The Broken Wolf
Chapter 107

We walk into the dining room, me holding Seth’s arm, and as we step in, everyone stops and bows. It feels so odd, and I don’t remember this happening when they all arrived at Lunar Falls, but I guess I wasn’t actually in the room when they arrived. I nervously smile at a few people nearby who looked up at us as Seth leads me up to the table in front as I hold tightly to his arm. He squeezes my hand, and it makes me smile as I look up at him, but he’s as stone faced as he ever is in a public setting.

“Thank you for finding the time to join us,” Alpha Stephen says to us with a smirk as we approach the table, thankfully not loud enough that everyone could hear.

Seth glares at him. “I do believe we are right on time,” he tells him, with a dangerous tone to his voice. He pulls out a chair for me and I quickly sit, hoping that he’s not sticking me between the two of them. He sits on the other side of me and I’m terrified for a moment as it seems to be exactly what has happened until Luna Daphne sits next to me, causing a flood of relief to wash over me.

“Hello, again, Princess Molly,” she tells me with a quick bow and a bright smile.

“Hello,” I respond. “Your pack house is very nice.”

“Thank you!” she tells me, and she seems so genuine. “I made some changes that some members of the pack didn’t seem to care for, but it was too dark and sad in here.”

I smile at her as she tells me this, her nose wrinkling as she talks about those pack members. “You can’t please everyone, but I think it’s lovely.”

Alpha Stephen sits down next to his mate and motions to someone who I assume is an Omega. A moment later, people come in carrying trays of food. A young girl, she can’t be more than 12, walks up to us, carrying a tray that she’s struggling to balance.

She makes it to us and looks at Seth, and then quickly looks over to me and I can see how scared the poor girl is. She attempts to bow, but as she does, the tray becomes unsteady.

I stand up quickly and reach forward, placing a hand on the tray to help steady it. Her eyes become wide and I can see tears begin to form.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she tells me quickly, trying to move the tray around.

“You’re completely fine, dear. It looks heavy. I didn’t want you to get burned,” I tell her with a smile, hoping to ease her fears as I sit back down. “Bowing while holding a tray seems pretty tricky. You did well.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” she says with a small smile, but I note that her eyes quickly move to the empty chairs next to Seth.

“What’s your name?” I ask her and I see the Alpha’s eyes bulge out of his face as I speak with this poor kid.

She smiles at me brightly, placing plates on the table. “I’m Katie-May.”

“It’s nice to meet you Katie-May,” I tell her, returning her smile. “You know, you’re the first person that I’ve actually met here.”

“Really,” she asks and I nod to her.

“How old are you, Katie-May?”

“I just turned 12.”

“Oh, wow! It’s so much fun being 12. Do you work in the kitchen a lot?”

She nods, but her face falls. “I started working there when my parents died in an attack.”

“I”m sorry to hear that. When do you have time to go to school?” I ask her, but I have I feeling I know the answer.

“Oh, I don’t. I have to work so my little brother can go.”

These assholes. Making an orphaned child work instead of educating her.

“Well, I bet he really loves that. Thank you for bringing our dinner. It looks delicious,” I tell her and she bows again and turns to leave, but she turns back to me.

“It was really nice to meet you, Princess Molly!” she says, and skips off to the kitchen.

I feel Seth’s hand squeeze my thigh under the table.

We’ll talk about it later. Now is not the time or place.

She’s 12, Seth. 12!

I know, Love. Calm down. We’ll figure it out.

The door to the dining room opens and Lydia and her mate walk in. To my surprise, and apparently Seth’s, they take the seats next to him, instead of Alpha Stephen. I can feel the anger, frustration and worry from Seth as the old man immediately sits next to Seth, leaving Lydia to pull her own chair out.

We should have stayed in bed.

I can’t help but smile at that as I reach over and squeeze his leg.

“Glad you could both join us,” the old man says to Seth, so informally, and never bowing.

“I do believe my mate and I made it here on time,” Seth says, taking another bite, I’m sure to avoid having to talk to him.

I look around and note that the entire atmosphere of the room went down after they entered. Even Stephen and Lydia are less chipper now that they have arrived.

“I’m sure you want to talk about the girl,” Stephen says to me, his lips tight.

“No. We can discuss it later,” I tell him and he looks relieved, but too relieved. “I need some time to sort my thoughts, but there will be a discussion.”

“So, Molly,” Daphne speaks up, a clear attempt to cut through the tension.

Before she can finish though, Seth speaks up. “It’s Princess Molly.”

“Oh, yes. Princess Molly, I’m so sorry,” she says, her face turning red. She looks down and whispers. “I’ve never met anyone Royal before.”

“It’s alright, Luna,” I whisper to her. “I’ve never BEEN royal before. What were you going to say?”

She smiles at me gratefully. “I was just going to ask what it was like growing up in such a large pack. I believe Lunar Falls is supposed to be one of the largest, correct?”

I smile at her. “Yeah, it’s pretty large. I’m, uhh… pretty introverted, so I mostly kept to myself. There was always SOMEONE around though, so I couldn’t get away with too much without someone telling my dad.”

“Your dad is the Alpha there, right?”

I nod, but then catch myself. “He was. He has actually just recently handed the pack to my brother. ”

“Oh, wow. That must have been nice. My father was just a beta.” she says, looking down.

