Sins Among Royals

The moon rose overhead and the stars twinkled as people laughed, ate and genuinely enjoyed themselves.

Through the evening Indie saw Ebony a few times and she too looked more and more relaxed.

Soft music played as the group of girls slowly walked off seeking their mates for a slow dance.

Indie was left to sit at the table alone but from where she sat she watched Naira and Frank dance intimately. Their bodies touching, their hands resting lazily against each other. Naira lay her head against her mate’s chest. He stood a full foot higher than her, maybe more. They swayed to the music and looked so in tune, so in love that it hurt to watch them.

Thanks to the new friends she had made Indie was treated to a glass or three of champagne and having never been a big drinker of alcohol she felt the heat in her cheeks rise. A stark contrast against the chill of the night air.

A little shiver of delight wound its way quickly up Indies spine as she watched on. The faces of many of those dancing looked like carbon copies of Naira.

Soon Indie felt a warm breath on the back of her neck. He kept his distance but he was close enough for her to also feel the heat radiating from his body, “if you ask me nicely I’ll gladly dance with you,” his breath tickled her neck as she tilted her head to protect herself from the shivers he was causing in her body.

Turning in her seat she arched up to look at him. His cheeks too were red and she could see the glazed look in his eyes. “You wouldn’t like to dance with me,” Indie smiled innocently.

“And why is that?” He questioned her gently. “You are my mate there are plenty of things I’d like to do with you.” The hunger in his eyes left her with no doubts of his intentions and Indie couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.

She sat back in her seat and everything about Noah changed in an instant. His face straightened and so too did his spine. His fists clenched at his sides as he bowed swiftly, “I apologize for my comment and for my behavior. It is inappropriate of me.” He turned from her and stalked off towards the home leaving a very stunned and confused Indie in his wake.

“Indie!” Naira called quickly snapping her from her daze.

Casting her gaze up to look towards her new friend she noticed they all walked towards her with lazy smiles and half closed eyes.

“Indie are you and Noah heading straight back to his home tomorrow?” She asked taking a seat next to Indie.

A frown pressed against Indies features as she thought about what Noah had told her. “Were staying with an aunt tomorrow then Alpha Christiansen the third night.” Indie suddenly found herself drained of energy but she heard a squeal of delight from Willow.

“Yay!” She almost yelled her enthusiasm. “Daddy didn’t tell me you and our Lord Noah would be staying!”

If Indie had of been drinking the liquid in her mouth would have ended up on the table. “Daddy?” She repeated quickly. “Alpha Christiansen is your father?” She couldn’t help her disbelief.

“Well yeah? I thought you knew!” Willow replied quickly. “I’m his youngest and it just so happens to be my birthday on the weekend. Daddy is throwing me a huge party to celebrate.”

Looking at the girl carefully Indie couldn’t help but smile at the downgrade in Willow’s vocabulary. It seemed the more alcohol she consumed the blonder she became. It wasn’t a bad thing but Indie found it endlessly amusing.

“Oh I wonder if Noah will delay your return a few more days. Maybe I can call him in the morning and let him know” the entire thought seemed to be snowballing in her head quickly.

“Alright Willow slow down and back it up!” Darla commented with a laugh. “You look like you’ve just traumatized the poor girl!”

Suddenly all eyes were on Indie as she tried to recover from her shock. “Sorry.....” she replied quickly, “your father is just terrifying.”

All five girls broke out on fits of giggles. As if someone had told a joke but forgot to let Indie in on the punch line.

“Well I suppose when he has his Alpha hat on he is a little terrifying but he isn’t so bad.” Willow smiled so broadly it looked as if her eyes closed.

“He’s not mean though he’s just ridiculously blunt.” Darla joked carefully.

“But if you ever wondered why I became a hunter at eighteen look no further than my father,” Willow winked at Indie who visibly paled.

“I think she took it seriously.” Naira laughed. All of Indies reactions were somewhat comical.

“So what’s got Noah’s knickers in a twist then?” Luna asked curiously. They’d all seen Noah stalking off towards the house and wondered what was wrong.

