From Princess To Queen

Does She Return?

Meira returns to the castle to help her daughter rule the kingdom while Matthew is still in the hospital in a coma. Clara knew what to do, but her father never gave her the time of day to help her take over everything. He only allowed her to participate when it was convenient for him and when Libby wanted her to join the meetings.

“Mom, you know everything that happened here after I met you and my brothers’ and sister. Libby is behind all this crap. She and her witches put a spell on Dad and poisoned him all these years. This is why he is in the state he is in, and no telling if he will ever come back from it.”

“I know that is why I have come back to help you take over now, as it is your right and not anyone else’s right.”

“I am glad you are here to help me; we must look over his books and papers in his office. He rarely let me come in here except more recently. I could never help him, he never kept me in the loop about pack business, but we can figure it out between Xavior, Dunken, and I.”

Meira, Xavior, Dunken, and Clara went through the king’s office and all the paperwork with a fine-tooth comb looking for anything they could. He had nothing digitized, making things much easier, but they would change all this ASAP. Clara had ordered several computers and printers with all the bells and whistles they needed.

Libby decided to visit the castle because it had been several days since she had heard from her ‘mate,’ but she was stopped when she approached the guarded gate. The guards had been told she and Felix were not allowed to come in no matter what, and if they were to enter, their lives would end very abruptly.

“I have every right being here; I am King Matthew’s mate and Queen.” Libby explodes at the guard.

“Under strict instructions, ma’am, you are not allowed on the premises, and you need to turn around and go home now or face prison.”

“I will take this up with the king himself,” she says, leaving the castle.

“Good luck with that witch. He will never see you again.” the guard said as she left.

He called the office, told Clara that Libby was trying to get through, and threatened her to be imprisoned if she entered the compound. He also told her what he had said as she was leaving. Clara laughed so hard she could not hold back her cackling like a chicken. The others looked at her, and she had to write it down. When they saw what Clara wrote, they all busted a gut.

Clara organized the office into sections to separate files and papers according to regions, packs in those regions, alliances, new alliances, meetings, prisoners, rogues, etc... She put everyone in charge of sorting everything out while separating according to piles. They each took piles of papers and went through them, separating them according to her filing system so that she could scan them into the new computer accordingly, making it faster.

“While separating these files and papers, we need to be looking for anything and everything that Dad and Libby had done from the time they started seeing each other, and it does not matter what it is.”

“Clara, I do not know if this is something but look at these here.” Xavior states.

Clara started reading some documents he handed her, and she sat down with her mouth agape.

“Mom, have you seen these documents before?”

Meira looked at them and started scanning them; then, she had to go back over and re-read them line by line. She is trying to hold back the waterworks in her eyes and can no longer hold onto them. She looks at her daughter and gives her a hug and kiss, puts the papers down, and leaves the room.

“What was that about?” Dunken asked.

“I don’t know. I have not read what I handed to her.”

“Oh, shit, shit, shit...Clara, this is not good.”

“Xavior, what is it?”

“Read these; it looks like birth certificates, but none belong to you or your siblings.”

“What do you mean they don’t belong to us? They probably belong to the newborn of the pack.”

“Nope, none that are here.”

“Give me them.”

Clara looks over them, and there are six birth certificates with Libby’s name on each one and her father’s name. One of the certificates has the name Felix Ryder.... and the others are all his siblings, her step-siblings.

“This cannot be true; this has to be fake. All of the certificates have to be fake.” Clara’s heart fell to her stomach.

She held onto the papers while walking out of the office and over to the hospital where her father was still residing. When she walked into his room, she sat down in the chair near his bed, looking at him, hating him more and more. One thing she did know was that Felix was not her sibling; he did not look anything like her family, including her father.

“I am taking over the pack now, Father. I do not care what you say about it. You are no longer in charge; no matter your outcome, maybe it will be a fight to the death, and I will challenge you. You have done nothing but lied to Mom and me and our pack, and they will know exactly what you have done, and you will be dishonored.”

She left his room, looked for his doctor, and nearly ran into him. Clara looked up at him with tears, and he could not help but notice their stress and sadness.

“Clara, I am so glad to run into you. I was going to your father’s room to see if you were there.”

“I am just leaving, but I wanted to talk to you about him and some papers we found in his office.”

“Sure, I can look over those, but after we talk about your father, ok?”

Clara nodded yes as the doctor led her to some chairs in a private room. Here they could speak openly without any interruptions from the nurses. Clara felt relieved that he thought about the privacy she needed.

“King Matthew will survive, but we are not sure about his wolf yet. We do not know if the poison has harmed his wolf, and we will not know until he wakes up, but his heart rate and all other signs are in good shape so far. He just had overdone it leaving the hospital the first time but don’t worry; he will not be allowed to work for a while.”

“Well, that will not be a problem; he is no longer king from this day forth. Mom is here, and we are going through his office and all the papers, and we found these. There are six birth certificates with his and Libby’s names on each one. Are these fake or real documents?

“Let me take a look at them real quick.”

He looks over the certificates, scrunches his nose, and widens his eyes in disbelief but looks at the doctor’s name on the bottom. He abruptly leaves without a word, and she follows suit, trying to keep up with him. He is at the nurse’s desk making a phone call to a doctor. Even though Lycans’ have a keen sense of hearing, she did not want to appear to be eavesdropping in on their conversation. In less than five minutes, another doctor approaches them, takes the documents, and turns white as a ghost. He could not believe what he was reading, searching everything over the papers in his hands. He had delivered her and her siblings but did not deliver Felix or his siblings.

“Pardon me, Princess Clara, I can guarantee that I NEVER delivered these babies, nor did I sign these certificates. But I do know who did; she is still working with me. Wait here, and I will bring her to you, give me ten minutes, please.”

“Yes, doctor, I will be waiting for you.”

She sent a text to Xavior telling him that she found out who forged the signatures on the birth certificates and that her father would be ok but not sure about his wolf just yet and would not know until he woke up from his coma. He walked in through the door where she stood as she put her phone away and hugged her. Dunken came along with him just in case he needed to help out.

Fifteen minutes passed, and finally, the pediatric doctor returned with the nurse practitioner who delivered the babies. When she saw the princess, she froze like Frosty the Snowman in the middle of winter.

“Care to tell us if these documents are accurate and where did you deliver these babies?”

“Umm...” was all she could say.

“Dunken, please take her to the dungeons so that we can further interrogate her about these documents.”

Dunken and Xavior put her in cuffs and carted her off to the dungeon’s interrogation room, where they awaited Clara. Clara came by and spoke casually with Dr. Stevens.

“Doctor Stevens, sorry about this, but it is imperative to this pack and me. I will be making a formal announcement later this week about the events that have taken place and the transition that will take place.”

“That is fine, princess, I understand what has to be done, and I am truly sorry this has caused for your mother, you, and your true siblings.”

“Thank doctor, I really appreciate it, and so does your Queen; she is here to help me transition into my new role.”