Sins Among Royals
Chapter 4

Indie and Poppy didn’t have much left to do after purchasing their dresses. Neither could scarcely believe their luck, and the kindness of the shop attendant and could not thank her enough for what she had done for the pair.

“Come on; we’ll go put the dresses in the car then go replace some shoes. I’m sure you need them more than I do.” Poppy grinned widely, triumphantly. Though she loved Indie very much she always found something to tease her about but it didn’t matter how mercilessly Poppy teased Indie, there was daughter’s retaliation.

Both girls felt good having got what they needed so early on, and Poppy also felt good knowing her best friend would be looking more than a little stunning for the future Alpha King, it would be a memorable night for everyone.

Placing the dresses neatly in the back seat of the car Indie locked the doors again and went off to do more shopping. Looking back longingly at her dress from outside her car Indie couldn’t help but feel confident and optimistic, she had never really felt beautiful or feminine in anything, but for a short time, she had her dress on she felt like a princess and though she didn’t much like dresses.

The pair headed back towards the stores and after browsing a few more Poppy turned to Indie abruptly, “I’m hungry let’s go get some food.” There was little Indie could do to protest against food, she had been walking so much that the few strips of bacon she’d eaten at breakfast no longer helped.

“Yeah fine. There’s a cafe, let’s go.” Pointing at the nearest place with outdoor seating the young, dark-haired woman soon found herself being dragged in the general direction of food by her best friend. Poppy began whinging and moaning. The eatery Indie wanted to go to did not meet Poppy’s standards. “Look around Poppy, everywhere else is busy.” With every eligible werewolf female in Luton for the day, three of four eateries on the street were bursting with customers with one having a line stretching out the door.

“Can’t we go somewhere nicer?” Poppy complained loudly as she slumped her shoulders and looked miserably at her friend.

“Well, how much money do you have left? After the dress, shoes, and makeup I don’t have much.” Though her father and brother had given her extra money, she ended up paying more for the dress than she initially expected.

“Your shout? I’ve got nothing left.” Poppy smiled meekly. It wasn’t often that she shifted payment on to Indie but with a once in a lifetime event happening in their pack she needed to look her best so spent every single cent she had.

“My shout?” She asked with a cocky grin, “we’re going to that cafe then, and you’re going to eat whatever the hell I can afford,” with Indie’s stern words all of Poppy’s protests stopped.

Stepping through the door of the small cafe Indie smiled at how quiet it was. The tables on the street lay empty, and much of the interior was empty as well. The pair were soon greeted by a young man who smiled with all the golden rays of the sun. Indie didn’t even have to look at Poppy to know she was smitten with him; she felt the giddiness of her friend without the sight of her.

“Just the two of you today ladies?” His voice was smooth and melodious and somewhat comforting after hearing only pushy salespeople try to sell them products they didn’t need. “How about a seat outside on this beautiful day?” Both girls nodded as he showed them quickly to a table near the street. A thick wall of flowering plants sat in a row between the table and the road blocking out what traffic there was.

Poppy giggled like the girl that she was as the waiter pulled the seat out for her to sit, “you’re more than welcome to join us if you want.” Though Indie would never admit it for fear of hurting her friend’s feelings, her flirting was so blatant that it hurt.

“Now what kind of host would I be if I didn’t bring you food and drink?” He smiled back easily as his eyes shifted between the two girls. “What can I get you ladies today?” He added somewhat quickly, seemingly eager to serve them.

Indie knew he was only nice because it was his job but it seemed Poppy wasn’t getting that. The girls ordered quickly and waited in silence as their server disappeared back inside.

“I hope Madeline falls on her fat face tomorrow night!” Poppy announced suddenly with a scoff and a wicked grin. The rivalry between the two of them had been long-standing and at times, brutal.

“Don’t sink to her level Poppy. We all know the underdog loses, all the time.” Indie interjected quickly. It bothered her when Poppy stooped to sinister levels. It wasn’t nice and it definitely was not attractive. Resting her elbows on the table Indie then rested her chin against her palms and turned her head towards the ocean that lay beyond the beach across the road.

“Are you taking her side! You better not be or I’ll beat your ass,” Poppy growled and threatened her quickly as she failed to take on anything Indie meant.

All Indie could do was sigh and rub her hands across her face. It seemed Poppy was now looking for an argument. “Please don’t. You know I’m on your side. I’m your biggest fan.” Though it was the truth, it seemed Poppy often forgot. “Just don’t forget that Madeline is the Alphas daughter. I mean yeah, she’s a difficult bitch to deal with, but I guess that comes with the title, right?”

All Poppy could manage were a few choice words and an annoyed scoff. She wasn’t subtle about her dislike for their future leader. Soon the girls heard the shuffling steps of someone walking towards them, they both turned to see their waiter walking towards them with drinks.

“Thank you, darling!” Poppy smiled as she took her tall glass of lemonade from the waiter’s hands.

