The clicking sound of expensive heels resonated in the grand hallway as Queen Andromeda strode angrily to her husband's office. As she arrived at the expensive oak door, she gave it three sharp raps and smoothed her dress.
Soon, the door opened and some guards stepped out. They bowed to their Queen and hastily fled the scene.
They knew whatever was going to come next wasn't going to be pretty.
"Andromeda-"
"Save it!"
The exhausted King sighed wearily and rubbed his temple. He was expecting this. He was expecting her to be angry but he wasn't ready to face her.
"How dare you!" The angered Queen growled. "How could you?"
King Leonard got up from his chair. "Andromeda, I can explain. Just let me."
"Explain?" Queen Andromeda asked snarkily. "Good. Explain. Explain why you've kept this from me all these years. Explain why you didn't tell me you weren't human. Explain why I shouldn't walk out on you right now. Explain!"
King Leonard approached his wife gingerly. She shot him a glare which stopped him in his tracks.
He sighed again. "I had to. I had to keep it a secret. I was scared to tell you. I was scared of what you'd say. Plea-"
"So, keeping me in the dark was your best idea?"
"No."
The troubled Queen paced her husband's office, thinking about how she had been fooled for so long. They already had a two year old daughter for crying out loud. How could she not know?
"How did you manage to keep it a secret for all these years?" She asked quietly after stopping her pacing.
"I instructed the guards to not shift near the Palace." He said hesitantly. "And I made sure the staff didn't talk about supernatural things when you were around. I also had meetings concerning non-human situations outside the Palace..."
"All the 'business meetings' you kept attending but never let me come?"
"Yes."
The nervous King stared at the rich red rug adorning his polished office floor, nervously waiting for his wife to say something.
"You... You said you just owned an empire and..." The Queen trailed off, thinking about the silliness of the entire situation. "and that's why they refer to you as King. But you're a real king, aren't you?"
The King remained silent. He did not know what to say.
"King of a real kingdom. King of... werecats... If I can call you that."
"And you are the Queen. My Queen." He said desperately. "Please let's talk it out."
"I'm such a fool." Andromeda lamented to herself. "A stupid naive fool."
He quickly made his way to her and held her in his arms.
"You're not a fool." He murmured, stroking her hair. "You're not a fool, Love. I just had a lot of people helping me keep this lie up."
She glared at him and removed herself from him. "I have to go."
"Go?" He asked, alarmed. "Go where? Please let's talk this out. I'm sorry."
She sighed. "I mean I'm going to my room."
With that, she turned and left the room.
But she didn't just mean to her room.
As she sat on her king-size bed, she pondered on the earlier events. She was still shocked that her husband had kept such a secret from her. No wonder her daughter acted strangely. She was mad at her husband... but she was also worried. Very, very worried.
Why?
Her parents are hunters. Hunters of supernaturals.
When her parents talked about the supernaturals, she always thought they were delusional but now...
What even bothered her was that if they found out her husband was a supernatural... She didn't even want to think about it.
And Delilah... Oh Delilah, her precious daughter... She's probably going to be a supernatural too. How was she to keep this from her parents? Her parents are super nosy and quite intelligent. They weren't sentimental people. They were cold and won't care if their target was someone dear to her. They even seem to be on to her husband.
There was only one thing to do. She had to leave. With Delilah.
She groaned and fell back on her bed. She so did not want to leave. Sure, Leonard lied to her but she loved him dearly. She also didn't want Delilah to grow up without her father.
She had no choice. It was for their safety. She'd wasted enough time already.
She would just tell her parents that she cheated on Leonard, they got a divorce and she got custody of Delilah. That way, her parents might take their sights off Leonard. She would raise Delilah like a human. She didn't know how but she sure was going to try.
For their sake.
Meanwhile, Leonard was pacing his office worriedly. He knew he messed up. He messed up big time. How was he going to get himself out of this mess?
His advisors nervously watched their King. They were at a loss of words. They had encouraged their King to keep their existence a secret. Of course, they knew the truth would come out eventually. They just didn't think it would be this soon.
"Your Majesty." One of them finally spoke up. "You need to make it up to the Queen. Maybe it would help to calm her anger."
"I know that." The King growled. "I just don't know how."
"At least the cat is out of the bag." A guard piped up. "That's a good thing, right?"
As the King and his advisors brainstormed on what to do, Andromeda was setting her plan in place. She was going to leave at midnight with some of her possessions and Delilah. And there was no going back.
All King Leonard knew was that he woke up the next morning to discover his wife and daughter missing with a note that said:
"Don't follow us."