Finding Her True Alpha
Chapter 121: First Morning Awake

Ashlyn

“Ashlyn?” lan’s voice rang through the phone.

“Hi lan.”

“I have to be dreaming,” he exclaimed.

“lan, you aren’t dreaming. Yesterday, I woke up. I just didn’t have a phone, so I had to find my old one.” I told him.

“How are you feeling? Are you okay?” lan asked, worried.

“I’m okay, I guess. Things are tense here, but I have James,” I told him.

“Ashlyn, what happened? Where are Mason and Derek?”

“l just don’t want to talk about it. I heard you found your mate.” lan let out a sigh.

“I did.”

“And? I want to hear all about her.” I told him.

“You do?” He asked me, confused.

“lan, of course, I do. I just want you to be happy. Are you happy?”

“I’m trying to be.”

“lan, does she make you happy?”

“She does, but you.” I interrupted him before he could finish.

“lan, I want you to be happy. There are no buts. And you should want to be happy. I’m okay. You don’t need to worry about me. Just be happy with your mate. And would love to meet her, if she’s okay with it?”

“I’ll be happy if you tell me what’s wrong?” he said, and I sighed.

“It’s nothing, lan,” I told him.

“Then why does it sound like you are about to cry?”

“I don’t have Tundra anymore,” I whispered.

“Tundra’s gone?” lan exclaimed.

“Yeah,”

“Ashlyn, I’m so sorry. What happened?”

“It was the terms for me coming back.”

“Where are you? Should I come see you?” lan rushed out.

“It’s okay, lan. It’s just something I need to come to terms with.”

“Where are your mates?”

“At work, I think. I don’t actually know.”

“Ashlyn, what happened? Please tell me?”

“Things are just different,” I told him.

“What’s different? And why are they not there with you?” lan asked me.

“For one, we no longer have the mate bond,” I sighed.

“What?” he yelled into the phone.

“And then there’s the fact that they hold some resentment”

“What resentment? You’re alive. Sure the bond, but that’s not your fault. They can always remark you.”

“They resent that fact that I put myself in a position that led to my death.” I told him and he sighed.

“Ashlyn, I should thank you. What you did for Alex and me is something that we can never repay. Everyone should thank you. There was an investigation into King Theo. He was planning on wiping out all the other kingdoms.” He told me.

“Wait, what?” I asked him, stunned.

“Did no one tell you?”

“No, I guess it just didn’t come up.”

“Ashlyn, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, lan.”

“Why didn’t you shift? And where did your powers go?” He hesitated before asking me.

“l couldn’t shift. And I no longer have my powers from the moon goddess. Tundra made a deal for Brad’s life and these were the terms,” I explained.

“Now, enough about me. Tell me about your mate?” I told him and he sighed.

“Well, she’s not Nicole,” he said, and I giggled.

“Thank the goddess.” I laughed out.

“Ava is the daughter of an alpha of one of our neighboring packs. My father set up a meeting with them. I assumed to get me to meet her. She’s funny and sarcastic and she keeps me on my toes. And I already know that she would love to meet you.”

“I’m so happy for you, lan. Now don’t f**k this up,” I told him, making him laugh.

“I’Il do my best. Besides, Ava would probably kill me.” like her already.” I laughed.

“I’m so relieved that you are okay, Ashlyn. And l can’t wait to actually see you.”

“Thank you, lan. I’m so happy for you.” I heard a banging coming through the phone.

“Sh!t, Ashlyn, I have to go, but call or text whenever you need me.”

“Okay. lan. Take care.” I told him before ending the call.

I lay in bed thinking about what lan had told me about Theo. My mates made it seem like l gave up my life for lan, but I actually gave up my life to stop the destruction of all the kingdoms. Even if the vampire kingdom was still standing after destroying all the others, it would have been a mess and countless lives would have been lost.

Sage entered the room carrying James, already dressed and ready for our day. He squealed and reached for me. I stood up, taking him from Sage.

“You okay?” she asked me, as we made our way down to the kitchen.

“I talked to lan. He told me that Theo was planning on killing off the other kingdoms. Is that true?” I asked her and she sighed.

“Yes, it’s true.”

“So I didn’t just die because l saved lan and Alex. I died trying to save the kingdoms.” I said, and she nodded.

We entered to find Liam playing on his phone. He was probably waiting for me, since I guess I now have a security team.

“Ashlyn, you should probably eat something. I can feed James.” Sage offered.

“Its fine, Sage. I can feed James, you eat.” I told her.

“Ashlyn, I can help.” Liam offered, and l just shook my head. After I finished making his bottle, I sat down at the table. Liam slid a muffin over to me.

