Rejected, Broken And Forgotten
Chapter 18

Jeffrey’s POV

“Singing lessons? Are you crazy? I can not sing to save my life! Well, actually, I can sing to save my life, but that is because my voice is so bad that when I sing, my enemies’ eardrums will burst,” Paris says.

“You have not tried it yet. How will you know?” I ask.

“I heard myself sing before, Jeff. Believe me, you do not want to listen to that. Besides, why should I learn to sing? It is not like I will use it in life,” Paris says.

“It is part of your education, and you need to do some art form. London is good at singing,” I say.

“Well, I am good at fighting, and that is an art form,” Paris says.

“Not everything in life is about fighting, Princess. You need to see the beautiful side of life as well,” I try again.

“Fine, but I warn you, if all the dogs in the Kingdom start howling, it is not my fault,” Paris says. She can not be that bad, and I am sure she is making it worse than it is. I know Paris by now. She pretends to be bad at something while very good at it. It is like she likes to downplay her talents.

“Okay, let’s start with an easy song. What do you know?” I ask.

“I know a lot of songs, but I don’t think you will know them,” Paris says.

“Okay then, just sing a song, you know,” I say.

“Can’t you instead tell me more about the Kingdoms? I am serious when I say I can not sing,” Paris still tries to get out of her art lesson.

“Sing, Princess!” I demand.

“Happy birthday to youuuu!’ Paris starts. I cover my ears, and Paris laughs as Wallis comes running into the room.

“Who is hurting the Princess?” Wallis asks.

“Hahahaha, I told you I can not sing!” Paris laughs.

“You were singing? I thought someone was cutting your throat,” Wallis laughs with her.

“Hey! I am not that bad. Oh, who am I kidding? I am that bad,” Paris laughs. Wallis and Paris laugh so hard I can not help but laugh with them. It is so different with Paris here. She does not care to act like a lady all the time. If she wants to laugh, she will laugh; if she wants to cuss, she will curse. Paris is without pretense. She is a young lady that enjoys her life to the fullest, and it is as if there is new life in the palace. The servants love her, and everyone is talking about how good the trip to America did London. She knows most of them by name, and they are starting to refer to her as the people’s Princess.

“Okay, let’s skip the singing lessons. Can you draw?” I ask.

“Stick figures, but I call it caveman’s art,” Paris says. I roll my eyes. Is there anything she can do that will bring out the artist in her?

“So what can you do except fight?” I ask.

“I can work hard, and I know how to heal wolves,” Paris says.

“I mean art-wise,” I say.

“Well, I can play the piano, but I have not played in a long time, since my mother never wanted me to touch our piano at home,” Paris says.

“Great, show me,” I say. Paris walks to the piano and starts playing the Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven. She plays it perfectly, and I am surprised at her talent. I can listen to her play for hours. As the song ends, I realize that the King and Queen are in the room and are listening to Paris play. Everyone claps when she finishes. Paris gets up and bows.

“That was amazing! Who taught you to play like that?” The Queen asks.

“At first, my mother taught me to play, but she stopped when I was five. The old lady Violet taught me to play after I finished my shift at the hospital and did not want to go home,” Paris says.

“You are very talented,” The King says. I know the King can play the piano as his mother taught him from a young age. He always played for us, but even I know Paris has more talent than the King.

“Thank you, your Highness,” Paris says, but does not offer to play another song, and I am a little disappointed.

“Thank you for playing for us. Maybe you will play for us again tomorrow,” The Queen says. I can hear the Queen longing to hear more.

“Yeah, maybe, tomorrow I will be in the mood for music. I need inspiration to play the piano. Maybe if Jeffrey gives me more history lessons, I will get my inspiration from there,” Paris says. I glare at Paris. The sneaky little bastard! She knows the King will order me to give her another history lesson.

“Well, Jeffrey, you had better inspire our Princess then,” The King laughs, as he knows Paris was doing it on purpose.

“I will do as you please, your Highness,” I say as I glare at Paris again. She smiles at me sweetly as if she did nothing wrong. We go to her room. Paris picks up the picture that I gave her this morning.

“What do you want to hear?” I ask.

“I want to hear more about Katherine. Was she a badass?” Paris asks.

“If you mean could she fight? Yes, she was a warrior Queen and the wolves loved her,” I say. I love talking about Katherine and the rest of the history of the Kingdom.

