Sins Among Royals

Back at that castle Noah and Leo quickly sought out the company of their mates. Through the vast hallways they wound their way around the castle seeking their scent. Before long Noah spied Sebastian and called his name.

Sebastian pointed the pair towards the elaborately decorated guest wing where many of the doors had been pushed open. The boys picked up the scent and followed it instinctively. It seemed the girls had visited each room and left many doors ajar as they moved on.

“I wonder whose pickier,” Leo chuckled as they carried on.

“I bet Indies trying to find the homiest room for herself,” Noah responded with a warm smile. She was kind, humble and considerate which at first was a completely foreign concept but the more he was in her presence the better he felt and the more he realised the world he lived in was not the reality his subjects lived in. It was not a reality many could afford and it was not something he had ever given a second thought. “If she finds the smallest room she’ll probably try moving herself into it.” He couldn’t help but grin, it was an amusing thought that, surprisingly, didn’t bother him at all.

“Didn’t you just rent her that apartment?” Leo quizzed him curiously.

“Brought,” Noah corrected, “I brought her the building.” He thought he might have been more offended by her not wanting to make use of the space but he wasn’t. A serene calmness befell him as they turned another corner and saw the girls Peering through another open doorway.

As soon as Noah set eyes on her he knew that was it. Come the full moon and the ceremony, he would claim her completely. He wanted to make her his queen.

“You two are still looking?” Leo called as the girls looked towards them a little startled.

Poppy jumped and smiled happily as she motioned for Leo and Noah to join them. “Indie invited us to stay in the castle!” She squealed happily. It seemed her intense mood swings were settling down which pleased everyone. Leo walked to his mate and scooped her up in his arms tightly. He pressed his lips against her cheeks as she rested her forehead against his shoulder.

Noah and Indie grinned as he stood beside her. Looking down at her he noted the look of pure joy on her face but he could not feel the jealousy that was growing inside her. He took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze, she turned her head and looked up at him with a surprised look on her face that soon gave way to a heart melting smile. She was beautiful when she smiled.

She leaned into him gently as he removed his hand from hers and slung his arm around her shoulder. “You two were always meant to be in the castle,” Noah muttered as Indie looked up at him again. She was shocked.

“Why were they put out in those disgusting houses in the first place?” Indie questioned him with a serious look on her face. She pulled back from Noah and propped her hands on her hips, she was not impressed at all.

“It wasn’t his fault Indie.” Leo jumped to his Alpha King’s defence.

Indie looked from one man to the other with a confused expression but her hands did not leave her hips. “It was Sebastian,” Noah sighed quickly as he shook his head. “He took issue with Poppy,” Noah knew the old man should have been replaced many years ago but he was the last of his kind and had nowhere else to go.

“I don’t like him!” Indie responded as she crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. “He has this strange air to him.....like he’s better than everyone else.” Right from the moment she’d met the old coot she’d had a strange feeling but she didn’t know how to express it.

A nervous chuckle escaped Noah’s lips when he saw the seriousness in Indies, “Well there is a reason for that!” He countered quickly.

At his revelation everyone stopped and looked at him, “and what is that?” Poppy asked almost furiously.

“He used to be..” Noah began then stopped again as he thought of the best and quickest way to convey Sebastian’s history. “He was the leader of his people, King of the fairies but they ousted him when he misused his magic. He was forced from his kingdom and wandered around for a while. He soon got word that his entire kingdom had been wiped out by vampires so he came here.”

The two girls and Leo were slightly confused, “but vampires could easily kill everyone here,” Leo mentioned quickly, “Why would he come here?”

Noah thought back to what his parents had told him about the whole incident. “Vampires don’t tend to eat werewolves if there are other supernatural creatures around. We’re sort of the bottom of the barrel kind of meal so Sebastian is safe with us. When he was tossed out of his kingdom he lost most of his magic. He had enough to keep himself going for a while but the further he got from home the weaker it became. That’s why Andrew doesn’t sense him here, Sebs magic is weak, almost undetectable.” Noah chuckled then, “I imagine being almost two thousand years old has something to do with it too.”

Poppy responded rather dramatically by letting her mouth fall open.

“No wonder why he’s so grumpy. His insides are probably dust,” Indie grinned mischievously as Noah shook his head while a smile raced across his lips.

“If anyone’s dusty it’s Andrew,” the mention of Andrew forced a frown to form on Noah’s face as he recalled the conversation with Rogan.

