Papa glanced from Alexander back to me as the puzzled look on his face is replaced by understanding. "He's your mate," Papa said as he walked towards us. I nod my head, not knowing what to say.

He nodded his head slowly as a worried look settled in his eyes. "Alexander, I know why you marked Elizabeth, but James doesn't. And when he finds out," a humorless chuckle came from him, "when my son finds out that you are Kathy's mate, you best prepare yourself for a fight." My mate opened his mouth to speak, but Papa's lifted hand stopped him.

At this moment, they weren't head warrior and king; they were a concerned father and his daughter's mate. "James has only known Kathleen for a few short months, be the bond between them are as strong as any I've ever seen between brother and sister, Alexander. All he knows is that her mate chose and marked another woman over his sister, who he absolutely adores. His wolf will demand that he fights you for the wrong that you've done towards Kathleen."

Understanding hit Alexander as he sighed. "I waited ten years for her to show Eric, ten years. I finally decided that she must have been dead, so I chose a queen that would help me rule the kingdom in a way that I knew my mate would have been able to do as well." Suddenly, Alexander straightened, his eyes getting a glazed look to them.

"Why didn't you tell me what your mate was Alexander?" Papa asked me softly. "I knew how much you thought of him Papa, as a man and as our king. What happened between us wasn't his fault at all, and I didn't want you or James to blame him for that. Mother kept me from the ball because she was ashamed of me, thus keeping me from finding my mate." Sighing softly, I take a step back from my mate.

"On top of that Papa, I didn't want either of you to question him as our king. Alexander is one of the greatest king's our kind has had in a very long time. I think that he made the best choice he had based on the situation he was in at the time." Papa chuckled as he smiled at me. "I do believe that you will make us a fine queen Kathleen, I do indeed." My face heated as I glanced down.

Though I knew that Alexander was the king, thus making me the future queen, but it amazed me how often I tended to forget that. "Papa, I don't know how to be a queen! I could care less about politics and balls. I'd rather see that time and effort into making things better for the packs. I've seen so many during my six years that had so little of what they really needed."

A proud look flashed through my father's eyes. "That right there Kathleen, that is why you will be a great queen. You're like Alexander; you truly care about your people." The feeling of a hand on my shoulder had me looking over my shoulder into my mate's eyes. They were so filled with love and respect that I had trouble breathing.

"Eric, if you will excuse Kathleen and me, we have an announcement to make to the council and to the shifters here tonight." Papa nodded as he stepped aside. Alexander began to lead me towards the door. "What do we have to announce?" I asked softly as we turned and started walking. I looked around, recognizing that he was taking a different route than the one I had taken to the music room.

Alexander shot me a smile that had my heart racing. "I'm going to announce that I've found my mate, my true soul mate and that I intend on making her our queen and one day, my wife." He stopped us just outside of a very large pair of double doors. "I know that I've made mistakes Kathleen. And though I would never give up my son, I do regret that those mistakes brought you pain."

His hand caressed my cheek and my eyes closed as I leaned into his touch.

"We've both made mistakes in the past, and that's where they are. Both of us have learned from them and I believe that we've come away as a better person." I hear him sigh before his lips softly press against my forehead.

He pulled back and I opened my eyes, smiling at him. The doors opened suddenly and I found hundreds of eyes were glued to us. Alexander slowly took my hand and began to lead us to the thrones that stood before everyone. The ballroom was silent as they watched their king and a woman they did not know walk past them. By the time that Alexander stopped beside the throne, I felt as if my heart was going to burst in my chest, it was beating so hard.

My eyes scanned the crowd, landing on my brother and his mate standing towards the back of the room. Beside him, Papa stood with a proud smile on his face. Giving both of them a smile, I feel my heart start to slow down. "I'd like to start off by thanking everyone who came tonight. I hope that you all have had a great night and that you've found your mates.

"I know that many of you believed that almost seven years ago, I met and married my mate. That, however, isn't the truth." Several gasps could be heard as a faint hum of voices rose. Alexander lifted his hand, waiting for the noise to die down. "I had spent ten years before I married Elizabeth waiting for my mate to appear, but with each passing year and no sign of her, I began to fear the worse.

