(Ethan's POV)

 

"Come, we have something to show you, Your Majesty."

I followed after the Alpha and still didn't say a word. I was told a long time ago, that every word a King says was very important and must be spoken very well...Yeah...I fail completely with this while I'm with Chance, but I happen to become someone that rarely speaks when I'm the 'King', because of this very reason.

After a good minute of walking, not once did I stop from acting the 'King'.

I could feel some of the Omega's here starting to tremble to my aura…Sometimes, it was good to be like this, but then...Other times, like now, I felt bad. I was not trying to harm them, yet they feared me...I didn't like it...

Upon coming into a room, I was then asked politely to take a seat and I did so.

Owen sat next to me and we watched as someone wheeled something in on some cart. It looked weird and my first idea was...It was a rock...

"We will obviously start with our investigation upon the deaths of the royal family. As you know, in the year 867 S, the royal family was suddenly buried alive and all but two perished. The burial site was..."

I interrupted him, "Can you tell us what you have investigated beyond that day, we already know what they died from. Could we find out how or why instead?"

"...Yes, Your Majesty. After that day we found this, to my right. We have finally found something that resembles what you see here, and it seems to be called an Elementalist."

I looked at the 'rock' for a second time and blinked...I had no words yet and waited for the Alpha to continue.

"As you see, there is a mark on the top here, and to find more evidence to suggest it is an Elementalist, there is also what they would call, veins, here."

Getting up from my chair, I took a closer look and the Alpha pointed them out again for me.

Scary...A rock with a symbol and a vein or two...

"What does this mean?" I asked.

The Alpha looked at me and sighed, "The Elementalist’s are from the continent of Gorde, they are obviously a rock looking objects that hold an elemental type of power, and the one here...Was earth. We are all but convinced that this 'Elementalist', as we call it, may have even been the most important piece of the plot of burying the royal members alive, Your Majesty."

 

Standing up straight, I then went to sit back onto my seat and looked back at the rock.

Silence filled the room and I folded my hands in front of my chest and sighed.

If this is correct, this could be a problem. We hadn't been sure for years, of what had been our enemies and who we could trust...Owen must have found out that it may not have anything to do with Shifters or humans and had wanted to see if it was safe outside of the palace for someone from the royal bloodline…To see if 'Elementalist’s' were still here...

Now I understood better upon why Owen was getting me out of the palace…

"Your Majesty, we have come to find that the 'rock' is not from this continent and that it was broken by Steve, brother of the late King, your uncle, may they all rest in peace...One of Royal Steve's canine teeth was stuck inside the rock and it is evidence that the tooth had broken this...'Elementalist'."

Staying quiet, I had no idea on how to act. This happened so long ago now, when I was twelve. Not only that, but I never met this Steve.

I felt glad that we were able to know about what may have finally happened, but I was still wondering if I should pretend to cry or something.

After this talk, for the rest of my stay, it was boring.

Owen thought that my 'boredom' was being uncomfortable because I might be going on 'heat', but I told him I was not. He had waited to ask me this until we were in a sealed room, and then continued to speak, as he gave me something, "This will stop your heat, take it and use it as soon as you know."

I picked up the small needle, that already had some liquid in it, and raised my eyebrows at him, "Why am I only seeing this now?"

Owen turned and started to unpack my things for me, making me frown, and said, "You cannot have this often, but neither can we hold off by seeing your loyal packs. I know you are due to go into heat again soon, so keep that on you, tie it around your leg, just in case.

 

'Just in case'...The last time he said those words to me, were about our recent training session together.

We had not trained together for a while and Owen reminded me on how much I hated it. He didn't tell me much, just made me run as fast as I could, and for as long as I could, and by the time I felt dead, he finally stated that he'd prefer me to know when to run and run fast, so that I could come back alive.

I guess now, I understood what he meant...Those 'Elementalist’s' might be hard to run away from, yet alone fight...

Putting the little needle onto the string, that Owen also gave me, I immediately put it around my ankle, hiding it in my sock, so it couldn’t be seen. If I do this, then it’ll also be around me when I shift to my wolf. Then I looked up and Owen was looking at me in worry.

"Do you understand now?"

I nodded and turned. I threw the extra pillow, that was on my king size bed to the floor, and fell down upon the bed...

Closing my eyes to the problem at hand, I grimaced into knowing that having the title as King, eventually meant leaving the palace. Meaning, I had to make outside safe...So that Chance could do this without a problem later when he grows up...So that his packs will forever stay loyal to him!

…Perhaps, with this predicament, it was probably a good thing that I got rejected…

 

Our royal blood was running thin and it would be a great time to go against us!

I had to keep treason to a minimum and even try to quell it altogether, I had to praise the loyalty and bargain with those who are asking for something in return. It wasn't going to be an easy task, that was for sure!

Sighing, I felt my socks come off my feet and my legs getting moved, to be on top of the bed. Owen still looked after me well, not that he had a choice, as he was the only one allowed in the same room as I to slept in.

