Morgan Your Majesty, we kindly ask you to consider our request. In eleven months, we will hold a ceremony that hasn't been held in our Pack for a very long time, and to prevent tragedy from striking, we ask you to send at least one Elder to witness the ceremony. For safety reasons, we can't explain this any further, but we will answer the Elder's questions on the day of the ceremony. With kind regards, Alpha Tate and Luna Giselle. Mom and Dad were making arrangements for the ceremony that would be held on my seventeenth birthday. They asked the King for help. They were too busy planning for this life-altering event, trying to make sure I would be safe, and all it caused was for me to take off. King Damon starts telling me what he wants to know, but I can already answer that question for him. "Your Majesty, the ceremony got postponed because the guest of honor went missing," I say, and Casimir asks me how I know, because according to him, they didn't report a missing person's report. "Of course they didn't, Your Highness. If that report had ended up on the wrong desk, disaster could have struck. Don't you agree?" I look at Casimir, and I hear the King mutter, "Fuck," under his breath. "The reason I know is because the guest of honor was me," I state, and both of them just stare at me. Suddenly, King Damon starts laughing, and both Casimir and I stare at one another while the King is laughing his ass off. We both wait until he has calmed down enough to tell us what was so funny. "Elder Larson and I ruled out that Alpha Tate's bloodline was the reason for the ceremony, and the reason we ruled it out is that we assumed that Morgan was a male," He says. "That's twice I have been mistaken for a male," I mumble, and Casimir chuckles as he realizes that his Father made the same mistake the Commanders had made. "Morgan, would you mind explaining to us why you left your Pack?" King Damon asks, and I tell him about the last year I lived in our territory. Both males are furious by the time I am finished, but I tell them to calm down. "I know they messed up, but I am not sure how I would have responded if they had told me the truth. My abilities came gradually and are still growing. I don't think it would have made a difference if the ceremony was held. According to Amra, I was born a week late, and she arrived on the date I was supposed to be born. I would have had my Lycan and my gifts on my seventeenth birthday, and that ceremony wouldn't have made a difference whatsoever. I can't tell you why they did what they did, but with everything I know today, I doubt it was their intention. There is only one thing I might hold against them for the rest of their lives," I say, and King Damon asks me what that is. "Amra reached out to the Lycans of our parents and our oldest Brother, but none of them acknowledged her. I doubt I could ever forgive them for that," I say before I look out the window at the passing scenery. "Morgan, if Amra showed up a week early, it might be the reason why they didn't acknowledge her. Their Lycans wouldn't expect her to be there or to be able to reach out to them.They weren't ignoring her; she probably couldn't reach them because the bond wasn't there, and it wouldn't have occurred until she was supposed to show up," King Damon says, and Amra and I think about what we just discovered. Amra pushes forward when I see our territory come into view, and this is the first time in my life I am seeing our territory from a different perspective. It looks amazing. I look at the guards as we get closer to the gate, and I am shocked by the way Hudson looks. Casimir seems to notice the change in me. "What is it, Morgan?" He asks quietly, and I tell him that the male talking to the Royal Gamma is Hudson. "Pup number five, and he looks like he has been through hell and back," I whisper. Casimir tells me that that is normal if he has been worried about me all this time, and I want to jump out of the SUV to wrap my arms around him. Before I can give in to my urges, Hudson has gotten into the SUV with the Royal Gamma, and I watch the front porch as we approach the Pack-house. "They all look like shit," Amra says to me. "Morgan, put them out of their misery. Take your time to come to terms with what they did and why, but don't allow this to hurt any of you anymore," King Damon says, and I nod my head as I open the door. I step out of the SUV as I keep my eyes on Mom, but I have to stifle a smile when I realize that she doesn't recognize me. I cut my hair, I have a tan from all the time I spend outdoors, and with the help of Skylar and Faith, I learned to apply makeup. Not to mention that I am wearing my Commander's uniform and just stepped out of the King's SUV. The moment I take a step forward, Dad looks at me, and I see tears rolling down his cheeks. "Morgan?" I hear him whisper, and then Mom looks at me. Ashton is fast enough to catch her before she can hit the floor. Hudson wraps his arms around me, and I hear him softly crying as I look around me at our Pack-members. All of them have guilt written all over their faces, and I understand that they blame themselves for what happened—not just my parents and siblings. Dad is the next one that wraps me in his arms, and I let my tears fall for the first time since I woke up after my Sweet Sixteen. It takes a while before my entire family has hugged me, and Ashton is the last one to hug me, whispering "I am sorry" in my ear over and over again. Ashton steps back, and I hear Dad gasp as he looks at me. "You're a Commander in the King's Army?" Dad asks me. "Yes, Alpha Tate. She is a Commander in my Army, and you can be very proud of your Daughter. I have never met someone like her in my life, and that covers quite some years," King Damon answers. "Why don't we go to your office, Alpha Tate? I think there are a few things we need to discuss. What you tell your Pack after that is up to you."