Jeffrey’s story:

Katherine ruled Essex for a year. She protected the Kingdom, built a strong army, and drove the hunters out of Essex. Essex went from strength to strength. Frederick was building Sussex at the same time. He also had a strong army. He also drove the hunters out of Sussex, and the two kingdoms had peace and harmony. Everyone thought Katherine and Frederick would get married, have pups, and live happily ever after, but after a year, everyone realized that Frederick and Katherine were not mates. One day, Frederick was walking in the mountains when he came across a she-wolf called Esmeralda. Frederick immediately knew she was his mate. Esmeralda was a general in the army of Katherine. Since Essex and Sussex were two different kingdoms, they did not fight together, as each had its own military, and that was why Frederick never saw Esmeralda until that day he happened upon her in the mountains that were natural grounds. Esmeralda was there to ensure no one was near the borders, and Frederick was doing the same with a few of his men. Esmeralda did not know the young wolf she ran into was King Frederick, and he did not tell her. He asked her to meet him there every night. They met at the same spot every night for a month. Then one night, Katherine followed her general as she wondered where Esmeralda went every night. Katherine saw Esmeralda with King Frederick. Katherine was not happy to lose her best general, but she believed in the mate bond and comforted the two. They admitted that they were mates, and Katherine gave Esmeralda her freedom so she could become the first Queen of Sussex. The first marriage took place between King Frederick and Esmeralda. Katherine was happy for the two as she loved Esmeralda as a sister. They fought many battles together.

“So she gave away her general to marry a King as strong as her? What about her? Did she get a mate?” Paris interrupts me.

“I am coming to that! It would be best if you were patient,” I say as I continue my story.

Katherine thought she would never meet her mate, and she felt her mate was dead as the hunters killed many werewolves. Then one day, Katherine and her men were called to the border. A new Alpha and his pack had arrived from the mainland and wanted to become part of the Kingdom. They were ready to fight for the freedom of the Kingdom and ready to protect the Kingdom. So the Alpha told her border guards. Katherine arrived at the border and saw a big man standing before her. He was handsome, and she knew when she saw him that he was her mate, but there was a problem.

Gunter also thought he would never replace his mate, so he took a mate out of his pack as his Luna. The Luna knew her days as Gunter’s mate were counted. She knew that Gunter and Katherine were mates. Gunter stopped sleeping in the same room as Belinda, his mate. Gunter could not do it to Katherine as he knew it would hurt her if he slept with another she-wolf. Belinda had a mate before, but he died at the hands of the hunters and was Gunter’s best friend. Gunter took her as his mate because he thought he would never get his mate. Belinda did not want to give up Gunter, so she planned to poison Queen Katherine. Belinda planned to do it the night the pack would become part of the Kingdom, and a banquet was held in honor of the new pack. She got the poison made from silver from an old witch. She put the poison in Katherine’s cup, but Esmeralda, who was at the banquet with Frederick, saw her do it and exchanged her cup with Katherine’s. Esmeralda did not know what Belinda put in the cup, but she suspected it was poisonous. She also did not know why Belinda would do something like that, as she did not realize that Gunter and Katherine were true mates. As the ceremony started, Belinda made a toast to the Queen and raised her glass. It was tradition back then that when someone made a toast, no one would stop drinking until the one that made the toast put their cup down. Belinda did not put her cup down until she swallowed every drop in the cup. So Katherine and the rest also drank until their cups were empty. Belinda fell to the ground, and as no one knew that Esmeralda had switched the cups, they all thought Belinda committed suicide because she did not want to live without Gunter.

Gunter felt guilty and did not want to take Katherine as his mate even though he was a free wolf again. Esmeralda went to Gunter and told him the truth. She told him Belinda did not commit suicide but was planning on killing his mate. It made Gunter angry that Belinda tried to kill Katherine. Gunter knew Katherine also felt guilty about Belinda’s death, so he went to her and told her what Esmeralda had told him. Katherine was mad as she knew that if Belinda killed her, Gunter would be hurt for the rest of his life. Belinda was trying to be selfish by trying to keep a mate that was not meant for hers. She should have let Gunter go, as every she-wolf should do, if she realized that her mate was not her true mate and that he had found his true mate. Katherine and Gunter almost did not become mates, but the Moon Goddess put them together for a reason. Gunter was stronger than Katherine, and when they married, he became King. Gunter did not want to take Katherine’s place as the ruler, but Katherine told him she wanted pups and was ready to hand him the Kingdom as their children would rule one day. Gunter and Katherine decided to govern together and be equal in the Kingdom. So, when one could not be on the throne and rule because they were busy elsewhere, the other would take the responsibility of the Kingdom upon them. Their love was an example to all in the Kingdom, and wolves did not take mates as they did when the wolf population was low. They waited for their true mates again. Katherine not only started the wedding tradition of the royals, but she also encouraged the wolves to wait for their fated mates again.

“Wow, so she was a believer in the mate thing, and she found her mate almost too late. She was almost killed because of Gunter,” Paris says.

“Yes, and that is not all. She was still fighting, and she fell pregnant, but that story I will tell you another day,” I say.

“Not fair!” Paris says.

“You will have to wait. It would be best if you got ready for lunch. You know the King does not like to wait,” I say.

“Yeah, I know, and I have to wait for my fated mate tonight on the balcony. I don’t know why he can not just walk in at the front door. The King will not mind, and he will break his neck when he jumps from that bloody tree,” Paris says. I laugh, as she is so refreshing from the other royal wolves. Don’t get me wrong, I love London, but I have a soft spot for Paris in my heart.