and learn and watch you a bit. My first priorities are my people and Taz… and my best friends’ boys. I really want to go back to the hospital and check on them.”

Keturah gave a nod of her head. “I think it would be good to arrange a funeral for your people and those lost. The boys are being watched over by Nix. Nix has a thing for children. Do not push her, she will attack you over them. But on Friday’s she goes to the kitchens for her mates.”

“Mates?” Alex quirked a brow, curious as to just why that was plural.

Keturah gave a nod of her head and a shrug. “I do not pretend to understand Selene. Nix has many moon-given mates. It is… complicated. I will let Taz explain it.”

Alex just gave a nod of his head, watching Keturah for a long moment. “I will speak with them all, but I believe I want to go and check on my mate and our son.”

Keturah was silently tickled pink hearing Alex say ‘our’ son because she knew that was a fear of Tazina’s over the years. “He is a good boy. You are never short of babysitters, and he can go to the nursery anytime. It is open twenty-four seven, for everyone.”

“Thank you.” Alex was not sure how much Taz sent the boy to the nursery he had seen, but he was thankful it was there. “I will speak with Faith about the boys, check on Tazina and can go from there. I appreciate your assistance, Alpha Keturah.”

“Ket or Keturah is sufficient, Alex.” Ket smiled as she moved to her feet and stepped forward to offer her hand to Alex in a shake. “If you need anything, you can link me, day or night.”

“I appreciate that. Thank you again.” Alex shook Ket’s hand before getting to his feet and moved to follow the Alpha out of the office and back down the hall. Though he watched Keturah move on, he stopped by the bedroom to slip inside and go to find his mate, glancing back towards Keturah before he did so.

Keturah paused at just the end of the hallway, glancing back towards Alex with a smile. “You know, as King, you can make a formal request to move any of my wolf staff to your own ranks. Such as a particular young assistant that goes by the name Sahara.”

Alex laughed aloud at that; glad Finn was not there to hear that because he would never shut up until Alex had the mate of his Beta moved into their household. Giving a wink towards Ket, he nodded. “I will think about it. Good evening, Ket.”

“Good Evening, Alex.” Ket smiled as she turned and vanished around a corner, no doubt off to answer more questions from the parents that didn’t know. Oh, Taz will be the talk of the town now!

Taz was still asleep, she looked utterly peaceful as she lay there upon the bed with the blanket tangled about her lower body as if she had got into a fight with it and was wearing his shirt. Granted, his shirt was far too big for her body, but it looked damn good on her regardless.

Alex moved over to slide onto the bed, both arms wrapping around Taz as he leaned in to kiss the side of her head as he murmured, “My Queen.”