The Alpha King's Human Mate by HC Dolores

Chapter 73 Chapter 73 "Make peace that there will be those who bitch no matter what you do.") Ariel Meadow Stallings Two weeks into Griffin's absence, I was called into a meeting with a woman named Nadia. Apparently, she was in charge of preparations for my coronation, which was news to me. I'd known someone - or someones ~ was handling the preparations, but I hadn't known more than that.

Truthfully, the idea of the coronation - as well as my parents being in the sroom for the first tin more than six years ~ madenervous. I wasn't sure which thought mademore uneasy: Griffin getting hurt or killed while he was away or my coronation turning into a family bloodbath. |") Still, this Nadia woman had requested to meet withand I wanted to cooperate. That's why I'd agreed to meet her in of the spare conference rooms after another grueling training session with Ivan. (!) I almost felt bad for meeting her like this - still in training clothes with sore muscles and frizzy hair. It probably didn't give the best impression, but as packed as Nadia's schedule was, this was one of the few times she'd been able to pencilin. Chapter 73 "We've arrived, Your Majesty," the guard who had escortedto the meeting room said. Like many of the guards who waited outside the bedroom suite or just escortedaround the castle, he was stone-faced.

I wondered if that's how they were trained. If they were just taught to say everything with a straight face or discouraged from showing emotion.

The guard opened the door forand I walked in, catching sight of who must've been Nadia. She was a thin woman with long, glossy black hair and high cheekbones, sitting on one side of the conference table.

She looked up when she sawenter, shootinga wide smile. "Your Majesty," Nadia said, bowing her head. "Please sit." She gestured toward the head of the table. I noticed immediately that she had a European accent ~ it remindedof Ivan's.

As I sat down, I glanced at the blouse and pencil skirt she was wearing, feeling more underdressed than ever. "Sorry if I'm a little underdressed," I said, "I just cfrom a training session." "Oh, yes, I know," Nadia smiled, and then I watched her take out a large binder, flipping through it at a speed I could barely follow.

"What's that?" "It's what I've been using to organize the plans for your coronation," Nadia explained, "I'm not sure how familiar you are with a Queen's Chapter 73 coronation. We had the last one over thirty years ago ~ long before I ended up at the castle." Her eyes flickered to the side as she said it as if she was remembering something she didn't say.

That would've been the coronation for Griffin's mother.

"I don't know much," I confessed, "I know that a lot of people are usually invited to them. That's about it.' "Yes," Nadia said, "Usually every Alpha in the world as well as their immediate family are invited to the coronation ~ although not all of them may attend. Those who don't will send gifts to welctheir new Queen." "Gifts?" "Oh, yes," Nadia said, "The crowning of a new Queen doesn't happen very often so it's a huge deal. Swolves don't " live to see a coronation in their lifetime, you know." Nadia paused for a moment and then lookedover. Her dark brown eyes assessedsilently.

"Usually the guest lists for these events are very cut and dry," Nadia said, "We extend formal invitations to every established pack in the werewolf world and just wait for the RSVPs to roll in. But you, your human heritage, add an extra component here." "Letguess," I said, "You're not used to inviting humans to coronations." Chapter 73 Nadia nodded. “Yes, it's unusual. I wanted to confirm with you about which family you'd like to invite — if you'd even like to invite your human family at all." When I didn't immediately reply, Nadia kept talking. "Your human family...they know of the werewolf world?" "Yeah, they do," I said, "Well, it's just my mom and her boyfriend. I consider him family too, he's certainly been around long enough. 'They're very aware of the existence of werewolves." Nadia took a moment to ask a few more questions about my mom's nand address, presumably information they'd use to contact her or invite her to the coronation.

I mulled over whether it was a good idea to invite her. It wasn't that I didn't want to see my mom or Unele Steve, but I also wasn't sure how the encounter with my dad would go either. Would he or Luna Grace be hostile toward my mother? Should I even take the risk? I would already be throwing my mom into a room full of werewolves. I didn't want her to get hurt.

