Chapter 6
Long lost princess.
Henley
I wake up that morning feeling better. I’ve gotten a good night’s sleep, and my head feels like it’s in a much better space.
Queen.
The word echoes in my mind, but I shove it away.
I’m not a queen. I’ll never be a queen. There is no need to worry.
My uncle is the true ruler. Besides, how could I rule a species that I know hardly anything about?
I only recently learned of my heritage. I can’t…
I won’t. Besides, Parker has duties as alpha.
It’s not like he could leave his pack to move here with me and be my consort.
The idea is laughable. I freaked out last night over nothing.
Still, when Parker and I walk out our bedroom door that morning and I see the guards stationed there, my stomach feels queasy.
Nope, we’re not thinking about it, I remind myself.
I smile at them. “Good morning.”
They both bow at the waist. “Princess,” they say in greeting.
My breath gets caught in my throat.
Okay, so much for not thinking about it.
“King Ferno will meet you in the dining room,” one of the guards says and motions with his arm. “Down the stairs and to the left.”
Not knowing what else to do, I follow his instructions.
My heart is racing fast as I head for the stairs. Parker grabs hold of my hand—it helps ease the panic.
Are you okay? He asks through our mate bond.
Yes. I’m totally fine, I say, but the hitch in my breath says otherwise.
If I say it enough times, maybe it’ll be true.
I can hear how fast your heart is beating, Parker says.
Right. I forgot about how good shifter hearing is.
Did you also forget the fact that I’m in your head? He asks.
I shoot him a glare. “So maybe I’m not okay, but it’s rude to point it out.”
He chuckles but doesn’t respond.
There are more guards in the dining room when we enter. I notice they eye Parker, but they bow to me. Just the sight makes my insides clench up.
Ignore it, I tell myself.
Because I can’t be a queen. I’m going to be the luna of Parker’s pack, which makes me anxious enough. But to think about actually ruling? No. Absolutely not.
I sit down across from Uncle Ferno, who is looking at something on his tablet. When he sees Parker and me, he turns off the screen and smiles.
“Good morning, Henley. How did you sleep?” he asks.
“I slept well, thank you.” I sit down in a chair close to him.
I have no idea how I slept after the bomb he dropped, but I did. It must’ve been pure exhaustion.
“Parker.” Uncle Ferno nods at him but shifts his attention back to me. “Are you okay? Last night you seemed kind of upset.”
“I’m fine.” I grab the juice that is in front of my placemat and take a long sip. I’m going to need a latte—I hope there is a good coffee shop on this island.
Uncle Ferno once again looks at Parker. “Is she actually fine?”
Parker looks between me and my uncle. He wisely chooses not to say anything.
Uncle Ferno chuckles. “I get it. Your parents were mates, you know? They were, above all, loyal to one another.”
My heart clenches as he mentions my parents.
I’m not ready yet.
Not.
Ready.
I clear my throat. “You know that Parker is going to be alpha, right?”
“I know he is to be alpha,” Uncle Ferno says. “I’ve learned that when I visited pack lands.”
I slowly blink. “Well, he is. Going to be alpha. Of his pack.”
Well, if I can’t convince him I shouldn’t be queen, my inability to string together a coherent sentence will definitely do the trick.
Uncle Ferno grins. “I know that hearing all this must be overwhelming to you. You weren’t raised knowing you would take the crown one day.”
I nod and try not to think about the ‘crown’ that is supposed to be mine.
“But you know that Parker has many siblings.” Uncle Ferno shifts his gaze to Parker. “One of them can take over, yes?”
Parker glances at me and gives a curt nod to my uncle. “If I leave the pack, my younger brother, August, will be alpha instead. He’s almost as dominant as I am and could grow to be just as strong, if given the opportunity.”
No, no, no. That option isn’t supposed to exist.
“But you love being alpha,” I say.
As the words leave my mouth, I doubt them. If anything, Parker has always hated his alpha duties. The only thing he likes about being alpha is his relationship with his betas.
He’d never leave Will and Blaine. I take comfort in that thought.
“Why can’t you keep being the king?” I ask, my gut churning.
“Because while being alpha is a trait that is passed to all children, being the ruler of the phoenixes is not. Though my mother was queen, I was never born for this role. My sister—your mother—was,” he answers.
“I am not a true leader, Henley. But you are. And without you, the monarch will cease to exist. It would be anarchy. Phoenixes would cease to exist, slowly fading over time.”
I swallow hard.
I don’t have a choice. I have to do this.
But what if I can’t?
Parker squeezes my hand. It’s the reassurance that I need.
I won’t be alone. I never will. Parker has reassured me of that many times.
But is he really okay with leaving his pack?
No, I can’t do this. There has to be another way.
Before I get lost in my panicked thoughts, Blaine and Will walk into the dining room. The guards begrudgingly let them pass. Blaine winks at me before sitting down and loading his plate with meat. Will stands for a few moments longer and studies me carefully before he sits down across from me.
“Are you okay?” Will asks.
Am I okay? What a loaded question. One that I definitely don’t have an answer for. I’m not sure that I’ll ever be ‘okay.’
When I don’t answer, Will shifts his gaze to Parker.
Parker clears his throat. “King Ferno was just telling us about the rules of crown inheritance.”
Will nods slowly. “So Henley is…”
“Currently a princess,” King Ferno answers. “But she is to be a queen, once she comes of age.”
“I’m eighteen,” I tell him, then snap my mouth shut.
Why did I tell him that? It’s like I’m shouting that I’m already of age—that I’m ready to take the crown. But I’m so not ready.
