Chapter 382

382 Surprise Celebration

Sandra walked into the room, too stunned to remember to scold her mate for lying to her. The throne was filled with a large gathering of both familiar and unfamiliar faces she found it dizzying to identify them all. From hunters she’d grown up with in Brigadia, to those she’d met in Sirius, not to mention everyone she’d ever known who mattered to her former mentor as well.

The first group of people she reacted to, however, were her parents. Spotting them in the crowded mess, the girl ran up to the two of them and leapt into their arms, “You remembered. How did you make it here without me knowing about it?”

“Cole just dropped by Brigadia and asked that we come here. It was a shocking and very sudden surprise though,” her mother’s voice sang. Overjoyed, the girl almost forgot there were plenty more people to greet in the throne room, “Congratulations, sweetie. On finally becoming a hunter and happy eighteenth birthday. We have a lot to talk about, my dear.”

Sandra pulled away from her mother’s embrace. The woman was smirking, an expression Sandra found odd on her mother’s face, “Well, don’t leave me hanging. What’s he like? Do I have to tell him how much you love your beauty sleep and never to wake you up on a Sunday morning or is he smart enough to figure that out by himself?”

‘That’s more like it,’ Sandra grimaced. “He’ll be fine, mother. He knows better than to mess with my sleep. More than a certain hunter I knew...”

“I’m so confused, who are we talking about now?” Sandra’s father pitched in, confusion written all over his face. Alas, Sandra had many more people to greet and her mother noticed it.

“I’ll explain everything, honey,” to Sandra, “Do spare some time and meet with us when the party is over.” The woman glanced to the side and pulled her daughter close, “We’ll talk about you and that beta alpha later.” With that, the Alastair family walked away from their daughter, leaving her and her mate speechless.

“That sounds terrifying,” Jason groaned from behind her.

“You’ll be fine. There is nothing to worry about... I hope.”

.....

Before the beta alpha could complain, a female voice pitched in somewhat loudly, “There she is. Sandra Alastair, in all her glory.” Samantha’s voice sparked a glint of fondness Sandra released her parents before leaving them to welcome the hunters of Brigadia.

Sandra turned in time to see a group of hunters walking her way. Samantha, Jackeline, Frost and Kenneth had all managed to come to the party. The girl embraced Samantha first and the others in succession, “I’m so glad you guys could make it.”

The older hunters beamed with delight, “Yeah, we’re glad we could come here as well. This party was meant to be huge after all. We wouldn’t miss it. On the other hand, Anthony decided to stay behind to... ‘protect’ Brigadia. He sends his regards.”

“It’s fine, really. I wish he could have made it though. I know how much he loves eating,” the girl joked.

“Agreed. He was second to one person alone,” Samantha joined in.

“Sandra,” Jason suddenly interrupted, “Allow me to step away for a moment. His majesty summons me.”

“No problem. Do come back as soon as you can,” Sandra replied, already feeling his absence. The beta alpha placed a kiss on her lips before leaving her to the hunters of Brigadia.

“Oh my... They grow up so fast, don’t they?” Jackeline swooned.

“Wh... what do... What about you and Frost?” Sandra blurted out in an effort to escape the spotlight. Thankfully, this worked like a charm. Jackeline was turning red while Kenneth and Samantha regarded the two.

“Now that I think of it, I have wanted to know what your relationship is like, Frost... Jackeline?” Kenneth narrowed her eyes at the two.

Frost kept his calm, but Jackeline wouldn’t meet their eyes. The man didn’t show any signs of answering them. His guard was up, but that wasn’t the same for Jackeline. Sighing, “We were looking for the right time to tell you, but we’ll be getting married in a few months.”

Suddenly, the union of Jason and Sandra was nothing but old news. Jackeline and Frost were finally together. Who would have thought?

The hunters spoke for a bit before a blue-eyed girl made her way to them, “Hey Sandra,” Lina interrupted them.

“Oh my, Lina... How many people made it here tonight?” Sandra asked, surprised to see the princess of Sirius present as well.

'

“I believe everyone came. Everyone that ever meant something to the two of you... and a few more,” the girl exclaimed, “The mood’s been gloomy since she left. This was a nice way for us all to let loose a little. Everyone that ever cared for her.