“There’s nothing wrong with your dad being a Beta,” I tell her, feeling confused at the way she’s acting. “Everyone plays a role in a pack. And every role is important.”

This conversation seems odd and I looked at Seth, thinking of jumping in on that conversation, but the old man doesn’t seem to have stopped speaking. Seth looks like he could murder someone.

“So, where is a good spot to go see the sunrise tomorrow?” I ask Lydia and Stephen.

Stephen looks at me, confused. “You should have a decent view from your room but we can move you if you’d like.”

“Oh, no. I was thinking of going for a hike in the morning with Prince Seth,” I explain.

Lydia looks horrified at the thought of being outside at all and Stephen still looks confused. “You want to go for a hike. With SETH? He hates being outside if he can avoid it.”

I laugh at that. “Prince Seth,” I gently correct him. “And he’ll go if I wake him up and drag him with me.”

“It’s pretty wooded throughout our pack. There’s a clearing towards the north that might have a decent view,” he tells me, but seems pretty unsure about anywhere.

I nod. “It’s nearly at the territory line with the Buck Moon Pack, correct? The one in question?”

He can’t answer me though because Seth has now joined in the conversation, desperately trying to escape the man next to him. “We’re going for a hike in the morning?”

“Surprise!” I tell him, looking up at him and smiling, hoping he won’t be too upset.

He sighs deeply and looks up at the ceiling. “Fine, but can it be after breakfast?”

“Nope,” I tell him, shaking my head. “You have that meeting and there won’t be enough time. It’s got to be early.”

He looks at me and tries to look irritated, but I can see the smile tugging at his lips. “Alright, Molly,” he says, kissing the top of my head, whispering in my ear. “You owe me.”

“Well, Molly,” the old man speaks up and I want to roll my eyes.

“Princess,” Seth growls lowly, but he’s clearly upset. I look at him and can tell that he’s struggling to hold Altair back.

I place my hand gently on my mate’s arm in an attempt to help calm him. “I’m sorry, I don’t think anyone told me your name.”

“Beta Reginald,” he says to me, looking offended. In my defense, though, no one told me his name. He was introduced to me as the Alpha’s Sister’s Mate. “I’ve been the Beta here for 35 years.”

“Oh,” I say, surprised, and I look to the Alpha. “You didn’t name your own Beta when you took over?”

He looks surprised that I would even point it out but he slowly shakes his head, not saying anything.

“He wasn’t quite ready to step into his role and needed some experienced guidance,” Reginald says smugly, but my eyes haven’t left Alpha and I can tell that it is absolutely not what happened.

“And how lucky for you that you were also mated to the Alpha’s sister,” I say to him and I feel Seth grip my leg under the table tightly, trying to warn me to stop. I, however, am fully aware that I’m poking what seems to be a rabid bear. “It must have come as quite a shock, being mated to a girl you watched grow up. Your Alpha’s daughter.”

“It was a blessing from the Goddess,” he says, but there’s anger behind his eyes.

This is too much, Molly. Sage! You’re here. You need to pull it back before it becomes dangerous.

I look at Lydia and realize that she doesn’t look like Seth had described. She’s beautiful, one of the most beautiful women I’ve seen, but she looks sad. She doesn’t look assertive, or like she could be aggressive in any situation. She just looks sad and scared.

“Lydia,” I say, and Seth looks at me, his eyes warning me. “The men have a meeting tomorrow morning. Would you and Luna Daphne show me around then? I’d love to see your pack and meet some people.”

She looks up with an unsure look on her face as she glances at her mate. I don’t miss his nod, and neither does Seth, before she agrees. Daphne seems excited about this, as well.

“We can have tea, after,” Daphne suggests and I nod.

“That would be really nice,” I tell her with a smile.

“So, Princess Molly,” Reginald says and I can feel Seth’s anger growing to a very unhealthy level every time the man opens his mouth. “What was it like to realize you were mated to the future King, when you began life as the daughter of a rogue w***e?”

I don’t even have time to process what this a*****e has said when Seth quickly stands from his chair and has the old man laid out on the table, his hand tight around his throat.

“You know not what you speak,” he growls out and his voice is so low that I’m not sure that Altair isn’t in complete control. “She is the future queen, no matter her parentage. I should rip your throat out for disrespecting the Princess. It’s within my rights as the future king and her mate.”

He’s threatening to rip out his throat but with how he’s squeezing the man’s throat, he may just collapse it. “Seth,” I whisper to him but he doesn’t respond.

“Hey,” I whisper, placing my hand on his arm. He turns and looks at me, his eyes completely black. Shit. This man is one comment away from Seth shifting and tearing him apart in front of an entire pack.

I look at Reginald and he desperately looks back at me. “I am the biological daughter of a rogue. A wonderful rogue who loved me, and sent me to a pack for a better life. And there I was adopted by a wonderful family. You are dangerously close to losing your life, so I suggest you keep your mouth shut as we leave the room.”

I look over at Stephen who is now standing, but doesn’t seem to want to jump in to help. “It’s probably best if he doesn’t join you for the meeting in the morning,” I tell him and he nods.

“Let him go before we have a problem,” I whisper in Seth’s ear. “We’re going upstairs.”

He looks at me, then back at the man, stopping to think. He releases the man and stands straight but reaches down, grabbing him by the shirt. I don’t even have time to stop him as he punches him straight in the face, before releasing him and grabbing my hand to lead me out.