Chapter 231

Fiona POV

Two weeks of planning flew by, and now, I crane my neck to see the people walking off the plane.

“I don’t think I’ve seen anyone so anxious and excited at the same time since Nova last got tasked with planning a surprise party,” Claire giggles, and I mock glare at her.

“I haven’t seen my best friend in almost a month,” I snip, “Of course, I’m excited.” I think this is the longest amount of time Isla and I have been apart from each other, and now, with the wedding preparations and because of Ethan’s permission, she’s here until the wedding in a few weeks.

Nova nudges the large man in front of me to the side and he glares at her, but her intimidating stare has him backing off quickly. I almost laugh at the man’s expression, but then I spot her.

“ISLA!”

She notices me at the same time and yells my name, running toward me. It’s been too long, I realize, as I throw my arms around her and take in the familiar soft, clean smell she always has.

“Oh, my god. You look amazing!” She cries, pulling back and looking me over. My dress is simple and blue with a bit of lace on the hem. I found it on my bed this morning, which meant it was a gift from Ethan.

He’s been leaving me little gifts around the house in the last two weeks, and it’s like a little scavenger hunt. Sometimes they’re on the bed, or the bathroom counter. Yesterday, I found a bracelet with his initials sitting by the water heater I use for tea.

Sometimes he’s gone all day, like today, and I don’t see him, which is fine because I know he’s busy. The meeting with the Northern Alphas is coming up, so he’s been busy preparing for that during the day, and at night, we plan for the wedding and the babies.

Yesterday, we sent out a Kingdom wide notice that the wedding date is a month from now, and no amount of planning kept me from still feeling a huge wave of nerves and excitement.

“Thank you. I’m so glad to see you,” I murmur, hugging Isla tighter. It really has been too long. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get you here sooner.”

Isla shakes her head and kisses my cheek, “I totally understand, Fiona. You’re a big deal now, and you have responsibilities as a leader’s wife. From what you told me, I’m surprised you even have time to plan a wedding.”

Nodding, I smile. Ethan continues to tell me I’m catching on and doing my Luna Queen duties well, but I still feel a bit overwhelmed sometimes. Honestly, I haven’t done much, but gathering with the Lunas from every pack, meeting the entire council, and attending some meetings with Ethan is a lot for someone who never knew she could even get to this position.

“And from what I hear, there may be some single, hot werewolf men around,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows and nudging me with her elbow.

“Stop!” I giggle. I had to tell her everything, and honestly, she wasn’t as surprised as I was. To prove the existence of Lycans to her, I even had Nova shift while we were on facetime. Isla took everything in with minimal freaking out, even when I told her I could also shift. She was amazed by that, but again, she didn’t freak out, which I appreciated.

She simply said, “I always told you that you were special and amazing.”

I wanted her to know everything before she came here just in case she ran into a wolf or saw someone shift. That would have been an awkward conversation after the situation had already happened.

“Are we ready to go?” Laura questions, and when we turn, Nova has all of Isla’s bags and the others are ready to go. They offered to come with me, and I gladly accepted. Claire even got permission from the Head Shrine Sister to come with us.

She’s still dressed in her pure white and gold Shrine Attendant dress and head covering, but she still came. I appreciate all of them, and I mentally smack myself when I realize I haven’t introduced them.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. Girls, this is Isla, my best friend. Isla, meet Sophie, Laura, Nova, and Claire. They’ve been helping me and have become really good friends while I’ve been settling in here,” I introduce.

Nova is the first to move, and I watch with barely contained laughter as she drops Isla’s bags and scoops her up into a hug. The other girls merely smile, wave, and greet her politely, deciding not to follow Nova’s full on hug attack.

I smile again as I think of Nova as an overly eager puppy who doesn’t fully grasp manners.

“Now, there are a few shops in the Kingdom Center that we can hit for all things weddings, but first, we’ll go to Pixie’s to search for your dream dress,” Sophie says, nearly launching herself into the car with excitement. We all climb in after her, and I beam at my friends.

Today, I’ll be choosing a wedding dress.

Unknown POV

Things are much further than just ‘out of hand’. Not only is the new Queen a Lycan now, but she’s pregnant and gaining more support. I hadn’t expected her to grow in popularity to quickly.

If I’m going to get rid of her, it needs to be soon, or else I’ll have much larger problems than just her mate to deal with. Though, if he’s also out of the picture, it’ll be much easier, which is the ultimate goal anyway.

Get rid of Ethan and take the crown even if I have to use force once he’s gone.

Though, my partner will be less than happy when his son dies. He has agreed that Fiona must be gotten rid of, but he hasn’t mentioned his son. He knows my goals, that I want to be King, and I realize he may be hoping I’ll leave his son alone.

It’s possible to convince my partner that his son’s death is necessary. I could give him incentives or rewards, but if that doesn’t work, both Ethan and his father may have to die.

I guess I will have to get my hands dirty after all.