Ayla 86
As I scrambled up, Roderick’s Alpha’s voice booms through the pack kitchen.
“Cynthia Wilson and Anna Black, you are dismissed from pack breakfast. You will meet me in the meeting room in an hour”
He doesn’t address any other wolf, everyone including Griffin freezes to the spot. The girls scramble away from the pack kitchen, and Sam and what I can only guess are Anna’s parents and brother. All looking regretful and a little scared.
“Griffin, and Ayla I request both of your presence too” He sounds casual and unbothered.
Still, I feel a little on edge, judging from Griff’s face and the tic in his jaw. He is just as happy about it as I am. For now, I try to just enjoy my favorite breakfast talking to my family.
***
Exactly an hour, after Rodrick requested us to meet him in the meeting room. Cynthia and Anna, are already there. They remind me of schoolgirls in the principal’s office. Staring at their feet with a mixture of fear and guilt written all over their faces.
“Thank you for joining us, Prince Griffin, Princess Ayla please have a seat?” Roderick smiles at us.
I’m a little unsure about if the fact, that he uses our titles is a good or bad sign. Griffin doesn’t seem to know either he hasn’t let go of my hand since we entered this meeting room. Not even when we took a
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s cat.
“Princess Ayla, I saw some tension between you and the ladies to your left last night. At the time it seemed to be resolved fairly quickly so I let it go. I am sorry it seems that my faith in my pack members was unjustified. Can you tell me what happened?” Rodrick asked me making me feel more and more that it was not us he was upset with.
Still, it felt a bit awkward and he would probably not be so pleased with my reaction yesterday. Maybe he would believe me over them because Griffin would have my back no matter what happened. But I respected and liked him far too much to lie to him. So after stealing myself, I looked him straight in the eyes as I recounted what happened. How the two of them had sauntered up to us, ignoring me how Cynthia had flirted how I staked my claim on Griffin, how he in term had scolded both Cynthia and Anna.
“So what you’re telling me is these two she-wolves committed treason. And instead of putting them to trial you told them you were secure in your mateship with my son. Albeit it somewhat rough around the edges?” He asked one eyebrow quirked up.
To me, it sounded like an oversimplification of what had happened, done to paint me in a better light. But I was not about to argue with him over this. Cynthia and Anna had both turned white as I sheet. All I could get out while awkwardly shrugging was:
“Yes, I guess so if you want to see it like that”
“Please, King Roderick, we didn’t know she was part of the royal family yet. She isn’t even marked by him” Cynthia pleaded, Griffin closed his eyes in what I could only describe as pity for her foolishness.
Confirmed by the fact that Rodrick rose from his chair as he growled.
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Ayla 86
“Do you mean to tell me you get to have a say in who I consider my family and when? Because let me be very clear Cynthia the woman to your right is my daughter-in-law, your future Luna, and your future Queen, and from now on out you will respect her as such. Or I will put you to trial, and believe me when I tell you no one not even your father will speak on your behalf if I do so”
When I saw her after Rodrick had first mentioned treason I suspected the two couldn’t get more pale. But I just found out that I was very wrong about that.
“Enough with this nonsense, I have tried to give the two of you a fair chance to explain your side of the story but I have heard enough. I hereby rule that you both will be punished for your misdoings against a member of the royal family and for not showing pack spirit. Princess Ayla is the one to determine the punishment, as she is the one you have wronged the most” He had sat down but he still had a light snarl to his words, and he was still almost frighteningly intimidating.
Even to me his daughter-in-law whose side he was on. I cannot imagine how scared Cynthia and Anna were now. To me, that was punishment enough. I knew Rodrick would not agree with me so I quickly came up with a plan.
“I would like an honest apology, and I think they should not have meals at the pack house until I move in next week. And let me be clear it is not because I do not trust Griffin, because I do. But I do think neither of us deserves the disrespect they have been giving us and there is no way for me to be certain they will actually stop” I said trying to sound calm and confident.
“Permission to speak father?”Griffin spoke up much more formally than I ever heard him talk to his father.
Who just nodded at him to continue.
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Ayta 86
288 Wouchers
Griffin did not face Rodrick though he faced Cynthia and Anna.
“I would like for the two of you to think of the punishment you would have no doubt eagerly administered. What you have done would have warranted for your Princess to put you on trial twice. Yet all she asks for is an apology and a guarantee that you will not have a chance to disrespect us in her absence” He told them
While his words seemed to have struck a chord with Anna who was now silent crying. I could tell Cynthia still was more annoyed than anything else. She feared King Rodrick and Griffin but she would only apologize to get them off their backs. And it showed her half-hearted apology was nothing compared to Anna’s heartfelt apology even if it was hard to hear between her so bs. I could make out her thanking me for being so gracious. At Rodrick’s command, they scurried off, knowing that he would alert the rest of the pack of their punishment and the reason behind it.
“Can the two of you stay behind for a bit?” Rodrick asked us.
And there was nothing we could do but sit back down to see what he was going to tell us.
“First of all, thank you for proving me right Ayla, even if it is grand to put them to trial I would not have wanted that for two young wolves for something relatively minor. As leaders of the pack you are like parents to them, parents raise their pups with, patience love, and understanding. And good rulers lead the pack like that. You have shown me that you are the Luna and Queen I expected you to be. And just saying it also shows you will be a great mother, just like how I will be an amazing, gramps” He told us.
With that last remark, all the tension left the room. I could finally breathe without being scared of what the consequences would be for me and Griffin. There were no consequences for us because we handled it as well as we could all things considered.
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Ayla 86
298 Woucher
Turns out the reason he asked us to stay behind was that we had to officially ask packmembers to be our Beta and Gemma and let them know. Everyone including Rodrick knew who Griffin was going to pick. But I didn’t even know who I was going to pick myself. Which could be a bit of a problem in the future. Now I had even more to think about when I went home in a few hours. The obvious choice would be Jessa, she is my best friend and I have known her for years so I was sure I could trust her. She would never refuse me, but I knew what she really wanted was to be a stay-at-home mom to her pups. And there was no way I was thanking that dream away from her.
My second choice would be Krystel and it was very likely that she and Dan would stay here, but I had no idea if she would want to be my Beta, and if so how pack members would feel about me choosing my sister and cousin-in-law as my beta. I needed a bit of fresh air, maybe Griff and I can go on a hike and talk about it, he knows his pack members better than I do, and I trust him enough to let him help me make a decision.
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