Her Legacy (Royal Wolves #1)

Chapter Twenty-Three: Show Down Between My Mate and My Dad

Chapter Twenty-Three: Show Down Between My Mate and My Dad

When Mikhail and I reached Harbor Springs and I stepped out of the car, I felt like I would combust of emotions. I hadn’t been gone long but I had missed my parents. I missed my Mom’s laugh, my Dad’s gruff and firm tones, Ryan’s jokes and the feeling of belonging completely. I wanted to experience the closeness of my family at least once more before I went off to become some other entity with almost absolute power over other weres. As I walked past the car and toward the back porch of the house, I could hear loudness. Amongst all of it was my Dad’s firm voice. I knew immediately that he had met up with some others to discuss important alterations to the pack.

Going up the stairs of the white Victorian structure, I felt more lost than I had before. I knew when I left here that most likely I would be leaving for good. You couldn’t be the queen of a race and rule from home. You had to make adjustments and live in the safety and perimeter of the royal city. Mikhail had travelled out to get me but he had escort. Even though it had been his brothers and one of their mates’ it had still been precautionary because two royals could most definitely protect him if the need arose. Hell he could protect himself.

As the door opened and I stepped inside, I walked straight to the living room, knowing that this was where my Dad sometimes held small meetings with members of the pack. Mikhail walked beside me with the air and arrogance of a king. I knew that the others wouldn’t be impressed by him. Well maybe, Tyler would be but he was young and curious at fifteen. The room was packed to the capacity with members of the pack that were quite often called “fighters”, “enforcers”, and “warriors.” If I had to give them a title it would be warriors because they fought the enemy and kept them away. They helped enforce the laws of the pack. They were all of the above. It took intensive training to become a warrior for the Meirde Pack. It was a serious job.

As I stopped in the doorway, my Dad faltered in his speech and turned. No words were necessary, I flew across the room and leapt into his arms. A smile filtered his face and his arms crushed me into a tight hug.

“Jade,” he breathed. “You’re ok.”

I nodded. “I’m fine. Mikhail kept me safe.”

His gaze moved from me to Mikhail standing in the doorway and my Dad thanked him. “Thank you for keeping her safe and returning her.”

At those words the unreadable expression on Mikhail’s proud aristocratic face changed to determination. “She is not staying. She wanted to visit you briefly before we returned to Leighton.”

Dismay crossed my Dad’s features and his grip tightened on me as if he wouldn’t let me go.

“Surely you don’t expect her to survive in that barbaric place that you call Leighton?” he cried.

Mikhail’s face became stone. “Leighton is not barbaric. We are a proud and firm city of Weres. We train our young to protect one another. We train them to be strong, solid leaders without question. They may be a little rough around the edges somewhat and not your idea of civil but we survive as the strongest of packs,” he declared, anger clear in his tone.

“No, Mikhail, I’ve been to Leighton. Your pack of wolves is savage and beastly,” he accused. “They don’t think of anything other than keeping humans out of the city.”

I watched silently. What was he talking about? I had been to Leighton and I hadn’t seen anything so dramatic. But then I hadn’t stayed long either or got to stay and see the sights.

“We do what is necessary to protect our own,” he growled. “Unlike the lot of you, we don’t allow future or potential hunters into our circles. We don’t mingle with humans who panic and attack as soon as they find out you’re different. You have no idea of the amount causalities and losses that happen every year because of those damn hunters. We have all lost family and friends to them because they decided that it was acceptable to grab our kind and experiment on them. Do you have any idea of the chaos and destruction that has come from them? Leighton is sealed up tight and doesn’t allow for that nonsense. We are a city of werewolves. We don’t have humans in our midst.”