The Alpha's Queen

Chapter 3

    Terry’s mother and father lived in the pack house on one of the lower floors. While walking to his office, I ran into all three as they were coming towards the apartment that I shared with my parents. “My Queen, these are my parents. I wanted to introduce you to them. I have a feeling that you guys will get along great, and soon you’ll be spending a lot of time with both our mothers. Since the both of them, together, will be giving you your Luna training. If you have any questions or concerns about anything Luna or this pack, please don't be scared to voice them or ask questions. I, personally, used to keep a little notebook with me, that way I was able to write down anything; thoughts, ideas, questions, that i might think of when I wasn't having my training with mom or dad.” 

    “Hello sweetie, my name is Roberta,” she said while pulling me into a hug, “but everyone calls me Berta. Feel free to call me either. Although, I do hope that you come to think of me as something more than your mate's mother, and someday you come to trust me just as you trust your own mother.” She wasn’t very tall, maybe about 4 feet 6 inches at most. She has the most beautiful smoky gray eyes, with corkscrew hair that fell down past her knees. I couldn't help but stare at her hair for a moment, I've always liked the look of long hair. I think it makes women look more regal and majestic. Almost like royalty, but then that's my opinion. With a slightly stocky build, giving her curves, while not looking like it, she has an not one ounce of extra padding. “And this handsome wolf is my husband and mate, William.” Terry’s dad looked much like him. Or rather I should say that Terry looked a lot like his father, almost a carbon copy, to be exact. The only difference between the two were Terry’s braids,  his dad kept his own hair short; their eye color, William's eyes, are a pretty hazel color;  and maybe an inch or two in height.  “I’m so happy that Terry has found his mate, and you are such a beautiful young lady. Your intelligent eyes tell me that you have a lot of knowledge to share, and I'm thinking that you have a natural thirst for knowledge and learning. I'm sure that you'll do well in every venture you set out to do,” He said, pulling me into a hug as well. Hearing Terry’s growl, he stepped back,  and looked at Terry. Taking a step back and putting his arm around Berta's waist, he looked back at me, “my dear, it's my pleasure to meet you.” His smiling eyes were the color of steel gray. Standing just under 7 feet, it’s clear where Terry’s height came from. 

    “I'm sure you'll do just fine here,” William said. “We may have our disagreements within the pack, but they are small matters, and everyone looks out for each other. Please don't hesitate to come to either of us if you have any questions. Just remember, the only stupid or crazy question is the one that's never asked.” Nodding my head, I could totally understand what he was saying. We all turned and continued with small talk while making our way to Terry’s office. 

    An offhand comment about my parents had William remembering that he wanted to talk to my dad, asking me if I knew where he might be at the moment, i told him that i heard he  was planning to work on the deck off the dinning room. Berta continued to walk with Terry and I while William excused himself to go find my dad, so they could talk, saying a round of goodbyes we agreed to meet and have dinner together in a couple of hours.

                                                                                        *****

    “I know you haven't had any formal training as a Luna, so I was thinking we should start with the basics. How does that sound to you?” Berta asked me. 

    “That sounds like a good idea” I told her “I'm still trying to come to terms with everything, I feel like I've stepped into another world.” I admitted to her. 

    “What do you mean,” I just shrugged, “What do you mean Maritza?” She asked while eyeing me. 

    “I just mean that I never expected all of this” I said while indicating everything around me. 

    “Oh sweetie, we never know what the Moon Goddess has in store for us. She has her way of working with fate to test us and show us the magnificent love that she has for each and every one of her children.”

    Walking into Terry's office, it was all masculine. Two walls lined with built in book shelves, a massive cherry wood desk sitting just slightly back from the center of the room facing one of the book cases. The third wall was nothing but windows, or, so I thought. Once he saw us walk in, he tapped a button on his desk and the middle window panel slid open, revealing sliding accordion doors that led onto a deck. It was a stunning view of the lake behind the house and the snow capped mountains in the distance. 

    “Welcome to our office, my Queen,” he said, walking over to me. “Mom I want to show her around the office a bit, then I’ll leave out and give the two of you some space. If you need anything, please give me a holler.” He said to his mom. Turning towards me “Once you get settled, we will order you a desk that suits you. Over here is the closet where we have the printer and fax machine, and behind this door is the bathroom.” 

    The closet wasn't nothing more than a big utility closet, something that was just functional. But I did notice the back wall was bare. The bathroom on the other hand was huge. It held a double vanity sink, a glass shower that looked big enough of 6 people and a huge jetted soaker tub. There was also a dressing area, one side held clothes, while the other side was completely empty. 

    “This will be where you can keep your extra clothes; I would suggest you keep some down here. Sometimes we may be working later or longer than we intended to, and you’ll find that having extra clothes here will be very helpful. With extra clothes down here, we can freshen up if we need to.” I could only look between him and his mom. 

