The Moon Goddess' Chosen

469 A Hearing

After a relatively short car ride, the car pulled up in front of a petite flower shop with a simple white sign to identify it. The little shop was situated between two calm-looking stalls with fewer people walking down the street than they’d gotten used to in the city.

Aside from the dainty sign, the rest spoke for itself, roaring louder than the meagre label. For the flowers that lined the door shone with a radiant colour healthier than Beatrice had ever thought possible. They almost looked artificial just looking at them, but then again, the rich scent of nature was unmistakable.

Neither was the smell of divine energy humming lightly in the air.

‘This is the place,’ the woman thought to herself. ‘It feels just like it did when I pried into the prince’s connection with his future mate.’

Beatrice was positive she’d come to the right place… yet her nerves wouldn’t let her relax.

How could someone be at the right place but feel so late at the same time?

Peter and Lyla didn’t get the chance to stop the woman as she quickly fled the car and rushed for the door. Lyla quickly followed, emerging from her side of the car, “Slow down. Did you already forget what the doctors said about taking it easy?”

These words fell on deaf ears.

“How can she even walk?” Lyla exclaimed, exiting the car to catch up with the woman before something bad happened.

.....

Beatrice rushed into the flower shop and walked straight to the counter.

Standing on the other side of the counter, a woman was updating the flower shop’s records. “Check through for something you might like,” the woman said without looking up from the ledger.

“I’m not here for flowers, Guardian of Selene,” the words rolled off Beatrice’s mouth with a sigh of relief.

The flower shop was brimming with the same energy she was looking for. This was definitely the place. The people here were among the only ones that could believe the ‘far-fetched’ stories she had to tell.

The pen in the cashier’s hand stopped gliding over the page and she looked up. Honour’s mother narrowed her eyes at the lady before her. “Do I know you?”

Beatrice’s jaw dropped, “Disrespectful… Perhaps you’re looking for a month of chores?”

Honour’s mother was appalled at the tone being used towards her.

The audacity… the nerve on the woman—girl standing before her. To walk into her shop acting like she owned the place… talking of… ‘chores…’

When was the last time anyone had ever asked her to do chores?

“Chore…s… Oh dear, it can’t be… Can it? No, it can’t…” the woman looked away from Beatrice and started mumbling to herself, “She’s supposed to be a lot older. You don’t look a day over thirty.”

Beatrice was shocked by this observation. She knew and had heard about the sudden change in her appearance, but that felt… extreme, “I don’t have time, Whitney. You know rules forbid me from being here… and yet here I am.”

Honour stared back at the woman before her, a hint of recognition reaching her eyes. The woman sighed heavily, “Of course, your sudden appearance only has to mean bad news. How can I help?”

Beatrice smiled, ‘No questions asked. Now, this is what I’ve been looking for.’

“I know where the Rogue King is… More than that, I have terrible news to tell the king,” the woman told the woman, “Urgent news…”

Whitney’s face went white with shock. Thankfully, she forced the emotions down and tried her best to act cool… As though she’d not just been told of the potential location of the most dangerous werewolf in existence.

“I see… Well then, let’s go to the palace and get you to talk to the king, now shall we?” the woman announced.

She closed the book she was writing in and announced the closing of the flower shop. There were a few grumbles from the few browsing customers but they complied with her orders.

“Who are they?” Whitney asked when she noticed a girl and boy standing in wait for the woman.

“Well… that’s a long story. Maybe I could tell you on the way to the palace. The car’s outside,” Beatrice gave the short version with a tight-lipped smile at the end.

“Car?!”

.........…

The explanations were rushed and Whitney was ferried into Peter’s car which quickly started the journey to the palace. During the journey, Lyla and Beatrice took turns explaining the events that led the three of them into this situation.

As it turned out, there was a lot to be said that they were still talking even after Peter had parked the car in the palace parking lot.

Whitney touched the long-lost relative’s forehead with the back of her palm, searching for any signs of a temperature and sighed when she found none, “There is a lot I want to know but I can tell you’re in a hurry. So I won’t ask many questions. Let’s get you that audience with the king asap.”

“I appreciate it,” Beatrice hugged the woman tight before turning to open the doors.

Something urged her to move even faster. The sensation was fresh and dim, but after what she’d been through, Beatrice knew this feeling all too well.

The last time she’d felt like this, she’d ended up floating unconscious and bloodied in the current of a fast-moving river with next to no hope of seeing the sunrise ever again.

“Let’s hurry,” the woman urged her companions.

“What’s the rush? We are at the palace,” Peter tried, but Beatrice wasn’t listening. Instead, the three had to keep up with the grey-eyed wolf instead.

Peter worried that the woman was pushing herself too much. Her muscles couldn’t possibly have recovered that quickly.

