Where do we go from here indeed? That’s a very good question. The rest of the evening went by with us watching football, Sophia and Mason getting to know each other followed by Uncle Friedrich officially welcoming him to the family. What a glorious night indeed.
Before we all retired for the evening, Alpha Richard informed King Friedrich that the European Council had arrived and was settled in at the pack house. It was decided that Mason would stay at our house for the next few days. He called his Alpha to let him know he found his mate but he didn’t say he would be moving to Europe. He held back that nugget of information from Alpha Tucker.
The next day came all too quickly. We all had to meet at the pack house the next day. Of course, I was not allowed to walk anywhere. Anthony carried me into the pack house and gently placed me into a chair.
It was decided that The Alpha Kings, both Councils, and I would meet in the ‘grand’ Conference Room at 9 AM. I had just enough time to go check things out at the Command Center. Well, at least that’s what I wanted to do but I was outvoted. Dad, Anthony, and especially Alpha Richard insisted that I take things easy this morning since I was going to be dealing with both Councils along with both Alpha Kings in the meeting this morning. All righty that.
I was sat down in the living room area of the pack house so the pack members could come over and greet me. They were anxious to see me and make sure I was ‘okay.’ They knew I was because of the pack link but they wanted to cast their own eyes on me to see for themselves.
Did I mention how much I love my pack members?
As I’m sitting there talking with them, Allison our head cook comes in with a piece of her apple cinnamon cake. Yummy goodness. She made sure I got a warm piece fresh out of the oven. Did I mention I love my pack members? They really are the best.
I was enjoying my cake when I was told it was time to meet with the Alpha Kings and the Council but I wasn’t finished with my cake. I was told to finish eating it along the way. Okay, whatever. I was still eating it when they delivered me to the Conference Room.
Anderson knocked on the door and waited for the ‘come in’ before he opened the door for me. I was allowed to walk into the room to the surprise of both Alpha Kings. I walked over to the empty chair and greeted everyone in the room.
“Good morning, Alpha Kings Matthew and Friedrich,” I stated as I bowed toward them.
“Good morning Delta Melanie. I see you were allowed to walk into the room this morning instead of being carried. How’d you manage that feat?” chuckled King Matthew.
“I promised to behave today and not move around while in the room. I promised to go straight to my chair and sit down,” I answered him truthfully.
“I see. Well then, let’s allow you to fulfill your promise then. Shall we?” King Friedrich chuckled right along with King Matthew.
The European Council rose when I entered the room. They waited for our banter to finish before they stated, “Dutchess Melanie” as they bowed toward me. I nodded toward them as a sign they could have a seat. I guess we forgot to mention to Alpha King Matthew that I was also a Dutchess in Europe, not just the Alpha King’s niece.
“Dutchess?” inquired Elder Lee. “Her title is Delta, not Dutchess,” corrected Elder Lee to the European Council.
“Elder Lee, Delta Melanie is a Dutchess in our Country. She was born to a Dutchess; therefore, she is a Dutchess. Yes, she holds the title of Delta in the Brookwood pack, she will always be addressed as Dutchess by the European Council as a sign of respect,” explained Alpha King Friedrich.
The rest of the U. S. Council that did not know that nugget of information just paled and became anxious. Elder Hawkins was the only one on the Council who knew my entire family history because he was a close family friend. Now the fun was about to begin.
“May I begin the meeting Alpha Kings?” I asked as I took my seat and got comfortable. Anderson brought in my laptop and materials.
“Yes Delta Melanie, you may begin,” King Matthew replied with a smirk on his face.
“Good morning everyone. The reason why we are meeting here this morning is two-fold. We are trying to avoid a war between our two countries. The reasons for the war are as follows: Prince Michael rejected Princess Sophia as his fated mate. Then Prince Michael assaulted Delta Melanie causing her to miscarry one of her twins. Those are the original two reasons we were meeting for. One additional reason was added-the escape of Prince Michael after the U. S. Council arranged for Prince Michael to be moved out of the custody of the Brookwood Pack’s custody and moved to a different facility. He never made it to the other facility. Did I miss anything?” I asked everyone in the room waiting for clarification.
Everyone shook their heads ‘no.’