“Honestly I don’t know.” She sighed heavily. “He said he was being inappropriate and walked away. I honestly don’t know. He’s really abrupt at the best of times.” Though Indie wasn’t as annoyed or as bothered as she was the first time she just wished she understood him more.

“Don’t take it to heart Indie,” Naira placed her hand over Indies and gave it a gentle squeeze. “He hasn’t been the same since Medea.”

There was a chorus of head nods and sad looks as the girls all looked at each other.

“Medea?” Indie asked a little confused. “Is that the girl who tricked him?” She questioned curiously. In Aspen and Stoneden so one really knew what happened between Noah and his pretend mate and he hadn’t been forthcoming with the information so far.

“She was a good friend of ours.” Darla frowned as she thought of what to say.

“We all felt wronged when she tricked Noah,” Nova added quickly.

“And none of us had any idea she was planning anything like that.” Aurora sighed sadly.

“We are loyal friends Indie,” Naira smiled again. “But when Medea decided to put herself above everyone else for money and fame that loyalty and trust was broken.”

All five females were grim about it as Indie cast a wary gaze over them. It looked as though they didn’t want to continue talking about it, however. “No one knows how she did it but she is where she belongs, her treachery was unforgivable,” Luna added carefully.

“That’s probably the reason Noah is so abrupt. He was so in love with Medea and he was utterly convinced they were mates.” Indies feelings confused her. The more the girls spoke about Noah’s past the more she felt insecure and vulnerable. How could they turn against a friend so easily? Was what she did really that terrible? “Even though he has accepted you as his mate he is probably just being extra cautious.”

Indie stood from her seat and found herself on the verge of tears. She hadn’t expected so much information and though none of them moaned any of it to be hurtful or malicious Indie couldn’t help how she felt.

“Oh Indie I’m sorry,” Naira stood and tried to comfort her but Indie shrugged her off. “We didn’t mean to.”

“It’s fine,” Indie blinked as a tear slipped through her eyelashes and rolled down her cheek. “I knew she existed but hearing about her is difficult.” She forced a smile to her lips but all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry. “I just didn’t expect to have to live up to the expectations of a shadow.”

The girls objected to what Indie said. They all found her rather pleasant and amusing and a rather good fit to their group. “Well make it up to you. I promise,” Naira smiled as she stepped away from Indie and nodded her head. “At Willow’s party, we’ll make you shine so the memory Noah has of Medea becomes the shadow.”

Indie felt a strange sense of warmth and acceptance creep up inside her.

“She doesn’t have to try that hard though Noah couldn’t take his eyes off of you all night Indie.” Darla grinned. “He wants you but I think he’s scared of hurting you.”

“Darla!” Naira growled. “Don’t say that too loud. Noah isn’t allowed to be scared he has to be fearless.” Darla shrunk in her seat and a deep shade of pink coloured her cheeks as she mouthed an apology.

“I should probably get some sleep. We leave early in the morning and I have a lot to think about.” Indie yawned. She knew she would get very little sleep as she bade farewell to her new friends.

As she walked away she heard the conversation continue, “I feel sorry for her. She’s such a sweetheart.” She picked Nova’s voice out of the bunch.

“She’ll do fine.” Naira chimed in. “She’s already put Verena in her place so that’s a good start.”

“I wonder how she’ll go when she meets Eliora tomorrow. You know she pretty much hates everyone.” Willow questioned the girls as Indie made it to the doorway and turned to wave at them.

“I suspect she’ll be fine. She’s a little bit emotional but she’s strong. To put up with Noah and Ebony in the same house. She is strong.” Naira had only nice things to say about Indie it seemed.

Walking the now familiar halls to her room Indie sighed as she closed the bedroom door behind her. Readying herself for bed she pulled the covers back and smiled. A piece of paper fell from her bed to the floor and when she picked it up she saw three stick figures standing there holding hands. Behind them, a castle-like building dominated the simple landscape behind them. Scrawled across the top was a sweet little message from its maker.

Noah + Indie + Heidi.

Indie fell asleep with a broad grin on her face and a heart full of warmth. Heidi was such a special little girl.