**Hi friends! I'm SO sorry this update is so late. Life happened and my work has been busy lately! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Things are going to be wrapping up here!**

Scarlett's POV

I paced around Xander and I's bedroom. The second I watched his SUV drive off, my stomach became a heavy pit of anxiety. I did everything I could to try and distract myself. I took a lukewarm bubble bath, curled my hair, made our bed, even tried to focus enough to read a book. When none of it worked - not even a little bit - I lay in our bed and allowed Xander's potent lingering smell to comfort me. My hands fidgeted continuously with the blankets.

Peering at the clock, I counted how long it'd been since they left. Surely, something had happened by now? Three painstaking hours had passed already. I picked up my phone for the hundredth time only to see no notifications; no phone calls, no text messages, no nothing. I blew a raspberry from my lips before throwing my phone onto the bed again. My female and male guards were taking their jobs very seriously - something Xander would be elated about. However, it meant that not a single one of them would speak to me.

It wasn't until another hour had passed that one of the guards finally opened the door. When they did, I shot out of bed. The ball of nerves in my stomach welled up into my chest The guard's expression remained blank, not giving anything away or relieving my anxiety at all. Until, finally, a battered and bruised Jackie came partially limping into the room.

"Oh, thank God!" I yelped, relief flooding my body as I dashed over to her. I enveloped her in a tight hug, my tears coming fast and heavy as I clutched my best friend tightly. Truth be told, I had no idea if Melvin was a violent man or not. We'd never known much about who he truly was over the years. Only the fact he was a creepy stalker, which was obvious. Despite my words of encouragement for Justin, I couldn't help the niggling of fear that crept into my mind. Seeing Jackie here and safe finally allowed me to breathe.

"I'm a little offended to tell you the truth," Jackie finally spoke when I released her. I backed away just enough to get a good look at her.

"What?" I balked.

"After all these damn years of pining over me, the loser couldn't even get it up. I mean, in hindsight, he's lucky. I would've broken the damn thing if he even came close to me with it, but it was just...a limp noodle the whole time. Maybe that's why he's truly angry," she stated with a roll of her eyes. Despite the humor behind her tone, I knew the joke was her own way twisted way of coping with the situation. I couldn't help the laughter that bubbled quietly from my chest at her words. I knew she just desperately wanted to forget the situation.

"Thank God for that," I said through another soft rumble of giggles before pulling her back in for another hug. She held me just as tight. I could smell the fear finally begin to dissipate from her skin.

"Please tell me he's never going to bother you ever again," I practically begged.

"Unless he comes back as a zombie and can reassemble his body from the numerous pieces that Xander and Justin tore him into, I'm going to guess no," she snorted. My head jerked back at the incredibly violent act she seemed to brush off as no big deal.

"Wow. Justin wasn't kidding," I murmured off-handedly.

"If you'll excuse me. I'm going to go take a scathing hot shower and then sleep for 48 hours," she said before giving me one last hug and a chaste kiss on my cheek. Xander passed by Jackie on the way into our bedroom, stopping her to give her a serious look and ask if she was sure she was alright. Jackie gave him a small smile and nodded, patting him on the shoulder before finally disappearing.

"She's a strong one, that girl," Xander mumbled, his face one of relief when he finally laid his eyes on me. A genuine smile pulled at my lips as I nodded, opening my arms to wrap them around his torso as he stepped in front of me. I soaked in his warmth as I leaned fully into his embrace.

I would stay just like this forever if I could.

**

It had been two weeks since the incident with Melvin and things were finally starting to feel normal again. Jackie and I holed up in my place for the first few days. She didn't feel safe being alone at home when Justin was gone for pack business during the day. I didn't blame her. I would've felt the same way.

Slowly but surely, she came out of the anxious shell that had been surrounding her and was back to her normal, chatty self.

