Page 40 of Becoming the Alpha

“Lily is a wolf shifter, now. Apparently, she was born a half shifter and she ended up getting bitten a few weeks ago. She’s gotten her wolf under control and is learning more about how a pack works. She is very much welcome as my mate and the Queen of Wolf Hollow.”

“You’re one of them.”

Lily winced again, this time at the flat tone in Jessica’s voice. She took a deep breath, glancing at me again. “I am. It wasn’t something I wanted to happen, nor did I know it was possible, but I wouldn’t give it up for anything now.”

“How does one become a wolf shifter?”

“You have to be born with shifter blood in your system. Lily is half shifter,” I explained. This earned us another miserable sound from their mom. I glanced down at her, realizing she looked horrible. I ran a hand down my face. “Dean!”

He opened the door immediately, giving me a small bow with a bit of a smirk on his face. “You called, Your Majesty?”

I snorted, his antics not amusing me in the slightest, but we didn’t have time for that now. “Get the Healer in here. Now”

He bowed again. “Of course, Your Majesty.” He turned on his heel and let the door swing shut behind him. I let myself glare at the door for a few seconds before resolving to handle Dean at a later time and turned back to Lily and her family. They were both staring at me with vastly different expressions on their faces. Lily had a confused, but grateful look on her face. Jessica had distrust and distaste written all over hers, arms crossed tightly across her chest.

“Jessica, Lily has mentioned how much she’s truly missed you. I hope my soldiers didn’t cause any additional fright when they brought you in?” I asked, offering her my hand. She snorted, eyeing my hand. Lily nudged her shoulder violently and she sighed, dropping her arms before she reluctantly shook my hand.

“It was great being kidnapped by your goons, believing we were about to be executed because we hadn’t paid our overpriced taxes, and then being shoved into a strange grown man’s bedroom where we didn’t knowwhathe wanted with us.”

“Jessica!” Lily admonished her. I chuckled. I couldn’t help it - she had a point.

“How old are you, Jessica?”

“Why?” She asked, eyeing me with more suspicion.

“Humor me.”

Jessica glanced at Lily, who gave her a nod. “I’m fourteen.”

I shake my head, grinning. “Of course you are. I bet you were a fun teenager too, weren’t you?” I asked Lily, wrapping my arms around her and kissed her on the cheek.

She blanched, looking offended. “I’ll have you know I was a well-behaved and delightful teenager.”

Jessica immediately burst out laughing, causing me to join her. Lily looked amused, attempting to look upset, but unable to keep the smirk off her face. I squeezed her, kissing her cheek again. “I love you, Lily. Thank you for being so undeniably you.”

Lily smiled at me over her shoulder. “I love you too, Jason.”

“Alright, lovebirds. Let’s not forget that our mother is basically in the fetal position on the floor at our feet. What are we going to do to help her?” Jessica asked, planting her hands on her hips and surveying their mom. I turned as the door opened and Dean stepped in, bowing again. I narrowed my eyes at the fucker, annoyed at the amusement dancing in his eyes.

“Your Majesty, the Healer as you requested.”

The Healer stepped in, bowed to me and Lily, then moved toward their mom. He spoke in low, soothing tones. I sighed, staring up at the ceiling when I heard Simon step into the room. I heard his low intake of breath and turned to look at him, trying to school my face to not show the flash of irritation I was feeling about having to deal with annoying Royal shit when Lily needed me. He wasn’t looking at me, though. He was looking at the woman sitting on the ground, currently hidden by the Healer. Simon’s eyes flashed as his wolf fought for control.

“Annette…”

“Oh, fuck,” Dean spit out. I sighed, dropping my head into my hands and waiting for everything to implode. I didn’t need to wait long because several things happened at once.

Lily whipped around. “What the fuck did you just say?”

“Language!” The Healer hissed at Dean and Lily with a quick glance in my direction.

Jessica glanced between Lily’s seething face and Simon’s pale one. “What’s going on? What? Can someone tell me what’s happening?”

Annette, Lily’s mom, cried out as she heard Simon’s voice, a mournful and pain-ridden sound emitting from her. Lily and Jessica both turned around and knelt by their mother, speaking soft pleasantries and trying to make her feel better. Simon took a hesitant step forward before stuttering to a stop. Dean was scratching the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable.

I took a breath, squaring my shoulders. I grabbed Dean and pushed him toward the doorway. “Go. Make sure the girls are on their way back safely.”

I moved toward Jessica, tapping her on the shoulder. She turned toward me, raising an eyebrow. “Can you give us a minute? We need to sort this out and it’ll help if we have less people in the room.”

---