The Real King

“Abomination!”

“Impossible!”

Bright brown eyes stared innocently at the angry people surrounding her. Charlotte had just turned eight, and Mommy had told her that when pups turned eight, a drawing would appear on their hip—a tremendous blessing from the Goddess. But something was definitely wrong.

When she woke up this morning, Charlotte had quickly lifted her pink pajama shirt and seen the pretty, intricate drawing. Bouncing with excitement, she ran to show her mommy. Mommy was in the kitchen cooking breakfast. When Charlotte proudly lifted her shirt to show the mark, the unexpected happened.

Mommy gasped, and her spatula slipped from her hand with a clatter. She quickly turned off the stove and grabbed Charlotte’s arm, shouting for Daddy to come downstairs right away.

Now, Charlotte was at the Pack House, standing in the Alpha’s big, dark office. The Alpha, along with three other serious-looking grown-ups, were in the room with her and her parents. From the angry and scared faces, Charlotte realized this was not looking like a blessing at all.

“What is this supposed to mean?”

“An Alpha’s mate!”

“No pack with that symbol exists!”

Charlotte tried to shove her shirt down to hide the scary mark, but Daddy wasn’t letting her. She was scared. She didn’t understand what was happening, and all she wanted was to go home.

“And this! Look! It’s gold!” The people came closer, their shadows looming over her. “That’s the mark of a Royal’s mate!”

“An omega mate for a Royal?!”

“An outrage!” The Alpha turned sharply to his mate and his Beta.

“No one outside this room must ever find out about this,” he commanded. They all nodded instantly in agreement.

“Lillian and Malcom,” The Alpha turned to her parents with all his authority. “You will not speak about this to anyone. This mark means Charlotte will not be mated, and she will not leave this pack. Do you understand?”

Lillian gritted her teeth. Charlotte could see anger and deep disappointment flash across her mother’s face, but her mother had no power to fight off a direct command from the Alpha. Both she and Malcom bowed their heads low. “Yes, Alpha.”

Back at their quiet house, Charlotte finally found the courage to speak. Her lips trembled as she fought hard not to cry. “Did I do something wrong?”

Lillian knelt quickly before her daughter, bringing their eyes level. “My special girl,” She brushed Charlotte’s dark brown hair gently away from her face. “You did nothing wrong. Some things are just too great for small people to understand.”

Charlotte sniffled. “My drawing is ugly?”

“Baby, that mark is far from ugly,” her daddy, Malcom, said, giving her hand a small squeeze. “It’s beautiful and strong. And one day, everything will make sense.”

Charlotte still didn’t understand why something so beautiful had made everyone so angry, but she knew one thing for sure: the golden mark and the initials S.B. were their most important secret now...