The July heat had started to pick up, so Jackie and I were working on getting a better AC system installed for the orphanage. We were in the middle of speaking with one of the pack maintenance men when Xander entered my office and interrupted us.

"Is this something that can be picked back up in about an hour?" he asked, glancing between me and the pack member. I nodded and rescheduled for him to come back.

"I've been speaking with a few packs in Europe-"

"Europe? There are wolves in Europe?" Jackie cut him off, just as surprised as I was.

"Yes. About half as many as here in the States," he answered seamlessly before continuing. "I've been in negotiations with them for a few days now. We're working out a temporary treaty to help us hunt Eric down and get his official location. There's a possibility he fled the country to try and hide."

"There must be a catch if you're coming to tell me?" I asked, already apprehensive. Last time this happened, I had to see Eric again.

"In order to even enter Europe and meet with these alphas, we have to meet with the monarch family that rules over the European packs."

"Are all the packs in one country or are we going to have to rub elbows with multiple families?" I asked, completely unsure of how any of it worked.

"No, just one king and queen. The Were Monarchy is different from the human's. There's just one royal family that resides over all the packs in Europe rather than just one country. Once we get their permission, we can go wherever we need," he explained.

"When were you planning for this trip to take place? I'm not getting any less pregnant," I deadpanned, my ever-growing swollen belly making my statement even clearer.

"Within the next week or so. We won't stay long because I don't like the idea of you being an entire continent away from our pack. Just a couple days at the most. I will fly back out on my own for the treaty meetings."

And that's exactly what we did. Just a short three days later, we were touching down on the royal family's personal tarmac in rural England. I was thankful we had the pack's jet because I grew uncomfortable rather quickly when sitting for extended periods of time.

We were ushered into a luxurious SUV. Obnoxious little flags bobbed from the light breeze on either side of the vehicle. Thankfully, the ride to the castle was short. It felt like Xander's child was using my bladder to play their own private soccer game. Or I guess football considering my location. 

The whole show they put on once we arrived was a bit overdone in my opinion. From what Xander said, the monarchy was Europe's version of our Counsil. I know if they ever tried to pull something like this, Elder Adelia would've scoffed and put a stop to it.

There was a line of guards in fancy uniforms lining the stairs as we were escorted inside. I suddenly felt very underdressed in my cotton sundress. I held tightly onto Xander's arm as we ascended and entered the castle, my bladder full to the point of pain.

"Bathroom," I quickly rushed out to Xander, rocking back and forth between my feet. He asked the closest guard to him if they could show us the way. The man looked disgruntled by the request, but nodded. Once back, we waited around a few more minutes until a booming voice came from the second level.

"Alpha and Luna Harrington, it's a pleasure to have you!" My eyes tracked the couple as they began descending the grand staircase.

"King Grimaldi, we appreciate your generosity in accepting us on such short notice," Xander stated genuinely, extending his hand for the king to shake. He accepted Xander's hand before his gaze swiveled to me for the first time.

The look he gave me had me subconsciously reaching up to my face, wondering if I had food on it. Or maybe he was thinking I should've put more effort into my appearance. I never wore any makeup these days. Xander's never complained, so I never cared. I cleared my throat uncomfortably as the King continued to examine my face intently. The Queen noticed my discomfort and gave the bicep she was holding a squeeze. The grip seemed to snap him out of whatever was running through his head because a bright smile quickly took over his face.

"Your room has been arranged already. I assume you'll be needing some rest before dinner? What time is it in Montana now?" the king asked.

"Seven am," Xander answered. The king's eyebrows rose a fraction.

"Ah. Well, dinner will be served at 6:30. You've got a bit of time to sleep off some of the jet lag before then." I wasn't going to argue with him. All I wanted to do was take a long nap after the 12 hours it took to get here.

I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling as the King continued to intentionally glance at me while guiding us to our room. At one point, it felt like his eyes wouldn't leave me. It was more than just unsettling. Xander must have eventually noticed too. He slowly started to shield me from his eyes with his body.