“Matt made you muffins.” He shrugged.

“Have you guys seen my laptop or my new phone?” I asked them before taking a bite. It was double chocolate, and I wanted to bathe in it.

“I’m not sure. It’s probably in a box, or it could be in your closet,” Sage answered.

“Okay, I guess I’ll need a new phone. Later, I can find my laptop. I need to head over to the library when James is ready.” I told them.

“What are you looking for?” Liam asked me.

“I need to find something about our broken mate bond,” I answered.

“So you aren’t the one that broke the bond?” He asked me and I shook my head.

“No, I thought it broke when I died.” I told him.

“It broke before then. When we were at Blue Moon looking for you, Mason and Derek felt the bond break.” Liam answered.

“I didn’t break the bond. But I think I know when it broke.” I told him.

“Does James have a diaper bag?” I asked Sage.

“It’s by the door, Its already packed.” She answered.

When James was done with his bottle, I rinsed it out before I started burping him.

“Okay, I’m ready to head out. I need to go speak to Arthur.” I told them before heading to the front door.

“Ashlyn, do you need me to come with you?” Sage asked, following me with Liam on our heels.

“I’Il be fine, Sage, but I might need you to watch James later. If you can, of course,” I told her.

“I’Il be here. I just had a few things to do around here, anyway.” She said.

“Thank you, Sage. I really appreciated it.” I told her, giving her a side hug.

“Liam, are you ready?” I asked him. He held the door open for me.

“After you, my lady,” he said, and I rolled my eyes. I walked out the front door to find a bunch of warriors.

There must be at least ten of them.

“Liam, what the hell is going on?” I asked him.

“Language, my Queen,” he said, covering James’ ears with his hands.

“What is going on, Liam?” I growled out.

“This is the team,” he said, and I pushed my l!ps into a line.

“For the house?” I asked him and he shook his head.

“No, this is just for you and James. There are more around the property, and snipers on the roof.” He said, pointing up.

“Liam, this is too much.” I told him.

“Its orders, my queen,” he said.

“Call me queen one more time. I dare you.” I taunted him.

“Ashlyn, it’s nothing personal. We are just here to protect you and James,” Liam said.

“You are here to protect James. And I’m just going to the pack house to talk with Arthur. What the hell do you think is going to happen?” I asked him.

“The news of James’ birth is no longer a secret, and he is the heir of two kingdoms. And you are their queen. Can you just not fight me about this? Please?” he asked.

And I felt guilty for snapping. He was just following orders.

“Liam, I’m sorry. I understand you are just following orders. Whatever you have planned is fine.” I told him.

“Ashlyn, it’s not just ordered. I want both you and James to be safe,” he told me.

“Thanks, Liam. Are the warriors ready?” I asked him.

“Whenever you are. That path leads to the pack house” He said, pointing to a path just up from the driveway.

I threw the diaper bag over my shoulder and readjusted James. I had him sitting on my h!p. He was alert and watching the world with his big sea-green eyes. I started walking. Liam was beside me and the other warriors circled around Liam, James and I. It was so weird having so many people around me. And as soon as we came upon the pack house, everyone stopped and stared. I felt uncomfortable under their gazes as we walked up to the pack house.

“Half of you surround the building, the other half come with us.” Liam commented. A few warriors entered before us and a few entered after us. The Alpha King doesn’t even have this much security around him.

“Liam, were the offices moved here?” I asked him, following him up some stairs.

“We had to make some changes because of the location of the house. We moved some offices here, and we moved all the students out of the building, wanting to cut the traffic down. State-of-the-art cameras were also installed, and we upped security,” Liam explained as we walked into a foyer with a receptionist. She greeted us and I asked to see the King. She called him and pointed me in the right direction.

“I’ll be right back,” I told Liam. I walked over to the door and knocked. To my surprise, Arthur answered the door.

“Ashlyn, it’s so good to see you up.” he explained, giving me a hug.

“Thank you, Arthur.” I told him with a smile. Looking around him to see Mason sitting at the table as well. I was hoping not to see him, which I know Sounds bad.

“Now, what can I do for you, my dear?” he asked me, k!ssing James’ cheek.

“Could I speak to you in private, please?” I asked him. I was feeling anxious having all these eyes on me.

“Of course, my dear. Gentlemen, will you excuse me?” he said before he led me out into the hallway.

“Come, we can talk in my office.” he said, leading the way. I followed him into his office and he closed the door behind us.

“Is everything alright, my dear?” he asked me and I was trying hard not to burst into tears.

“Arthur, I need to go to the council building. I need to visit the library. There were books about the kingdoms and mate bonds there.” I told him.

“Ashlyn, of course you have my permission to go to the council building, but you don’t need it,” he said.

