Rose’s POV;
“WHAT? A war?” My eyes turned as wide as the moon.
“Yeah, Elijah, Alpha King Cole, Liam, and others went to a war with vampires” Layla explained anxiously. All the worry that she was hiding in her eyes was now visible in her delicate face.
“Vampires exist?” I asked astonished by one other fact that I was blinded to.
“Unfortunately, yes and they attacked my pack, Silver Moon. My family and my pack are in grave danger. I don’t know if they are even alive or not. Elijah and others went there as soon as possible to protect them” As the painful reality came out in the open, tears started rolling out of her eyes.
“I am sorry to hear that” I hugged her gently and patted her back to show my support. I cant even imagine what she is going through.
I knew she was in no condition to talk any further.
After a while, she parted from me and wiped her tears from her now ruby face. I took her hand and sat on the most giant bed I have seen in my entire life. I was really amazed by the interior of the room but I had no time to acknowledge or appreciate it.
“They were crawling in our lands for a while now but the gravity of the situation did not hit us until they cut us off from the world and attacked us with a great well-planned force. I am really scared, Rose. I am trying to act normal, to act brave but I am dying from inside.” Layla said tightening the grip on my hand as she tightly closed her eyes.
“My family was already in danger and now my mate also went there along with my precious cousin” At her words my heart wretched in fear, but I calmed myself before assuring her.
“Don’t worry, everything will be all right. Look, I know that I am not really aware of their actual power but I believe in Elijah and others. They will come back with good news” I said gently hoping the words to be true for her sake and mine as well.
“I hope so too” She replied with a weak voice. She wiped her tears out of her face and turned to me.
“I am sorry, I bothered you with my life’s problems” She looked embarrassed.
“No way! We are family, just like you said. So, your problems are now my problems too” I said with a small smile.
“Thank you” Layla replied gratefully.
“Don’t thank me!” I winked at her and she smiled and for the first time, her eyes were not holding the same amount of pain as before, maybe sharing does help in reducing the pain.
“Okay, one of the guards must have kept your luggage in the walk-in closet. Go and freshen up. I will come back with some tea and refreshments and then will help you unpack your stuff. And also, I brought some pajamas for you for the regular pajama party. It’s in a closet too. I hope you don’t mind” She said pointing towards the huge door in the room to show the closet.
“Are they oversized?” I asked curiously and hopefully.
“Very” Her face lightened up.
“Great” I replied cheerfully.
Like promised, she came back with the most flavorful tea and the tasty refreshments. Cora also visited with her and both of them helped me unpack. I was glad that I made the right decision to come here. We chatted the entire time we were unpacking about various non-serious topics.
After that, we had dinner with Elijah’s mother, Aunt, and her son, Nicholas. The dinner was awkward, without a doubt. I do not even know how food tasted due to Elijah’s mother’s constant staring. I just gulped it with great difficulty.
I felt like she was searching for someone in me but I chose to keep my head down until Elijah arrived. It was clear that Elijah didn’t brief her about my background, and if I tell her now, that might create misunderstandings between a son and his mother.
Once we were done with dinner, Cora, Layla and I changed into the pajamas that Layla brought. One by one Cora and Layla told me the old horror stories about ancient werewolf tribes and I don’t know when we fell asleep.
……………..
Elijah’s Mother’s POV;
“I have seen her somewhere before” I growled while sitting on my bed.
I couldn’t help but stare at her the entire time during dinner.
Those emerald green eyes, that ethereally perfect face, those delicate celestial features even those dusky blonde wavy hair. I have seen it before, I am sure of it.
When I looked deep into her emerald green eyes during dinner, a blurry vision of a certain someone flashed before my eyes but that was not possible.
Am I overthinking? Scratch that, Am I being paranoid?
I was the one who fought with my husband for my son’s right to choose his mate and now I am acting like a maniac with her.
Am I really being a nasty mother-in-law with her?
Does she really look like…. Or I am just being absurd?
I have not even seen her in person, so how am I supposed to know?
I grabbed a handful of hair and started pulling it. Just when the pain started kicking in, an idea popped into my head.
“The store room!” I shouted to myself for taking so much time to investigate.
All the important documented stuff related to this pack is stored in that place and there is even a highly classified room designated for details about the royals. This room will also have a detailed history of Alpha Cole and maybe something about her too.
The fact that it is underground and my visit may arouse suspicion for Cole was stopping me from going there. Tonight is my only chance, as being caught up by Crystal tomorrow, might be more awkward than explaining myself to Cole when he comes back. Not to mention this unease will never let me rest until I know the complete truth.
Thinking that, I left my room and moved towards the store room. I told my personal servants and guards to clear my way which helped me a lot to reach there in no time.
Now for the most difficult part, I need to go to the furthest corner to reach the room where all the old personal belongings related to royals are kept.
One of my servants held the lamp and walked before me to guide me towards the stairs.
Being the Queen makes things really easy as I already have the keys to each and every door here.
I opened the door and we went inside.
We went further towards the corner and opened the last room of the chamber.
“What are we looking for here, Your Majesty?” Hazel, my personal servant, asked.
“A portrait” I replied observing the room with deep concentration.
There were plenty of scrolls kept in the boxes near us. I started searching for the one.
“A portrait of whom, Your Majesty?” She asked and I gave her a stern look.
She looked down and began searching for something she didn’t even know.
I realized how absurd I was being with her, how could she able to find something she didn’t even know? There are hundreds, if not thousands, of scrolls there, how will I find it alone?
“Alpha King’s ex-lover” I replied under my breath.
“Ms. Mary Dawson” words came out of her mouth like an automatic reaction.
I wasn’t surprised that she knew. It was a given knowing that Hazel had spent her entire life in this castle and also found her best friend and her mate Henry, here as well.
“Here” she handed me a scroll within a minute.
I opened it and gazed at the portrait of a young beautiful girl with emerald green eyes and long wavy dusky blonde hair.
“That’s impossible. I wasn’t imagining things. She indeed looks exactly like her”