Chapter 5

*Seth* What. The. f**k. How many secrets can one family have? My father handed over the throne and conveniently forgot to mention all the people he’s ordered to keep secrets from me. I open the door to our room and as soon as Molly enters behind me, I slam it shut. “Seth,” she says timidly as she jumps back in fear from the noise. “No,” I say, trying my best to not take my anger out on her. “No. I just need a moment.” I pace the room. I know she hates when I do it, that it worries her, but if I don’t, I’m going to lose my s**t. Finally, she interrupts me, stepping in front of me and wrapping her arms around me tightly. “Go for a run. You need to.” “I don’t want to leave you here alone,” I tell her, wrapping my arms around her and inhaling, letting her gentle scent wash over me. It changed when the spell lifted, but there’s still a small hint of rose there that I always found so comforting. “I will be fine,” she tells me. “I don’t think Austin will let anything happen to me. He seemed to genuinely care for you. I have my guard and your mom will be here with the kids soon. Please, for their sake, try to work this out before they arrive.” She’s right, I don’t want the pups to see me like this, barely holding back my anger. I nod and release her, placing a kiss on her perfect lips and walk out and down the stairs. *Molly* I can feel Seth start to relax through the bond, thank goodness. His anger was nearly overwhelming, but it wasn’t just anger. There was so much hurt there, so much confusion still. With any luck, he’ll still be out running when his mom arrives so I can warn her. I agree that she needs to tell him what’s going on, but she should at least have a heads up and it’s not something that I want to link her about. None of this makes sense, but if there’s anything I’ve learned about the Royals, it’s that they like to keep up their appearance. But my mom? I sigh, walking to the door and leaving the room to go wander around outside the packhouse. Seth won’t be happy, but I won’t go too far. I know my mom knew Audrey when they were kids, but I didn’t think they were from the same pack. I know her parents are dead, well, I’ve been told they are. Seth was told the same though, but that seems to have been a lie. She told me her dad was an Alpha, and he was killed by his beta for trying to integrate the schools, but that’s all she’d ever say. Perhaps she came here after it happened. I’m sure she wouldn’t have been safe at her old pack but as a kid, I’d never even thought to ask. Hey, I link my brother as I step outside, hoping he knows something. Hey. Everything alright? It’s fine, I just have a question. What’s up, kiddo? How much do you know about Mom when she was a kid? Not much. She never wanted to talk about it. Dad DID tell me one time when we were pretty small that her family was murdered, all of them, and it made her sad to talk about. He asked me to leave it alone with her and I never asked her again. But why do you need to know? It’s nothing, Robbie. I think I just misunderstood something. I sigh, leaving my brother alone as I look around. I’d noticed some buildings near the packhouse when we drove in and begin to walk towards one when I spy the older woman from earlier, Seth’s grandmother sitting on a bench. “Hello, Your Majesty,” she says with a small smile and bow. “It’s just Molly,” I tell her, walking over towards her. “Do you mind if I sit with you? I was just out exploring.” “I’d love that.” I sit next to her, looking around the area. Truly, this IS a very small pack, you can tell just by the area near the pack house. I see a building in the distance with a playground, noting that it must be a school. “Is my Grandson alright? He looked quite upset when he stormed out of the packhouse.” I sigh, not really sure how to explain the situation without hurting her. “He was upset, but he never wants me to see, especially while I’m pregnant.” “That’s thoughtful of him,” she says with a smile. I giggle at her. “I think it came from a conversation from my dad. How much do you know about me?” “I know that you didn’t have a wolf when you first met Seth,” she says, not giving much else away. I nod and smile at her. “Before he marked me, he got upset and a door broke. My dad was furious because if any debris had hit me, I wouldn’t have been able to heal myself. Now when he’s upset, he just paces until I can convince him to leave the room. The pacing drives me nuts.” She smiles at me, a sweet smile. “He’s really a good man? I hoped, but it’s been so long.” “He’s a great man,” I tell her, because he is. “He’s the best man I know. We had some struggles at first, but since we’ve met, I’ve been his first priority. Well, I was, until the pups came along. He’d toss me aside to keep them safe.” “But that’s secretly what we want, isn’t it?” She says with a knowing smile. “Absolutely,” I agree. “I’m not sure how much you know, but my biological mother is a witch. I have magic, though I barely know how to use it. Our daughter has it.” “You’re sure she does?” she asks and I nod. “She’s moved her toys a time or two,” I tell her with a smile, thinking back to the first time it happened. “I was so scared, but Seth was so proud of her. And she still has a wolf.” She looks at me with a look I can’t quite place. “What a unique young lady. And this one?” “Another boy,” I tell her. “No magic. It seems to only travel through the women in my family. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go wander around a bit before Seth realizes I left the packhouse alone.” I stand and walk down the street. There’s an old, blue house that I want to look at. I’d noticed it immediately when we drove in. It’s a cute little building, well, it used to be. Everything here seems to be a bit run down. I’m not sure what exactly happened, but Austin mentioned there being a war. Perhaps they need a little help rebuilding. I step up onto the little porch, noting a cute bench on one side of the door and a wooden swing on the other. I peer through the window and see rows and rows of books. Jiggling the handle, I find it completely unlocked so I open the door and step inside. The lights inside are on, but I don’t see anyone around. “Hello?” I call, not wanting to intrude, but I’m oh, so curious. “Hello?” An answer never comes so I take another step in and close the door behind me. There’s a desk upfront with a box on top labeled ‘Book Return’. I glance around the building and wander towards the shelves adorning the walls, all filled with so many books. There’s so many, and all different kinds. I find some shorter shelves in a corner under a window and realize that they’re all children’s books. “A library?” I ask aloud, knowing an answer won’t come. I smile, running my fingers along the well loved books. I stand, walking back towards the desk where I find a sign on the wall above. ‘Luna Celeste Raulin Library’ That’s my mom’s name. Well, it was, before she was marked and took Dad’s last name. I’m staring at the old, faded sign when I hear the door behind me open and smell Austin walk in. “I was hoping you wouldn’t find this until she arrived,” I hear him say. “But you’re as curious as she always was.” “My mom?” I ask and he nods. “Why does it say Raulin? She took my Dad’s name when she became Luna.” “These are things I can’t tell you,” he says with a sigh, shaking his head, and I realize that it’s probably part of the order placed on him. “I can tell you that she did so much for this pack, more than most Alpha’s that were here before. She’s the reason I integrated the schools and removed the class system we once had.”