“I was hoping to bring some books home, and I wanted your permission. They aren’t my books to take.” I told him and he nodded.

“Anything you need, my dear. Just try not to rip them. Some are quite old,” he said.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it,” I said.

“My dear, are you sure you’re alright? Did something happen between you and Mason?” He asked me, worried.

“Everything is fine. But I should be going. I need to drop James off with Sage before I head to the council building. Thank you so much, Arthur.” I told him.

“I’m always here if you need to talk.” he said.

“Arthur, I have another question for you. Why did no one know James was the former king?” I asked him. It was weird that he just fell off the face of the earth and no one noticed.

“Spells, my dear,” Arthur said.

“You spelled an entire kingdom?” l asked him, stunned.

“It’s what he wanted. That’s why no one knew the importance of the Knight’s name. A spell was cast, and only a few actually knew who he was before he became the alpha of Emerald Lake.” He explained.

“Thank you. I’ll let you get back to work. But please come over for dinner tonight.” I told him and he nodded.

“I’ll bring Victor.” He said, and I nodded.

“See you tonight.” I told him before leaving his office. I walked by the conference room where Mason was, and I had to ignore the pulling of the bond. The bond wanted me to run to him, to throw myself at his feet and apologize. But my head was having none of that. This bond was not a one-way street.

“Everything, okay?” Liam asked me. He was waiting by the receptionist.

“Yep, but I need to go give James to Sage. I need to head to the council building.” I told him.

“You know that building isn’t safe right now?” Liam told me while we made our way back to our house.

“I know, but I’ll be careful. I need to visit the library. And hopefully I didn’t destroy too many of the books,” I said.

“You don’t need to worry about the books. As soon as the fire alarms went off, the room was sealed off. It’s protecting the books that are irreplaceable.” Liam explained, and I nodded.

As soon as James was safe with Sage, I opened a portal to the council building. All the warriors and Liam came with me. It was indeed a mess. There was heavy equipment everywhere, trying to clean up the mess I had made. Someone in a white hardhat came over to speak with us.

“Gamma Liam, what can I do for you?”

“Our Queen would like to go into the library” Liam answered, and the man looked over at me, stunned.

“My queen, I’m sorry, but I don’t think it’s safe” he said, bowing his head.

“I’ll be careful, if you could just show me where to go,” I told him.

“l wish I could show you, but we haven’t found the library yet. This place is a mess.” the man said.

“Do you mind just showing me the area that you think it’s in? I came all this way, and I would really appreciate your help.” I told him and he looked at Liam.

“And you say you’re not a queen.” Liam whispered, leaning in to me.

“I’ll be with her, if you could just shut off all the equipment for maybe an hour?” Liam said, and the man nodded. The man started barking orders, and they shut all the equipment down. The man came back over to us and handed Liam and me gloves and hardhats with a headlamp.

“Watch your step and be careful in there. Half the building has collapsed and we are still trying to go through everything and collect what is important.” He informed us, and we both nodded.

He showed us where we could enter the building. It was not the front door; it was a hole in the building’s side. The building was definitely more of a mess than what it looked like on the outside. Most of the floors had collapsed on top of each other. I was about to step over the threshold, but Liam grabbed my arm.

“Tl go first, my queen.” he said. He then turned on my headlamp.

“You might need that.” He said before he walked over the threshold. When he was satisfied, he held out his hand to me.

It felt like hours as we moved through the debris quickly and carefully. It’s hard to imagine this place intact after this. Everything was everywhere. Finally, Liam called me over to him.

“I think I found the library door. Give me a hand?” he said as he tried to move a beam out of the way. I found he wasn’t as heavy as I thought it should have been.

After we moved it, Liam used his shoulder to get the door open. It was indeed the library, and it was the only room that was actually untouched.

“Finally,” T breathed out. I walked in and immediately started looking for the books I had seen earlier when l was looking up things about magic.

“So, what are we looking for?” He asked me.

“I’m looking for books on mate bonds. I don’t understand why our bond broke. And I don’t understand why I feel so disconnected. Maybe, can you look for books on people who have lost their wolves and the other kingdoms?” I asked him.

“On it” he said, before moving to the other side of the room. l found a few books I had been looking for and moved towards Liam.

“Did you find anything?” I asked him.

“I did. I think these books could have some answers,” he said.

“Okay, we can head back now. I think I found what was looking for, and I have a few books to go through.” I told him and he nodded. He took the books from me and we made our way out of the library. As soon as we exited the library and I closed the door, the building shook.

“It’s okay, the building must be shifting. Let’s hurry.” Liam called out. But before I could say anything, the ground gave out under my feet and I fell.