Chapter 6: The Invitation

GIANNA

I sat on my bed, waiting for Diego to speak. He looked at me, terrified. “Gia, I can’t tell you. It’s not my place.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Diego, what are you talking about?”

“Dad said it was dangerous for you to find a mate before you’re ready. He said you’re more powerful than all of us. That’s why the council of elders—”

“Yeah, yeah, Diego. I know that part. Mom told me already. What does this have to do with you?”

He gulped and looked down. I hadn’t seen him look like this since we were kids and he accidently scratched Dad’s favorite vintage car with his bike.

“Diego, spit it out!”

He sat on my bed with me. He looked worried.

“Dad told me to spread the word no one was to go near you until you were ready. He said because you haven’t hazed, it’s intense.

“Gia, we’re royalty. We feel it stronger than most, like the alphas do! Anyway, he said feeling like that would tip you over the edge, and you would lose control of your powers.”

I gulped and looked down at my lap. Diego was right; I knew it. I’d always known I was different from my siblings, even the twins.

“~But why keep it from me~?” I whispered, tears welling up in my eyes. ~“Why didn’t Father be honest with me? Am I really that much of a monster?!”~

Diego pulled me into a hug. We hadn’t hugged or been this close in years. It was like having my brother back.

“No, G! You’re not a monster!

“Father is just concerned that your mate might not be able to accept your wolf, your power, and if you’re rejected, then we don’t know what will happen if your emotions tip over the edge.”

I nodded, wiping tears from my eyes. It was nice feeling close to him again. “I’m sorry I got so mad at you. I know you meant well,” I laughed.

He nudged me, laughing. “Ah, don’t worry about it, sis! You wanna watch a movie or something?”

“Sure,” I said, following him to the theater room.

Yes, that’s right. We had a theater room.

KOL

I paced my office absentmindedly. It had been a day since what went down with Diego, and he hadn’t stormed the pack house looking for a second round.

Admittedly, I was relieved, but now panic had set in. If he wasn’t storming, then that meant the king knew, and that was a lot worse. I’d rather have taken a beating from Diego, to be honest.

“Alpha? Are you okay?” Mike, a member of my council, asked, blinking at me.

I looked around the room; I’d forgotten that the council meeting was in progress. Jordan scowled at me from the end of the table.

~Shit~

~I’ll get a lecture about that later.~

“Yes, yes, Mike. Sorry. I’m listening. You were saying?” I said, waving a hand and attempting to be cheery. No one bought it, but I was the alpha, so they moved on quickly.

Mike cleared his throat. “Yes, well, with the yule ball coming up, sir, we were thinking more of a warm family vibe this year?

“You know, to really bring unity to the pack. What with you getting a beating—” He stopped suddenly, glancing at me for my response.

I pressed him to continue. “So the pack thinks I can’t handle myself and do my job because the prince threw me a few punches?”

He gulped and continued. “No, sir, we just think with everything that went down, this will help build pack morale.”

I stood up straight, cursing myself. Damn it, he was right. I wandered over to the window and looked out. I heard Jordan dismiss the council.

“Listen, man, are you okay?” he asked behind me.

I turned to look at him. Was I okay? I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t heard from Gianna. Was she okay? Did they hurt her? My fists clenched at the thought.

“Yeah, man, I’m fine,” I responded. He opened his mouth to say something when there was a knock on the door.

“Yes? Come in,” I called. The door opened, and a messenger walked through.

~Shit.~

I recognized those colors, royal blue with ice-white stars. They belonged to the king’s personal guard.

“I have a letter for the alpha,” he stated matter-of-factly.

~Shit.~

“Yes, that’s me.”

He strolled over and handed me the letter. “The king awaits your response. Have a good day, Alpha Kol.” And with that, he turned on his heel and strolled out.

I looked at the envelope and opened it.

~Shit.~

~Fuck.~

~Shit.~

It was an invitation to dinner from the king. I gulped. ~Let’s hope this goes well.~