Another Curve Ball

Zion's P.O.V.

After arriving at the suite and finding Rain crying on the couch in Jessica's arms, we finally got her to calm down, and she told me about her dream and her talk with the Moon Goddess. Everyone stayed quiet and let her explain everything at her own pace, and it wasn't easy to keep calm as she talked about her interaction with Douglas, even if it was only a dream. It made me want to kill him even more.

She chose to change the subject, saying that Jessica told her we were needed at the crime lab. She asked if we had found anything new about the wolf head, and I took a deep breath to steady myself for the news I was about to tell her. I told her what we knew and answered every question she had, but what she said next shocked me.

"Maybe you should make that call," She tells me. I look at her, shocked that she can push away the feeling of worry that she had just minutes ago. I don't want to leave her after how she feels, but she gives me a reassuring nod. "I'm okay, my Love. This is important, and I'll be right here when you return. I promise."

"If you insist. I'll make the call in the suite office, and I won't be long." I say, reluctant to separate myself from her even for a moment. She nods, leans in, and kisses me lightly before I stand up and make my way to the office.

When I make it to the office, I walk around the desk and sit in the chair, taking a deep breath to steady myself for the call I'm about to make. As I pick up the phone, Orian links me to ask where I am. I tell him I'm in the suite office, about to call King Arnald. He pauses momentarily before informing me he's on his way up. I tell him to hurry and that I'll wait for him before I make the call before cutting the link. Five minutes later, I hear him enter the suite. He speaks to Jessica and Rain before entering the office and sitting in the chair across from me.

"We have the results from the blood test we took from the head." He tells me. "It came back positive for wolfsbane and water hemlock poisoning."

"That would explain how they could take out someone with Royal Beta blood," I say, trying to control my anger, knowing they tried killing Rain and the twins with the same water hemlock poisoning.

"That seems to be the case." He says as he nods. "I don't understand how they got to her, though. We know King Arnald is very protective and controlling regarding his people."

"Either he didn't know about their presence in his kingdom, or she ran," I say. "If she ran away from them, that would explain why they were so quiet when you called them about Douglas and his army."

"But wouldn't they have felt her death?" He asks, raising a good point.

"We will see what they have to say," I tell him as I dial the direct number for King Arnald's office and put it on speaker. It only rings twice before he answers.

"King Arnald's office, Beta Mark speaking." The voice on the other end of the line says. His voice was flat and void of any emotion.

"This is King Zion. I was hoping to speak with King Arnald about an urgent matter." I say.

"Let me put you on hold while I let him know you need to talk to him." He says before quickly putting me on hold.

"Well, that was quick. I had to give a whole explanation when I called." Orian says.

"Maybe they know something's up since this is the second time we've called in one day," I say with a shrug.

It didn't take long for King Arnald to reach the phone. I delicately explained our special delivery to him, courtesy of Douglas. I told him about our theory of who it belongs to and why we believe it, and he asked me to send him a picture of the wolf's head for verification. I quickly nodded to Orian, giving him the go-ahead to send it. Not even a minute later, we hear a deep growl on the other end of the line.

"You said it was delivered today?" King Arnald asks.

"Yes, a few hours ago," I tell him.

"My Beta and I will need to come to have a face-to-face meeting with you. The things we will discuss can't be spoken over the phone." He says calmly.

"I understand. When can we expect your arrival?" I ask.

"We will leave within the next hour. It should take no more than six hours by plane." He answers.

"Okay, we will have someone meet you at the airport to pick you up. We have an important meeting with the supernatural council from our region regarding Douglas in the afternoon, but we should have time for a meeting in the morning." I tell him.

"If you don't mind, I would like to join the meeting." He says, shocking me slightly. I look at Orian in confusion, but he shrugs, unsure what to think.

"I will have to clear it with the council members, but I don't see it being a problem," I tell him honestly.

"I will let you know when we are boarding the plane. Thank you for making time for us." He says, and I can hear how stressed he is from his tone.

"No problem at all. If there is anything else I can do, just ask." I tell him. He thanked me again and hung up the phone.

"Now we have to find rooms for them as well," Orain says with a bit of aggravation.