King Ferno chuckles. “I know how old you are. You aren’t eligible to take your throne until you are twenty five. And even then, you’ll be surrounded by many advisors. I will also be there to assist you.”
I let out a long breath.
Twenty five.
That’s seven years from now. I wouldn’t be a ruler for seven years. That doesn’t sound nearly as bad. I thought I would be crowned and put on a throne right away.
Wait, what am I saying? I don’t want this. I just want to be in Montana with Parker and his pack. The pack means everything to him.
Parker brings our joint hands up to his lips and he gently kisses the back of it. “You mean everything to me, Henley. The rest we will figure out.”
He drops my hand and begins picking up food dishes. He puts a small portion of each dish on my plate before serving himself. I watch him move, still in a daze.
“I’m sure you are all curious about the group that followed you from pack territory.” Uncle Ferno takes a sip of his juice.
“You know who had us followed?” Will asks, his eyes going slightly amber in color as his wolf is close to the surface.
“I suspect that it’s the same group that has hunted us for over a millennium,” Uncle Ferno answers. “The same group that nearly wiped us out of existence.”
“How are they still after us?” I ask. “And why?”
“They think we are too powerful. Their hatred is something that is taught to them by their fathers and their fathers’ fathers. They don’t see reason. They just hunt us,” he says. “And I am sorry that it is something you have to see. I wish I could shield you from this, my beautiful niece.”
“This type of hatred is not acceptable,” Parker says, his voice close to a growl. “And it’s not something my alpha will put up with.”
“Your dad?” I ask.
Parker shakes his head. “Dad won’t either, of course. But I mean Alpha Benson.”
Ah, right. Parker did tell me about that.
There are many alphas and many wolf packs, but the wolves also have an alpha who is sort of like a king. He rules over all the alphas and keeps the wolves in line.
“King Basilicus has also reached out to pledge his support. He says the Alpha Council is in agreement,” Uncle Ferno says.
King Basilicus is the king of the dragons—that man is scary and powerful. And the fact that he thinks I’m powerful…
Maybe Uncle Ferno is right. Maybe being the queen of the phoenixes is a blood thing. But asking about it requires talking about my parents, so I don’t bring it up. I’m not ready yet, though I know it’s not a subject I can avoid forever.
I don’t think they abandoned me. I think they died.
And they left me with my father because they knew he would protect me.
It eases some of the resentment I’ve carried for them, but I’m not ready to forgive them.
I can’t consider it right now. I spent my entire life resenting them for abandoning me, and it’s going to take time to shift my thoughts.
“Not even this shadowy group is strong enough to stand against the Alpha Council.” Parker sits up straighter, and I can feel his confidence through our bond. “With their support, Henley will be safe.”
Uncle Ferno nods slowly. “I believe Henley is safe. Not because of the Alpha Council’s support, but because you are her mate. You will protect her.”
I can feel Parker’s pride at Uncle Ferno’s words.
“Nobody can protect her better than her mate,” Will says, nodding. “And he’s not alone. Blaine and I won’t allow anything to happen to our alpha’s mate.”
I glance at Will, seeing the hardness in his eyes.
“He’s not your alpha yet, is he?” Uncle Ferno studies the three wolf shifters.
“He is,” Blaine slowly says. “He has been our alpha since the day he found out Henley was his mate. I’m not sure how it happened, but his dad stopped being our alpha. We still honor him as such, though.”
I gawk at him. “I didn’t know that.”
Blaine shrugs. “It was something we were discussing with Parker’s dad.”
“Even I have struggled to follow my dad’s alpha commands,” Parker admits.
“What about the rest of the pack?” Uncle Ferno sits forward, his eyes lighting with interest.
Parker shakes his head. “It’s only the three of us. It’s part of the reason August has been taking over my alpha duties. It is difficult for me to be on pack land. It’s part of the reason Dad was so happy to send us all here for the summer. He’s hoping some distance will help the problem.”
“Interesting,” he says. But I see the calculating gleam in Uncle Ferno’s eyes.
I swallow hard.
He is going to want us to stay once summer is over, and there isn’t a legitimate reason for us not to.
No. I can’t think about that now. For now, I just need to focus on breathing. I need to make it through the next few days. Right now, everything is just too much. The news is still too fresh.
“Eat,” Parker says. I can hear the alpha command in his voice. It doesn’t work on me, and he knows it, but he can’t help but use it.
I raise an eyebrow at him, but I do begin to eat. I have a feeling I’m going to need the strength.
“Tonight, we are having a community event,” Uncle Ferno announces. “It is just a bonfire on the beach, so nothing fancy. There will be lots of food for the wolves. But everybody is going to want to meet you, Henley.”
I’m barely able to swallow my bite of bacon. It feels like cement in my stomach. “I’m meeting everybody?”
He bows his head in a nod. “You’ll be meeting everybody who is here. They are all eager to meet their long lost princess.”
Long lost princess?
My ears begin to ring, and my head swims.
I can’t do this. I can’t be a princess. I can’t be a queen.
“What if they don’t like me?” I ask, my eyes wide with panic. “I barely know anything about phoenixes. I’ve only just learned to control my powers. I was raised by a wolf shifter. I’m not… qualified to be anybody’s princess.”
“Qualified or not, you are the true heir. And everybody has been waiting a long time to meet you. We never thought this day would come,” he says softly. “And nobody expects you to be anything but who you are. You’re enough. I promise that nobody expects you to be perfect.”
I nod, but I barely hear the words over the blood rushing through me as my heart beats at an alarming rate.
Ready or not, I have to face this.