You were Katie’s best friend. The two of you were inseparable even though sometimes it didn’t seem that way.”

“How are you doing, Lina?” Sandra hugged the royal, the girl needed it. Something felt odd about the royal, but she couldn’t quite figure it out. Lina was still the same emotional girl Sandra had come to know... but she seemed a little more... determined. There was a rare fire in her eyes.

“Better than I was,” Lina replied. In a hushed tone, she added, “Hey, I heard you and Jason are...”

“Yeah, we’re mates,” Sandra finished the statement for the royal.

“No way. You’re kidding,” this did not come from Lina. And the two girls turned to a green-eyed delta holding a glass of fruit punch in her hand. Sandra was tempted to ask if it was pure fruit punch, knowing Crysta’s tendencies to desecrate drinks. She’d even been confident enough to spike the king’s drink once before, “I thought it was a joke of some sort. So have the two of you...”

“Oh my goodness, Crysta. Do you have to jump to conclusions that quickly? Your hunger for gossip hasn’t gone down one bit,” Honour smacked the delta at the back of the head, making her presence known as well as she scolded the girl who’d almost asked something too private for comfort.

“So, this is the mighty Sandra Alastair,” another girl spoke up before making a well-practised curtsy.

The hunter giggled, “Perhaps you should save the curtsy for the day you meet the Luna of Lycaon, I’m just an ordinary hunter,” with that, the hunter returned the gesture with a wobbly curtsy of her own. ‘Who knew that required practice?’

This brief moment of embarrassment was wiped away by the next thing she saw. All of a sudden, the girl’s amber eyes flashed grey before returning to their original amber. ‘Odd... but cool too,’ Sandra kept these thoughts to herself.

“And you are...”

“This is Madeline. She’s the daughter of a... Oh my, we can’t speak of her so lightly now that I think of it, but she’s been living with us for a while. She appeared shortly after Katie rushed over to Lycaon. She’s wanted to meet you and Katie for a while now. All she has to go on are the stories that have been told,” Lina explained.

“Is it fine if we speak of her like a legend... or perhaps a hero? She was unbelievable. I know she will come back, but I can’t go a single day without hearing someone say her name. If that’s not a legendary hero, I don’t know what is,” Crysta rambled.

“I wouldn’t casually refer to her as a legend. After all, one needs to die to become a legend,” Cole’s deep voice came from behind Sandra, frightening the oblivious hunter. Sandra turned to see the king behind her smiling brightly, “Happy birthday, Sandra. I hope you are having a blast.”

Sighing, “I wish she could be here to celebrate it with me. I was there for her birthday. It would have been fun. I don’t think I can eat that much cake without a bottomless pit to help me.”

Cole chuckled at her comment, “Yeah, that cake didn’t know who it was messing with. Close your eyes for me, Sandra.” This one phrase got the whole room quiet down. The volume of those talking had already started dropping when the two started talking, but Sandra hadn’t paid much attention to it.

The changing colours of the wall lights slowed and took on deeper shades of deep blue, red and green. Sandra looked about and noticed the change in the atmosphere. While she knew there was something they had to hide, she couldn’t quite figure it out, “Did I do something?”

“Did you do something?” Cole raised a brow at her.

Noticing her error, she wiped any thoughts that crept up, “No, nothing. I did nothing.”

“I’d be surprised if you did. Will you close your eyes now?” he asked once more. This time the girl noticed he meant no harm in asking her to close her eyes and she complied. ‘How many surprises will they keep coming up with? They’ve already done more than enough. And wasn’t Cole supposed to be hunting some... Ohhh...’

“I see someone survived a Rogue general,” the girl grumbled.

“Well, it was a close call. If I’d even been a tad bit unprepared, I would have been a goner,” Cole smirked, “But I’d say it was worth it.”

Cole took the confused girl’s hands and guided her through the colossal throne room heading for the centre. The girl strained her hearing, but couldn’t tell what was going on.

Everyone had gone completely silent and there wasn’t a clue as to what was happening. The suspense was killing her and she almost opened her eyes. The moment the thought of opening her eyes crossed her mind, a beta alpha’s hands covered them, “You might ruin a miracle without meaning to.”