“Okay, let’s discuss the first point. The rejection of Princess Sophia. Both Alpha Kings Matthew and Friedrich and I were discussing the By-Laws when we needed clarification from Prince Michael to see just how many people knew if his mate was in fact ‘chosen’ and not fated. …” was all I could say before I was interrupted.
“What do you mean ‘chosen’ and not fated? Princess Wendy is his fated mate,” bellowed Elder Marshall.
“No, she is his chosen mate,” corrected King Matthew. “We discovered this out at Delta Melanie’s Oath of Delta Ceremony when Princess Sophia’s wolf recognized Prince Michael’s wolf as her fated mate. He verified it to everyone present,” corrected King Matthew.
“He lied to us and everyone in the nation!? How could he? Does he know the penalty for what he has done?” demanded Elder Isaiah.
“Obviously he didn’t think of the consequences when he chose Princess Wendy as his mate and they claimed to be fated mates. Then, they went through with the crowning ceremony,” explained King Matthew.
“What do the By-Laws state about the rejection?” demanded Elder Brown.
“Well, it gets tricky. According to the By-Laws, he has two options since he is a Prince. He can voluntarily give up his right to the throne and keep his chosen mate. OR he will be stripped of his title and banished from the royal family. Those are his choices,” I read to them.
“It further states, subsection 6. 2. 4 that the Alpha King could pardon or choose not to enforce the stripping of the title. In subsection 6. 2. 7, it states if in rare cases that the Prince or Princess is mated with another Prince or Princess from another country, the reigning monarch from that country has the deciding vote what the punishment would be in order to avoid a war. Now that we know what the By-Laws state, what are your thoughts?” I asked the Council.
“Prince Michael has to have some sort of consequences because he lied to everyone about Princess Wendy being his ‘fated’ mate when she was his ‘chosen’ mate. When this becomes public knowledge, people will be outraged especially since he snubbed Princess Sophia like he did,” Elder Hawkins explained.
“Yes, but then, we have the situation where Prince Michael doesn’t think protocol doesn’t apply to him. He simply does as he pleases. He not only knocked down Dutchess Melanie with the door but kicked her in her stomach thus killing one of her heirs. What are we going to do about that? That’s feticide?” demanded Elder Allister.
“Our people will want justice for both Princess Sophia and Dutchess Melanie! Then, you up and lost the person responsible! How are you going to rectify this mistake?! HOW?” demanded Elder Olaf.
The members of the U. S. Council looked at each other as if they wanted someone else to answer the question and not them.
“Elder Olaf. I share in your anger at the loss of Prince Michael. I was the one who voted to keep Prince Michael here in the dungeons at the Brookwood Pack where we could keep an eye on him. Yes, I will keep throwing it in your faces, because I was right and you were wrong,” Elder Hawkins said as he looked at the other U. S. Council members. “I want nothing more than to hold Prince Michael accountable for everything he did against Princess Sophia and especially against Dutchess Melanie. She has suffered an injustice that no she-wolf should-the loss of her unborn child at the hands of someone who has taken no accountability for his actions,” explained Elder Hawkins.
“I agree. We need to find him and prosecute him for the assault and death of her unborn child. But, we need to find him first,” declared Elder Dimitri.
“Agreed,” Elder Damon said.
“Will the prosecution of his crimes be enough to avoid a war between the two countries?” I asked for clarification.
“That is just for the assault and feticide. What about the rejection? We still haven’t addressed that issue. He needs to be stripped of his title or at least banished,” declared Elder Gustav.
“That sounds logical. It is according to the By-Laws and well within our purview,” announced Elder Brown.
“Okay, before we take a vote on anything, why don’t we take a break? I need to use the restroom,” I declared with a sense of urgency in my voice.
“Yes, I think a break is definitely in order,” declared King Matthew.
I sent Anthony a message that I needed to use the restroom. He knocked on the door. King Matthew bade him, “Come in.” Anthony came over and picked me up gently.
“Come on beautiful, let’s get you to the restroom. Hmm?” chuckled Anthony.
“It’s not funny. Please hurry,” I begged.
The room erupted in chuckles and laughter at our exchange. I made it to the restroom in just enough time. I felt like I was going to explode.
Afterward, Anthony gave me a soft, passionate kiss before he took me back to the Conference Room for ‘luck’ he said, and because he ‘missed’ me. Did I mention I love my mate?