His Lost Queen

THREE

‼️

Brock

My mind plays it on loop, the words not making any sense. Your daughter.. Your daughter.. Your
"His what now?" Axel looks at me dumbfounded as if I can explain, but I'm just as clueless!

Tapping on the back of my hand draws my attention. "Come on" Risa stands and leads me to a nearby window that looks out onto the Pack-House gardens; directly below us are a group of artists sitting behind easels, creating their own interpretations of the greenery and stonework around them. Every sense but my sight disappears as my eyes land on one person in particular. Without even having to be told, I know exactly which of the group is my blood.

She has hair that appears dark, but when it catches the sun it's the same warm cocoa tone as her mothers'; her skin is several shades cooler than my own - another thing she's inherited from Meredith, but her eyes are all me. At this distance they're no trouble for me to see, even without my Lycan sight her eyes stand out. Perfect domes of vivid cobalt glittering with tiny specks of turquoise; and that signature bright white pupil. Undoubtedly Blackfur eyes.
She's the perfect combination of us both and it's a dagger to the heart as it begins to dawn on me that my daughter is a fully functioning adult; and I've missed out on, well everything.
As my other senses begin to filter back I notice the scent from earlier. That delicious citrus smell that I was so quick to assume was Meredith, clearer now with the tones of burning wood and a slight taste of cherries.
Affection fills my heart.

I don't want to turn my attention away from her. Ever. I'm so overwhelmed with emotions that I have to brace myself against the window frame. Risa places a cautionary hand on my shoulder, drawing my eyes unwillingly to her "Come, we'll explain everything".
-
"Her name is Theia" Risa says softly at my side. My mouth instantly forms a smile as I repeat the name in my mind; Deimos echoes it with a content rumble as we continue to watch our Theia dabbing her brush into her palette, completely focused on the task at hand and ignoring the chitter chatter of the people around her. She paints just like Meredith; messy and without rules, unafraid to go straight in with bold or contrasting colors and flicking the medium here and there without care.
"I take it you're happy she didn't choose a 'B' name?" Risa quips, bringing me back to the conversation at hand. It causes us both to chuckle briefly. "She never told me".
"She didn't know" Risa defends "Even we didn't know anything until a few years ago. We, like you, thought that Mer was dead"
"Years? Why didn't you say something once you knew?" Axel asks

"A bulletin was sent out to all Wolf packs looking for a missing H2 group" Myo begins "It said that the group had been attacked whilst out on a trial hunt for the next tier. They put up a good fight but of the seven that went out, only one two made it back" he walks over to join me and Risa at the window "The survivors revealed that the four others were slaughtered and they were hunted down until the Alpha Ursidae borders"
"You said four were slaughtered, what happened to the last one?" I ask
"That's who was missing, in the bulletin was Meredith's profile. The surviving wolves said that the attack was calculated. The vamps were targeting her"
"Vampires?!" Risa jumps back at my outburst
"Don't shift!" Myo snaps, baring his canines "My family is standing right next to you". Taking in a deep breath, I feel the simmering presence of my lycan fade as much as it can.
"I made a trip to Graypaw and spoke to Alpha Lucenzo. He told us a group of T1's had been on assignment years previously; and they'd stumbled on a young woman being cornered.." I swallow nervously "..it was a small group of vampires, from Ave".

I can't stop Deimos "WHAT?!" Axel leaps in front of me, his sage eyes flooded with golden honey as Peyton's voice rings in my mind

-MINDLINK DEIMOS & PEYTON-
Peyton: Deimos NO!
Deimos: I'll turn every one of those bastards into dust!!
Peyton: If you keep losing your temper we're never going to know how to get Luna back!
Deimos: They took my Luna!
Peyton: Think about what you're doing! If you shift now, there's a chance that Theia will see it and you'll scare her!
-END MINDLINK-