"I knew that I needed someone to help me rule the kingdom. Upon my father's suggestion, I chose a young woman from one of our allies, a woman who had lost her mate. We were married and I claimed her as mine. We had a wonderful year together and we blessed with a son.

"On the night that Jackson was born, many of you know that Elizabeth died. No one knows that I met my mate that night; her first ball since her mother had been forcing her to remain at home. Neither of us had been expecting to find the other that night, but we did." Alexander took my hand and smiled at me. "Kathleen is my mate and your future queen."

Cheers went up but I was focused on my brother. His eyes snapped between my mate and me as disbelief and then anger clouded his eyes. James turned and stormed from the room, our father and his mate quickly following after him. Guilt hit me as I watched my brother disappear.

Alexander and I mingled for a while, smiling and shaking hands. But with each passing minute, my guilt grew. I loved James and the fact that I had kept secrets from him ate away at me more than anything else did. When I couldn't handle it any longer, I found Alexander and begged him to take me to my family. James meant the world to me and I wouldn't be able to let anything go until this was settled between us.

My mate led me to Papa's wing, and when we got closer to our rooms, we could plainly hear James' voice as he yelled at papa. "I don't care right now who he is Dad! You didn't see how Kathy looked the first she came to the pack. She may have been alive, but it looked like she hadn't been truly living in years."

I held my breath as I listened to my brother. Alexander was just as still behind me, his heart pounding in his chest. "You didn't see the pain that she hid in her eyes, how she flinched every time someone asked her if she had found her mate yet. I could see that she was hurting, longing for someone but I couldn't help. All she would ever tell anyone was that by the time she found him, he had a family of his own." The tone of his voice brought more tears to my eyes.

Alexander knocked on the door, causing my brother to fall quiet. The door slowly opened and when James saw who was standing behind me, anger flooded him. Before either of us could move, my brother stormed forward, his fist slamming into Alexander's face. I was quickly, but gently, pushed out of the way as my mate stumbled backward, not trying to defend himself. Alexander kept his hands by his side as my brother threw hit after hit, each one finding their mark.

Finally, Papa pulled James away from Alexander. "That's enough son," Papa warned him before helping Alexander stand. We were ushered into his room and the door shut. James took a seat directly across from Alexander, his eyes hard. "You may not want me as your head warrior, Alex, and I will fully understand if you don't. I need you to know that my sister and my mate will always come first to me. So, if you do anything to ever hurt her again, king or not I will come for you."

A chuckle escaped my mate, easing the tension in the room. "I wouldn't expect any less from you, James. And I will always want you as my head warrior. You are just as skilled as your father, and you're a good man."

They spoke for a few minutes before I pulled my brother out into the hall so both of us could talk. "I'm sorry for not telling you who he was," I said softly as James pulled me into a hug. "You don't have to apologize to me, Kathy. To tell you the truth, if I had known who he was when we first found each other, I would have been sorely tempted to hunt him down and try my best to kill him."

He gave me a smile as he stepped back. "So, you're to be my queen," he said with a teasing glint in his eyes. I chuckle softly as I give him my best sisterly glare. "I swear James, if you start treating me any differently, I'll have Papa and Alexander beat you up." James laughed as he held his hands up in surrender.

"Anything for you... my queen," James said as he gave me an exaggerated bow, laughing loudly. My face lit up as I took a step back from him, taking a deep breath. "Papa! Alexander!" I cry out and James started to run down the hall.

The door flew open as my father and my mate rushed from the room, James' mate right behind them. "What's wrong sweetheart?" Both of them asked, worried as they glanced around quickly. I pointed towards my fleeing brother. "Get him," I say with a big smile. Both men looked at each other before taking off after James, their laughter echoing loudly throughout the hall. It looked like I was finally getting my happily ever after, after all, I thought as I laughed when James screamed when Alexander tackled him. Life was looking up.