Sins Among Royals

The sun began sinking over the horizon and people gathered again for the ceremony that should have rightfully taken place on first night of the full moon.

The event was a far cry from the lavishly decorated and planned event from the first night and everyone agreed that in honour of those that had fallen, both their own and the dead they had found, the ceremonies would be a low key affair.

A beautifully clear, starry night sky greeted the guests of Blackwood as they slow trickled into the grand ballroom of the castle. Rows of seats were set out for those who were only there to observe while long benches lined the front of the room for those that would be inducted as Alphas and those who would be taking part in the public part of the mating ceremony. The tying of the bind.

Everyone dressed rather casually and left the finery in their suitcases and rooms. There was no need to parade around when lives had been lost.

Though it was a happy gathering there was still an air of sadness, their old king and queen were dead, the eldest of the children had tried to kill her brother, many were in shock.

As the last of the guests trickled into the room Noah stood to face the small crowd. He sucked in a deep breath and prepared himself to speak. He had never really addressed anyone before and especially with something as important as a naming ceremony and mating ceremony. To say he was nervous was an understatement.

“Ahem,” he cleared his throat and silenced the audience at the same time. “Thank you all for joining us, as you can see we have forgone many of our normal traditions this evening in favour of something smaller and more intimate. I am sure that I am not alone in feeling loss and sorrow for the death of my parents and my sister and it seems fitting to keep our celebrations quiet.” He frowned at the thought. If only he could have delayed the ceremonies till the next full moon, but there had always been urgency in all ceremonies performed at the castle. Everyone had their own lives to live and regions to protect and watch over, there was no convenient time for them to return.

As Noah spoke he felt his confidence grow and when the time came to bind the mating pairs be turned to Indie and encouraged her to stand alongside him. She stood near him and held a silver tray in her hands. Six lengths of material sat atop the tray and we’re a symbol of the bond mates were supposed to have for one another, if their bond was strong they’d be able to slip their hands out of the bond and out of the tie without severing the knot. If the knot was severed so too was the bond. In all the years the ceremony had taken place there were only two couples that severed the knot and subsequently severed their bond to each other. It was very rare but it did happen.

By the time the moon had reached its apex in the sky the bonding ceremonies were complete and although Willow and Naira were supposed to be presented with their honours first they weren’t dependant on the moon and their appointments as Alphas did not require the blessing of the Moon Goddess.

“Now comes the time we have been waiting for and in light of recent events I feel the need for Alpha Females is stronger than ever before.” While men had a natural dominance to them there were times when women were smarter and did things in ways men weren’t able to. It was that difference that Noah saw in both Willow and Naira that he wanted to acknowledge. Their strength lay not in their physicality but in their mentality and emotions.

Both girls came to stand before Noah and Indie, their smiling faces were difficult to ignore. There was pure joy in their eyes and it was difficult to ignore. It was a step forward for their world and there was no denying it.

The ceremony went ahead without interruption and by the end of it a calm content had settled over everyone as the castle staff began bringing in trays of food and everyone began mingling.

Noah and Indie soon found themselves chatting to Alpha Christiansen, his wife at his side smiled and nodded along to what the two males said. Alpha Christiansen then said something that floored all that heard the conversation, “Master Noah, I hope you forgive me but now that Willow has been named Alpha I would like to relinquish my role as both Alpha and your second in command.” He smiled and nodded his head as his wife beamed a bright smile, she was obviously very happy with his decision. “While I can offer guidance and wisdom in the absence of your father I believe there are others who will serve you more effectively,” he chuckled then and shrugged his shoulders, “and apparently I’m getting too old. Willow tells me it isn’t cool having an old Beta,” Both Noah and Indie couldn’t help but laugh. He seemed to find the entire situation amusing. “I would like to speak to you privately regarding an intense training program for the elite guards. It seems hunters are a real threat that may need to be addressed.”

A silence fell over all of them as Indie looked about the room for Poppy. She hadn’t seen Kade in a while and she wondered if she had ordered him to leave.

“Would you excuse me for a minute,” Indie bowed her head and left the trio to their business. She searched quickly and found Poppy standing awkwardly with the triplets.

With a slight wave of her hand Poppy walked quickly to her friend, she’d heard about what had happened and had been anxious to see her but with the way things were Poppy was having trouble convincing her parents that Kade had returned to their aunt’s place.

“Oh Indie I’m so glad that you’re alright. I tried to come see you but Leo said to give you and Noah space, are you okay?” Indies heart warmed at her friends genuine concern. The road to Blackwood had been rocky for the pair but she was happy to see they were moving passed it. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry. Kade was a hunter, he even shot me in the fucking leg the prick.”

It struck Indie as odd that Poppy seemed so emotionless when mentioning her brother when a couple of days before she had more or less torn Indie a new one for her assumptions.

“Was a hunter?” Indie responded in a hushed voice. “What do you mean?” What had happened to him?

Poppy said nothing and instead turned her head and looked around the room. Indie didn’t quite know who her friend was looking for but when Poppy gave a slight nod towards the main entrance that was behind Indie the future queen turned and spied Wade standing there with his hands clasped behind his back. He was looking off in another direction and seemed happy and relaxed. Indie couldn’t help but frown, what had Wade done?

“Kade is dead,” Poppy whispered, “I know he is.” She thought back to the horrible night as a shiver raced down her spine. Her brother radiated an evilness that she had never seen before. “He would have killed me if Wade didn’t step in.”

“Do your parents know?” Indie asked quickly.

With sadness in her heart Poppy shook her head, a grim look fell across her face, “I don’t know how to tell them. Kade was their pride and joy and now all they have is me.” though both of them had been thoroughly spoiled in life it was Kade that had always been the favourite.

“Poppy they’ll find out eventually. You have to tell them,” Indie demanded with a slight tone to her voice.

“I know, I just....” Poppy sighed she didn’t know what to do, she was in a difficult situation.

Everyone in the room was soon interrupted in that moment when Noah called everyone to attention. “Ladies and gentlemen I have an announcement to make,” everyone stopped and turned. “Alpha Christiansen has decided to step down as Alpha meaning Willow will now govern their pack. The pack she was supposed to govern over is therefore leaderless so I have decided to name my third in command as Alpha,” there were gasps of shock as Indie and Poppy looked at each other full of concern. Poppy would have to leave the castle for a place she had never been to before. She didn’t like the sound of that. “I would also like to announce my new beta as Wade Ulwurth with my new third in command to be announced at a later date.”

Noah seemed rather pleased with himself as he smiled and took a sip of his drink. Wade was obviously in shock as were Indie and Poppy. Leo however had turned red in the face. He had worked so hard to be named as beta and now Noah was sending him to a pack in the middle of nowhere. Leo held onto his composure, he would have words with Noah when the castle was quiet.

Everyone else cheered and clapped and congratulated those who were mentioned but Indies shock soon turned to anger.