Chapter 36 - Life Isn't Always Be A Bed Of Roses.

Today has been a funny old day from the abrupt arrival of my friends who made themselves very much at home this morning at breakfast to putting a bitch back in her place at school to watching my real family quite literally fly onto my lawn in their fancy helicopters to now where I'm sitting next to Cole in his office with my family scattered all around as we talk about everything from the past eighteen years, Cole actually wanted me to sit on his lap but I made it very clear to him that this wasn't the time or the place for anything like that.

After Angelo and Christian almost came to blows in front of everyone, my dad thought it would be a great idea for us all to sit down and talk in private so whilst myself, Cole, my parents, my grandmother and my three brothers are all in Coles office, everyone else is downstairs most likely emptying out my fridge.

"Ok so...I guess the best place for us to start would be with your mother's pregnancy"

"Really, that far back?"

I asked quickly regretting it thinking that I'd asked a stupid question.

"That's when everything started, honey"

My mother said in her sweet and calming voice.

"When your mother found out she was pregnant again Natalia, we were thrilled especially when we found out that we were having a little girl...but not everyone was happy"

My dad looked pained and sad as he told me the story about my uncle and his weird and crazy obsession with me and the throne.

"Ever since I can remember, my younger brother Mason has never been happy with the fact that he was second in line to be king, he never really showed it growing up, it was mostly just snide comments and things that you could pass off as jealousy but it was when I was made the official king that his obsession became paramount"

"What do you mean?"

My dad took a deep breath before continuing, I could tell that talking about this was really uncomfortable for him.

"Mason knew that if I died before I was able to have an heir then he would instantly be made king but unfortunately for him, I found my mate a few months after I was crowned which heightened his anger, in fact, he tried to get your mother to reject me"

My dad said whilst grabbing hold of my mother's hand possessively.

"Pfft, as if that was ever gonna happen, it just goes to show how deluded that boy is"

"How did he try to get momma to reject you?"

"You see this scar?"

He asks whilst pointing to the huge scar which starts from his eyebrow and ends on his cheek.

"This is from your uncle Mason, he challenged me as both alpha and king, hoping that either he'd win or your mother would reject me because he'd disfigured me thus ending all chances of us mating and becoming parents but he failed miserably, if anything the scar heightened your mother's attraction to me"

"You're damn straight it did"

My momma said causing me to giggle.

Nathan and Christian groaned in disgust at our parents who were looking at each other with lust-filled googly eyes.

"In fact, Nathan was conceived the night I came home from the hospital"

"What? seriously, dad"

"It's true son, I'm not gonna lie to you"

Nathan looked seriously disgusted and I don't blame him.

"Urgh!!, I'd much prefer to hear that I was dropped on your doorstep by a stork then to hear that"

I chuckled as I roll my eyes, you'd think Nathan would be a lot more mature about the situation considering he's a father himself but no.

"Just be grateful you were created by love and not lust and or drink and drugs like most people"

"Whatever"

"Anyway, Mason was apoplectic when he found out that your mother was pregnant with Nathan and it escalated when we had Christian and you"

"Why?"

"Well darling, the more children your mother and I have, the lower in succession Mason gets and when you, Nathan and Christian all have kids of your own then he gets even lower"

Yer, his place in line will be practically non-existent with how many kids Cole wants.

"Before we had you, Mason never really expressed any real plans or should I say plots to take over as king apart from when he challenged me, my guess was that he knew I was stronger than him and he wouldn't hurt my boys because they were kids and as much as I dislike him, I'd like to believe he still has some heart in him not to hurt kids"

"So, what changed?"

My parents shared a look which made me nervous even though I've got a feeling what they're gonna say.

"When we found out we were pregnant with you, Mason went awol, he stopped attending to his royal duties, he neglected his training, even the women of his harem never saw him, he was missing for the entire pregnancy and we thought...actually, we hoped that he'd given up on his crazy crusade to be king but then news broke worldwide that we were having a girl and that's when he came out of the hole that he was hiding in"

"Why? what's so special about me being a girl?"

