Cherished Lady: Part II

20-Edmon Huntington

I should never had left. That was a mistake. I thought the Ralacks were up north near the Ever Green Pack. I was just so focused on finding proof of the Ralacks so we could delay the counsel's decision. I knew that if the counsel forced Oberon to take a mate I would of had to reveal who Artemis was and she wasn't ready.

No that's not true. Artemis was more than ready. She was kind and caring but at the same time strong enough to stand up to others when needed.

It was me who wasn't ready. I wasn't ready to admit the changes that Artemis would bring. She isn't like the Lunas before her. Usually a royal Luna is identified when they first shift. They then grow up knowing and training what fate will happen to them. She was having this life thrusted upon her with no knowledge of the responsibilities she would take.

Artemis' wolf was also changing things. She had started a new pack, something that hadn't been done before. Now that Oberon was indeed her mate, would she integrate into the existing pack or will she always be separate? Can Oberon rule as king when his Luna is technically of another pack? This was becoming more and more complicated and I didn't have the answers.

The newest member of Artemis' pack was useful. He was able to shed light on some of the questions I had on the Ralacks. We would need to take immediate action in some areas which means I will need to talk with the king. He wasn't going to be happy.
I walked to the royal apartments. There were so many guard around that you couldn't spit without it hitting one. The king quarters was down at the end of the hall but I barely made it pass the dowager queen's apartments before I was stopped.

"Eddie!" Only one person dared to call me that. I turned to see my sister standing in the hallway her arms crossed. Her eyes burned with fury.

"Rina, can this wait? I need to speak with the king."

"The king is with his mate." She spat. "Things have just settled enough so they can rest. You can give them that before you bombard them with who knows what. In the meantime you and I are going to have a chat." She opened the door to her apartments and stood expectantly.

Giving a deep sigh I took the unspoken invitation and walked through the door. Sarina followed me promptly and closed the door with a snap. I turned toward my sister trying to calm her before her tirade started.

"Rina I know your upset but please understand-" SMACK! The sound of the slap Rina gave me echoed throughout the room. My cheek burned from the impact.

"What the hell Rina!"

"How long did you know?" She growled.

"What?"

"How long did you know about Artemis?" I looked away from her instead of answering. No answer I could give would please her and I wasn't in to mood of getting slapped again. Sarina wouldn't accept that.

"Don't get all broody on me! How long did you know? And don't tell me you didn't." I searched my sisters eyes trying to find a way out of this but I was stuck. Giving a long sigh I mumbled out my answer.

"Pardon?" She questioned. "What did you say?"

"You heard what I said," I huffed.

"There is no way I heard that right. Say it again but loud a clear." The last bit she said through her gritted teeth.

"...since before she came here. Maybe three months or so." Sarina gave me a deadpan look while I fidgeted and shuffled under the pressure of her gaze. Without saying a word she spun around and started marching away.

"Rina, I was trying to protect her. I knew she wasn't ready. The more people who knew, the more questions would be asked and- oh shit!" I ducked at the last minute as a vase flew where my head once was. I heard the glass shatter as it landed on the far side of the room behind me. Sarina just grew more mad that the vase didn't hit it's intended target. Wanting to quickly rectify the situation she grabbed a chair and raised high to hurl it at me.

"Rina stop! This isn't helping."

"Oh and you were when you decided to keep secrets from us? Your family?" She threw the chair to emphasis her point. I dodged it stepping to the side and waited for it to shatter before responding.

"I know. I made a mistake."

"No Eddie. Forgetting my birthday is a mistake. What you did was total fuck up! I should have known the minute you found her." She began to walk further into the sitting room looking for more ammo. "Goddess, do you know what kind of emotions your nephew felt when he realized who she was. It almost killed him knowing she was under his nose the entire time." She was headed for another chair this one much bigger. I didn't think her walls would survive it.

"Rina your right. I'm sorry." My pleas didn't stop her as she continued to stomp towards her intended target.

"You could have gotten her killed. You almost did! Had we known who she was we could have protected her. But no, you had to be the big bad wolf with all the secrets." As she spoke she grabbed the great armchair and lifted it up before turning again to me. I was legitimately scared as I dove to grab the chair.

"I'm sorry I fucked up." Using all my might I pulled down the chair to prevent her from launching it at me. "I fucked up I know that. Now I need your help to fix it." Sarina stared into my eye glaring. In her mind I could see she was still trying to decide if I was contrite enough yet.

"Good," she said dropping the chair down immediately and calmly setting herself down to sit. 

"You are going to tell me everything and I mean everything. And don't you dare leave a single thing out. If I find you missed even a single detail..." she pat the chair she now sat on with her hand. "I have plenty of chairs." It wasn't an exaggeration. I knew she would follow through with the threat. I needed to come clean with everything. Luckily that was exactly my intention.