Natalia’s P. O. V

I jumped to my feet, my heart pounding in my chest.

How hadn’t I noticed him?

“Well, this is a surprise.” His voice was deep as he spoke, still having to look down to regard me, even though I was standing.

I slipped out from between him and the bookshelf and rounded on him with a glare, “Who are you?”

He turned to me, cocking his head as if my fleeing from his proximity puzzled him, “That’s a bit rude, don’t you think?”

“So is sneaking up on someone and towering over them.”

His lip quirked in the echo of a smile, “Touché.”

My eyes narrowed, and I was going to demand he tell me who he was again, when his scent hit me.

He smelled like citrus cologne, smoke-like musk and a mild foreign element that left me feeling… pleased…?

The overwhelming feeling that I’d perceived this scent before gnawed at me.

I looked at him, really taking him in. He was tall, almost annoyingly so, with pale skin and shoulder-length hair as dark as a moonless night. His clothing was simple, a pair of black pants with an almost-tight white shirt and a lightweight black jacket that remained open. He was wearing shades inside, which surprisingly didn’t seem obnoxious to me. They did little to detract from his face, with his sculpted jaw and a shadow of a beard.

Even though his eyes were obscured, I could feel them taking me in too.

“Who are you…?” I asked, lacking most of my earlier bite.

“Just a stranger killing some time.”

“Sneaking up on people must be such a fulfilling pastime.” I quipped, earning a chuckle that I wanted to hear more of.

What?

“It can be quite fun.” He said, with a mischievous tilt to his lips, “Especially when you find yourself a belle buried in a book on the library floor. Were there no free chairs?”

Since Uncovering, I’d been told time and again how attractive I was by friends and strangers alike. By now, I was used to being called beautiful and all its synonyms. But for some reason, I felt my cheeks warm.

I raised my chin, “I guess I just didn’t bother to look. Besides, I was comfortable.”

“Ah yes, there’s nowhere quite like the floor when it comes to comfort.”

“Exactly.”

He opened his mouth to say something when a palace servant ran up to us.

“There you are!” The man sighed, visibly relieved, “Please do well not to wander off, you don’t want to be late for your audience.”

“Apologies, Carl.” The stranger said, all earlier playfulness shoved aside in the wake of his air of grace, becoming so sombre that he was almost regal, “Let’s get going, shall we? It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss…?”

“Ember.” I replied, without a thought.

“Ember.” He repeated with a whisp of a smile, rolling the name that I hadn’t heard from anyone since my mother disappeared on his tongue as if it belonged there.

“I hope I will be fortunate enough to meet you again.” He said, taking my crested hand and planting a kiss on it, right where the planets aligned. Then he followed Carl out of the library.

I didn’t exhale till he was gone.

………………..

Two fifteen rolled around and I was in my room, fidgeting in my outfit and wondering if it was appropriate. I’d read an article on the WolfNet from someone who frequented the palace, and she’d ranked the outfits of each visitor, from best to worst. Taking inspiration from her best list, I decided to go in a black skirt with tights, a tucked in button down and a deep red fitted blazer, with a pair of heels to match. I’d piled my hair on my head in a calculatedly messy bun with locks of hair framing my face and applied some red lipstick and mascara.

I was gazing at my reflection with a furrowed brow, wondering if I looked more like a secretary than intended, when Tyler rapped at my door.

Too late to change, I grabbed my folder of papers and followed him. He led me up to the sixth floor, to another hallway with few doors. He took me to the end of the hall, to some chairs opposite a set of double doors and had me sit.

“Please put any device you have on you in silent mode.” He said, and I complied.

It had taken us about ten minutes to get here from my room, so I sat there, for another thirty minutes.

Five minutes to three, the double doors opened and a man left the room in a huff, all but stomping out. When he caught sight of me, his frustration ebbed and he stared, having to be led away by his guide.

“Avarielle.” Tyler called, and I stood to join him before the door.

“I’ll enter and announce you, then you’ll enter and approach the throne. You must stop at the end of the carpet and bow or curtsey.” He told me, then the doors opened and he walked in.

“Avarielle, here for permission to register her pack.” He called, then stepped aside.

I exhaled, squared my shoulders and walked in.

Today, I was here in the capacity of a subject of the Royal Werewolves, but I would one day return as a monarch myself. I would bow, but I needed to conduct myself befitting of their equal.

Their scents hit me like a brick wall, reeking of power as I approached the throne, stopping at the end of the carpet as instructed, and sank into a curtsey.