    It must be hard making sure a pack this size has everything it needs, I thought. Why else would you be working so much that he keeps extra clothes in the bathroom off his office. I haven't even started my Luna training and I already feel like I'm drowning. "Why would I need to keep clothes down here? How often would I be working late that I wouldm't be able to go back to  my rooms to freshen up and change my clothes." I had to  ask.

    "Not very often sweetie," Berta replied. "I will say, that in my time aas Luna, I've only worked late a handful of times. But, being able to freshen up and change my clothes at a moment's notice without needing  to go to my rooms to change was a big help. Mostly I would find myself needing to change when ever I worked with the kids or helping out in the kitchen. More when we had aa big gathering planned, although we have had a few food fights while preparing extra treats and sweets. Being covered from head to toe with flour or other baking ingredients  can be a lot of fun, but messy at the same time, so I would suggest or rather advise that you keep some comfortable clothes here to change into at the least. You might not ever need extra clothes for meetings and such, but you'll want to change outfits if you're ever in a food fight with the girls in  the kitchen. "She said with a wink and a smile.

    “I have something for you, Maritza,” Terry says as he walks out of the bathroom. “This is your schedule; I wasn't sure if you wanted to finish your last year of school in a traditional school or not. So, I've asked both our mothers to be available in the afternoons for you to train.” 

    “Thank you”, I said “I think I would prefer to continue studying at home. I’ve been homeschooled my whole life; I’m comfortable with it, and since my senior year is half over already, it doesn’t make sense to me to start at a new school now” I said while looking at the paper he handed me. It sounded like a lot, and I was still a little apprehensive about all the new duties I would have. It didn't look like a lot on paper; basic accounting, first aid, critical thinking, things such as that. Since I was already taking business accounting and critical thinking in school, I wasn’t too worried. First aid, I've been certified in that since I was 10. I even make sure to recertify every year before it expires. That was something that mom insisted that we stayed on top of. Thinking back, a lot of the things that mom and dad had us doing makes much more since now. We had to learn to fight, but living with a pack, you learn that anyways with regular training that every pack member is expected to attend. We had to learn first-aid, something that we would have learned to live with a pack. Mom always insisted that I pushed myself in school, so much so, that I was taking college courses by the time I was 15 and will be graduating from high school this year with an AA in business.  

    It’s almost as if mom and dad were pushing us, to make sure that we would not only be able to function in the human world, but the shifter community as well. My parents sure knew what they were doing. Without telling us about it, they made sure that we would be able to handle ourselves in this world. As upset as I am about how they handled things, I can’t help but be great-full for the things that they insisted we learn and mastered. Learning how to live in this new world won’t be a big hurdle, just some adjustments in how we think and live our daily lives. That thought became more apparent when we walked out onto the deck off the office. Juan and Brandon both were sparring with a training partner, and both of them were holding their own during the fight. Terry started walking down the steps towards the training group, I followed along with his mom.

    “Let me take a turn, Juan, you're very good.” Terry told him. I watched for a few minutes while Terry and Juan spared. Juan was good, but he didn’t have anything on Terry. Oh, my goodness, and the way Terry’s muscles moved and rippled while he moved was just mesmerizing. 

    Without any warning, I was tackled from behind. Not bothering to take the time to see who it was, I immediately started fighting. Once I had the person pinned on the ground, with my hand around their neck. I took a good look at who attacked me. “What’s your problem?” I asked Angel “what in the world did I ever do to you? You’ve had a problem with me since the first time I laid eyes on you” Shocked when she started growling at me, my grip on her neck was loosened. Before I knew what she was doing, she jumped up and ran off into the woods. “What is her problem!” I yelled at Terry. 

    “I’m not sure” he said with a surprised look on his face. I’ll have to have a talk with her when she comes back.

    “If I didn’t know any better, I would think that she was fighting for you, Terry” Emily said. We all turned to look at her. “Think about it, she has been in love with you since we were kids. You never saw her as nothing more than a friend, but everyone knows that she loves you. All anyone needs to do is watch her looking at you, they will see nothing but doe eyes.” Everyone looked at her, but Terry was looking at her like she sprouted another head. He walked over to me and grabbed my hands, “I promise to you, there has never been anything between Angel and I. She is one of my best friends and best warriors, I see her as a sister that I never had.” The look in his eyes was pleading me to believe him, and his voice held nothing but sincere honesty.

    “I know” I told him. He seemed honestly shocked about Emily's revaluation as well as angel attacking me.

    “Well,” Roberta said. “I think we’ll wait until tomorrow to discuss your training schedule. I would like for you to try and work it into your study time, since you’ve chosen to continue being homeschooled. That way you don’t feel as if you’re being stuck in school all day.” She said while giving me a small side hug of comfort. “That sounds like a good idea and thank you, Berta. Your suggestion makes me feel a lot better about all the training I’ll be doing in addition to my school work.