"The Alpha's Mark?" Meredith asked, her brows raised in question.
"Yes,your father might have been king of the city of Arkaanas but to the werewolves he was their Alpha and not just a King." The doctor explained.
"Who is an Alpha?"
"An Alpha is the leader of a pack-a werewolf pack. You might be the princess and heir to the throne but that doesn't make you an Alpha or the leader of the werewolves pack.
In order to be leader of the pack one must bear the Alpha's Mark. The mark signifies that you're worthy of being the Alpha and is chosen by the moon goddess herself to rule the pack.
Only a few people have had the mark throughout the years. Your grandfather, dad and now you.
But werewolves are known to respect and follow the strongest person so even though you bear the mark you have to prove yourself to your people or they will never give you the respect you deserve."
Meredith swallowed the lump in her throat.
"How do I prove myself?" Meredith asked.
"By challenging the current Alpha of the pack. A duel. If you win you become the Alpha of the crescent pack. Just like your father."
The doctor smiled softly at her.
"The werewolves need a new leader since their current Alpha maltreats the weakest. Omegas. They're the weakest werewolves in the pack and are mostly bullied.
This bullying is encouraged by the Alpha because he believes it will make them strong. That man is a scumbag."
The doctor said through gritted teeth. Seems he really hated the Alpha.
Meredith frowned. Even though she wanted to help the Omegas, she wasn't strong enough to fight an Alpha who was deemed the strongest in the pack.
"But I'm not strong enough to duel with someone." Meredith stared at him and blinked.
"That's because your powers and strength have been sealed under the mark." He said, gazing at her face.
"How?"
Your mother was the most powerful witch in the city of Arkaan so she locked each of your power in each mark at your back. The Alpha's mark is three lines behind your back each representing who you are. A vampire, a witch and a werewolf."
He explained, studying the mark.
"It makes perfect sense because it's hard to break three seals instead of one.
In case a witch finds you and tries to break the seal by herself she can't. It will drain all of her powers let alone three seals..
His lips curled up in admiration.
"Your mother was such a clever woman. Very clever."
"Do you know how to get rid of it?" Meredith asked as a chill ran down her spine.
The doctor nodded, "Yes but I can't do it. Since there are three seals we need someone more powerful. Only one person can perform the removal spell and it's very painful."
Meredith's throat bobbled, "How painful?"
His lips thinned into a hard line. "More painful
than anything you've ever felt before, or will ever
feel again.
Meredith gulped as her stomach churned.
"Who is this person who can break the spell?"
"The Fae King."
"Fae? They exist too?"
The doctor chuckled and nodded, "if vampires, witches and werewolves exist then any supernatural being can exist too."
Meredith gave him a weak smile and nodded, "Alright. So when will we remove the seal? The sooner the better."
"The ritual must be done on the full moon and I don't know if the King will agree to help us. They mostly stay away from our business and want nothing to do with us. It will be hard to convince the King to help us."
Meredith raised her brows as nerves fluttered in her stomach. "Then what do we do?"
"I will inform the council about this then we would plan our next move."
"Alright."
The doctor stared at her for a few seconds as a glint of pity passed through his eyes.
She knew whatever he was going to say wasn't going to be good.
Meredith swallowed, "What?"
"You should expect anything.nothing like this has happened before and we don't know the consequences."
Meredith's eyes darted on the floor and nodded.
"Alright."
The doctor smiled at her reassuringly.
"Don't worry princess. I don't think your mom will do anything that will harm you. I will inform the council and then we will know what we will do about this." He said softly.
Meredith nodded, "Thank you doc."
"Welcome Princess. I will set the council meeting right away. I'm sure they will ask someone to come pick you."
"Alright."
********
The council room had wooden walls and different antique paintings were hung on the wall. A chandelier hung from the center of the room's ceiling, directly over a long, wooden table.
There were several,ornately designed chairs surrounding the table,each occupied by unfamiliar and familiar faces.
Marcus crossed the room and sat himself at facing the head of the table. Elvin followed and sat down to his right. Timothe sat to Marcus's left, next to
Aurora, and then the unfamiliar people. They were other three men and two women. It was nice to see the council wasn't made of only men. The head table was empty. Was she supposed to sit there?
Even though she was trying her best to seem confident and not intimidated it was hard with all these powerful people and their dangerous aura.
Meredith stood awkwardly for a moment, as they all turned their heads toward her , before she finally crossed the room and sat down. She folded her hands on the table in front of her.
Her nerves were shot and her stomach was a tangled mess of anxiety, but she pulled on an expertly crafted mask of indifference she had learned from being Atlas's secretary as she met each of the council members' eyes.
How to appear confident? Rule number one, look into the eyes of the people in the room.
Meredith remembered this from a book she read. All the years of reading were somehow paying off. She felt proud.
"Welcome to the council princess."