Filed to story: The Rejected Werewolf Princess (Camilla & Tyson) by Didi Adeyemi >>
“I’m here now, everything will be fine.”
After my coronation, we went to the elders to figure out how to handle things seeing as Ryker was an Alpha. He had to give up control of his pack to Damien- who was now the Alpha. We also played around with some laws so that his pack was officially an extension of the palace. Our mating ceremony was held less than a month after the coronation and he became Prince Consort. It wasn’t a huge ceremony, just something small and intimate but the entire world knew.
Shortly after our mating ceremony, Christine and Damien met and found out they were mates. I don’t know what was going to happen bet**en them especially considering that Damien wanted to mate with Riley. Christine has been tight l*pped about the entire thing and refuses to comment on it.
The midwife walked back into the room and took a look bet**en my legs.
“I think you’re ready.”
Almost forty five minutes later and my daughter was placed in my arms. I had forgotten how tiny a baby could be but as I stared down at her, I felt my heart clench almost painfully. She had Ryker’s dark hair and when her eyes fluttered open, they were the same hazel eyes as mine.
“She is so beautiful,”
Ryker breathed above me and as I watched the tears that gathered in his eyes, I felt a pang for the years of Audrey’s life that he missed.
“Do you want to hold her?”
I asked and he nodded.
He lifted her carefully, almost like he was scared she would break and cradled her in his arms. He cooed at her softly and I watched as he was completely enamored by his child. The door opened and I saw Audrey appear almost carefully as if she was scared of interrupting. I gestured for her to come closer and she sprinted across the room.
She climbed up on the bed and sat next to me. Ryker crouched down a little so she could look at her little sister and I saw her nose crinkle in confusion.
“She looked like a potato,”
she said and my mouth fell open so she added.
“She looks like a cute potato.”
“You looked like a potato too when you were born,”
I told her and her mouth fell open as if I had said something offensive.
“When she grows a little, she won’t look like that anymore.”
She stared at her sister with eyes full of awe and fascination and I knew I never had to worry about her being a good sister because judging by the look in her eyes, she would protect her sister with everything in her.
“What’s her name?”
Audrey asked and I looked up at Ryker with a short nod..
“Her name is Aurora Leanor Caine.”
Having a newborn has not been easy to navigate but Ryker was by my side at all times and he made it easier for me. He helped out at nights and didn’t mind watching Aurora when I had to attend meetings. I had hoped that being a new mum would reduce my workload by a significant amount but I thought wrong. I was busier than usual especially with Aurora’s naming.
Everyone knew her name but according to custom, a ceremony was supposed to be held. The last thing I wanted to do was go in front of the entire palace and showcase my newborn but I found that I had very little say in the matter. Ryker didn’t like it either so I knew I wasn’t overreacting.
“You’re the Queen,”
Christine mused as she helped me get dressed for the day.
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“I think we both know that’s a lie. I did everything possible to get out of this and you know it.”
She sighed deeply and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
“It’ll be over before you even realize and then you can go on that long needed trip that Ryker has been planning.”
“Are you going to tell me where he is taking me?”
I asked and she pretended to zip her mouth shut.
Ryker noticed how stressed I was and declared that after the naming, we were going on a trip as a family. The elders were against it but I learned that Ryker did as he wished because he canceled all my meetings and the trip was staying despite everyone’s protests.
A loud gurgle snapped me out of my thoughts and I rushed over to Aurora. Unlike Audrey, she was a frol**ky baby and it was very easy for her to go from gurgling to full blown tears within the span of a second. I picked her up and she peered up at me with wide eyes that looked too intelligent for her age. As I gazed at her, I couldn’t help but feel like something bad was going to happen.
“Is it too late to get out of this?”
I asked aloud and Christine turned to me.
“Are you having second thoughts?”
she asked and I shrugged.
“Camilla, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,”
I admitted.
“I just don’t feel right-about this.”
“You’ll be fine. You have the best guards in the kingdom guarding you.”
Somehow, her words did little to calm me down but there was nothing I could do about it at the moment.
I was led towards the doors of the same hall I did my coronation. Ryker was standing there waiting for me and he gave me a soft smile as he saw me. He took Aurora from my hands and she made small gurgling noises. He was a girl dad through and through and the girls adored him. Audrey was clinging to his pants and trying to get his attention as he held Aurora.
He was the epitome of ease and I tried to convince myself that I was overreacting. If Ryker didn’t think anything was wrong then I was probably overreacting. His eyes found mind and he instantly knew something was wrong. He opened his mouth to ask but he was interrupted by one of the elders who walked up to us and started talking about the order of the ceremony.
I zoned him out because I already knew what was to happen. We were to go in, the priest would bless the child and dedicate them to the moon goddess and the ceremony would end with the child’s name. I had the same ceremony with Audrey although it was a more private ceremony because I was still in hiding at the time. As I watched Ryker listen with rapt attention, I realized the information was more for his benefit.
Once the ceremony started, I zoned everything out and went through the motions on autopilot. Even when I delivered Audrey, I didn’t want to be around people but somehow, it was worse now. I got easily irritated and I didn’t know why. Ryker stayed close to me as if sensing my unease and I leaned on his calm emotions because mine were haywire.
I held my breath when Aurora was blessed because although it was rare, there were two cases in history where the goddess refused to bless the child. In the first instance, the first child died before reaching the age of five and in the second, the child murdered their entire family. A candle was lit and a prayer was offered. If the candle stayed lit then the child was blessed and if it went out, then the blessing was denied.
The priest was about to light the candle when the door to the hall opened. Standing there was a guard I had seen around but there was something off about him. His eyes were wide and he wasn’t moving. All of a sudden, a knife protruded from his neck and he fell to the ground. My first instinct was to grab Audrey and shield her from the violence but it was too late, she had seen it.