*Maddox*
Trying to concentrate on the discussion around me is difficult when I’m standing in this particular room—this ballroom. I have several Alphas in front of me mentioning what it is that they need from me in order to be confident enough to send warriors to support our cause, and all I keep thinking about is the first time I was here.
“You know, if you really want all of us to come in on your side, there’s one thing that would do it for certain,” one of the younger Alphas says. He’s in his early thirties, and apparently he’s had enough to drink that he’s a little loose-lipped because the other Alphas try to get him to shush. But Alpha Evan will not yield.
“What’s that?” I ask him.
“Simple. Give our daughters a chance.” Evan takes another swig of his champagne, and some of the other Alphas clear their throats or shuffle their feet. It’s a sign to me that they agree with whatever he is getting at, though they don’t want to vocalize it as has.
“Your daughter?” I ask, confused. I know he’s just a few years older than me, so I can’t imagine he has a daughter that’s even fifteen yet. A chance at what?
“We understand that you are not planning on taking another Luna Queen. We get that,” Alpha Evan says, and my eyes go to Alpha Jason, Rebecca’s uncle. He is shifting on his feet slightly, but he’s not saying anything. I am a bit flabbergasted. I would think he’d be quick to jump in and defend my decision. No one will ever be able to replace Rebecca.
As soon as the thought enters my mind, I think of Isla. But that’s different…. I can’t think about her right now or else I’ll lose my edge, and I need to be on the top of my game to haggle with these other Alphas. Clearly, they are not pulling any punches.
“What is it exactly you want me to do?” I ask Alpha Evan.
“It’s simple,” he says. “Give them a chance. You say that you’re not going to take another queen because your wife was your mate, and we can all respect that. We really can. I married my mate, so I get it. But you could use a Luna Queen even if there’s no love between the two of you. A Luna Queen would help this country in many ways. We understand that you have a breeder. Fine. She’s not Luna material, though, from what I understand, though her father is miraculously an Alpha now. So go ahead and have your heir, a baby, with the breeder if you want, but let one of us have the assurance of knowing that our daughter will be the Luna Queen.”
I am fully with him now, and I don’t know what to say. My first instinct is to scream at him, to ask him how dare he say something like that to me. Doesn’t he know who he’s speaking to? Doesn’t he know that I am still the Alpha King, and asking me to do something of this nature, to consider taking another wife simply to solidify the standing of one pack with the crown is insulting in more ways than I can count?
“I wasn’t aware that you had a daughter of marrying age,” I say to Alpha Evan, still unsure as to why he is making this push.
“Oh, I adopted my older brother’s daughter a couple of years ago when he passed away,” Alpha Evan says. “She’s nineteen. I’m sure you’d really like Mariah if you got to know her. And that’s why I think you should have some sort of a consort. Bring all of the Alpha and Beta’s daughters that are of age to the castle, give them a few months to prove who is the best fit for you, and then marry one of them.”
He makes the statement so easily, like it’s obvious that this is the path I should take. I’m still trying to process that he has a daughter of that age.
“I don’t know, Alpha Evan,” another Alpha, one that is almost old enough to be my father, Alpha Mick, says. “I don’t know what would be the point in all of that.”
“You have a daughter who hasn’t met her mate who is old enough to compete, don’t you?” Alpha Evan asks before Alpha Mick can even finish explaining why he has said that.
“Yeah, I do, and I think Jennifer is beautiful. She’s intelligent, kind, and would make a great Luna or Luna Queen. But I wouldn’t want to subject her to something like that.” Alpha Mick shrugs and takes another drink. I see a few other Alphas who had not been participating in our discussion wandering over, like they think they might be missing something. Hardly anyone is even dancing, which makes this a bit of a strange ball. We may as well have just had a conference to begin with.
“So if your daughter has all of the qualities that would make her a good Luna Queen, why not give her an opportunity to prove that?” Alpha Evan prods.
Shaking his head, Alpha Mick places his hands deep in the pockets of his suit pants. “First of all, I think we have to keep in mind that what you’re talking about ends in one woman getting a job that she wants, and the other girls, however many of them there are, end up being rejected—probably not just for a job but romantically as well. I don’t think that’s right. I don’t want to see my daughter have to go through the turmoil of thinking there’s a chance she might be able to marry the Alpha King, only to find out that not only did some other woman beat her out, which will crush her self-esteem, but that he doesn’t actually love the woman he’s marrying anyway. Since when do we think it’s okay to use our children as political pawns?”
I see a lot of the other Alphas standing nearby considering what it is Alpha Mick is telling them, and they seem to have had their eyes open. Before, it seems that a lot of them didn’t see an issue with using their daughters to further their packs’ goals.
