SWNOVELS : Chapter 9
Alexander
I pulled in a calming breath and tried not to kill my stepmother, Scarlet, here and now. It was not the right time for revenge. I stormed down the palace corridor toward the courtyard, footsteps echoing. I had been in the palace for five days, and my stepmother did her best to make every moment a nightmare.
When I reached the courtyard, I found Kayden training with my men. They were loyal to me, not to my father. I had brought every loyal werewolf to the palace with me to show my father and half-brother I would not be ignored. It had taken two days to arrange their housing and secure the palace’s, West Wing. None of my father’s servants were allowed to enter or his soldiers.
I had tried several times to get my father alone so we could speak about matters of the pack and the territory lost to the vampires. But my stepmother had managed to rob me of any time alone with him. She was very cunning, but in the five days of being here, I had obtained some evidence against her regarding the circumstances of my mother’s death.
Kayden waved me over to a new group of werewolves just coming from the southern border.
“They have a report. Do you have time to hear it?” Kayden asked, pulling on his shirt.
I studied the group. They looked tired and worn out from the long journey. They can go to the kitchen, get food, and clean up. Then we can talk.”
Kayden nodded. I sat by a fountain and listened to the sound, hoping it could give me peace. Even if only for a moment. I closed my eyes, my mind playing over everything I still needed to do before I challenged my father. A tap came on my shoulder, and I sighed.
Kayden held out a phone to me.
“I do not want to talk to anyone right now,” I said impatiently.
Kayden pushed the phone at me. “You’re going to want to talk to this person. It’s your fiancée.”
Fiona’s glowing blue eyes suddenly appeared in my mind. They have haunted my dreams every night since meeting her. It was irritating because she was the daughter of my enemy. I took the phone with a furrowed brow.
Fiona’s voice was concise and cold, which was much more comfortable for me than the omegas, who spoke in a falsetto voice, making me want to twitch and cover my ears.
I took the phone and put it to my ear. It was nice to hear from her. I had been trying to secure living quarters I knew Fiona would be safe before I brought her to the palace.
“I’m sorry to call and interrupt you. Can we meet tomorrow? There is something I need to discuss with you.”
“That can be arranged. Where would you like to meet? I can come to your family home.”
“No, not here. Let’s meet at Kingdom Park.”
I agreed to the meeting, curious about why Fiona suddenly contacted me. I handed the phone back to Kayden. Was she thinking about me as much as I was her? I shook the thought away, it would lead to nothing good.
I was going to need another day or two before I would be able to bring Fiona to the palace. I wanted it to be as safe as it could be, but if she was going to be my Luna there were things she was going to have to do that would put her at risk. I hoped she was up to the challenge.
After I handed Kayden the phone, he sat down beside me. “What did your girl want?”
“She’s not my girl,” I said, mood turning dark. “She wants to meet. There is something she wants to talk about.”
“I bet she does,” said Kayden, pressing his lips into a frown.
I glared at him. “Do you have something you want to share?”
I waited patiently for him to unload the information he seemed eager to share. Kayden was one of the best reconnaissance werewolves I had ever seen and had several good connections for tracking anyone anywhere.
He had been my beta since I was sixteen and my father sent me away. We had been friends before that day, but when my father sent me off Kayden decided to go with me so I wouldn’t be alone. It had been a kindness I could never repay.
“Fiona’s father is involved in a debt crisis. And is likely seeking your help.”
“She would not do that.” My expression turned cold.
“I just want you to be prepared.” Kayden slapped me on the back and trotted off giving me a stern look.
The next day, I sat waiting on a bench at the agreed-upon location. Kingdom Park was large, with its rolling hills and many different trees. Couples walked hand in hand and children rode bikes on all of the different paths that stretched its length.
Right on time Fiona strolled up looking well put together in a fitted gray suit that matched her hair which was down. It floated in the light morning breeze. The glow of those blue eyes had my body hardening in all the wrong places. I shifted uncomfortably.
She looked thinner since the last week I saw her. I cursed under my breath having forgotten that a pregnant werewolf that did not have the father’s power nearby to appease the fetus, the baby would consume the mother’s energy. A stab of guilt hit me in the chest.
Fiona sat at the far end of the bench, and it aggravated me because I wanted her closer. I wanted to smell her, to drink her in. Instead, I sat glum faced and cold hearted.
“Thank you for meeting with me.”
I held up my hand. “Fiona, I know why you asked me to come. Unfortunately, I cannot help your father, I already publicly stated that I would only deal with you and not with your father in any way. He will have to find another solution.” I stood ready to walk away.
“I didn’t come here to plead for my father but to discuss business with you.”
“Business? What do you know of business,” I said, sounding harsher than I intended.
“I know more business than most. I know that your investment in the Blue Moon pack is losing you money and that investing in the Red Moon pack can double it.”
I sat back down suddenly interested in what she had to say. She handed me a dossier containing a detailed business plan. I glanced over it and was surprised to see how detailed it was. Moreover, she had laid out all the accounts, hiding nothing from me.
“This is very good work. I have been part of many business deals and many were not half as good as this.”
“Thank you. I do what I can.”
“I will have to look it over more closely and give it some thought until tomorrow.”
Fiona shook my hand. Her fingers were tiny but strong. I didn’t want to let her go. She released my hand and walked off.
When I got to the car Kayden once again watching me from the rearview mirror, his expression curious. I leaned back and folded my arms over my chest. “What else do you know about Fiona?”
Kayden smiled brilliantly. “Fiona was always capable, and her brother was useless. Fiona had silently managed the entire pack; otherwise, her father and brother would have bankrupted it years ago.”
“Is this why all the other nobles were interested in offering a marriage contract after Baron had canceled the wedding?”
Kayden winked. “Now you’re starting to understand.”
I began to view Fiona in a different light. “I will personally meet her tomorrow to give her my answer about the business plan she presented me just now.”