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This morning seems to be particularly hard for her, though.
Instead of working with her shadow or sitting with her nose in a book while we trained, she met us in the training yard, dressed in clothes much like our own, insisting on taking a day away from that.
It’s a good idea in theory—taking a step back to regroup—but the idea of her fighting these guards has me about two seconds from demanding she take the day to rest instead.
I might do it if I thought she would fucking listen. Gods know she never does, at least not to me. But there is someone she might listen to.
I swallow my pride and make my way toward Garrett to ask for his assistance. I still can’t stand him, but Queen Rosalynn might be able to convince her to slow down, and if it means helping Serena, I can survive a conversation, hopefully.
Garrett stands off to the side, talking with one of the less assholey guards. I think his name is Micha, but I can’t be sure. Paying attention to them isn’t my priority unless they’re a problem.
Speaking of problems.
I slow my pace as I walk past Nero. His back is to me, but I can tell he’s pissed off about something by his stiffer-than-usual posture. The guys wound tighter than I am, and that’s saying something.
“I will not train your kind. Your people slaughtered thousands of us during the war. The last thing we need is for you to get any bright ideas. You could use my teaching and run off to Draven to fight against us in the blink of an eye. Your people know no loyalty!”
His words are quiet but harsh, and I feel he doesn’t want to be overheard.
Well, isn’t that just too bad?
Most of what he said doesn’t make sense, but the idea of him talking like that to someone rubs me wrong. We’ve spent most of our lives pushing back against the stigma of prey being nothing but weak shifters because we know better. Serena is anything but weak, even now, without her beast. Who is he to judge someone on their background if they want to learn?
Nobody, that’s who, and I’ll be happy to remind him.
Before I can interrupt, I hear it.
A sniffle.
It’s quiet—so quiet that I would have missed it if it hadn’t triggered alarm bells in my head.
Serena.
I’m not sure what happens, but I’m coming up behind him one second, and the next, he’s on the ground at my feet.
Serena squeaks in surprise and takes a step back as I move to stand above Nero so that he has no choice but to look up at me. I take a moment to admire my handy work. His cheek is already swelling, and if I had to guess, I’d say he will be sporting a black eye. At least for a few minutes, until his shifter healing kicks in. The line of blood that drips from his lip pleases me more than it probably should, but honestly, he should be happy that’s all he’s getting, at least this time.
“We’ll call this a warning,” I tell him, ignoring the daggers he shoots at me and the weight of the eyes around me as others watch us. “The next time you talk to her like that, I won’t be so nice. From now on,” I pause to look around, ensuring I have everyone’s full attention, and I’m pleasantly surprised to find that I do. “You will treat Serena with the respect she deserves. No more of this skirting around her, acting as if she isn’t there, or blatant disrespect.” I make sure to speak loud and clear so that everyone can hear. Nobody can say I didn’t warn them.
Turning back to Nero, I meet his glare with one of my own. “Next time, I’ll kill you. I don’t give a fuck what your rank is or who you are.”
I don’t give him a chance to respond, not that I think he has anything important to say. Based on the way he’s huffing and puffing and the bright shade of red his face has turned, I’m not even sure he’s breathing. I turn to Serena, who stands watching just a few feet away. Her gaze rests on Nero, where he still lies on the ground. Her eyes are still glassy from his words, but I see the spark in them, the one that tells me she won’t let him get away with talking to her like that again.
Good. We’ve spent too long helping her find her confidence and see her worth for her to let some asshole king’s guard make her question herself because he’s afraid she’s more powerful than him. Especially not when she will one day be the queen.
As much as her being mated to Garrett makes me want to rip my hair out, it doesn’t make it less true. One day, she will be the queen, and she’ll be a great one at that. We all know it, and I’ll be damned if anyone questions it and doesn’t answer for it.
“Come on, Serena,” I tell her, nodding toward Garrett where I’d been heading before this. Her head snaps up at the sound of her name, and when our eyes meet, a small smile turns up her lips.
She’s stunning—she always has been—but that smile makes her radiant, and knowing it’s just for me makes my heart race.
I school my features, keeping my emotions in check as we walk over to stand with Garrett and the guard he was talking to. The guard nods to both of us in greeting, and I’m not sure if he was already unbiased or just pulled the stick from his ass at my display, but Serena’s smile doubles in size at the simple acknowledgment. Garrett looks pissed, and I can’t say I blame him. These are his guards, and this is his home. If someone in my command treated Serena that way, I would be mad, too. His eyes trace over Serena as if checking to see how she is, something I find we all do whenever she’s been away for more than a few minutes. He seems satisfied after a moment and turns to me, nodding his appreciation.
It takes more control than it should for me to bite back my need to tell him I didn’t do it for him or one of the many insults that lie on the tip of my tongue about how his guards and other staff have been treating her. Instead, I simply return the gesture. I might not like him, but he seems to make Serena happy, not to mention he’s her mate, which means I won’t be able to get rid of him, no matter how much I might want to.
Serena goes to see Storm not long after everything with Nero, and I take the time to tell Garrett about her training and how I didn’t think it was a great idea yet. To my shock, he agreed. It probably wasn’t something that should have shocked me, seeing as I know he cares about her, but usually we can’t agree on shit. I half expected him to side with her just because it would piss me off.
Ultimately, Garrett found a way to have her sit out without involving his mother. With Nero pissing him off, he dismissed him for the day, which meant he would instead be the one in charge of the training. The idea of training from the prince instead of a guard was almost laughable to me, but if it kept Serena from running herself even further into the ground, I could keep my mouth shut.
