Seven Years Ago
The Luna Queen paces in front of the Alpha King’s large mahogany desk and scolds someone over the phone. Jessica sits in a high wingback chair placed in front of the desk with her head bowed, digging the toe of her shoe into the oriental rug on the floor, looking like she wants the earth to swallow her up. I stand near the door, waiting for the King to allow me access into the office.
“Luke, don’t you dare patronize me! She attacked Jessica again! If you think I will allow that girl to mate you and become the future Luna Queen, I will... I will figure out a way to reverse the aging process and put you back where you came from! So help me, Luke!”
My eyebrows raise to my hairline, and I quickly glance at the Alpha King. He covers his face, hiding a smile.
“This isn’t funny, Nathan! I’m furious!”
“Yes, and you’re taking it out on poor Luke, who told you repeatedly that he hasn’t touched the girl, dated her, or given herany indication of an interest in her. What more can he say at this point?”
She sighs. “You’re right. I’m sorry… but?—”
The Alpha King holds up a hand. “No buts, Shakti. You know how horrible these girls can be. You, yourself, have been a victim when girls pursued me before you and I made it known that we were officially mated.” The Alpha King assesses his wife and then winks.
I turn my head to avoid eavesdropping on a private moment.
“I am seriously so happy I’m not sitting in that office right now,” Luke jests over the speaker.
Jessica snorts. “Lucky you,” she mumbles sarcastically.
Luke’s chuckle vibrates from the phone.
The Luna Queen rolls her eyes. “Knock it off. I’m still upset.”
“As you should be, my love. I am just as upset that the girl came here after a direct orderandlied about it.”
Anders slams his way into the office, pushing past me straight to the King’s desk. “What the hell are we waiting for? If I can’t kill his underage daughter, I want Alpha Powers’s head on a fucking platter!”
“No, Anders. Please, just wait,” Jessica beseeches him. He turns to her, eyes blazing with fury. She clears her throat but stiffens her spine. “You can’t go after Alpha Powers.”
Anders’s chest heaves from his erratic breathing. The temperature in the room starts to drop. “If you think I will let her get away with threatening you?—”
“If you hurt him, she will make good on her promise. You won’t face a war with the Resistance. They’ll send assassins.”
“She’s bullshitting to manipulate you. She doesn’t have that kind of power,” Luke counters.
Jessica vehemently shakes her head. “She knows exactly who will help her, and she’s planning on going to them as soon as she checks on her father. If you charge him for terroristicthreatening or hurt him, she will retaliate against me. I heard it in her mind.”
Anders whips around, facing the Alpha King. “How the hell does this little shit have those kinds of connections when I spent over half of my life hunting them down? Other than the ones we already suspect, I don’t have a damn clue who the hell is part of the Resistance!”
The Alpha King frowns. “You and I both know it could be anyone. There hasn’t been an attack for years, but that doesn’t mean that they no longer exist.”
“Son of a bitch! Now what? We do nothing?! Let that little bitch bully Jessica? Continue to threaten her life? At this point, I don’t care if there is a war. If Alpha Powers is part of the Resistance, I’m going after him,” Anders growls.
“Even if you don’t know for sure he is part of the Resistance?” Jessica asks.
“I’m afraid we can’t take that chance, Jessica. If there is a chance he is part of the Resistance, we should act, sooner rather than later. We also can’t afford to let this issue go unanswered. This isn’t the first time she’s tried to threaten or blackmail you,” the Luna Queen answers.
“Did you all not hear what I said? She will go to the person in the Resistance if her father is harmed. I think he’s innocent. He may very well be a man who loves his daughter so much that he raised a spoiled brat. Even her own brother spoils her by giving in to her irrational behavior.”
“Her brother is a coward! Instead of helping you when they ganged up on you, he stood there and did nothing!” Luke bellows.
“Not true. He told you what was happening.” Jessica glares at the phone.
“Yeah, and Emily and I barely reached you in time! By the way, I went to bat for you, and you didn’t even press charges!”
Jessica huffs. “What the hell was I supposed to charge them with, huh? Emily hit Elaine and Cassie! She broke their noses. They didn’t hit me. They just exchanged words. If I pressed charges or brought attention to anything theyattemptedto do, they would have followed through with their threats.”