Indie noticed that after he placed both drinks down, he didn’t leave. She turned her head up to look at him, and his eyes were narrowed looking off into the distance.

“What is it?” Indie questioned him curiously. Standing from her seat, she soon saw a commotion in the parking area where she’d left her car. Indie narrowed her eyes and felt something change as the vision her wolf possessed took over. “I wonder what’s going on,” Indie mused absentmindedly. She narrowed her eyes again and realised her car was at the heart of the commotion. The longer she stared, the more detail she made out.

Though the car park itself was well over a block away, there wasn’t much to obstruct her view. People were gathered around her little yellow sunspot as she found herself worrying. “That doesn’t look good Poppy,” she turned her attention back to her friend who was taking a long drink from her glass, “they’re standing around my car!” Before long the sound of police sirens filled the air and whipped past the girls.

The waiter didn’t question Indie on how she knew it was her car. Instead, he growled letting the girls instantly recognize him as one of their own. “People shouldn’t mess with what isn’t theirs!” Indie looked at him oddly; he seemed much angrier than she was.

“Here take the money I need to go see if my car is alright.” Indie tried handing the young man money, but he refused to take it and urged the girls to hurry along to the car to see if any damage had been done.

“Indie,” Poppy began, the tone of her voice was filled with worry as her mind immediately went to a dark place, “this is a long shot but what if someone messed with our dresses?” In a flash, the girls gathered their shopping bags and began running down the street towards the car and the flashing blue and red police lights. The pit of Indie’s stomach dropped as they drew closer and closer, she knew it was too good to be true. The one time she felt beautiful in something, and someone would want to take it away from her.

Waiting for traffic to pass the girls finally made it to the car and saw that someone had smashed the back windows and taken the dresses they had purchased. Indies heart broke in an instant and her small, tiny dream of feeling like a princess for one night had been completely shattered. Just when Indie had come around to the idea of getting dressed up for the night, it all turned on her. Who would do such a thing?

As the pair crossed the road, a scent hit Indie like a fully loaded train travelling at high speed. “Do you smell that?” Indie couldn’t help but growl at the scent invaded her nostrils and angered her more than she had ever been angered by something before. “It’s Madeline,” to say she was bewildered was an understatement.

“You think she’d sink that low?” Poppy asked her best friend quickly before rethinking her question. Of course, Madeline Thornton would do something like that; she had to be the center of everything at all times. “Would they believe us?” Poppy followed up with another question nervously. If their dresses were gone or destroyed there was nothing they could do. It was too late to replace something else, maybe between the two of them they’d be able to afford a scrap of material from the seamstress’ floor.

“Indie!” Someone shouted from one of the police cars. Both girls looked up to see one of their pack members standing in his police uniform. He waved them over quickly, “that’s your car isn’t it?”

Walking towards the man who wore his wide-brimmed police hat and stood with his hands on his hips Indie frowned, “they took our dresses,” she was more than a little saddened by the fact that someone, Madeline, would sink so low.

“Do you know who might have wanted to take them?” He questioned the pair curiously.

“Can’t you smell it, Officer Young?” Poppy replied in an instant with anger in her voice. “That is Madeline Thornton’s scent mixed with someone else. You need to go tell the Alpha his daughter is a thief.” For too long the spoiled brat had been allowed to get away with everything. Many people were scared of her father but they were also scared of his relationship with the current Alpha King and his family.

It seemed Madeline was that desperate for Poppy and Indie to be ignored that she’d stoop to new lows. “I know it’s her, but I need physical evidence. I can’t just accuse the Alpha’s precious daughter of theft and have no evidence; my ass would be on the line.”

“You have evidence,” Poppy whispered harshly at him. He knew Madeline’s scent, that should have been evidence enough.

“Well did you two see her breaking on the car? We’re you near?” Though he was just doing his job as a human policeman and had to do it properly around his colleagues, he couldn’t and wouldn’t jump to conclusions which bothered Indie.

“Before you arrived I saw a couple of people standing around my car, we were at a cafe down the road, but my vision wasn’t clear enough to make out who it was.” With a heavy sigh Indie admitted defeat, there was no way for her to know if it was Madeline she saw. For all anyone knew it could have been Big Foot looking for food or a shitty mixed tape from the 90′s.

After a few more questions and no reliable witnesses Indie was told that if she wanted to make a complaint, she would have to visit the police station and file a separate report. With her hopes of a wonderful night already dashed and her self-esteem laying in tatters on the ground both girls decided it was easier just to go home and forget about it. It just was not meant to be.

The ride home was completely silent as the car filled with cold air from the broken window. The sadness between the two girls depressed them both very much. Indie dropped Poppy at the bottom of her driveway and returned to her family home.

