Chapter 228

Fiona

“It was nice to meet you, little Queen,” Alpha Mandra says with a bow. “I will be in contact with you again.”

“Really?” I ask, confused. I like the man, but I didn’t think he was the type to become friends with someone like me. It’s a bit strange, but I like it. Having more friends, even if they’re twice my age, is nice.

“Grayson!” My father comes jogging toward us, waving his hand at Alpha Mandra. I didn’t realize they knew each other.

“Brother.”

I spin around, looking up at Alpha Mandra, “Brother?!”

“Grayson, you thought you could leave without saying hi?” My father grins at Alpha Mandra right before pulling him into a hug.

Alpha Mandra stiffens for a moment then hugs my father too, shocking me even more. Is this why I feel comfortable around the large man? I figured it was because he was kind, even though he’s the size of a bear.

“You’re brothers?” I ask, looking between the two of them. Alpha Mandra is so much larger than my father’s, and their coloring is different. Alpha Mandra has dark, nearly black eyes, pale skin, and light, almost white hair, and not from being older. It’s the type of white-blonde that you’d seen in a cartoon.

They’re almost opposites.

“My younger brother, but not by blood. My father adopted Grayson when we were young, and we found him abandoned on the edge of our land—”

“For the record, I’m only a year younger than your father,” Alpha Mandra cuts in, looking down at me. “But, as for your question. I will be back soon for the meeting your mate is calling of the Northern Alphas.”

“Oh,” I nod. I knew Ethan was worried about the Northern Alphas, but I’m not sure why. “Wait, does that mean I can call you Uncle Mandra? Or Uncle Grayson?”

He stares down at me for a moment before a smile pulls at his lips, and he ruffles my hair, “Sure, little Queen. Sure.” Then, he turns away and shifts, a white wolf appearing in front of us. He takes off without another glance, and I smile as I realize I have even more family now.

“Haven’t seen Gray in a long time,” my father mutters, a small smile on his face.

“Why not?”

“He keeps to himself, leads the pack, and generally doesn’t bother many people after our father died and left the pack to him,” my father answers, running a hand through his hair. “When I married your mother, the Alpha title was passed to him because I moved to the Kingdom Center. Gray is busy where he is, and I think he believe he would be a bother if he came to visit me.”

“Oh. Well, maybe he’ll come more now. I liked him.”

He just smiles and looks in the direction that Alpha Mandra ran.

“Fiona, honey!” My grandmother grabs onto my arm before I can even turn around. “There’s something I’d like to talk to you about, honey. Come with me.”

Then, she drags me off to the side and away from everyone else. The rest of my family goes to talk to Ethan while I walk off with my grandmother. She grins at me as we huddle close to the wall, and I can’t help but feel like she’s trying to tell me a secret.

“I’d like to host the traditional blessing ceremony for you and the baby if you’ll allow me,” she says. “The blessing ceremony is a longstanding tradition for our family that is held when a female finds out she’s pregnant. The entire family offers prayers and blessings for the baby up to the Moon Goddess.”

“Really? I’d love that,” I tell her, taking her hands in mine. “I still have a lot to learn about our culture and heritage, so this would be amazing.”

She grins again, pats my cheek, then pulls me back toward the family waiting at the Palace gate. Everyone exchanges hugs and goodbye, saying they’ll be in touch before they head out. I wave, leaning back into Ethan as he hugs me from behind.

“You alright?”

Nodding, I smile and answer as honestly as possible, “I am, but I wish my mother were here.”

Ethan POV

Excluding Alpha Mandra, who I recently learned is Fiona’s Uncle, I send out my physical and digital invitations. Each Alpha in the North, all eight of them, will receive the summons to show up to the meeting.

Unlike the meeting about the rogues, this one will be mandatory, with repercussions if the Alphas don’t show up. With rebellion on the rise, I’m sure several of them won’t want to come, but again, none of them will want to face the consequences of not coming.

A knock on my office door tells me it’s time to go, so I stand from my desk and make my way out. Three Council Members and the Captain of the King’s Guard all wait outside the door for me.

“Greetings, Alpha King Montgomery,” the guard says with a bow. The others merely bow, since I’ve already spoken with them today.

“Thank you for taking time to help me with this matter, Captain.”

“Of course, Alpha King. I read your message, but could you explain more. I would like to pick the guards best suited to your needs,” he says, walking slightly behind me. I motion him forward so I don’t have to look back at him.

“I need eight men who are adept at stealth, information gathering, scouting, and concealment. They should be prepared to be away from the Kingdom Center, in the North, for at least two weeks or longer,” I explain. I need men who won’t fail or get found.

The Captain nods, holds the door for me to walk outside, and then leads me toward the barracks. The men that are not on guard right now are currently resting and training, like they do every day.

“I believe I have suggestions of the right men,” the Captain says, motioning me to the right. I follow the path toward a training ground where several men are engaged in what looks like a game of…

“Are they playing hide and seek?”

From afar, I can spot two men hiding in ridiculous and strange places, while several more seek.

“It’s a training exercise in concealment. These are our best men, and they’ve been playing for an hour, and those two are hiding in plain sight,” the Captain tells me, pointing at the two I can see. “There are three more hiding, but even I couldn’t tell you where they are without a proper search.”

“Good. Call them out.”

The Captain bows then turns and whistles. Eight men immediately come to attention, look around, spot us, and run in our direction. They move as individuals, but I could also see them moving as a unit with their agility.

“Alpha King! Night stalkers at your service!” They line up and bow, waiting for instructions.

“These are my best recon team. They’ve dubbed themselves the Night stalkers, but I don’t normally call them that as it is a childish name,” the Captain says, sneering at them like he’s told them a million times to cut it out.

I wave him off, “Their group name doesn’t matter. What I want to know is, do they meet the criteria I gave you?”

“Yes, sir. These nine are my best scouts. I believe they will serve you well.”

“Listen up, men. Each of you will be sent to a pack in the North to scout and gather information,” I tell them, and they look up. “There are rumors and rumblings that several of the Northern Packs are whispering of rebellion. I cannot check every pack, but you eight will become an advance recon team. For the next two weeks, I want you to watch the Alphas. If you hear of or see any of them acting suspiciously, report it back to the Kingdom Center. The information you gather will come directly to me.”

Each of them nods in confirmation.

“I am counting on the eight of you to gather this information to keep our country from falling into war.”