“Rise.”

I stood and lifted my eyes. There were two thrones, with the King and Queen occupying them. They looked better than their pictures. The Royal family was what humans would call Native American, with deep tan skin, high cheekbones and dark hair. The King had his long hair pulled back in a low ponytail, with streaks of grey running through brown, while the Queen had hers pulled back in a severe bun. Their eyes were luminescent like mine, only silver like the moon as opposed to mine with their colour of smouldering ashes.

They regarded me with cooly curious gazes.

The King spoke, “What is your request?”

I kept my voice even and clear, “I would like your permission to start my own pack, Your Highnesses.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Have you met the requirements?” The Queen asked.

“Yes, Your Highness. I have purchased and developed land near a forest, gotten eleven Werewolves, excluding myself, who are ready to join, and have enough funds to look after every one of them.”

The King waved his hand, and one of the guards near them approached me. I handed my folder to him and he gave it to the King. Nothing but the sounds of shuffling papers was heard as the King and Queen flipped through my documents. As an extra step, I’d gotten my new pack members to stamp their pawprint on a sheet of paper then sign it, and when they saw those papers and gave each other approving looks, I was glad.

The King handed the papers, save for the application form I’d filled out, back to the guard who returned them to me.

“So…” He looked at my form, “Avarielle. You have no last name written here. We have records of every Alpha and Beta family there is. How are we to be certain of your own standing?”

“I would rather not give my family name in the presence of others.”

The Queen, brow raised, while the King nodded and waved a hand again. All four of the guards took the kind of earplugs they give you on a plane out of their pickets and stuffed them in their ears, then they turned their backs to me.

“The earplugs are enchanted to block out sounds for Werewolf hearing. You may speak freely.”

“My last name is Lightwood.”

At that, a look of distaste settled on the Queen’s face, while the King looked at me, puzzled.

“I know Clark’s children, I’ve met them.” He said, “He’s never even mentioned you.”

“My mother was not his Luna.” I offered as an explanation. If the King knew Clark well enough to have met Harry and Brittany and remember them, then I needed to tread carefully with how I spoke about him. Till I was ready to present all the evidence, I needn’t risk offending the King by speaking the truth about someone whom he may very well see as a friend.

“I see, an illegitimate child. It’s faint, but you do smell similar to him…”

I stifled my disgust at the thought of smelling anything like Clark and I raised my chin, “I would rather not have my pack associated with them.”

The Queen’s expression shifted from distaste to contemplation then she turned to him. They shared looks in what looked like silent communication, their faces shifting every so often.

“Very well.” She said finally. She clapped twice and the guards returned to their positions, taking their earplugs out.

“You’re a little young, but we shall grant your request. From today henceforth, you are Alpha Avarielle, head of the Vengar Sanguine Pack. We bestow upon you the ability to form pack bonds as you see fit.”

She stood from her throne and approached me, and I bowed as she drew closer. Standing over me, she took my crested hand and bit the inside of my wrist. The pain was sharp and brief, and healed almost instantaneously, leaving wolf bite marks of her upper teeth.

“Congratulations, Alpha Avarielle. May La Luna’s light guide you through the night. Your guide will take you to get briefed on all your duties as an Alpha.” She said, then returned to her seat.

“Thank you, Your Highnesses.” I said, then left the room.

I met Tyler waiting for me outside, and when the doors closed behind me, I found myself giddy with excitement. It felt like flames would burst from me again like they had before, but I kept them in.

“Congratulations, “He said with a smile.

“Thank you.” I beamed.

He led me down to the fourth floor and to a room opposite the library where I’d met the stranger in. There, I sat through two hours’ worth of a lecture on everything that being an Alpha entailed. From picking quality higher ups, to maintaining order in a pack, to filing paperwork and taxes to the Royal Family. I gave them the address of the main house of my pack and was given a new account on the WolfNet with Alpha privileges and asked to delete my old one. Then I was shown where all the necessary links were and how to give my future higher ups privileges on their accounts.

We finished by five thirty and I was told to wait for my guide to return me to my room by six. So to kill some time, I returned to the library to continue my earlier book. I was on the floor again, in a more secluded corner, when I heard voices from the back of the library.

“Do you call that a solution?” One man whispered harshly, “We can’t just charter entire packs to different parts of the world.”

“Well, what else do you suggest?” The other responded, sounding just as exasperated, “Europe and South America have larger forest mass, so the only logical move is to move them there.”

