Forbidden Queen

Anna

I am going to meet the Royal Betas today. They are the backbone of the Royal Kingdom and without them we wouldn’t be able to run the pack. Karen has warned me that they are proud and independent. They will not give me blind obedience, I am going to have to win them over, prove to them that I will make a capable queen and I am fit to rule over them.

This will be my first real test as queen, and I am determined not to fail. We have agreed that I will meet them alone first, and then later Alex will join us to show to them that I have the backing of the Lunar Eclipse Pack.

We will meet them in the state rooms. Karen feels that the grand surroundings will give the right impression. She has suggested that we use the throne room, but I was reluctant. I think that it will be difficult for them to feel at ease in such formal surroundings. I want to get to know them, I want to encourage them to speak freely.

We compromise on the formal drawing room. It is furnished with comfortable chairs but is still grand enough that it will remind the betas that they are in the presence of their queen.

I sit in the drawing room while I wait for them to arrive. I have taken care with my appearance today, I am wearing a blue silk dress, my hair is tied up in a bun and Martha has helped me with my make-up. I want to make a good impression, for these people to respect me as their queen.

Karen is sitting with me so that she can introduce me to each of the Royal Betas. I have been spending a lot of time with her over the last few days. She has been so supportive and willing to help whenever she can.

The four betas walk into the room together. I can feel the power rolling off them. I am not going to be intimidated though. I rise to greet them.

“Welcome, thank you for coming today. I would like to use this meeting to get to know you better and understand the Royal Territories that you administer on behalf of the crown. Also please feel free to raise with me any issues or concerns that you may have that I can help with.”

An older man steps forward. His hair is grey, and his face is lined, but his blue eyes are sharp and alert. I can tell from his muscled physique that he trains as hard as any young wolf. “I am Philip, the Royal Beta for the Northern Territory. I am pleased that you are finally back with us my queen. The kingdom has not been the same since your parents were killed.

The main issue that the northern territory face is the regular attacks by rogues. We have never had so many attacks before. In recent weeks they have gotten worse.”

The other betas nod in agreement. A younger red-haired woman continues the theme. “It is difficult for our pack members to continue with their ordinary lives. We have had to step up the number of patrols we send out to police our borders, and draft in additional wolves to bolster our territories warriors.”

“We are aware of the increased attacks and are taking steps to recruit more Royal Guards who once trained will be used to reinforce the warriors throughout the Royal Kingdom” I tell them.

“That will take time though what can you do to help us now?” Philip asks.

“We are gathering intelligence on the Rogue bands, and their links to the Black Moon Pack We will proactively take the fight to them soon. This afternoon I have arranged for Joseph the commander of the Royal Guards, and my mate Alex the Lunar Eclipse pack Alpha to join us so we can discuss how we plan to retaliate”

They nod their heads but don’t seem reassured by my words.

“For now, though, please take a seat, and let us discuss your territories.”

Philip begins “as Royal Beta for the northern territory, I govern the largest geographical area in the kingdom, but with the smallest population. Our land is mostly forest, and our wolves are spread out across the territory. This makes it difficult for us to keep our borders secure. We are not rich, there are no large businesses and little farmland. We are hunters and catch most of the meat that is eaten by the pack.”

I nod I can understand why he is worried about the attacks, it would be too easy for the rogues to breach their borders, and they do not have the warriors to repel a large force.

“I am Hannah the Royal Beta for the eastern territory” the red-haired woman says. “We are the smallest territory, and most of our wolves are concentrated in our main town. The majority of people work in the pack businesses, and we have close contact with the local human population. They don’t know what we are of course, but we use the business relationships that we have fostered with them to make money for the pack.”

“I would be interested to hear more about these businesses.” The money they bring in will be important in our war against Lucius and I want to understand how we can protect them so that we continue to generate income when the war starts.

“Of course, your majesty” she says with a smile.

“I am Lauren, the Royal Beta of the western pack” says the only other woman. She has dark hair and is the smallest of the Royal Betas. “Our territory is mostly farmland. We grow most of the crops eaten in the kingdom, and export the excess to other allied packs, in exchange for goods that we don’t make or grow here.”

“Which packs do you trade with?”

Mostly the smaller ones. The Grey Wolves Pack, and the Moonlit Pack are our biggest trading partners.”

I will need to ask Ruth about our links to these packs. Is it just trade in agriculture? How long have we been aligned?