Myo shouts "Brock, you need to let us finish!" he stands between me and his wife "The T1's managed to intercept soon enough where they could save her and bring Mer back to a Graypaw healer. She survived, but she wasn't unscathed, Corvin himself had tried to turn her" Risa jumps in "We think it's either because of your mark, or because she was pregnant that he couldn't turn her"

*Snarls* "Mer had already started showing signs of her lycan, once that starts nothing can supersede it. Not even a vampire" Myo counters "Corvin seemed to think he could" Risa snaps "She was vulnerable, Brock. Weakened and alone. She was recently mated, in the process of transformation and pregnant. Not to mention she'd just had her heart shattered by the one person she thought would never hurt her!"
Myo rubs her back "It wasn't until Mer was given asylum in Graypaw that she found out she was pregnant. They said she didn't have a mark and no distinctive mate smell.."
My face falls into my hands, as the words leave me in a whisper "She cloaked it"

"That's why, when we realized what had happened we didn't seek you out. We'd only heard your version of the story and we took it as the truth. But for Meredith to cloak her mark and your scent on her; and risk being exposed like that.. we figured she really didn't want you to find her" Risa leans forward as much as she can with her pregnant belly in the way "It's only now that we're realizing.. you two got yourselves into a really big fucking mess didn't you" She's right, if only I'd been honest with Meredith from the start - if only we'd communicated better..

"All of this doesn't explain how Meredith's scent led our T5's here. They've been by this way countless times and it hasn't flagged up before.. and how did it pick up now if she cloaked it?" Axel questions thoughtfully "She smells like her mother" the words leave me somberly and hang heavily in the air "And cloaking spell can only last for so long, even when cast by the most powerful of witches"

"When we found out what had happened, we started sending out our own wolves. Not only to find Meredith, but we don't want bloodsuckers around our borders either. An attack here could be catastrophic" Risa adds "We got word that there would be a small convoy traveling towards Drake's Eye.. Mer was in it. We managed to get her here.. and she stayed for around a week.."
I spin on them, sadness rapidly replaced by fury "She was here?!.."
Risa nods "She was nervous the entire time. She told me that Corvin has bound her, that she has to let him feed from her and he somehow knows about Theia. He said that if Mer doesn't comply with whatever he wants; then he will either take Theia and make her do it, or he will kill her in front of Mer and leave her corpse hanging outside of her window. That way Mer has to watch her decay"

"Nobody will touch my little girl!" The windows rattle in their frames and the furniture shuffles in place; rage hovers over us like a swell of storm clouds, being pushed down on the room "Summon the warriors Axel".
"Theia knows about you!" the clouds dissipate only a fraction, clearing enough to let everyone breathe again "We told her you'd be here soon. She's obviously anxious but she agreed to meet you. If you wa-"
"Yes" my voice, flips like a coin - soft and affectionate at the prospect of meeting my child. Talk about bipolar.
"Wait" Axel interrupts, I'm seriously considering taping his mouth shut. "You said she only stayed for a week? Why did she leave?"

Again it's Risa that answers "Mer's only request was that we bring Theia here. She was scared that Corvin knew she was in Graypaw. She thought she would be safer here, in a new location. Theia's only been here for a few months" she continues "Corvin has Mer convinced that she is his mate, he has this hold over her that he's perfected over years. She's terrified of him, scared of the consequences of 'breaking his rules'. We need to get her back, she's worse than a prisoner Brock. She's his obsession and he's worked some kind of darkness into her"
"What do you mean?" a new kind of terror grips my heart
"She was in physical pain whilst she was here, didn't sleep and didn't eat. She was always cold to touch but her temperature was normal. We woke up one morning and she was just gone, like she was never even here" Risa sniffles at the memory, Myo snarls, "That son of a bitch has found a way to replicate the mate bond, and he's using it to trick her into doing his bidding".

IHey Wolfers, I know it's a big chapter with lots of information but it has to be done. Any questions please drop a comment and I'll try to answer them. Don't forget to vote!
FYI I post little chapter previews on my instagram @jessastales
Jessa x
🐺🌑

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