Chapter 75: Grace
Rhys pulled me along through the meeting hall and up onto the small stage, and I did my best to walk with confidence even if it was fake. Rhys needed me to keep my head up during this, so I would do my best not to disappoint him.
I breathed a sigh of relief when Sawyer joined us at the front, standing just off to the side, but near enough that I could feel his presence. It was nice to know no matter what happened here tonight, I had a friend here.
“Good evening, everyone!” Rhys had all eyes on him as he called the meeting to a start. “I am grateful that so many of you were able to make this meeting on such short notice. I know that many of you are wondering why I have called you here today...”
I did my best not to fidget but I tuned out whatever Rhys was saying. I could practically feel the eyes of every woman in the room boring into me, and it made me want to squirm even more. They hated me, but they didn’t even know me. We hadn’t even told my story yet. We hadn’t had the chance to help them understand where I was coming from. I was just the girl with the guy who everyone thought was going to get left or killed just like all the other girls who had come before me. The thought sent another wave of nausea through me.
“And without further ado,” Rhys place his hand on the small of my back, bringing me back to the now, “I’d like to introduce, my newly marked mate, Grace Cairstairs!”
I took a tiny step forward and gave the best smile I could and gave a small wave. The crowd erupted into cheers and applause. I took step back into Rhys arms, and I heard him whisper in my ear, “I’m so proud of you”. And for a moment, I felt like I was on top of the world. For a moment, it was like I was finally being seen. But then I remembered that in another few moments, I really would be seen, and I worried how the people would take it.
“Thank you everyone for your encouragement, I know it’s been a long time coming,” Rhys laughed, and the audience laughed with him. My goddess, he was a natural public speaker. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand, and there were a lot of them. “We have kept things fairly quiet since we met, but I wanted you all to be the first to know. Now does anybody have any questions?”
“How did you guys meet?” Someone called out. A little bit nosey of a question, but I knew Rhys had been banking on someone asking it, so he could setup what was to come next.
“Well, that is a large part of why we are here today. Grace and I met under some rather unfortunate circumstances, and this story has moments where it is hard to tell, but we are here to tell it.” He then lifted my hand to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss; the women around were swooning! “Grace is from the Red Blood pack who betrayed her. She was treated like a slave in her own home. She was tortured both emotionally and physically. And in any pack, we would find this unacceptable and disgusting. However, Grace was not just a pack member, she was the daughter of Alpha Andrew!”
Murmurs of surprise filled the room, and it took all I had not to just run away.
“I thought Alpha Andrew’s daughter was Kinsley?” Someone asked.
“That’s what I heard too!” Someone else added, and I felt sick by how many people were saying they knew of Kinsley.
“Kinsley is the daughter of Alpha Andrew and his mate, Luna Ava. However, Alpha Andrew had an affair and kept a mistress on the side. Her name was Louanne, and Grace is the daughter of Louanne and Alpha Andrew.” Rhys explained calmly, but I didn’t feel calm. This was crazy. I should have never agreed to do this.
“How come nobody has ever heard of Alpha Andrew having another child?” Someone else shouted out.
“Well, Louanne died shortly after Grace’s birth. After that, unfortunately, Grace was not treated like the daughter of the family. She was a stain on their perfect family. Her powers were bound repeatedly, and she was enslaved by her so-called family. She was subjected to horrible conditions, daily beatings, and once I assume she was old enough, marked against her own will by a coward that I will one day find.” Rhys growled. The anger and bitterness in his voice to what had happened to me was enough to make me fall in love with him all over again.
A silence fell over the crowd, and they were all waiting for Rhys to continue with bated breaths, unsure about what they were going to hear next.
“You should be absolutely outraged at all of this. Nobody should ever be treated like that, let alone by your own family. She may not have been their heir, but she deserved better. Grace has been able to overcome so much, and I got lucky that I visited when I did, and she walked in that room I was in. I was able to get her out, and she has been working on healing outside of the public eye, and we kindly request you allow her to continue. But there is something else you should know. The Red Blood pack, despite what the pretend are not werewolves, they are a creature called, Lycan. And I think that it is important for you to know that Grace is also a Lycan.”
There was a murmur among the crowd again, but this time, the looks I was getting were more sympathetic and sadder, instead of outright cold. Rhys gave my hand a squeeze, and I had to fight back the tears that flooded my eyes when Beta Leon and Arlo stepped forward in support.
“A Lycan? I’ve never heard of that!”
“Me either!”
I began to feel nauseous again as Rhys explained the short version of what we knew about Lycans which sadly, wasn’t really a ton.
“That sounds terrifying.” Someone called out. “How do we know she’s not a threat to the Kingdom?!”
“I assure you, there is nothing to be concerned about.” Rhys responded cooly. “I would never bring a mate into my pack or the kingdom who was going to harm my people or do damage to the pack in anyway. And anyone who questions my decision, I will not tolerate dissent!”
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