“What’s that?” Indie asked as she pointed to the diary Noah held in his arm.

He pulled it forward and looked at it a while as a frown pressed against his brows. He wondered quickly if he should tell her the truth or keep its true purpose hidden. As he thought about it he realised he wasn’t doing anyone any favours by hiding things and keeping it secret. It may be knowledge they would all need soon.

“It’s Ebony’s diary,” he muttered quickly. “Guards found it in her home the other day. It’s got details about what she wants to do to bring down my family,” he muttered quickly as he felt a mix of emotions inside.

“But she is your family!” Indie countered, “Can I read it?” She asked curiously as Noah held it out to her gently.

“You won’t be able to read it. It’s in a different language,” Noah cautioned her quickly she gently pulled the cover open and looked down at its contents.

Indies eyes grew wide as she looked up at Poppy alarmed and somewhat frightened. The bubbly blond walked to her friends side and stared down at the open book. Before long the girls stared at each other in shock.

“What?” Noah asked curiously and impatiently. The way the both of them looked he expected one of them to start reading it fluently.

Indie shook her head and slammed the book shut, handing it back to Noah he noticed the front deepen across her delicate features.

“Poppy and me were young, still in high school when we came home from school early one day. We got to my place and were heading into the kitchen for a snack,” as she spoke she’s remembered the day and the more she spoke the more vivid it became. “My mom was on the phone in the lounge room, she had the television on loud so we went to get a snack in the kitchen.” Indie began pacing as she continued recalling the day. “My mom had a whole bunch of papers on the table and after we fixed something to eat we sat at the table. We saw all these strange symbols written on paper, they looked like letters and as soon as I started looking through them my mom came storming into the kitchen...” she trailed off a little as she looked towards Poppy to continue the memory.

“Rita said they were letters from her grandfather but she was really angry that we’d even touched them. She sent me home and banned me from visiting for a week.” Poppy pouted quickly. It had been the longest that she and Indie were separated for.

“She apologised when she calmed down but she wouldn’t go into details of what was in the letters. She just never mentioned it again. The symbols in that book look really like the ones in the letters. I’m sure of it.” It was one of few unhappy memories Indie had in her life but she recalled meeting her great grandfather only once but even the name on the envelope didn’t seem to make sense. The surname was Jones and not Maitland which was her mother’s maiden name.

“After a few months I completely forgot about it.” She shrugged her shoulders and wondered quickly if her mother was hiding something.

The group stopped and listened when they heard Noah’s name being called. “Master!” The male voice carried along the hallway walls, “Master Noah!”

Before long Wade turned the corner and saw the group standing there suspiciously. “Yes Wade?” Noah responded as the the guard soon came to a stop near them.

“Oh actually Indie I was looking for you,” he sighed as he quickly recovered from his run through the castle. “Your parents have arrived!” He smiled quickly as he motioned towards the front door. “They’re just pulling into the driveway.”

Her heart skipped a beat as she looked up towards Noah excitedly before she and Poppy took off running towards the front door like giddy little school girls.

They jumped and skipped and giggled all the way to the front entrance. Indie was desperate to see her family and had missed them since leaving home. As soon as the pair reached the front door they saw a familiar vehicle pulling up at the bottom of the steps, the doors closest to the stairs flew open and Indie lay eyes on her mother and Hunter who smiled broadly and looked about on awe.

“Nice digs Indie” Hunter teased gently as he ascended the stairs and took his sister in his arms. It had been a long trip up and Hunter was finally glad to have arrived.

“Oh honey!” Rita called as she raced up the stairs to her daughter. She took Hunter and Indie in her arms and squeezed them both. Letting go of the two she looked behind Indie and saw Poppy standing there a little sad and rejected. “Oh Poppy honey I have a surprise for you!” As if they had planned it perfectly a second car rolled into the driveway.

Poppy squealed and screamed and rushed to Rita and hushed her tightly, “Oh Rita!” She screamed as the car pulled up and her parents climbed out quickly. Poppy ran to them and held both her parents tightly for as long as she could. “Who is that in the car?” Poppy looked from her mother to her father and back again. “Is that Kade?” She squealed and pulled the door open so quickly she almost tore it from its hinges.

Her brother climbed out the opposite side of the car and smiled at her, “little sister! It’s been some time,” not only was Poppy surprised but so was Indie. She hadn’t seen Kade since they children. The reunion was a happy, joyous one that made Noah feel that the coming days wouldn’t be so bad.