Meadow’s p.o.v. “Uncle Joseph, why are you lying?” I ask him and everyone turns in my direction. I have no intention of saying another word unless someone asks a specific question and I walk out of the living room to get my breakfast in the dining room. The others follow me without saying a word, but I can feel the confusion through the bond with my Mates. “Meadow, why would you accuse the King of lying?” Elder Chelsea asks after we have all sat down with some coffee. “He wants us to believe we will take over the Kingdom if he dies without an heir. That is what he was saying to Marley, wasn’t he?” I ask before taking a sip of my coffee. Elder Chelsea glances at Uncle Joseph before she turns to look at me, but what comes out of her mouth next wasn’t completely what I had expected. “We will discuss this after breakfast, but he isn’t lying, Meadow.” Elder Chelsea says as she gives me a stern look. Do they actually believe that I am a fool? We aren’t next in line. If Alpha Lincoln had to take over the Kingdom, Madden would be next, as he is the firstborn. “Just so that everyone understands. I’m not a fool and a firstborn always takes over the parents’ position.” I say before I get up to fill up a plate with food. Everyone seems to be deep in thought during breakfast. Whether it is with Elder Chelsea’s remark or mine, I don’t know, but it is clear that something is keeping their minds busy. Uncle Joseph seems confused and I can see his eye color change as he is talking to his Lycan. Could it be that I just opened his eyes to an impossibility? We are waiting for Rhys in the living room in silence. Most of the others are staring at Elder Chelsea, while the rest are still somewhere inside their minds. “Okay, now that everyone is present, we can continue. Meadow, your question from earlier will be answered in a little while. I want to continue with the journals first.” Elder Chelsea says and I know from past experiences that she will answer my question; I just need to be patient. We tell Uncle Joseph the highlights of the journals and he gets angrier the more we reveal to him. “When we told Elder Chelsea the names of the Shifters who helped Mahina escape, she took a look at the digital archive and that is the reason why you are here, Uncle Joseph.” Myka states. “This question is for both of you.” Elder Chelsea says as she looks at Alpha Lincoln and Uncle Joseph. “What did anyone tell you about the ancestor who connects your bloodlines? Why is Lincoln’s family next in line for the Throne?” Neither one answers her immediately; they are deep in thought. Probably trying to figure out what these questions entail.“Nothing comes to mind.” Alpha Lincoln says, while Uncle Joseph only shakes his head. “I need to explain something before I can answer those questions for you. Our archive has a hidden part, both on paper and digitally. I am the only Elder who has access to it and my family has always been the only one with access to it.” Elder Chelsea explains. She starts typing on her tablet again and turns it toward us to show us a hidden part of the Kingdom’s archive. “It is used for documents that aren’t meant for anyone other than the Royal family. This is also the reason why no one was able to find anything on the Shifters who escaped with Mahina; their files are in here.” She continues before she explains what happened all those years ago. “I never read these until last night. I never had a reason for it, but I wanted to understand what we had been missing. The three bodies that were discovered and never identified were the work of my ancestor. The purpose was to provide an explanation about Mahina and her friends, in case anyone ever came forward. Mahina survived and managed to get to the Palace with the help of her friends. It was the one place she knew she would be safe.” Elder Chelsea says. We let it sink in that she made it to freedom, but never reclaimed her Pack. “She reached the Palace on a Full Moon and met her fated Mate, the future Alpha of Black Valley Pack.” She looks at Alpha Lincoln as she says those words. “It is also the reason why Magnus is next in line for the Throne, instead of Madden.” Okay, she has me completely confused. The law on firstborns can’t be broken, not even by a Royal. “Mahina was next in line for the Throne, but that ended when the Queen gave birth. It didn’t change much because she would still be next in line if anything happened. Her Mate didn’t want the responsibility and neither did Mahina. Both asked the King to make an exception to the firstborn law for their family. Every firstborn in the family would take over Black Valley Pack and the secondborn would take over the Throne, if that were ever be necessary.” Elder Chelsea says. Uncle Joseph looks as confused as the rest of us. How did they manage to alter a law? It should have been impossible. “Mahina was smart. She explained that any firstborn would want to take over their parents’ position and having grown up in the territory, their loyalty would always be to their Pack. It is a fact that any firstborn would choose their birth Pack over anything else. She gave the King a solution that would benefit the Kingdom, but not leave the Pack without an Alpha. I doubt they ever thought about a firstborn dying or having two Packs at one point.” Elder Chelsea explains. I hear Magnus chuckle and the devious look on his face tells me that he has thought of something, but I doubt it is any good. “I hated spending time at the Palace, but I will choose that over Gold Moon Pack any day.” Magnus says as he looks at Rhys. “I can always find new families to take over this territory.” Rhys growls in his direction, while we are nodding our heads with a smile. We would all choose the Palace over this Pack.