“Aside from the fact that that plan is completely impractical financially, there’s also the fact that most of the forests are in Russia, a climate that most of the Werewolves won’t be able to easily adapt to. And what happens when those forests are encroached on too? The humans will destroy everything eventually.”

The second man groaned, “Well, the only other option we have is to limit the number of packs and their sizes.”

“Oh right,” The first one drawled, dripping with sarcasm, “let’s place a one-child rule on Werewolves, a species that fucks like rabbits.”

“Well, I don’t know what you want me to say!” The second man wasn’t whispering anymore.

I would have listened more, but my nose picked up Tyler’s scent, not too far from the library. Deciding that I’d heard enough, I returned the book and left the library. I followed him back to my room.

“You’re welcome to stay the night and tomorrow as well. Like before, if you need anything, simply press the button.”

My return flight was scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, “Thank you. I should be leaving by tomorrow morning.”

“Very well. Have a good night, Alpha.” He said, then left.

I laid on the bed, residual excitement and an idea forming in my mind.

This world was populated mostly by humans. If you added all the sentient Supernatural species, I doubted the number would be up to an eighth of the global human population. Some species were fortunate enough to have their own realms and worlds, like the Fae, Pixies, Spirits and even Syrens, or reside in places where humans usually had difficulty settling down, like Dwarves, Mermaids, Sirens and even the elusive Dragons up in the mountains or in oceans.

For some species, being among humans was a bonus. Vampires, Succubi and Incubi fell into this category, being that humans were their main source of sustenance. Vampire Hunters, Enchanters, Witches, Psychics, Seers and the like had zero problems blending in, as their biology was fundamentally human to begin with.

But it was harder for others. Werewolves and Elves needed to be near wooded land to be our best selves. Sure, Werewolves could survive in cities, Hailey had adjusted just fine, but it wasn’t ideal. And certainly not for Werewolves who had grown up with nature, unlike Hailey.

We needed woods and unobscured moonlight on our fur.

And the problem of running out of wooded land was very real. Plus, it wasn’t every forest we could reside in, as humans still ventured into a lot of them.

‘Mrs. Burton said she couldn’t think of anything Syrens had to offer…’ I began.

‘Yeah?’ Candy said, curious.

‘But what if we offer land? I’m sure Syrenlina has forests. And according to history, Rebekah made Syrenlina as a mirror of Earth, so it should have just as much land mass. And we know it has only a fraction of the population, so there must be tons of untouched land.’

‘It’s possible.’ She said, ‘You just need to find out the logistics like how to transport the Werewolves and regulate them, and how to make it all work.’

‘But it’s possible.’ I hugged a pillow to my chest, trying to keep my expectations for what I had in mind contained. I resolved to speak to Mrs Burton about it once I returned to the city.

Candy remained silent for a while, before speaking again, ‘Do you have any idea who that guy from the library was?’

I shook my head. I didn’t like that I’d given him my name, one that nobody else knew me by for that matter, and I hadn’t gotten his.

‘Why did you tell him your name was Ember? I thought you didn’t tell people to call you that cause it’s what mom called you.’

My eyes were locked on my crest, right where he’s kissed it. A faint blush crept up on me at the memory.

‘I don’t know.’

And I didn’t like it.

‘It seemed an awful lot like you were flirting with him. I just didn’t want to say anything before your audience.’

‘I was not!’ I responded, indignant.

I could almost feel her giving me a sidelong glance, ‘I mean, it’s not the worst thing in the world, and Luna knows you still need to mate with someone. Just maybe not him.’

My brow furrowed, ‘Not that I’m going to, but why not him?’

With the way he’d smelled and how attractive he’d been, I was surprised that he hadn’t earned Candy’s seal of approval.

‘I didn’t like his scent. He smelled kinda wrong.’

Her words doused me in a wave of déjà vu, and I remembered where I’d smelled him before.

There’d been a dark-haired stranger at the breakfast bar the day Kaesha had helped with a spell that let me enter Killdrain. And this stranger from the library smelled eerily similar.

Candy had had a negative reaction to the scent back then too.

And I hadn’t told her that I’d felt the opposite.

The realisation came with a barrage of questions. If he was really the same person, how was he here? He didn’t smell at all like a Werewolf, so he had to be something else. Granted, I didn’t know what most species smelled like, so he could be anything. The question at the core of everything was, who was he?

And why did I want to see him again?