The Alpha Queen And Her Chosen Mate

Two years later….

– – – – – – – –

Kelsey

“Can someone see if Kelly is joining us for dinner tonight? King Edward and Luna Sierra will be here any minute!” My father asked, obviously pissed that Kelly was MIA for yet another family dinner, this time when we had important guests arriving soon.

“I’ll go see.” I said, leaving my pups with my mate and heading through the palace to Kelly’s room. I was hardly at her door and could already smell smoke and hear the music blaring. “Kelly!” I knocked.

“Go away!” She yelled back, a bit of laughter in her voice.

“We have company arriving soon, remember?” I scoffed.

It took a minute, but she eventually opened her door, a cloud of smoke wafting in my face. I fanned it away, coughing at the putrid skunk smell while Kelly just laughed. “What’s up?” She asked, taking another hit from wherever she was smoking.

“What is wrong with you?” I yelled. “Dad told you weeks ago he needed us on our best behavior for when King Edward and Luna Sierra arrived! You are the future queen for goddess sake! Do you really want your future allies to see you like this?”

“No, I’m not. Dad made that abundantly clear.” She rolled her eyes, pulling her bathrobe closer to herself.

“Hey, we are heading out. Thanks again for last night.” A gentleman I didn’t recognize said, planting a heated k**s on Kelly’s lips before turning to leave.”

“Bye beautiful.” Another man said, winking at her before also leaving.

“Thanks Kelly.” A female giggled, trailing behind the men.

“I might just miss you the most.” Kelly winked, making the girl blush.

“So what, you are a w***e now too?” I asked once they were out of earshot.

“Love is love.” She shrugged. “And with love comes free drugs.”

“So you’ll sleep with anyone just to get your fix?” I scoffed. “When did you become this person?”

“You wouldn’t understand.” Kelly rolled her eyes.

“I would if you would talk to me! Goddess, ever since you came back you have been a different person! I want my sister back!”

“She is gone Kelsey!” Kelly said, her eyes turning dark, telling me it wasn’t just Kelly I was talking to anymore. “The old me is dead. This is the new me. Deal with it or get the f**k out.” She said, slamming the door in my face.

I held back my tears until I could make it to the bathroom, mourning this version of Kelly. Was there something I could have done to help her? I missed the old Kelly, the one who was fun and loving and encouraging and fierce. Would I ever get to see her again? Would my pups ever get to know their aunt for who she really was inside? Or would she just live in a hollow shell until she overdoses on whatever it is that she is taking?

I dried my eyes and hastily made my way back to the dining room where dinner was about to begin. The northern king and queen were already there. All eyes turned to me expectantly, my father being the first to ask, “Kelly?”

“Unfortunately Princess Kelly is unable to join us tonight. She is going into heat, but sends her regards.” I said before taking my seat at the table. Why I continued to make excuses for her, I’ll never know.

“Well then, let’s eat.”

– – – – – – – – – –

Jonas

I did it, I finally graduated with my masters’ degree as a diplomat. Now all that was left was to get my Ph.D. I couldn’t wait to tell Kelly. I had stuck to my guns, avoiding her for the past few years, minus when she went missing to seek alternative medicines. I helped look for her, but she eventually came back on her own and seemed okay. It was awful trying to stay away from her. I missed my friend. From what I hear, she has been keeping to herself a lot. I hope she is okay.

“Kelly?” I asked, knocking on her door.

Suprisingly, the palace guards didn’t even bat an eye at my boldness. Normally, I was watched like a hawk around here, being an unmated male and all.

“Whhaaattttt?” She grumbeled, coming to her door and swinging it wide open. “Oh…Jonas.” She asked, taken back by my presence.

“Hey.” I smiled, pulling her in for a hug. “I missed you.” She smelled like pot. Was this the new medication her doctor gave her?

“I-I missed you too.” She hugged me back. “What are you doing here?” She pulled away, closing her door slightly.

“I came to see you. I just got my masters degree and wanted to celebrate with you.” I smiled.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Oh…congratulations.” She said, her face scrunched up, deep in thought.

“Thanks…so do you want to grab dinner together?” I pressed.

“Rain check?” She said, blocking my view of her room even more so.

“Kelly, what are you hiding?” I asked, trying to look past her.

“I’m not hiding anything.” She hissed at me.

“I know when you are lying.” I said, pushing past her into her room.

“Jonas stop!” She yelled, but I ignored her.

What I saw was far worse than anything I could have ever imagined. Her room looked like a hoarder, an addict, and maybe even a wild raccoon, had a fight and destroyed the place. Her room used to be so clean and organized and screamed Kelly. This room was depressing and smelled of smoke and booze. This wasn’t anything like her.

“What happened?” I asked, brokenness taking over me.

“Its not as bad as it looks…” She weakly defended herself.

“Youre right, its far worse.” I said, trudging further into her room through the trash that was lying on the floor. “When…how…why?” I began to ask.

“It keeps Keres under control.” She said quietly.

“Kelly, I cant imagine that Keres is worse than this.” I said, gesturing to her room. “Tell me I’m wrong.” I pleaded.

She stuttered for a moment before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. “You should go now.”

“No, hell no.” I shook my head. “I’m not going to let you live like this. This isn’t you.”

“There’s nothing you can do.” She shook her head.

“Yes there is.” I said, grabbing a forgotten grocery bag and loading it up with trash. “You might not want to change, but I refuse to let you live in squalor. You might not have respect for yourself right now, but I still do.”

– – – – – – – – – –

Kelly

I sat in the corner of my room, watching like a coward as Jonas spent over three hours picking up trash and cleaning my room. Kylie joined him at some point, helping disinfect the surfaces and clean my bathroom. I knew she secretly blamed herself for all of this. But it wasn’t her fault, I should probably tell her that one day. I was the one who asked her to pick the lock, I was the one who ran.

It took a few hours but I could slowly see my room coming back to its former glory. Jonas and Kylie worked in silence together, though I was sure they were linking each other by the way their eyes glazed over every so often. Kylie changed my bedsheets and did laundry while Jonas took down the blankets I had covering my windows, opening them wide open, allowing light and fresh air into the room. It smelled wonderful. I almost forgot how much I liked being outside. But that’s what two years of house arrest will do to you.

This wasn’t how I imagined my life turning out. This wasn’t what I wanted. I felt like a prisoner in every sense of the word. Mind, body and soul.

“There. That’s a start.” Jonas sighed, looking me over.

“Thank you.” I said, still not meeting his eyes. I don’t think I could look him in the eyes right now without completely breaking down.

“Get help. Do better. Be the queen you are supposed to be, the woman you are meant to be. And do it soon, because I know damn well you can’t be happy living like this.” He said before leaving with at least six garbage bags in hand.

He wasn’t wrong. I hadn’t been happy in a very, very long time. What does happiness even look like for me? And how was I supposed to be queen when my father basically forbade me? It would take some major sucking up, that’s for sure. But first I would need to get clean. I would need to get Keres under control. The thought was daunting. I couldn’t do it alone. But who could I even go to for help? One name came to mind.