“That’s always been the way of it, hasn’t it been?” Alpha Evan argues. “As far back as I can remember, people have been trading their children’s hands in marriage to get something for themselves or their pack. Maybe you don’t agree with it, but it is what it is.” He shrugs nonchalantly, and I see some of the other Alphas now considering that perhaps he is right.
Alpha Mick shakes his head. “I would like to think we’ve evolved a bit since the olden days when that was okay. Perhaps if your daughter were your own flesh and blood, you’d see things differently.”
“That was rude!” Alpha Evan says, and he has his dander up now. “She is my own flesh and blood! Just because she was my niece before she became my daughter, that doesn’t mean I love her any less.”
“I disagree.” Alpha Payton, who had been relatively quiet all night speaks up, and now all eyes are on him. “Until you actually see your own wife, your mate, give birth to a child and know that that baby is half you and half your mate, things are not the same.”
“So you think I can’t possibly love my niece as much as you love your daughter?” Alpha Evan is so heated now, he forgets that he’s supposed to be calling the girl in question his daughter.
I take a step back and listen to all of this unfold. I’m learning a lot by observing their behaviors. It seems pretty clear to me that there are two factions here; one is pretty confident it is worth it to come in on my side and try to keep my favor. The other is too timid and wants to hold back. They are looking to get something out of this. I take note of who is on which side.
After several minutes of back and forth, Alpha Charlton comes over to see what all of the ruckus is about, and he is filled in on the situation. I wish he hadn’t come. He looks stricken. To know that other Alphas, most of them his friend, think that we should find someone to take the place of his own daughter on the throne has him feeling heavy-hearted, I can tell.
He turns and looks at me. “I thought you had a breeder? Rumor has it you’re quite in love with her, and there’s even a chance she might be pregnant now.”
I hadn’t heard that people were actually saying Isla may be pregnant. I don’t intend to disclose anything more about that particular situation, but I don’t mind answering his initial question. “I do have a breeder, and she and I are quite close. Her father is the Alpha of Willow pack, and contrary to what some may believe, he wasn’t appointed to that position because he is her father. He has a leadership background. He came from a distant land.” I will not say more about that. I don’t want anyone here thinking he’s from Maatua, the cursed island.
But then… by the looks on some of their faces, there’s a possibility some of them have already heard that.
“So… this marriage would be to serve what purpose?” Alpha Charlton asks, only he is asking me, not those who proposed it to begin with.
“Finding someone to take on the duties of the Luna Queen, or so I understand. And apparently solidifying the connections of one pack to the crown. That’s what Alpha Evan has proposed anyway.”
Alpha Charlton snarls, letting out a low rumble of a laugh. “You would suggest a thing. Mariah isn’t even your daughter.”
Alpha Evan’s mouth opens and closes, but he says nothing. It’s one thing to argue with Alpha Mick, but arguing with Alpha Charlton takes a lot more gumption, especially in his own home.
“I don’t think a competition for the king’s hand is a good idea,” Alpha Charlton says. “Either this breeder produces an heir, or she doesn’t. I think we shall not have another Luna Queen, not until the next king takes over, and we should all accept that.” He takes a sip of his wine. “But then… if you did decide to go through with it, you should know, my bet is on my own niece, Alpha Jason’s daughter. I think any of you who have met Trinity would know that.”
Alpha Jason is oddly not present at the moment. I haven’t seen him in a while. I remember what Alpha Payton had told Seth earlier, about Alpha Charlton’s brother-in-law considering coming in with some conditions, but I don’t know what they are.
And I don’t know what Alpha Charlton is talking about now, but I see plenty of nods from the men around us.
“Trinity?” I repeat. “His daughter? How old is she now? Sixteen?”
“Oh, no, she’s nineteen,” he says. “It has been a while since you’ve seen her, huh?” He has a look in his eyes that tells me his emotions are barely in check.
I have no idea why he’s acting this way. None of it makes any sense to me. Why does he think I’d be so swift to choose Alpha Jason’s daughter?
“I haven’t seen her since that first night that I was here, and that’s been… eight years ago, I believe.” I haven’t done the math. It’s too difficult to think about when my life with Rebecca began and how long it’s been since I last saw her.
“Well, you’re in luck because there she is,” Alpha Charlton says, turning to look toward the stairwell behind us.
With a deep breath, I turned around, expecting to see a beautiful woman worthy of being the Luna Queen as her uncle had suggested, but what I actually saw made the glass I was holding slip from my grasp and shatter all over the floor.
“What the fuck?” I muttered under my breath as I stared into familiar eyes. “How in the world is this possible?”