Since the decision was made, my headache eased up just a little bit. While we were eating dinner, I had a thought. If Rebecca hated it so much here, in Europe that is, if Danny isn’t needed to testify, why don’t they go and visit her family? It would be a win-win for them, wouldn’t it? So, I decided to ask Dad that question through our link.
‘Dad, if Danny isn’t needed here to testify or anything else. Why don’t they go back home or rather go visit Rebecca’s family? This would give them time to reconnect with her family since she’s feeling isolated here. Wouldn’t that be a good idea?” I asked him.
‘I think that would be a great idea especially since she is feeling alienated from her family right now. Let me casually suggest it,’ suggested Dad.
“I was thinking since the decision has been made; why don’t we double-check to make sure you don’t have to testify. This way you can take Rebecca and Hunter to visit her family. What do you say Danny?” inquired Dad.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to leave Melanie. She might need me,” contested Danny as if he was trying to come up with some type of excuse not to leave.
“Danny, I’ll be okay. I have Anthony, Mom, Dad, Aunt Freya, and Uncle Vladimir who will take care of me. You go take Rebecca to see her family. She misses them. It’s important for her to reconnect with them. I’ll be alright. I promise,” I assured him. “You and Rebecca need to have a family vacation of at least a month anyway. You haven’t had time alone since-forever.” My wolf wanted to take care of her brother. He took care of her-now it was her turn to return the favor.
“Rebecca does that sound like something you’d like to do?” inquired Danny softly to her.
“That sounds wonderful to me. I would love to see my family and spend some time alone with just you and Hunter without having to worry about work and everything else. Thank you for thinking about us like that Melanie,” gushed Rebecca as tears welled up in her eyes.
“You’re welcome, Rebecca. I just thought you needed some time with your family for a change. We can be a little overbearing at times-we know it,” I admitted to Rebecca.
“Yeah well, it comes from a good place-you all love each other and you support each other no matter what. It’s a rare aspect to find in some families. This family is special,” boasted Rebecca. “I’m lucky to be a part of it.”
“That you are, my dear. That you are,” beamed Danny as he kissed her lips tenderly.
“Awwww,” I cried out loud mocking my brother who blushed a bright pink. My Mom, Dad, Aunt Freya, and Uncle Vladimir only laughed at me while Anthony told me it wasn’t nice to tease my brother in our link.
In my defense, my brother has teased me mercilessly since I met Anthony about how mushy or corny we’ve become. How come I can’t give him a taste of his own medicine? Huh? Okay, I’ll give him a break. Geez people.
After dinner, Uncle Vladimir was able to get in touch with Ms. Dagastino to find out if Danny was needed for the trial. He was not. He was given permission to leave the country. Yay, Danny! They packed their bags and were scheduled to depart for their family vacation tomorrow morning. Plans made. Everyone retired for the evening.
Morning came and we got ready to show up at the Municipal Building. I was glad that I could still stay in the private room set off to the side until I was needed. Mom and Anthony sat with me. We arrived and found that they had placed a bassinet and a changing table in there for us to use, how thoughtful.
I began working on my normal job to gain a sense of normalcy. I haven’t had that in a while. It felt good to concentrate on it and not on anything else. The day flew by in a blur since I worked on my normal stuff. I was relieved that I wasn’t called for anything today. I had a good day today.
The rest of the week flew by in a blur of activity. I wasn’t called to testify but Dad was recalled as was Uncle Vladimir and Uncle Friedrich. I was able to focus on my regular job. The government surveillance job was humming right along. The family member who had joined the ‘surveilled’ family inner circle was gathering all the evidence needed to take them down. Things were finally working in the right direction.
I was glad when I was told that I didn’t have to testify again. We were told to come back to court the next day to hear the verdict. I was more than happy to hear that this was finally coming to a close so we could finally go home and resume our lives once again.
Sophia wanted all of us to come for a family dinner tonight so we could have a ‘conversation’ about what our next steps would be. I was curious what she wanted to ‘talk’ about.
When we all showed up for dinner, we were all surprised that it included Alpha King Matthew, Queen Diana, Beta Walsh, and Alpha Richard as well. Hmm, interesting. What was on Sophia’s mind?
Dinner started and the conversation was pleasant. We were enjoying each other’s company in an informal atmosphere without having to worry about protocol.
All of a sudden, Sophia struck a fork to a glass, “May I have everyone’s attention, please? With the end of the trial and everything else that has been going on, I just wanted to say, that I have enjoyed having all of you here as our guest. Please come back when you can for a visit-not work-related. We would welcome you with open arms. We would love to show you our lovely country,” boasted Sophia.
“Your Majesty, if I may,” said Uncle Vladimir. “I would like to propose a toast. Here’s to Friends and family, and may our bond strengthen between our two countries. Cheers!”
“Cheers!” toasted everyone in unison and then they drank from their glasses.
“Now, I believe we have another announcement that needs to be made. Duke Vladimir I believe an agreement or rather a decision was made on who will succeed you in a couple of years. Care to enlighten us all on who will succeed you?” commanded Sophia.
“Yes, Your Majesty. The decision was made just yesterday that Dutchess Melanie will succeed me in my position. We have not solidified the timeline but it will happen at the latest in two years’ time,” announced Uncle Vladimir.
“Congratulations Dutchess Melanie! I look forward to having you as my Second-in-Command,” stated Sophia happily.
“Thank you, Queen Sophia. I still have some time to get everything taken care of back at home. I still have some things to accomplish as Delta of the Brookwood Pack before I turn the position over to Danny,” I announced to everyone. My wolf was preening at Sophia’s congratulations.
“I see. You just can’t live without us, huh?” teased Alpha Richard.
“No, I just can’t. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself,” I teased back at him as the room erupted into chuckles at our banter.
“I’m sure Danny and Rebecca will appreciate their vacation and family time together. Good call by the way,” Sophia exclaimed.
“It was the right thing to do. Give me a year and a half to wrap up my duties as Delta, then I can come over and begin my new life as a Dutchess. Agreed?” I asked to no one in particular.
“Agreed,” noted Uncle Vladimir with a huge smile on his face. “Thank you, Melanie.”
“You’re welcome,” I replied as I returned his smile with one just as big. Mom, Dad, Sophia, Uncle Friedrich, Alpha Richard, and Alpha King Matthew all had proud expressions on their faces.
‘I love you so much, my love,’ cooed Anthony in our link.
‘I love you too. Is that timeline okay with you? I should have consulted with you before I said anything,’ I replied to him.
‘No need to apologize my love. The timeline is perfect. This gives us plenty of time to arrange everything. And we don’t have to worry about you giving birth on an airplane,’ shared Anthony.
‘Good point,’ I replied to him with a soft smile.
The dinner drew to a close. We left the castle and went back to Uncle Vladimir’s villa to prepare for tomorrow’s verdict. It was going to be an interesting day tomorrow. I couldn’t wait to find out what kind of punishment they were going to give to Michael.