"The suite next to Lady Ezmerelda's room has two bedrooms. We can put them in there since that's the only room available." I say after thinking for a moment. Orian nods, and we leave the office.

"I'll let Annie know to have the room prepped and ready for King Arnald and his Betas arrival." He says as we walk into the living room.

"Who's coming?" Rain asks before I can respond to him.

"King Arnold and his Beta will be here in less than eight hours," I tell her.

"Why would he be coming here?" She asks, confusion written all over her face.

"He said we needed a face-to-face meeting about his Betas daughter," I explain as I sit on the couch beside her.

"So it is his daughter?" She asks, almost choking on her own words.

"He didn't confirm it, but judging by the growl we heard over the phone, we believe so," I say, pulling her closer to me to calm her down.

"I can't imagine how her parents are feeling right now." She says, letting tears flow down her cheeks.

"It will never happen. Our Princess and the twins will always be safe. I will do everything I can to protect them at all costs." I vow, placing my hand on her growing belly.

"I know. But my heart breaks for them." She says, laying her head on my shoulder.

"I understand how you feel," I said before looking down at her, only to realize she's fallen asleep.

"Damn, I wish I could fall asleep that easy," Orian says, earning an elbow to the stomach from his mate. "What was that for?"

"She's been under so much stress on top of being about to give birth to your next niece and nephew, and all you can do is make jokes about her falling asleep?" Jessica says, her voice laced with irritation. I have to admit she's been a little moody the past few days.

"It was just a joke about how tired she's been, babe." He tells her with his hands up in surrender.

"It's not funny, she's been exhausted, and it's all taking a toll on her." She says, staring him down.

"You're right, baby girl. I'm sorry." He says, looking slightly terrified of his mate at the moment.

Before this gets out of hand, I decide to get Rain in bed. I pull her into my arms and stand to make my way to our bedroom. Jessica is right. Rain has been so stressed, and everything that's happened today hasn't helped. I have to do better in taking care of my beautiful mate.

I lay her down in bed, kissed her on the forehead, and promised that I'd do better from now on before I walked back out to the living room. I sit back on the couch and stare at both Betas and after a few minutes, they finally notice Rain is gone.

"Wait, where's Rain?" Jessica asks in shock, making Lady Ezmerelda let out a snort.

"While you two were arguing, I put her in bed," I say, letting my irritation show through my voice.

"I'm sorry, my King." They both say in unison while staring down at their feet.

"It's fine. Jessica, can you tell me why you've been so snappy the past few days?" I ask, hoping to get to the bottom of this quickly before Odett comes back from eating dinner.

"Well, you see..." She says, unable to get the words out.

"She's pregnant. We're expecting our first pup, and she's nervous it will put more stress on Rain." Orian answers for her.

"That's great news. You and Rain will be pregnant together, even if it's only for a few days before she gives birth." I say before it clicks that she's nervous for Rain's sake. "Wait, why would it put more stress on Rain?"

"It's my job to help and protect her. If she knows I'm pregnant too, she will be more worried about taking care of me instead. I can't do that to her when she's already dealing with so much." She says in a rush.

"You must realize that if she finds out that you're pregnant and you didn't tell her, she will be devastated. She is your sister, and maybe you being pregnant will be just the distraction she needs." I say.

"You're right. I'll tell her first thing in the morning." Jessica says, immediately perking up right before Odett comes running through the door.

"Daddy, where's Mommy?" She asks as she jumps into my arms.

"She was tired, so I put her in bed," I tell my little Princess before looking at the clock on the wall and realizing it was late. "It's time for you to get in bed too."

"Awww, but I'm not sleepy." She whines.

"How about I read you a bedtime story?" Stephanie says.

"Can we read Cinderella again? I love that one." She says before kissing me on the cheek, jumping out of my arms, and running to Stephanie.

"Of course, but I need you to get ready for bed first," Stephanie says as she leads Odett to her room.

"I'm glad we've cleared all of this up. Now, let's all get some sleep. We only have a few hours before King Arnald and Beta Mark arrive. Orian, check the arriving flight and get a warrior to be at the airport when they arrive." I say.

"Yes, my King. Good night." He says before they leave the suite.