Chapter 187
Derek jumps up when I walk into the study, where he and the kids are. He swipes the tiara off his head and dusts himself off, knowing he’s been caught. The others come in behind me, and the great Alpha King turns into a deer caught in headlights.
After she was done teasing me, Violetta decided to focus her attention on Knight, and they all fell behind teasing him. Derek’s eyes focus on me as if daring me to tell them what I just witnessed. I could just let it go, but what fun would that be? And teasing him has been the only thing that brings us together.
-Mommy, no.- I turn to Ayrie, who is looking up at me pleadingly. Then he no play with us no mores.-
“We should clean this up, guys,” I say, crouching down next to her. She smiles and gives me a kiss on the cheek. I stand up to get her toy bag. “You should thank her properly,” I whisper to my dear brother. “She just saved you ass.”
I hand Ayrie the toy bag so she can put her tea set and fake snacks in there. She picks up the tiara from the floor. Aizen is sitting at my desk practicing his calligraphy. I haven’t seen him do this in a long time since we arrived, actually. I kiss the top of his head. He finally looks up at me with my favorite smile.
“Hi, Mommy,” he greets me.
“Hi, Son. We have to clean this up for the grown–ups,” I inform him. He nods. “You okay?”
“It was fun for it to be quiet for a little while,” he says.
“Maybe you don’t have to play with your sister, but just hang out sometimes when you need it to be quiet. Yeah?”
“Okay,” he agrees.
“Okay, go to your rooms. Get ready for a bath and bedtime. You can have some tablet time when you’re done, but we’re done when I tuck you in.” I tell the three of them.
“Yes, I have to show you my pictures,” Melody tells Ayrie.
“Me too. Help me with this one,” Ayrie hands her one of the bags, and she takes the other. The two of them run out of here without looking back.
“Thank you, Mama,” Aizen says as he finishes packing up his markers. “Bye, everyone. Bye, Dad.”
“I’ll see you in a bit, Buddy,” Knight reassures him. He smiles and walks out of the room.
“She didn’t even say goodbye. It was like I no longer existed,” Derek takes a seat where he had been when I walked in. “You have to teach me how to do that. Melody doesn’t wind down when she’s with me.”
“Because you spoil her,” Knight says.
“Is that the pot calling the kettle black?” Mr. Knightly laughs.
“Not the way he does,” he smirks and sits across from him. The others settle in. Ren stays by the door, ready to respond. “Ayrie earns her spoils. She’s a vicious little pup.”
“I can’t argue that,” Mr. Knightly agrees.
“Okay, we have a problem,” I remind them.
“Before we can even think of putting this to trial, we have to wait for her father to get here with her lawyers. You guys performed the protocol when you arrested her, right?” Derek asks.
“Yeah. It was over as fast as it started. She didn’t try to contact us. There was no warning. They attacked when the morning shift and the night shift were swapping.” I explain. He looks up at Knight with a glare.
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Chapter 187
“What?” he asks defensively.
“There’s a gap in your defense. Fix that,”
“It’s the fucking Beta, Man. I keep suggesting new formations and schedules. She just brushes me off.” He shrugs. This is the first time or heard of this
“The same one that tried to get you to burn the bodies here?” Violetta asks. “Fire her.”
“What?” I shake my head. I look over at Knight. He doesn’t meet my eyes because he agrees with her.
“She was my Grandfather’s beta, and her family has been the Betas of the pack for over fifty years”
“That’s the thing about generations of power. They come to an end,” Mr. Knightly says.
“It’s not the first time she undermines you, Angel,” Knight adds. “Since we arrived, she’s been trying to do things her way, and because you’re learning. you don’t see it.”
Mr. Knightly. He meets my stare, agreeing with his son.
“She’s showing you how things were done before you came along. You now know that this system is extremely flawed. It worked for Rizen because he didn’t have a mate or children to run after. She’s mated and has two sons, but her mate is a stay–at–home father. Yours is a little more driven than that. He won’t always be here. And neither will I. I work for him now.”
“So, I just fire her instead of telling her no, like I did today?”
“If I may, Alpha Rizen,” Ren steps forward. “Beta Allison was trained to be who she is now by the Alpha himself. She lost her father at the same time we lost your mother. It’s not going to change. She’s already consulting with the elders. There are others who are upset that she brushed past the new formations. Especially those training with the king. I love her for everything she’s done for us, but we’re not in a position where we can afford that sentiment.”
“Pinning that,” I cross my arms because using my own words against me makes me want to punch her.
“Told you,” Knight says, looking back at Ren. She nods and steps back to where she had been.
“And who do you guys suggest we replace her with?” I ask.
“Justin,” the three of them answer.
“You don’t necessarily have to fire her. You can promote her,” Derek says.
“To my position?” I ask, confused. They all laugh.
“A beta representative at court. She’ll get better pay, and she will have to deal with all the court crap you don’t have time for because you’re here doing real Alpha shit,” he elaborates,
“She’s going to know something is up,”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re the alpha, remember? Even if she wants to decline, which she won’t. It’s an honor to be able to represent your alpha in court. And she gets paid significantly more. Her eldest is about to start his University training. She’s not going to complain.” Mr. Knightly says. “Why do you even care? You don’t really know this woman.”
“She’s the beta of this pack, Arnold. She has been training her entire life for this and has walked beside the former Alpha. Not everything is kill and replace. People may be expendable to you, but not to me. I’m not you, no matter how hard you try. It has to be fair and for a good reason. Not just because she talked back to me a few times, I’ll think about it.”
“Well, think about this as well. Sixteen wolves are dead because everyone knows the gaps in your formations,” he scoffs. “Sorry, wait. Her formationss
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