The White Tiger

Chapter 16

 "King?!" Jay exclaimed. "B-but I can't be king!" 

 "My prince-" 

 "Gamma, please. If you're going to call me by a title, call me Gamma." 

 "Alright, Gamma. Now, the rulers of our kingdoms have given us orders to teach you the ways of the royals. We have kept the book on White Tiger Royalty, even after all these years. Gamma Jay, Princess Elena, we will begin instructing you whenever you are ready." Rose told us. 

 "For now, if it is alright with you both, we will be watching you from a distance, making sure you are alright. Years ago, we failed in keeping the White Tigers safe. We do not want them to go extinct again." Elanor spoke up. 

 "That's fine, Elanor. But..." I hesitated. 

 "But what?" Ash asked. 

 "Do you know what a Gamma is?" Jay asked, knowing what I was going to say. The visitors shook their heads. 

 "The Gamma is the third command in the wolf pack. Jay is one of the leaders of this pack."

 "Like one of the rulers of the pack..?" Ash asked. 

 "Yes." Jay nodded. 

 The visitors looked at each other and spoke amongst themselves. Finally they turned to us. "We do not know what to do...If you are already a ruler, you would not be able to become king..." Kallan told us. "But, Princess Elena, you can still become queen, can you not?"  

 "I can. As long as I'll always be able to be there for Jay." I told him. 

 "But she can't. A queen needs a king. Unless she marries another, she cannot become queen." a voice came from behind our visitors. Jay growled as all of us turned to look and saw a woman in a beautiful gown with a crown and a scepter. 

 "My queen.." Rose and Ash said in unison, bowing. 

 "Queen Leanna.." Elanor bowed. 

 "Rosalie, Ash, Elanor." the fairy queen greeted. "You must be Elena. The White Tiger." 

 "I am." 

 "And who is this young man?" Queen Leanna turned to face Jay, who looked very uncomfortable. 

 "He is my mate, Jay. Gamma of this pack." 

 "I see. Well, princess, I am afraid if he is Gamma, you cannot be together." 

 Jay growled loudly. "Mine." 

 "I am afraid not, Gamma Jay. Elena is a crown princess who needs a king to ascend the throne. She cannot rule without one." 

 "What if I don't want to rule?" I spoke up, allowing Jay to continue holding me tightly. 

 "It is your duty to rule. You must reject him and find another man." 

 I could tell Jay was mad, but also scared I would reject him. I know it is my duty to take over the throne as the last White Tiger, but I won't do it if it means I have to reject Jay. Besides, we're marked. 

 "Queen Leanna, Jay and I have already marked one another. I-" 

 "Oh, no need to worry about that. Rosalie, Ash, and I will use our magic to get rid of your marks." 

 "NO!" I shouted angrily as she began to raise her wand. 

 "Excuse me?" she asked, obviously not happy I was talking back. 

 "I will never reject Jay. My mark stays." 

 "Crown Princess Elena, do I need to remind you of your duty?" the queen asked. She looked mad. 

 "No, you do not. I know it is my duty to take the throne. But I will not do it if it means rejecting the man I love." 

 "It is not about love, Princess Elena. It is about duty and sacrifice." 

 "I will never reject Jay. Now leave." 

 "Very well, princess. Come, Ash, Rosalie, Elanor. It is no longer our duty to protect the White Tiger." 

 "But, your highness-" Rose tried to speak. 

 "No! Now come along." The queen turned and flew out the window. She then turned and spoke again to her subjects. "Rosalie, Ash, Elanor, come on. It is time to go back to the Mystic Woods." The three looked at each other and nodded. They took a deep breath and faced the queen. 

 "No, Queen Leanna. We are not abandoning Elena. It is our duty." Ash told her. 

 "Not anymore. Now come along."  

 "No." Elanor spoke up. Her three friends seemed surprised. 

 "Elanor, you are the Elf Princess. You are to rule alongside my daughter." 

 "No. My sister, Ivy, will take my place. I am staying." 

 "If you three do not come right now, you will never be allowed back to the Mystic Woods." 

 "Then I guess we are out of a home." 

 "Very well then." With that, the fairy queen left. 

 "Rose.." Kallan said quietly. 

 "Kallan!" Rose jumped in Kallan's outstretched arms while Elanor and Ash hugged each other tightly. Jay and I exchanged confused looks. 

 "Are you four dating?" I asked. 

 "Well, yes. We secretly date. You see, fairies are not allowed to be with anyone but a fairy." Ash told us. 

 "And elves aren't allowed to be with anyone but another elf..." Elanor said in her quiet voice. 

 "Rose and I grew up with Elanor. And we met Kallan when we were fifteen." Ash spoke up.

 "Rose and I had an immediate connection. We all began secretly dating when Rose, Ash, and Elanor were almost sixteen. I was sixteen at the time." Kallan told us. 

 "How old are you now?" Jay asked. 

 "I am nineteen." Kallan answered. 

 "We are almost nineteen. Ash and I share the same birthday." Rose replied. 

 "My birthday is a few days after theirs." Elanor told us. Jay and I nodded. 

 "Princess, I apologize for all of this. I promise we will all continue to guard you." Ash said, his head bowed. 

 "It's alright, Ash. I will find some way for me to be ruler without a king. Or, with a king." 

 "Elena-" 

 "Jay, I meant you. I will never marry anyone but you." I hugged Jay tightly. "I love you and only you." 

 "And I love you too, Elena...I'm sorry I growled at the queen...I made your situation worse..." 

 "It's ok, Jay. It would've ended badly with or without the growling." I smiled at him. He smiled at me and kissed my forehead before turning to the guests. 

 "Please, come downstairs. I'll make us all some sandwiches." They all nodded gratefully and followed Jay and I downstairs.