My dad leaned forward and grabbed hold of my hand whilst smiling brightly.

"You were the first girl to be born into the royal family in over two hundred years, Nat, it was a special occasion and everyone in the supernatural world were super excited that there was finally gonna be a princess born into the kingdom, so much so that species of all supernaturals were celebrating the news with parties and festivals, there was even a pack in Brazil who were so excited that they held a month-long carnival in celebration of their future princess"

"Wow"

Here was me thinking that I wasn't loved that much when in fact there were people all over the globe who were celebrating my existence before I was even born.

"I remember that, I was only three years old at the time but I remember my parents hosting a big, extravagant ball in honour of our future princess...I never knew that Natalia was that princess, well, not until recently that is"

"It's not surprising Cole, everyone celebrated in their own way, it doesn't matter if it was something big or something small, every species celebrated in their own way, in fact, the mass celebration all around the world is what caught Mason's attention and when he learned that Tia was pregnant with a girl...that's when his sick mind formed an extremely sick plan, one that cost us eighteen years of our precious baby girls life"

My dad said the final part whilst looking deep into my eyes, his eyes were filled with unshed tears making them really glossy.

"What plan was that dad?"

Christian asked looking confused, my dad snapped his eyes away from mine and looked down, I guess he was struggling with something because my mother clearly sensed his distress and grabbed hold of his hand with both of hers.

My parents looked at each other and I could tell from their eyes that they were mate linking, they both looked stressed and pained but a quick smile from my mother immediately calmed and relaxed my dad, the mate bond is really something.

"Yer it is"

I look up at Cole with a smile, he winks at me as his infamous smirk works it's way onto his thick lips, f**k I'd really love to kiss him right now, woah, where did that come from?.

A throat clearing brought me out of my thoughts and I blushed a little when I saw everyone was staring at me whilst Coles smirk had gotten bigger.

"Sorry"

"Don't be honey"

My momma said with an excited smile on her face, I looked over at my dad who was looking at Cole with extremely angry eyes and his face was all tensed.

"Babe"

My father narrowed his eyes at my mother and she gave him a stern look, he then closed his eyes and took several deep breaths in and out, who would've thought that he'd have such a reaction just from me looking at Cole.

"We never heard from Mason for the majority of the pregnancy, he remained MIA until Valentine's day 2002 when several dozen bouquets of red roses were sent to the castle all addressed to the future princess"

"Each bouquet had a note attached to them which detailed Masons plan, I was so traumatised and disturbed by the notes that it sent me into early labour, we almost lost you but luckily our pack doctor saved you in time"

My mother whispered the last part looking pained.

"What was his plans?"

My dad was once again angry which I could tell was rapidly rising when he looked me in my eyes.

"He wants to kill us so that he can marry Natalia and be king"

"WHAT?"

My brothers growled and I felt myself feeling nauseous.

Even though I already knew of Masons plans long before my parents turned up on my doorstep, it still revolted me knowing that this weirdo wants to marry his own blood and all for a stupid f*****g crown.

"Are you ok, baby?"

Cole gently rubbed his hand in circles on my back which seemed to ease my nausea but not completely.

"I'm fine"

"Are you sure, darling?"

My dad asked me sounding very concerned.

"Yer"

I sighed in frustration as I ran my hands through my hair.

"Talk to us, Nat, what's going on?"

I look down at Angelo who has gone from sitting next to Nathan to being crouched down next to me.

"I just feel a little sick that's all, I mean I'm my brothers mate and my uncle wants me as his wife...what kind of f****d up family tree am I part off?"

"We're not related, Nat"

Cole growled.

I look over at him and we made eye contact, his eyes were filled with so many different emotions none of which I could really make out.

"I don't understand"

Nathan said breaking our eye contact.