Just outside the door though, were some good men and just further away was an Alpha and his pack.

This pack had high technology and a lot of Shifters, so I felt pretty safe and fell asleep pretty quickly...

 

***

 

Just like this, two months went by and I had to use that needle to stop anyone from knowing that I would be in heat, just like an Omega.

It was great!

It was always lonely and annoying to go through my heat and for once, I didn’t have to endure that!

Owen, our guards and I saw a few other things at ‘The Surveillance Pack' and then we were off two days later. Owen had made an idea to them before we left though, getting my interest, which was a small oxygen tank that I could take along with me everywhere…Just in case…

The Alpha happily stated that he had already come across such a thing and prepared to take them to the palace as soon as possible, knowing exactly what it was for…

I guess I did too, as we all looked grim for a moment. The idea of being buried alive sounded almost unrealistic…But, if I was to have something to help, perhaps my life could be saved…

 

The next pack we visited was The Harvest Pack, whom is mostly our farmers. The Harvest Pack are quite large because they accept Shifters in their pack a lot easier than any other. In fact, I had sent some rogues here at some point…

They not only need lots of workers but also guards, because not only humans steal, but rogues.

Each pack has an interesting extra circumstance, so that the pack doesn't hate it there and leave. With The Harvest Pack, they have the best food than any other pack, and The Surveillance Pack gets a free phone and phone calls. The next pack we went to, was the Heed and call Pack, whom we were definitely stopping by to check upon!

We had stayed with The Heed and Call Pack for a whole two weeks, trying to put things back in order, by making a few people leave and welcoming the new Alpha to take over. The human that they previously had contact with was finally dealt with, without it being obvious, and we, as Shifters, were the ones that put books onto shelves, if the book written about us was out in the open. We weren't going to buy them, because that will make the book become known and popular, so we sent a few people around to put the books out of sight, to give it less of a chance of it being picked and read.

I, on the other hand, straightened out the people in the pack. It was strange how an Alpha thought himself above the law, and so his followers felt they were too!

I could pick them out. They hardly needed to speak!

So, those weeks were really eventful!

After that, with travel time, I was only able to see one more pack before the two months had gone by!

 

Before we went back to the palace, for a much-needed rest and so that I could see my boy, we quickly visited The Treasury Pack, whom obviously looks after our money.

Since we live on interest, the Treasury Pack is probably the most...Leisurely bunch there is!

Their advantage is being able to gamble, of course though, they can't gamble a large amount. Unlike the humans, the way that The Treasury Pack gambles, is with a very little amount, so that your money does last longer…For instance, on pokies, normally people could easily spend a hundred dollars in twenty minutes, but here, in The Treasury Pack, they can make five dollars last an entire night! It was a production of us Shifters, as the King before my father was somewhat stingy but wanting to make sure that The Treasury Pack would stay loyal.

Nonetheless, I thought it was a great idea!

And, just like The Harvest Pack, the Treasury Pack were great to get along with and seemed happy with me as the King.

So...The first get away from the palace was actually really good!

I did still think of my mate but having to act as 'King' more often really did help me get through to day easier.

I felt it though, I should see him soon...His pack might even be next!

Being excited and scared at the same time, happened for me all over again!

 

 

Before heading back out, for another trip outside the palace, I became that annoying to the maid’s and the Queen, that I was kicked out of Chance’s room.

I had declared Chance’s room mine, but since I returned, just in a couple of days, I had become an ‘eyesore’…

On a rare moment, the Queen and I exchanged a mature conversation or two, and that’s when I found out that the two people that had come from other packs to find me, while I was out, had come here to the palace first.

The Queen said that none of them had extreme problems and that they were happy after she had said little advice and then added that if they need my help afterwards, that I, the King, was currently out of the palace, visiting another pack.

The continent was quite large, and we were spread out in amongst the middle of the land, while the humans seem to dominate the very north and south areas. So, travelling from pack to pack could be quick for us, if we travelled in wolf form, making us only take a two day travel, when it would normally be an eighteen-hour flight…That’s if we don’t stop…Obviously, we hardly get to a point where we would travel from one end of the continent to the other without any stops. So, most of the time, if one decides to travel by wolf form, it would take about a week, depending on a few things.

Actually, we seemed to be the reason that humans rarely come to the mid areas of the continent. But, now that I think about it, it probably makes a lot of sense that they would be worried to lose their lives to a pack of wolves…

…While I was being taken from one pack to another, we used vehicles, so that I would be guarded easier. Of course, Owen had put into account that I was unable to shift to my wolf anyway, so I had no other choice. But, since I was the King, it wasn’t looked at as an excuse, because the late King had also used vehicles to travel as well.

And, since I had to keep my wolf at bay, I did do runs while my boy was sleeping, making me only leave him alone in this time. But, since it was the only time to be able to bring out my wolf, I had to make the best of it!