Sins Among Royals

The day of the party arrived before Indie even knew it. Waking early that morning she stretched and yawned loudly in the bed she had come to move. Waking up to such a sight always made her feel ease. It humbled her and excited her at the same time.

Pushing the covers back she bounced out of bed and straight to the bathroom. Splashing water over her face she pulled her hair back, brushed her teeth and smiled at her reflection, “today will be a good day!” She grinned rather appreciatively at herself.

Pulling the door open she rushed outside expecting to begin her training session with Wade but she was instead greeted by the entire security team who were all enthralled by what Noah and Leo were talking to them about.

Everyone was interrupted when Indie made an appearance. Wade first spotted her and flicked his head in acknowledgement which made Noah and Leo turn as well. Indie heard Noah dismiss everyone quickly and thanked them for their service.

Walking towards him slowly she felt a strange tingling sensation rush through her. It started at her heart and ended in the tips of her fingers and toes. A small smile pressed itself against her lips as she too walked towards him. It seemed the pair had come to some sort of common ground and thinking back to the night Poppy and Indie had their little spat she realised that Noah had listened patiently to all of her complaints and explained everything to her in a way she understood and appreciated.

As the pair drew closer to each other Indie noticed the seriousness on Noah’s face broke as a grin he held at the corners of his lips threatened to take over completely.

“Where do you think you’re off to?” he asked with a cheeky tone to his voice.

Indie flicked her head towards the lake, “waiting for my training buddy so I can show him how fast I’ve gotten at running around the lake,” the first few days were by far the hardest as she dragged herself around the lake and collapsed at the end but she noticed that the more she did it the faster she became and the better she felt. Indie could never imagine how else she would have taken to running. It was a new lease on the short life she’d so far lived.

“Perhaps you can show me how fast you’ve become?” Noah grinned mischievously. He found any excuse every day to spend a few more minutes with Indie and he quickly learned that doing things together seemed to be strengthening their bond.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Leo stepped towards the pair who were grinning at each other like idiots. “We have to get ready to leave if we’re going to make it in time Noah.”

Their concentration on each other was broken when the words registered with Indie. “Make it where?” She asked wondering just where they were planning on going.

“We are going to Willows party,” Noah replied with a curious stare, “Remember?”

It dawned on Indie that they indeed had a long way to travel before they reached their final destination. “But I’ve nothing to wear to the party?”

“It’s alright. We’ll stop somewhere along the way.” Noah reassured Indie quickly, “Though if we are quick Alpha Christiansen’s pack home is on the outskirts of a town.” Though in that moment Noah couldn’t think of the name. “Shall we get ready to leave then?” Noah smiled quickly before heading off to sort his bags out.

Indie sought Leo out quickly and placed her hand on his shoulder, “how is Poppy doing?” She asked gently. She hadn’t seen her friend since their argument and although Indie was still very much annoyed at her friend she hadn’t forgotten about her completely.

Leo sighed as he turned towards her, “She’s a raging mess.” He responded as he shook his head quickly. “One minute she’s a crying hot mess and the next she’s bouncing around the kitchen like Martha bloody Stewart,” Indie couldn’t help but chuckle at his words. “I better not speak to you for too long. She might think we’re having an affair.”

Indie looked at him both amused and concerned, “what?” She questioned him with a hint of confusion. “Is she really that bad?”

The look Leo gave in response was all Indie needed to see, “I thought she was a really confident person.....” He trailed off at the thought, “She thinks there’s something wrong with every part of her.” Again Leo sighed and again he shook his head. “I can’t wait for the bloody ceremony to be over so I can have my sweet, considerate and kind Poppy back.”

“We Indie corrected. “Till we get our normal Poppy back,” she couldn’t wait to have her friend back to normal. She knew it’d be amusing when Poppy eventually apologised but she knew it would also be awkward and slightly strange.

“Anyway I better go get Poppy ready to leave. I know I’m going to need a lot of time to get her out of the room.” Leo sighed quickly. It seemed like a drain on him but as soon as the frown on his face settled he replaced it with another smile. “A small price to pay for everything I ever wanted,” he said shrugging his shoulders and walking away.

Indie couldn’t help but feel a lot of love and affection for Leo, he was exactly what Poppy needed in a mate. Kind, caring and very considerate. Turning her attention back towards the house Indie’s smile faltered when she saw Noah. Though he seemed to be softening up she was never sure what Noah she would get when she woke for the day but after almost two days of calm kindness she was beginning to change her mind.

Before long the entire team was packed and ready to go. Indie sat in the back of one of the vehicles with a female security driver and a male she was unfamiliar with. She stared at the space between the seats and out at the verandah as Noah bade a sad farewell to his aunt and uncle. A curious thought crossed her mind however and she saw the sadness in the children’s faces.

Heidi began to cry and ran back into the house while both Timothy and Ryan screamed and shouted loud enough for Indie to hear. “It’s all her fault!” Timothy yelled as he pointed towards the vehicle Indie was in, “if she wasn’t here you wouldn’t leave us behind.”

They all watched as Noah knelt before his nephews and took them both in his arms, “those kids are way too spoiled,” the female driver murmured and mumbled so that she wouldn’t be heard by Timothy or Noah.

“What do you expect of Ebony’s children,” the male security guard replied just as quietly.

Noah mumbled words to both boys before patting their heads and urging them to go inside with their aunt. He waved them off and turned towards the vehicle making a quick escape.

Taking his seat next to Indie she looked puzzled, “they aren’t coming with us?”

Noah shook his head and frowned, “it’s safer for them here. Aunt Eliora has another security team coming in from a neighbouring pack. They are pretty well trained and know what to do in an emergency. Till we know what Raif was up to they need to stay as far away from main centers as possible.” The look on his face dropped, it was grim and very sad.

Indie reached out and took Noah’s hand in hers. Giving it a gentle squeeze, “it will be alright. Everything will be alright,” Indie did her best to reassure him but she felt like she wasn’t helping at all.

To her surprise Noah smiled in return and squeezed her hand, “as long as you’re here with me everything will be alright.”

Indies heart did things inside her chest she didn’t know was possible. How could she feel something for him so strong when days before she was knocking on deaths door? Many emotions swirled within Indie but the one that felt most prominent and intense was love. And that scared her.