"Even if uncle Mason did succeed in killing us, he still wouldn't be king because Max is the next in line to the throne, not Natalia"

"Not exactly son, Maximus is only four, he's far too young to be king which means that Natalia would have to take over as Queen until Max turns eighteen"

And just like that, any relief I felt was instantly washed away.

"We need to find a way to stop Mason and kill him once and for all"

"It's not that simple son, Mason possesses the power of shapeshifting"

"What's that?"

Angelo asks sounding confused and I don't blame him, this is something new and confusing for me too.

"A shapeshifter can change their entire physical form at will, this is why Mason has been able to dodge us for so long"

There was silence in the room for a few seconds until Angelo spoke up.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Uh-huh, someone who can change their looks with a click of their fingers"

"And we've just had two boys randomly show up on our doorstep"

"Erm guys..."

I tried to get their attention.

"And they're super shady about their pasts"

"Guys..."

"And I was dumb enough to make them Natalias guards"

"HEY!!"

I looked angrily between Angelo and Cole.

"What?"

"What babe?"

Urgh!!.

"What are you two idiots rambling on about?"

"Dimitri and Massimo babe, they showed up randomly at our pack practically begging me to accept them"

"And? we always have wolves showing up wanting to be a part of the pack, it's not unusual Cole"

"But it's been two months babe and we don't know shit about them"

"Actually I do, they're twins, they're eighteen years old, their last name is King, they..."

"Wait a minute, repeat the last thing you said"

I looked at Angelo confused.

"Their last name is King"

Angelo looked at Cole who angrily muttered f**k under his breath several times, he looked absolutely furious and like he was ready to shift.

"Cole, calm down"

Cole looked at me and I gasped when I saw his wolfs eyes colour, shit.

"Ace, calm down, please"

He took several deep breaths before saying something which made me panic.

"I'm gonna f*****g kill them"

He jumped up from his chair and made a beeline for the door.

"Cole, don't"

I went after him and grabbed hold of his arm to stop him.

"Why not, Natalia? I'm not gonna have anybody on my land who is a threat to you"

"Well, that's funny considering your parents are still living on your land and they're more of a threat to me than two teenage boys"

"Natalia..."

"No, don't Natalia me Cole, I'm not gonna have you hurt those lads unless you know for absolute sure that one of them is Mason"

"Oh really, babe...and how are we supposed to find that out? I haven't got the time nor the patience to wait around for them to slip up and by the time they do, it could be too late"

I sighed knowing he's right but at the same time, I can't have him hurting two innocent wolves who may or may not be my crazy, unhinged uncle.

"I don't know Cole but we can find a way just please don't hurt them not until we know for sure"

Cole looked torn but he eventually agreed with me and calmed down, we then sat back down in our respective seats and continued our conversation with my parents who were eager to know everything about Dimitri and Massimo and I felt like an idiot because Cole was right, we don't know much about these boys but I had this very strong gut feeling about them and that they're just two innocent boys with no hidden agenda or crazy plans who just wanted to be a part of a pack.

The conversation quickly turned back to Mason and my birth after my momma put the men at ease by telling them she'll come up with a spell to find out if Dimitri and Massimo are who they say they are.

"So, how did I end up on the Dark Shadows packs territory at just a few days old?"

"Well, honey..."

My mother started with a shaky voice, she tried several times to continue her sentence but couldn't.

"The day after you were born Natalia, Mason declared war on the Royal pack and told us that he and his army would only back down if we handed you over to them and abdicated the throne....he didn't even give us a choice of one or the other, it was either that or war, so we made the painful decision of faking your death and giving you away in hopes that it would throw Mason off and he'd give up which he did but somehow he found you"

"What would you have chosen if he did give you a choice?"

I asked him absentmindedly whilst looking down at mine and Coles entwined hands and fiddling with Coles alpha ring which is on his thumb, I couldn't look at my dad because a huge part of me believed that he would choose the throne over me and I didn't want him to see the pain in my eyes when he said it.