“And I am, Marcus, the Beta of the southern territory” the final beta says. He is a tall slender man with long blond hair. “Our wolves are mostly farmers and craftsmen. We border the Black Moon Pack, so historically our wolves have concentrated on their warrior training to protect our borders from attack. There are more warriors from the Southern territory in the Royal Guard than any other territory” he tells me proudly.

“Thank you. I plan to visit each of your territories soon. I want to meet more of my people.

“Good. It has been a long time since we have had a royal ruler. Many of my wolves don’t know what it is like to be ruled by a queen” Lauren tells me.

We continue to talk about their territories for the next two hours. I feel as though I am beginning to understand the kingdom better.

At noon a servant enters to announce that lunch is being served in the formal dining room. As we make our way to the dining room, Karen takes the opportunity to say to me quietly “Well done. They are a tricky audience, and you have managed to win them over.”

I smile pleased that this meeting has gone well, but I am aware that this is only the start. I am beginning my reign at a difficult time, with constant rogue attacks, and the Black Moon Pack preparing for war.

When we enter the room, Alex and Joseph are already there. As soon as Alex senses my presence he turns and gives me a warm smile. I walk over and sit beside me. He takes my hand and kisses my cheek.

“True mates” Philip says. “I did wonder whether this was an arranged match. A queen mated to the Alpha of the Lunar Eclipse Pack makes for a strong alliance. But I can see that you are both fated mates. This is better for us all, fated mates have a stronger bond than chosen mates.”

I am surprised I hadn’t thought that anyone would think that our mating was arranged. We have spent so long hiding our bond, trying to find a way for others to accept us that I hadn’t realised that our mating would be seen by others as the perfect match. The moon goddess knew what she was doing when she paired us together.

“We certainly feel stronger” Alex tells him. “I don’t know what I would do without her. I was never going to follow the neutrality that my father favoured. I had planned to renew our alliance with the Royal Pack once I assumed the Alpha position, but with the queen as my mate, our pack has a far stronger bond than a mere alliance with the Royal Kingdom.”

I can see the pleased looks on each of the Royal Betas’ faces. Our meeting earlier may have gone well but seeing Alex and myself as a united team has really cemented their approval of me.

“We have had a constructive and informative morning discussing each of the administrative areas. The biggest worry for everyone is the increased rogue attacks. I suggested that we should leave discussing the plans to support and defend the whole kingdom until you and Joseph joined us for lunch.”

“Of course, your majesty, I am happy to provide an update on our increased recruitment drive and training regime. I can also explain how we plan to support the defence of each of the territories with dedicated warriors from the Royal Guard who will be stationed in each of the beta’s territories.” Joseph offers.

“That would be great thank you Joseph.” I listen quietly while Joseph updates the Betas on his plans for the defence of the royal pack. They all look impressed apart from Philip.

“That is all very good, and it will certainly help, particularly in the smaller territories. However, I am not sure that the numbers that you intend to send to the northern territory will be enough to stop the rogue attacks. Our borders are long, and our land is either covered in forests or mountainous terrain which is very difficult to effectively patrol.”

“The northern territory will be the most difficult for us to protect and defend, but short of assigning the whole of the royal pack to guard them, we will not be able to foil every attack. The best we can hope to do is to reduce the number and severity of the attacks.”

Philip does not look reassured, I can see that he is about to argue with Joseph, when I suddenly have an idea which I think will help improve the defence of the northern territory without having to send them hundreds of warriors.

“Perhaps we can provide a different type of protection to compliment the wolves that we send to reinforce your territory. One of the royal guards, Adrian has been working on new technology that can be used to monitor borders without warriors having to physically patrol the area. He has also invented new weapons which can be automatically triggered if enemies breach your border. If we were to deploy this new technology along the northern border this may help to resolve your issues.”

Joseph looks at me. I know he is not keen on Adrian’s technological advancements preferring to use wolves, but we need to use every weapon we have available. I smile purposefully at him. I am not going to let this one drop.

Finally, he says “of course your majesty. That could be worth exploring.”

“Excellent. After lunch why don’t I take the Royal Betas down to the guards’ headquarters to meet Adrian and to get a demonstration of how the technology works.”

Philip looks intrigued, and the rest of the betas agree to go. I hope this will give them some reassurance that we are going to be able to foil the rogue attacks and stop the Black Moon pack from invading.