But then again, if they hadn’t, then she was pushing herself through the pain. Which meant whatever it was she was trying to do was that important.

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Lyla asked Peter as they rushed ahead.

“Hmm… We found her bloodied in the Sirius river. This must be nothing,” Peter replied.

‘Perhaps this pain she endured is nothing compared to the alternative,’ the man thought to himself. It was the only way this made sense to him.

.........…

Alpha Phillip had been seated at the king’s desk for the better part of three hours. His neck hurt from having to look down all the time. The smell of paper and stale wood was starting to irritate him.

Gripping the pen in his hand, he held back his wolf’s innate desire to run through the woods, unrestrained by the burdens of filling in for the king, “I need some form of a vacation. Alas, the games haven’t even begun.

I’m going to be stuck here for a while. Why couldn’t Jackson do all this—”

The beta alpha’s eyebrows twitched when his eyes landed on a familiar request form, “—And why do I have to approve who and who does not go on an expedition for wood? It’s not that hard to keep track of a simple logging crew,” the man grumbled to himself.

His thoughts were soon interrupted by banging at the door. The beta alpha almost jumped from his seat. His eyes darted to the machine at the king’s desk, ‘Don’t they know they have to ring the buzzer at the door?’ he raised a brow at the silent device.

Not long after the first set of desperate knocks, the device at the king’s desk beeped. The beta alpha coughed to clear his hoarse voice before pressing the answering button, “Who is it?”

“It’s Honour’s mother. I have something important to report to the king,” a feminine voice came through. ‘Honour’s moth…! Oh, the princess’s best friend. Odd seeing her here.’

“You can come in,” the beta alpha replied, pressing another button on the device that unlocked the door.

The door swung open to admit not one, but four individuals, three of whom he’d never seen. The beta alpha was on his guard in an instant. “What’s the meaning of this?” he asked, getting up to his feet in an instant, “Explain yourselves…”

“Alpha Phillip, relax. They mean you no harm. These two are normal humans,” Whitney tried. The man looked them up and down for a moment before settling back into the king’s seat.

Betraying his initial ferocity, the beta alpha’s appearance degraded right before them. Alpha Phillip looked incredibly… tired, “Apologies, I’m… a little jumpy. I have a lot to deal with as it is…”

“No kidding. Is there no one that can help you out with all these…” Whitney approached the table and grabbed one of the papers at the desk… “Lumbering requests?!”

“Don’t ask! There are so many things that go through this desk that make me feel like screaming with frustration,” the man yawned.

“Well, why don’t you have those redirected to the people in charge of them then?” Whitney suggested.

Phillip’s eyes snapped open and turned towards the woman beside him, “I’m not sure I understood what you said just now.”

“I was saying… what if these requests went to the people that actually had to worry about them. Like these Lumbering requests could go to the leader of the expedition and you could have him decide who could go along with them,” the woman explained.

The beta alpha’s exhaustion was gone all of a sudden. Why he hadn’t thought of this was far beyond him but the suggestion made a lot of sense to him. Doing this would incredibly reduce his workload. It was a solution that bought him more time to work on other aspects of the kingdom.

A bright smile graced the man’s face before he turned to Whitney, “Thank you for that lovely suggestion. Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

At this point, Beatrice stepped up, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alpha Phillip. I am Beatrice of the Golden Moon pack. I bring urgent news for the king of Lycaon.”

“Did you say… Golden Moon pack? That’s the pack Madeline’s from, isn’t it?” the man thought to himself.

Beatrice went silent at the mention of her granddaughter’s name. Abandoning her well-prepared speech, she lashed out, “Madeline… do you know where my granddaughter is?”

“Granddaughter?!” the alpha took one more sweep of the woman’s appearance, “I would believe you if you said you were her mother, considering she tends to show the same grey eyes, but woman, you don’t look a day over thirty… No offence.”

“I will take that as a compliment, however, looks can be deceiving. I am indeed her grandmother. Have you seen her?” the woman asked once more, a burning spark of hope filling her eyes.

“Yes, I have. She’s currently at the Great Arena with the royal family. Is that what you came here to know?” the beta alpha asked.

“No… I’m sorry. That’s not it. I have a message for the king. Might I speak with him?” the woman asked.

“I’m acting in his place right now… so you’ll have to make do with me, I’m afraid. Besides, what goes through me automatically reaches him… in case it is of that much importance. Please proceed….”

Beatrice wanted to argue… to tell this man that he was being stubborn and that her mission was of more importance than he could comprehend, but then… looking at him now, she could tell he was only trying to look out for the ruling monarch.

His words bore no malice towards her. The words rolled off his mouth with no emotion whatsoever… as though he’d been told to say these exact same words.

Acting out would only make it harder for her. For now, she would have to settle for the beta alpha, “I know where the Rogue King is…”