But it's not as if I'm going to ever get the chance to have a coronation again. This will be one of the most important moments of my life - I want her there for it. Who knows when I'll even get to see her next? "You can go ahead and invite her," I told Nadia. "I want her there, but I want to make sure she — as well as my Uncle Steve - feel welchere." I knew all too well how it felt to feel out of place in the werewolf Chapter 73 world, even if my mom would only be hanging around for a few days.) Maybe can have a talk with my dad too, Make sure he behaves himself The conversation I'd had with my mom flashed through my mind ~ the one about how my dad had keptaway from her all those years. He'd ledto believe she'd simply never cared to reach out, but that hadn't been the reality. It's long overdue for my dad and I to have a little chat anyway. "Of course, Your Majesty." Nadia spent a few moments flipping through her notes and silence crept over the room. "So, did you enjoy your training session?" she asked, finally breaking the quiet.

"Oh, yeah," I said, "It was good. Hard but good." "And your instructor? Do you like him?" I thought of the way Ivan had spent a good five minutes yelling atto "stop punching like a weakling" during today's training session. "He's, uh, growing on me." Nadia laughed a little harder than I expected her to at my words.

The smile stayed on her face as she flipped the binder closed. "Well, I believe that I can handle it from here, Your Majesty.

Thank you for the Chapter 73 information about your family, and if I have any further concerns, I'll let you know. The coronation will take place in three weeks." Three weeks? That feels soon, especially since Griffin isn't even back yet.

He'd been gone long enough that he should be coming back any day now ~ not that I had any contact with him to stay in the loop.

I shook off the thoughts of Griffin and stood up from my chair, Nadia following my lead. "It was so lovely to meet you, Your Majesty," she said, "My mate speaks highly of you." My eyebrows shot into my hairline. "Your mate?" The amused smile on her thin lips grew wider. “Yes, I believe you know him as your instructor. He's been teaching you self-defense." My eyes widened. "Ivan? He's your mate?" | wasn't sure why I was so surprised. She looked to be around the sage as Ivan and she even had a similar accent. They even both worked in the castle, so the logistics made sense. Not to mention that Ivan had mentioned having a mate tobefore. Maybe I should have clocked the similarities before.

"Yes," she said, "We've been mated for, well, decades at this point. We both hail from Russia, but we've been living in the Canada and working for the crown for several years." As she spoke, I tried to picture her with Ivan. Although Nadia was a lot more polite than Ivan ever seemed to be, Chapter 73 the image of them together...fit.

"Ivan toldhe was mated,” I said, “I just didn't realize you also worked in the castle. So I guess you've probably heard all kinds of trash-talk aboutfrom your mate, right?" I could only imagine sof the complaints Ivan might have about me.

Nadia laughed. "Oh, no! Quite the opposite. He really only has positive things to say about you, my Queen. He's very impressed with the progress you've made, and he considers it an honor that he gets to work with you." Well, this is news to me.

I wasn't completely sure that Nadia wasn't just BSingfor the sake of being polite, but something about her felt genuine.

Nadia's smile turned a little sheepish. "I know that my mate is a bit of a...hard man," she said, "You must understand that

he's spent most of his life having to fight for everything he has. The pack we grew up in was slaughtered by 'a powerhungry Alpha, and we - but mostly himm - lost everything. He has no sympathy for those he considers weak, who aren't able to claw their way up like he was." Humans, was the word I could tell she wanted to add but didn't.

"But you have challenged those beliefs," she continued, "You have provided him with a new perspective. You have grown on him as well." I'd had no idea about Ivan's past, but in sways, it made sense. Chapter 73 From everything I'd seen, Ivan had a hard shell. People weren't born with those hard shells. They were made, built from constantly scratching yourself on the sharp edges of life. I saw Alessia's face in my mind ~ she'd built herself a hard shell too.

"Well, I'm glad to know he doesn't totally dislike me," I said, "I havem cto respect your mate quite a ΕΠ bit. He's a good teacher and I'm glad to have him — no matter how rocky our beginning might've been." Nadia bowed her head again. "We are the lucky ones, Your Majesty. It makeshappy to know that my Queen is just as kind and forgiving as Ivan described." Okay, either Ivan is a total softie on the inside or Nadia is exxagerating. I mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLliIofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1