As she parked her car, she turned again and saw the sore reminder left for her that the Kings visit just wasn’t for her. After gathering the rest of her shopping bags from the back seat, she trudged up to the door and sighed. There was no way she could pretend to be happy, so she didn’t even try.

Pulling her shoes off outside she pushed the front door open carefully, trying not to make any noise, she didn’t know if she would be able to deal with her mother’s disappointment as well.

“Indie honey? Is that you!?” Rita called from the kitchen. It was as though the woman lived in there sometimes.

“Yeah, mom it’s me.” Deflated and defeated she dragged her feet into the kitchen and sat at the island looking at her mother who busied herself cooking dinner.

“So! Where is it? Show me your dress!” Her mother seemed impossibly excited at the prospect of seeing her only daughter in a beautiful gown.

“I can’t.” She replied as she dropped her bags to the floor and rested her forehead against the cold surface of the granite counter top.

“What do you mean?” Her mother noticed the sadness in her daughter’s posture and demeanour and ceased what she was doing and sat on the bar stool next to her daughter to try and get to the bottom of what was going on. “Indie?” She questioned her daughter gently.

“My car was broken into while me and Poppy were waiting for lunch. They only took the dresses.” Indie couldn’t even pull her head up to look her mother in the eye. “It was Madeline, but there was no physical evidence it was her, just her scent.” Indie felt so powerless to do anything.

“That little bitch!” Rita slammed her hand down against the granite, “I can’t believe the shit she gets away with! I am going to have a word with her father, not even her brothers get away with half the shit she does,” Indie knew her mother was livid. She reserved any cuss word for her extreme anger that rarely came out.

“Mom don’t. It isn’t worth it. It was just a dress.” Indie lied as she felt her heart breaking more. She knew she would never feel that special again. “It’s depressing me just thinking about it. Can I just wear jeans and stand in the back?” If it wasn’t the dress she brought Indie wanted to wear a paper bag, at least she would feel something besides depression.

“I may have something in my wardrobe. I can’t guarantee it’d be a gorgeous dress, but it should work for the night. At least it won’t be pants and a t-shirt.” Her mother smiled warmly trying to lift her daughter’s mood. “Come on let’s go have a look. Bring the rest of your spoils too.”

The pair made their way to the master bedroom of the house and Rita began digging through her small walk-in wardrobe that was filled to the brim with old clothes and shoes. She didn’t have many dresses but the few she did have had been handed down over three generations and were ones she treasured and took great care of.

“Here we go!” She all but yelled as she stepped and then tripped her way out of her closet. The dress had been covered in a white garment bag for protection. “These dresses belonged to your grandmother, and I think, maybe your great-grandmother so don’t expect anything too flashy alright?”

“Mom I don’t care. At this point, it could be a garbage sack, and I’d be happy.” All Indie wanted to do was run to her room, and hide under the covers till it was all over. “Surely our Alpha won’t notice if I wasn’t there?” She questioned her mother gently trying to figure out how serious the entire thing was.

“You have to be there.” Was all Rita could muster as she placed the garment bag on her bed and pulled the zip down carefully. She had glanced at the dresses when she was younger hoping that the Alpha King would tour the packs looking for his mate. As a young girl, Rita wished to be the Queen of her castle and although she got her wish it was a simpler life than she’d dreamed but it was a life she would never trade for anything else. Pulling a dark dress from the bag, she held it up and caught Indie’s attention. “This dress belonged to your great-grandmother, she wore it the last time an Alpha King went looking for his mate.”

Indie took in the pure beauty of the dress and smiled. It was similar to the dress she’d purchased in many ways, but it wasn’t as long or as dramatic. A dark-colored tulle fabric layer sat over the top of the champagne underskirt. The bodice looked as though it was a strapless corset, but as Indie drew closer, she saw there was a beautiful tulle fabric that held the dress up. It was good news as she had very little in the way of cleavage and she knew there was no way to change that.

“Mom....are you sure?” She asked carefully, she didn’t want to ruin something so beautiful and she knew that if Madeline were still feeling malicious, then it would be destroyed.

To her surprise, Rita laughed, “oh honey, of course, I’m sure! I have found my King, and you are my only daughter. I want you to wear this tomorrow night.” She took Indie by the hand and stood her in front of her small dresser mirror. She put the dress in front of her daughter and let her hold it up. “You go and show that little ass hat, Madeline, that bullies never win.”

Rita had dreamed that her daughter was chosen by the Alpha King to be his mate, but she knew better. The bond that a pair of mates had was not superficial, and although the future King had somehow been fooled once she knew he would still be able to replace his mate through the deep and almost instant connection they’d have. The King, Noah, didn’t seem like an unreasonable man and Rita wouldn’t need to worry if her daughter was chosen as his equal.

Indie came off as quiet and reserved, but Rita knew that if push came to shove then, her daughter would prove herself worthy. Standing with Indie in her room she smiled. There weren’t many times they spent quality girly time together so Rita would cherish this time forever.