Aidan shifted in his seat, his eyes darting between Sam and me. Sam crossed her arms, her jaw set in a hard line. I sighed inwardly. The last thing I needed was another argument with Sam.
“Ivar,” she began, her voice soft but laced with suppressed anger, “you’ve been avoiding me all week. Apart from the meetings and today’s training, I haven’t seen you.”
“I saw you last night,” I retorted, instantly regretting my words.
Sam lifted her chin, her eyes defiant. “Oh, I see. I should’ve said meetings and when you want to sleep with me. My bad.” Her voice was heavy with sarcasm.
Rankor, my wolf, stirred within me, urging me to make amends. He hated disappointing Sam and yearned for more time with her. I felt the same. I hated the distance between us, but my focus was elsewhere—on my stepmother, who was causing havoc.
But Sam’s defiance, especially in front of Aidan, was pushing me to my limits. “Sam,” I warned, “be careful.”
“Excuse me?” she shot back. “Careful of what? My tone? I’m your wife, not a child.”
I took a deep breath, reminding myself that Sam wasn’t the cause of my frustration. “Sam, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t air our issues in front of my men,” I said, my voice tight. “We can continue this discussion after dinner.”
She huffed but nodded. “Fine.”
I tried to soften my gaze, hoping she’d understand, but she maintained her hard expression. I checked my watch. “I’m sorry, Sam,” I said quietly. “I have to go. Enjoy your reading.”
She paused, considering. “Actually, I think I’ll go see the unicorns. Maybe spend some time with Trinity.”
Aidan perked up. “She’d love that. I’ll show you the way.”
He offered his arm to Sam, and they left, leaving me alone in the hallway. She’s only mad at me, I thought, sighing. I couldn’t blame her. Our honeymoon had been overshadowed by the return of my stepmother.
Instead of marital bliss, we were dealing with a threat from my past. Nine months had passed, and we were no closer to understanding her plans. It was enough to drive me to the edge.
Maybe that was her goal—to watch us scramble in confusion. Trinity was struggling the most, even though she tried to hide it. She was building walls around herself, walls that Aidan had torn down centuries ago.
She was trying to protect herself from the pain of her past and the danger of the present. Our conversation had gone as expected, except for the unicorn attack. She’d asked me to back off but agreed to change her approach with Sam.
I knew she was trying to distance herself from the possibility of sending someone she cared about into battle. I couldn’t bear the thought.
I made my way to the conference room, where Nelson was setting up for the meeting. He was our tech expert, always ahead of the curve.
“Ready, King,” he said, not looking up from his laptop.
“Start it,” I said.
The screen lit up with the faces of the European Alphas. “Good evening, gentlemen,” I greeted them, watching as they bowed their heads in respect.
We went over the basics of each pack during the meeting. My main goal was to keep any internal squabbles and interpack disputes to a minimum, especially with the looming threat of war. Each alpha had their say, and I offered my thoughts.
As the meeting was winding down, the alpha from the northernmost tribe chimed in. “King, have you heard anything from the…sea-dwellers recently?”
Everyone in the room suddenly sat up a bit straighter, their interest piqued. While some had an idea about the beings he was referring to, I kept their existence quiet out of respect for their wish to remain anonymous. This alpha knew that, and he was seasoned enough to know not to mention them casually.
“No,” I replied, my brow furrowing.
His face was serious. “There’s been some talk from the North Sea and sightings near the shores.”
My frown deepened as my mind raced. “I’ll look into it,” I said quietly, glancing at my watch. “Meeting adjourned.”
Nelson immediately cut the feed. The large room filled with silence, the empty chairs echoing the quiet. I rested my elbows on the smooth mahogany table, staring at the wall across from me.
Nelson spoke up, his voice hesitant. “King, the merfolk showing up without making contact—“
“They’re scouting,” I interrupted, certain. “Something’s not right. Can you arrange a Meeting of the Elders?”
He looked taken aback. “All of them? Are you sure? It’s been—”
“I know,” I cut him off. “I can’t afford to take risks right now.”
“Okay. I’m on it,” he said, nodding once.
“Start with Lena,” I instructed. “She can help reach out to the others who are harder to get a hold of.”
I saw his eyebrows shoot up from the corner of my eye. “You don’t want me to have Trinity send it?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “She’s got enough on her plate right now. Lena’s the leader of the witches. She’s just as capable of getting the message out.”
In truth, I wanted to keep this current worry away from my sister for as long as I could. The spell would only take her a moment. The issue was that as soon as I asked her to do it, she would want to know why. I rarely called upon the leaders of all supernatural species. Doing so meant there was a serious problem.
“Understood, King,” Nelson said, his fingers flying over his keyboard.
I pushed back my chair and stood up. It was time to face the more daunting issue of the day—my very irritated mate.
I could feel that she was trying to hold back the full force of her anger toward me. She likely understood the gravity of the issues I was dealing with and didn’t want to add to my stress. When we fought, she said as much.
As a result, the smallest misstep could set us off. The strength of our sealed mating bond drew us together, and fighting it caused a constant, ever-growing irritation that was becoming harder and harder to handle. Our wolves urged us to be close to each other, while the world’s problems pushed us apart.
Even living under the same roof wasn’t enough to satisfy the primal need for closeness. Sam was simply experiencing the natural instinct to share space that comes with being mated. It would be nearly impossible to resist, even if we wanted to.
Unfortunately, our roles as protectors were ones we couldn’t abandon. My desire to keep her safe, in particular, outweighed everything else, even my own happiness.
“King?” Nelson’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. “We can handle more than you’re giving us credit for.”
I stared at him, trying to make sense of his words.
“You’ve always carried the weight of the crown alone. It’s commendable, but there’s more in your life now. There aren’t enough hours in the day for you to devote yourself fully to every responsibility.”
My brethren rarely voiced their opinions on my leadership. They all followed orders dutifully without question—all except maybe Aidan, but even he fell in line when it mattered. Nelson’s suggestion made me wonder if I was failing to hide my struggle as well as I thought I was.
“I’ll take that under advisement,” I said, my tone cool.
“King, no one thinks you’ve lost a step,” he said quickly, as if reading my thoughts. “I just worry that when push comes to shove, you would choose your duty to the throne over your mate.”
“Nothing is more important than Sam,” I growled.
Nelson leaned back, raising his hands defensively. “I’m not suggesting you would neglect her consciously,” he said. “It’s just…”
He looked away, clearly struggling to voice whatever he was trying to say.
“King, we’ve all had dreams of finding that special someone to share our lives with. We’re all thankful for the home you’ve provided us here, but it doesn’t erase the yearning for a companion to share it with. You’ve found that in Sam. She’s a gift from Fate herself.”
I looked at our tech whiz. Despite his perpetually messy hair and those black-rimmed glasses that supposedly filtered light or something, I knew that beneath his Star Wars hoodie was the heart and soul of a warrior. He wasn’t one to show his soft side, so his words carried weight.
“I get it, Nelson,” I responded softly. “I value your honesty.”
But Nelson was more than just a desk jockey. He was a werewolf under my command, a comrade in arms. He had stood by my side, ready to risk his life for our realm, time and time again.
I headed to my study to wrap up the day’s work. I was determined to keep my promise to my mate and join her for dinner.
We spent the rest of the evening together, just as we both desired. Tomorrow, I would tackle the complexities of my schedule.