"Look at me, Natalia"

I was hesitant at first but I eventually looked up at my dad who was looking at me with pity filled eyes.

"Hands down darling we would have chosen you...you and your brothers mean more to us than being king and queen"

"So....why did you abandon me?...why did you leave me to be tortured and abused for the majority of my life?...why didn't y..you..."

Tears were flowing down my face and my voice was shaking so bad that I couldn't finish my sentence, my dad immediately stood up and came over to me kneeling down in front of me and grabbing hold of my free hand.

"We had no choice baby, if Mason becomes king then the supernatural world is doomed, he'll throw off the balance between good and evil and we can't have that"

He lifted his other hand up to my face and wiped my tears away.

"We had to fake your death in order to defeat Mason which is why you were left with the Vasquez family...please trust me, sweetheart, if we knew they were mistreating you and abusing you the way they were then we would've immediately come to get you...we love you so, so much, my dear daughter"

He placed his forehead onto mine and closed his eyes, we stayed like this for less than a minute before he pulled away cupping my face and kissing my forehead, he then went back to sitting next to my mother.

My father then further explained about the damaging effects Mason would have on the supernatural species if he became king including his plans for the rogues of each species who he apparently loathes, I was confused by this because he's been working with rogues, why would he work with rogues if he hated them? I asked my dad this and he said that knowing Mason he's probably just using them and most likely promising them the world when in fact, he'll have something much darker and a lot more painful planned for them.

The conversation quickly turned to my tragic upbringing thanks to Christian who was weirdly eager to hear the ins and outs of everything that I've suffered from, I didn't want to talk about it but my parents said that I had too seeing as Coles life is literally on the line and also since Angelo has made some pretty serious accusations against the Royal family which could cost him his life too if it's proven that he's lying.

I didn't want to lose either of them so just like my parents did, I bit the bullet and started from the very beginning, Cole and Angelo also spoke when I couldn't or when they were asked a question by my family.

I tensed up when My father asked Cole about the rejection and why he did it but I managed to calm down when Cole gently gripped my hand, he then told them everything that he'd told me and his reasons for rejecting me.

My parents accepted his reasons and said that they were valid but my brothers didn't agree and got really angry, they quickly shut up when my dad explained to them that incest is illegal and that Cole would've been committing a crime had he accepted me because he was still under the belief that I was his sister but they made it very clear that he was still in a lot of trouble for his contribution to the abuse and torture that I suffered from.

"You can't be too mad at him dad seeing as there's somebody else in this room who knew what was going on and didn't do anything to help me"

I looked over at my grandmother who looked nervous and instantly became defensive.

"Don't you look at me like that young lady, I already told you all that I knew nothing about what was going on"

"Then how did you know about the file Masons got"

"I don't know what you're talking about"

I rolled my eyes at her.

"Of course you do, why else would a rogue lie?"

"Because that's what they do Natalia, they lie, they manipulate, they do anything and everything to get what they want and you being the idiot that you are believed every word that he said"

"WHO THE f**k ARE YOU CALLING AN IDIOT?"

I jumped up ready to pounce on my grandmother but I was stopped by Cole and Angelo.

"Babe, calm down"

I took several deep breaths before looking back at my grandmother.

"Don't you ever and I mean ever f*****g insult me again because family or not, I will kick your f*****g ass, do you understand me?"

"Natalia, watch your language"

Cole growled.

"I'm not insulting you, Natalia, I'm just questioning your smarts"

"Insulting me"

I said whilst rolling my eyes.

"Well, what do you expect when you're choosing to believe some mangy mutt over me your own flesh and blood"

I looked at my grandmother who's entire being was shaking but I couldn't tell if it was from fear or anger, I quickly got my answer when I asked her a question that nobody in the room was expecting me to ask.

"Who's Nick?"

She snapped her head to me with a look of horror on her face.

"What?"

"It's not a hard question grandmother, who is he?"

"It's grams first of all, secondly....how do you know that name?"

