"We received a letter from the capital," Leland looked up from his books when he heard Sophie's footsteps entering his study. A big smile was immediately etched on his face when he also heard small steps from eight chubby legs behind Sophie.
Anne and Jack were walking in a circle around their mother who had to really watch her steps so she wouldn't step on her children. They looked happy and full of energy.
As soon as Anne saw Leland's feet on the floor, she immediately charged forward and wrapped all her limbs on her father's right leg. Leland chuckled and lifted her to put her on his lap. The pup let out a happy growl and started licking his arm.
"What does it say?" Sophie asked. She didn't need to ask who the letter was from. A letter from the capital only meant one thing, it came from the palace or the king. She was wondering what did Nicholas say in his letter.
The king had started sending letters to the Salazars, mostly to ask about Luciel and Jan and update them on important things that were going on in the capital. Once, he also invited them to come to the capital for a celebration, which Leland refused. The Alpha still thought it was awkward to be friendly with Nicholas. He was not used to it.
So, to avoid being in an awkward situation, Leland decided to still keep his distance. Fortunately, Nicholas was not offended and didn't take it personally. He knew he wouldn't want another man to get close to his wife for whatever reason. So, Leland's action was understandable.
This time, however, he was telling Leland and Sophie that he would hold a birthday celebration for his mother, Queen Marianne Hannenbergh and he wished that Luciel and Jan could attend the party because their grandma had been dying to see them.
It's been so many months since the last time Nicholas came to visit Luciel and Jan, and Leland now thought maybe it was a good time to finally let them meet their grandmother. Sophie's mother was dead and his own mother was evil, so the boys couldn't have a relationship with them.
Queen Marianne, however, seemed like a caring woman, and Leland had no problem with Luciel and Jan meeting her. He still remembered when they came to the royal palace for Karenina's birthday last year, the queen was so happy with the boys that she played with them.
"The royal family wants Luciel and Jan to see the queen, their grandmother," Leland explained. He gave the letter to Sophie so she could read it herself. "I think it will be good for them."
Sophie smiled broadly when she heard his reply. This was a good thing, she thought. Sophie liked Queen Marianne and thought she was kind to her children. It would be nice to see Luciel and Jan have a grandma figure in their lives.
"But the capital is quite far from here," Sophie commented. "Are we going to send the kids there with some guards?"
"No, we will go to Livstad together and stay in the manor. Luciel and Jan can visit the royal palace," Leland replied. "What do you think?"
"Oh, that is a good idea," Sophie beamed in happiness. "I will talk to the school principal and notify them that the boys will take leave from school."
She added, "We can also hire Katherine again to teach Luciel and Jan while we are in Livstad."
After the boys enrolled in formal school, Katherine's help was not as needed as before. So, she only taught Luciel and Jan twice a week for advanced lessons. It was Leland's decision. He was not too comfortable having outsiders live with his family for a long period of time.
So, even though Sophie actually wanted to have Katherine for longer around her, she followed her husband's wishes. Now, Katherine only came to their castle twice a week.
Sophie's consolation was the fact that soon Lily Moonchester would marry Lucas and moved in with them. She couldn't wait to have Lily around. Their union would be done during the next full moon. They were all preparing for the big day.
"Hmm..." Leland thought about Sophie's suggestion and finally nodded. "Very well. You can ask her, but if she is not comfortable coming with us to Livstad, we can just find another teacher in Livstad."
"Okay, I will ask her."
***
When Luciel and Jan were told about their plans to travel to Livstad for a month so they could visit their grandmother, the boys were conflicting. They didn't like the thought of going for a long time and left their new friends behind.
However, when they remembered the kind old lady they met in the royal palace and knew that she was their grandmother, they became excited again.
"So, what do you think?" Sophie asked the boys.
"Let's go!" Lucien replied. After he thought about it again, the trip actually sounded fun. They got to go on adventures and they also could miss school for several weeks. It would be really nice.
"Sound good," Jan added.
They made preparation for the trip and left several days later. Leland brought his whole family and his trusted men to go with them to Livstad. Lucas was away to Red Moon Pack to visit Lily. So, only Duncan, Max, Tre, and several other pack members went with Leland and his family to Livstad.
***
"Gosh... where are they?" Queen Marianne had been pacing back and forth for several minutes. She was standing in the middle of the ballroom and her eyes kept searching for the shadows of her grandchildren.
Ever since Nicholas told her that Luciel and Jan would come to visit, she was over the moon. She was so excited and joyful. On her 55th birthday, she finally felt how it was to become a real grandmother.
Karenina was standing beside her with a smile. She was invited to attend the queen's birthday party as well and now here she was, also waiting for the two boys.
Eloise now spent more time in the capital under the disguise of Karenina. As a very powerful witch, she could travel quickly between places and it had never been a problem for her to be in several places within a short amount of time before.
She could be in Armeria, Livstad, or Hastings, or Gazi, according to whatever she needed. However, today she was a bit worried to see Luciel and Jan at the queen's birthday. The problem was one. She was worried the boys would recognize her from her scent.
Those young lycans spent the most time with her as their teacher and over time they must have picked up her distinct scent that even adult lycans couldn't get. They had never met Karenina again after the last time, during her birthday party last year. So, they might not remember what was her scent like.
However, if they saw her again today, they might pick up Katherine's familiar scent on Karenina which could make them feel suspicious. Karenina was not worried about Nicholas because he didn't really get used to using his lycan sense of smell before he fully recovered his lycanthropy last year. So, he was not used to smelling his former fiancee's scent.
Karenina's scent was still vague to him. And when he got all his lycan's sense of smell perfectly Karenina was no longer Karenina, but Eloise who disguised herself as her. Nicholas had never met 'Katherine' in Hastings, so he wouldn't be able to distinguish their scents.
So, now, Eloise was only worried about the boys. Would they be suspicious when they saw her as Karenina?
She needed to prepare a contingency plan if that happened.
"They are coming, mother," Nicholas patted his mother's back gently and gave her a comforting smile. This almost felt like Deja Vu.
Last year, they also held a birthday celebration for a member of the royal family. Well, even though Karenina was not really his family now, back then she was as good as one. The party looked quite similar to the one they held today for his mother.
The nobility in the capital attended the festive event together with their spouses and children. And that's where Nicholas saw Sophie again after many years. He was smitten by her. His mother was charmed by her sons and asked them to play with her.
It was a heartwarming scene to behold. Tonight, it would look similar, except for the fact that only the boys would come with their nannies. Sophie and Leland wouldn't come.
Leland Salazar or Duke Ariam Romanov had made it clear that he and Sophie did not want to have a relationship with the royal family. They would not become friends just because they were no longer enemies.
Well, it is what it is, Nicholas told himself and sighed.
"Hey, there they are!" Queen Marianne gushed when the doors opened to the sides and two boys entered with their light steps. "Luciel! Jan!"
.
.
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__________________________
From Missrealitybites:
I am sorry I can only publish one chapter per day for this book lately. I don't know what's going on, but I feel tired all the time. I can only write after sitting at my desk for hours and it is finally time to sleep. I will try to write more this week.
PS: Also, I would like to say thank you to everyone who has supported this book in April. Thank you for your comments, reviews, power stones, gifts, and golden tickets. I would like to give a special thanks to my Top 3 Golden Ticket contributors in April 2022.
Kelly Goodwin, Maude Fluckiger, and Maria Daris. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
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