After what felt like a million hallways and stairs, we finally arrived at our room. We said our quick goodbyes and I darted to the massive four-poster bed that sat proudly in the middle of the room. The second my head hit the silk-covered pillow, I was out.

Three and a half hours later, Xander woke me with just enough time to find our way back to the entrance and be escorted to the dining room. I did my best to stifle my yawn that I couldn't stop completely as we were seated. The king and queen joined us a few moments after we were seated. The weird feeling both me and my wolf had from the earlier encounter with King Grimaldi came right back. Despite my best efforts at shaking it, it wouldn't subside. It felt like the clothes I was wearing were itchy and two sizes too tight. I gave the king, who was yet again staring intently at me, a terse smile. Thankfully, his attention was pulled from me as a man and woman joined us at the table moments later.

"Ah! Alpha and Luna Harrington these are our children. Luke is my oldest. He's almost twenty-four, so he'll take over for me in just a bit over a year. This is my only daughter, Angelina. She's just turned eighteen," the king stated as his daughter took the seat across from me. She was beautiful and the spitting image of her mother.

As we ate, Angelina and I exchanged small talk here and there. It was difficult due to the scrutinizing gaze of her father. I couldn't get the way he introduced her out of my head either. It was just so odd. 'My only daughter'. The words just kept circling around and around in my brain on repeat. His statement had seemed pointed when he'd said it; different to how he introduced his son - who happened to be his only son.

"So, Luna Harrington, your mother and father must be very proud to have a daughter mated to such a strong leader as Alpha Harrington," King Grimaldi stated as they set our dessert down in front of us. It was the first time he'd addressed me directly since we'd arrived. His voice grated unpleasantly against my skin as he spoke. The hair on the back of my neck bristled.

My hand clenched around my spoon, suspended in the air above the apple crumble I was about to take a bite from. I let a strained smile grace my face. "I wouldn't know. I've been an orphan my whole life," I stated simply. My revelation seemed to knock his world off kilter. He looked utterly distraught. His mouth opened and shut multiple times making him resemble that of a fish out of water.

"That's...well," he began before stopping to clear his throat, "all great Lunas I've met have faced hardship and adversity at some point in their life," he finally finished.

"Well there's been plenty of that," I snorted before taking a large swig of the sparkling water I'd been given in lieu of the wine everyone else was drinking. He looked curious about my statement, but I refused to elaborate.

"That's actually why we're here. We're seeking an alliance to help track down a wolf whose sole intentions could be to further harm my mate," Xander explained, getting right down to business. The King's demeanor hardened immediately as Xander's words registered.

"Harm how?" The King demanded, his gaze focusing on my face.

"Contract of Retribution kind of harm," Xander grunted. The King's jaw clenched multiple times, so hard I thought it might break.

"Whatever you need, we will accommodate. Every pack," the King insisted. This must have been an unexpected response because Xander wasn't able to stop his face from showing his shock.

"We appreciate that, King Grimaldi. If you don't mind, I'd prefer to finalize the details of what we need over the phone or email. With my mate being pregnant, I'd like to get her back home," Xander insisted. The King looked like he wanted to put up a fight, but held his tongue as his eyes flickered from his mate, to his kids, and finally back to me.

I wasn't going to question the king's motives behind agreeing to help us so quickly. I was just thankful that we were possibly one step closer to chasing Eric down. I wanted this to be over and handled before I gave birth. I dug into the warm apple dessert in front of me, sighing happily. My eyes flitted up to the king, who'd just taken a bite of his own dessert. And then, seconds later, I felt all the air leave my lungs as my heart constricted in my chest. My eyes caught a very distinct mannerism - the tapping of his spoon against the plate twice after he took a bite. But it wasn't just that bite. It was every bite after.

I was probably certifiably crazy. It wouldn't be a surprise after everything I've been through. But in that moment, it just clicked. 

He's my father.