"You were thinking about him"

"Huh"

"Do you forget who I am, grams? I'm a hybrid which means I have powers one of which is Telepathy and right now, I can hear everything you're thinking"

"Y..you're l..lying"

"No, I'm not"

I stepped closer to her until we were only a few inches apart.

"I'd start talking if I was you because if you don't I will"

My grandmother glared at me which I matched with my own, she then tried to beg me with her eyes but I didn't let up, in the end, she sighed in defeat and slumped back in her seat.

"I honestly had no clue what was going on or what you were going through not whilst it was happening I swear it, Natalia, you have to believe me"

"Then how did you know about the file?"

She took a deep breath.

"It was two years ago....I was sorting through your grandfather's office at the castle when I came across a folder with your name on it, I remembered seeing it over the years as well as seeing him write in it several times and I was always curious about it but he always told me it was just pack plans and nothing for me to worry about....I knew he was lying to him so....one day when he was out with your dad's father, I snuck into his office to look for it but he'd locked it away in his safe"

She stopped to take a breath as she ran a hand through her hair.

"I don't know why he left the file out that day but he did and when I found it, I didn't waste a single second in looking through it...when I did....when I did I...I..I read some of the most disgusting and deplorable things, I read medical reports and saw many, many many photos of your beaten, bruised and sometimes bloodied body....in some of them you were only a k..kid"

She was a crying mess and so was I.

I tried so hard to stay strong and keep my tears at bay but I failed miserably and one by one they fell down my cheeks.

"By the time I finished the file, I was so angry that I confronted him...he told me there was nothing we could do and that we couldn't intervene because it would alert Mason...I didn't care about him, Natalia, all I cared about was you and getting you out of this god awful pack and back to safety"

"So, what stopped you?"

She looks up at me before looking around at everyone else, her emotions became worse when she looked at my momma and she started to cry hysterically.

"Momma, what is it?"

My momma wrapped her arms around my grams in an attempt to comfort her.

"I'm so s..sorry T..Tia, I..I r..really a..am"

"What have you got to be sorry for, momma?"

"I..I c..couldn't s..save N..Natalia, h..he w..wouldn't l..let m..me"

"What do you mean, grams?"

Christian asked whilst looking worried for our grandmother.

She calmed down a little as she looked between Nathan, Christian and myself, she then looked back at my momma and started to repeatedly apologise to her.

"Momma, calm down and tell me what happened?"

It took several minutes for her to completely calm down and stop stuttering and what she said next is something that I don't think any of us was expecting, shit, I knew my mate was bad but he's a damn choir boy compared to my grams mate.

"I told him that I was going to tell you and Koa about the file but he erm....he went crazy and he beat me up....he beat me up really badly but I wasn't gonna let a few cuts and bruises and a couple of broken bones stop me from protecting my granddaughter and when I tried to escape his office he grabbed me and he erm....he pinned me down on his desk and he erm...he, he, he raped me"

"What?"

My momma gasped covering her mouth with both of her hands.

"Why would he do that? you're his mate....why?"

"Because he didn't want me to tell you about the file or about Natalias whereabouts...I don't know why he wanted me to keep it from you or why he didn't want to save Natalia, all I know is that something changed in my mate that day....he wasn't the same man that I fell in love with when I was a sixteen-year-old girl"

The room fell silent for about a minute until my dad asked my grams a really hard question.

"Did he ever rape you again?"

She froze for a second before nodding her head shocking everyone.

"Every damn day till the day he died, he would rape me to make sure that I would stay quiet"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

She let out a sigh.

"Because he threatened me....he said if I ever told anyone about the file or where Natalia was then he'd kill me....as well as her"

She said looking me dead in my eyes.

What the f**k? is this some kind of joke?.

I didn't want to listen to any more of this shit so I got up and briskly left Coles office.

"NATALIA!!"

Cole shouted after me but I ignored him and ran up to our room, I wanted to be alone.