Royal Submission

5. I'm being grounded for life.

As Lucas pulls onto the long bumpy road leading to my house, my nerves perk up. I know my brothers and parents are going to be furious at me for skipping out on our family talk.

They had made it very clear that I was to come home directly from school for the talk that I've been avoiding for weeks. I wasn't necessarily afraid of the consequences. My parents were great, but I truly hated to disappoint them, especially my dad. I've always been a daddy's girl.

I was totally dreading having to face my pissed off brother. James had basically commanded that I come home straight after school. He even said he was going to pick me up. He was not going to be happy that I dodged him the way that I did.

If all of that wasn't bad enough, I'm showing up in the middle of the night with a strange wolf from Goddess knows where. I better start praying that my family doesn't murder me this night. Hopefully they go easy on me since it's my 18th birthday.

I missed my birthday dinner, and wasn't home to blow out my candles or have cake with my family. This was the first year in my entire life that I missed celebrating my birthday with my family.

As we approached home, I finally let down my mental barrier, so that my family could mind link me. I cringed as my mother's high pitched voice was the first to enter my mind. Yep, she was pissed all right.

"YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE MISSY! WE'VE BEEN WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU," my mother screeched.

Next was my dad's deeper voice, "Charolette I am highly disappointed with you. You have no idea what sort of danger you put yourself in by not coming home today."

'Neither do you,' I thought to myself.

"What do you mean," both my parents shouted at the same time.

's**t, I never meant for them to hear that,' I mentally groaned. This was going to be a long night. I had a lot of explaining to do. Well, time to bite the bullet, because my house is just beyond those trees.

"Mom, Dad before we pull up, you should know that Haley and I have a guest with us."

"Charolette, this is no time for entertaining guests. Get dropped off then send Haley and your other friend on their way. You are in trouble, and we have alot to discuss."

"I know, and we will, but them leaving isn't an option at the moment. I will explain it all when I get there, but you should know that our guest happens to be a wolf, and he is Haley's mate."

"Oh my! I don't even want to know where you ran into him do I," I could hear the worry in my mom's voice, even over mind link.

"No probably not mom, but I'm pulling up now. Dad, make sure you tell the boys to leave Lucas alone." I warned.

My dad said nothing, but I heard him chuckle over the mindlink, and instantly became worried for Lucas' safety. My brothers were brutal beasts when they wanted to be. They were also probably pretty pissed off at me right now. They couldn't take it out on their baby sister, or Haley since she's human, but Lucas on the other hand would be fair game in their eyes.

Before we left the safety of the car I felt I should probably warn Lucas. "Lucas, you have nothing to fear from my parents. They're expecting you. My brothers on the other hand.." I was cut off by an earth rumbling growl. I knew James was going to be pissed.

"Oh s**t," Haley already knew how my brother's were. "R.I.P. Mate. You were hot while you lasted," I was shocked at how cool Haley was being about her mate's imminent death. 'Huh, maybe human's don't really feel the matebond,' I wondered.

"Are they going to kill me," Lucas fearfully asked.

I looked up to see four of my brothers surrounding the car we were still sitting in. "I should probably get out first and try to smooth things over," I suggested.

Before I even had a chance to explain something totally unexpected happened, which took all the attention off of Lucas.

Beyond the trees the sound of an approaching vehicle could be heard. James gave me a murderous look, "Who else did you bring here," he questioned me.

"No one," I answered before the truth of the situtation dawned on me, "Oh shit." We had been followed.

My dad came flying out the front door follwed by my mother. "Girls get in the house and take your friend with you. Charolette you are to lock yourselves in the basement and submerge yourself in the underground pool. You know the drill."

I wasn't entirely sure why my family was running code red when I clearly wasn't in heat. I thought being in heat was the only time I would need to be locked and submerged in the underground pool. My parents feared that I could be followed by a rogue wolf if I were ever to be caught off guard by my heat. My dad being the military genius that he is, created different plans for our family in the event of all kinds of emergencies. He made us run drills so that our pack's safety was always as best as it could be with so very little amount of members. We were just one family after all.

I knew not to question my father, not in drill, and certainly not when it wasn't for practice, but the real thing. Maybe I was in the early stages of my heat. That would explain why that wolf at the bar was trying so hard to get to me. 'Oh Goddess, don't let me be r***d!' That was a real fear for she wolves because our heat made male wolves crazy with lust. Typically the she wolf would also be out of her mind and begging to be taken, if not by her mate, than by the next willing wolf with the required anatomy.

I wasn't feeling lustful at all. I was terrified. I'm a virgin! There's no way I could handle being r***d for my first s****l experience. I remembered my training, and mentally shrugged off the fear. Fear has no place during an emergency. Controlling fear is something that one can only learn how to do with experience. While I was doing my best not to think those worst case scenario thoughts, I couldnt control the way my hands were shaking, or my heart from pounding in my chest like it was about to explode.

I was thankful that Haley and Lucas were with me. I was technically an adult, but I always felt uneasy being in this wading pool underground. The pool was one floor beneath the basement. To get down here we had to go thorugh a hidden trap door. I didn't even strip off my clothes before i dove in.

Lucas pushed Haley in next, and followed after her. "Hey," Haley whined. "Why do we have to get in? Her dad only said Charlie had to," she pouted.

"I'm sorry baby, but the wolves knew the three of us are together. If they smelled even one of us, they would follow the scent leading to all of us. I think Charlie's dad would have commanded we do the same if he wasn't distracted at the moment," Lucas explained.

It made sense really. "Good thinking Lucas," I agreed.

The three of us stood in the cold water trembling. There was very little light down here. We were being as quiet as possible, and were submerged up to our noses, making it impossible to talk. There was no tellinig how much time had gone by. I looked unaffected on the outside, but inside I was a total wreck.

I could not help but feel totally responsible for this mess. Sure it was Haley's idea to go to the club, but she's human. She didn't understand all the risks involved. I knew, but I chose to ignore them just to have a good time. I felt totally ashamed of myself.

As each minute passed, my anxiety grew. What would I do if something happened to any one of my family. How would I ever forgive myself?!

My anxitey was pressing me closer and closer to a full fledged panic attack. I couldn't help but feel weak when darkness grew at the edges of my vision. The sudden light that filled the hidden underground room, was such a burst of adrenaline that my system felt like I was in shock.

The stress of my intense emotions was a recipe for disaster. I was experiencing the worst panic attack I'd ever had. Right before I gave into the darkness trying to overtake me, I seen the look on my parent's faces. They were furious. I was going to be grounded for life, for sure. Hopefully, I sleep until they're not so mad. That was my last thought before total oblivion.