The Beta Queen

Prologue

They said I'd won the war and a for a year or so it certainly felt that way, the people delighted when my name was announced. They cheered and smiled when I visited their towns, they called me an angel, the bringer of peace...they still do but its not the same.

In the history of our kind a woman has never ruled the Kingdom. There is no law to say that one could not do so but it was just in the natural order of things that one never had. There were misogynists out there, men who were glad they had been rid of the old King but nonetheless abhorred my position, Alpha's in the outermost regions where women were second rate citizens, refused to bow to me or acknowledge my reign. Instead they pledged themselves to my absent brother and did what they could to boycott me.

It hadn't bothered me, if I wanted to I could destroy them and besides it was not as though Marcus had even promoted their support, no one knew where he was or what had happened to him after the war. I had sent out several search parties to no avail.

As unsure as I had been I enjoyed being Queen, it had made me wise and I felt more connected to the people than ever before. I had finally found my purpose in serving the people despite the unrest these Alphas had caused amongst the people. They raised some points that made people doubt me, the white wolf had deserted me they said, surely a bad omen considering a large majority of White Wolves were known for being advisors to the monarch, but then Kai had always been different hadn't he?

There was no denying however that his disappearance had left me somewhat empty. The day after my coronation he had gone without a trace, leaving behind an ambiguous note that only told me he would be back but not when. There were times when I missed him, moments when I imagined what our relationship would be if he were here. It was amusing really, I missed him but not so much in the way that I missed Dale. I liked having Kai around, it made me feel comfortable, he was a familiar reminder of the time I had spent in Lorenae, when I was ignorant but full of bliss.

Cara had once been that reminder but she had grown so much in the four years that had passed that I could no longer see her as the child I had met in Lorenae; her abilities rivalled that of a full grown warrior. It scared me that she was accelerating towards the proud woman I had seen in the vision the Goddess had once shown me. She was developing gifts that shouldn't have belonged to a wolf her age, she was talented with human weapons as well as fighting in wolf form. I hadn't liked the idea of her engaging in violence so young but she had such passion for it and had developed a stubbornness that made me realise she would do what she want regardless of my opinion.

Melina has also changed, slowly but surely she had warmed up to me and now I could truly consider her my sister, she had grown close to Cara too though I had to say their personalities could not have been any further apart than they were. Melina enjoyed watching Cara train, but preferred to study books pouring over the legends that had weaved together our history, it was a certainty that she'd always have a book in her hand no matter where she was. She visited Arcadia often, usually during the winter to pay her respects to Mother and visit those who had been a family to her during that short tragic stay. It had always been my intention to visit with her but her Alpha was one of the seven and I didn't want to create any unwanted animosity.

Even without Kai and Dale, somehow I had managed to develop myself and each day I had come that bit closer to the figure I wanted to be. I was glad in a way that I had done it with their influence, love was a wonderful thing but I had seen first hand how it warped ones perception of the world. That did't stop me from enjoying the world around me and opening my heart to the new additions in my life. Cullen and Tatiana had triplets just a year after the war, Casper, Stellan and Astrid. Daphne had given birth to her son Channing by the time I had seen her again around my coronation. Tara and Delia had also had children of their own, Delia's daughter Oriana had been born a week ago and Tara had twin daughters, Seraphina and Soraya who were now one. Everyone lived a fruitful life and it was their love that had kept me calm as I waited for Kai to return.

It had also helped me to move on from Dale, my feelings for him had not changed and I doubted they ever would, he still took regular residence in my dreams but after seeing all my friends so filled with love and expanding their families I too was ready to do the same. All I had to do was wait...

Or so I thought.

The Seven had worked relentlessly in trying to find reason to remove me from the throne and it seemed that they had recently found themselves a legitimate one. The law had never stated that a woman couldn't sit on the throne but there were clauses involved. A woman on throne could only be an Alpha if she was mated, if not she would only be known as a Beta Queen and therefore could be challenged for her crown. Stability and strength were the cornerstone of the werewolf community, women could be strong but stability would only come from strong heirs and strong heirs could only be created with a mate, one I did not have.

A man naturally assumed Alpha status and could easily take a number of mates but a woman could not do the same in our land. It seemed my reign would be shaken once more by power hungry Alpha's that couldn't accept the fact that a woman had taken the throne. The situation seemed laughable but the threat was real... without a mate I was in danger of losing my throne and the man I waited three years for was nowhere to be found.

Until then I would be the Beta Queen, trapped once more only in an ivory tower.