The Broken Wolf
Chapter 145

“Seth, she wrote about Lily,” I say, now fully crying. “She’s not safe.”

“She will be,” he tells me, his voice mildly reassuring. “She has Benjamin and Albert is still staying at their house. If anything happens, your brother can send more men in. She’s protected, Love.”

I nod but realize he can’t see me. “Everyone knows,” I whisper, feeling defeated. I look up and see my mom, remembering that I’m not alone. “Seth, I’ll call you back.” I tell him and hang up, handing the phone back to my mom. I pick up my own and walk into the bathroom, leaving her standing there confused.

I close the bathroom door and after a moment, I can smell that she’s left the room, though I’m pretty sure she’s in the living area. I sniff deeply and smell that my dad and brother are in there with her. I sit on the floor, leaning against the wall and unlock my phone, hitting the button to video call my mate.

Seth comes into view and his face immediately softens when he sees my tearstained face. “I’m so sorry.”

I nod and sniffle, wiping my nose on the back of my hand in a very un-royal manner. “The whole kingdom knows I was abandoned. They all know about my brothers,” I whisper, not wanting anyone else to hear how broken I feel about this.

“Molly, no one is going to judge you because of that,” he says to me and I sniffle again, just wanting him here instead of over the phone. “For everything that the reporter asked, they could have shared far more information. People are going to read that and think that you were mistreated. They’re going to come after dad, and they should. We may end up taking the throne sooner.”

I nod, not really wanting to discuss the possibilities or even think about them right now. “I should go,” I tell him. “They’re all waiting out there. I was hoping they’d leave.”

“I’m sending more warriors from the palace shortly,” Seth tells me and I furrow my brow in confusion. “IF anything happens and your brother’s men need to go to Lily, I want to be sure you’re still well protected.”

“Alright,” I whisper, feeling a bit better that he’s taking my concern seriously. “I love you.”

“I love you,” he tells me with a small smile. “Try not to worry too much. Even if, right now, the kingdom doesn’t, I know who truly are. Someday, you’ll get to show them.”

After washing my face in an attempt to clean my tear stained cheeks, I walk out and join my family, sitting next to my brother on the couch and curling into a ball as he places his arm around me. “I don’t want to talk about it,” I say softly and no one says a word.

After a bit, my dad grabs the TV remote and turns on a movie, one that Robbie and I loved as kids. About halfway through, Robbie sits up abruptly, his eyes glassing over almost immediately.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, chewing on my l*p in fear.

He sighs and looks at me, a serious expression on his face. “Someone has breached our border. It’s to the north, coming from Crescent Moon, so probably nothing to worry about. The warriors are headed there. I’ll be back soon.”

Dad stands up and begins to follow Robbie out, but my brother turns and stops him. “You should stay with Molly. I’m sure that’s what Seth would want.”

My dad looks absolutely torn about what he should do, but he comes and sits back down, though this time right next to me where Robbie had been sitting. “It’ll be fine, kiddo.”

Someone breached the border to the North I link my mate, knowing he’s far enough that the distance will exhaust me, but needing to hear him tell me it’s fine.

He doesn’t respond through the link, but instead my phone rings. “Hey,” I say, my voice barely a whisper.

“Is Rob with you?” he asks quickly, no time for pleasantries.

“No, he went out to the North,” I tell him, growing afraid from how worried he suddenly seems.

I can hear him sigh and I think, for a moment, that things there may not be going well. “Who is with you? You’re not alone are you?”

“No,” I tell him quickly, not wanting him to worry. “Robbie had Mom and Dad stay with me.”

“Good, let me talk to him,” he tells me curtly, making my heart sink a little bit.

I look up at my dad and hand him the phone, knowing that he was able to hear Seth. He doesn’t look happy as he takes the phone from me, but he doesn’t say anything as he stands and walks out.

“It’s going to be fine, Molly,” mom tells me. “We have the best warriors, but perhaps you want to go change just in case we need to move to the safe room.”

I look down at myself, in pajama shorts and wrapped in my mate’s shirt and nod in agreement. It wouldn’t do to be seen in public at all like this, but especially as the princess.

I go into the bedroom and grab a pair of yoga pants and a bra top, putting it on. I catch myself in the mirror and realize that, with the exposed skin being so prevalent, you can really tell that I’m starting to show. I grab a jacket and shrug it on, but don’t bother with zipping it as I pull my hair into a ponytail and put on some running shoes.

My mom had taught me early on that if I ever had to go to the safe room, I needed to be dressed in clothes that wouldn’t hinder me from defending myself if the need ever arose. That’s probably not the case anymore now that I have my wolf, but it’s a habit that will be hard to break.

I walk back into the room to find that my dad has returned. He looks up at me and smiles as his eyes land on my slightly swollen baby bump. “Look at you, kiddo,” he says, handing my phone back to me. “Everything is fine. The warriors Seth has sent from the palace should be here within the hour. The safe room is prepped, just in case. Your brother is out looking for the offender but he said the scent isn’t strong, so it’s likely not a large group.”

I nod, wondering why he needed to step out of the room to get that information, but I decide not to press the matter for now. “I think I’m going to go down to the kitchen and get something to eat. If anything does happen, I’ll be right next to the safe room.”

“You know we have to come with you,” mom says with a roll of her eyes. “Your mate would have us executed if he found out we let you go anywhere alone right now.”

“Fine,” I tell her with a smile as I walk towards the door.

We walk down to the kitchen and I head inside, walking to the refrigerators as my parents go to my old office. I open the doors, digging through and looking for what I’d like.

“By all means, Your Majesty,” Oliver says dramatically from behind me, “Take whatever you need.”

“I plan to,” I tell him over my shoulder as I close the refrigerator and grab a wooden tray. I open the meats and cheeses I had snagged, beginning to put together a charcuterie board. I get really excited as I open a jar of olives.

Oliver tilts his head at me when he sees exactly what’s going on. “Everything alright? You only make boards when you’re nervous.”

I look up at him and sigh. “Did you read the newspaper?”

He nods at me slowly. “I was hoping that YOU hadn’t. Is that what this is?”

“Yes, and no,” I tell him, thinking about what exactly I should and should not say. “Lily didn’t want anyone to know about the magic. She was worried it would make things dangerous.”

“And something has happened to confirm it’s dangerous?” He asks.

I nod, looking into his eyes. “I can’t say anything else about that. Seth had to leave to travel across the werewolf kingdom.”

“Which explains why your parents in my office,” he says and I just nod.

I can smell my dad before I see him come around the corner. “Come on, kiddo,” he says calmly, a stern look on his face. “There has been a development. You’re going on lock down.”