I looked over at Kiara, who was wearing all white and looking fucking fine as she talked to Delsanra. She had a hand resting on her baby bump, a bump that had grown over the last few months. She was glowing; the light that she always seemed to hold showed on her face, and that small smile that I loved so fucking much played on her lips as she talked. Her sandy brown hair was coiled up into an elegant bun on top of her head.
Our pup… we had decided not to find out the gender this time, deciding to keep it a surprise. I knew this was going to be the last, so I made sure I spent as much fucking time by her side as possible, enjoying the fleeting moments and treating her like the fucking queen she was.
“It’s almost time, King Alejandro,” one of the men who had organised the event said as he bent down next to me.
I gave a curt nod before looking across at Rayhan. He was wearing a suit, his hair back in a bun, but, unlike me, he was at complete ease in this fucking environment, talking business, stocks and investments. How the fuck did Raf and Maria raise the perfect son who was so fucking good at all this shit as well? More so, how the fuck did he get time to do all this boring shit as well as run a pack?
I hated fucking meetings, I hated fucking ties, and I hated being fucking restricted to one damn seat for hours. Fucking businessmen.
It reminded me of school, and I hated school. Why the fuck did we go to school? I learned nothing.
The fucker Rayhan saw me watching and turned, raising one of his brows at me.
“Want to say something?” He asked.
“No,” I almost growled, making both Delsanra and Kiara glance at me.
Kiara placed her hand on my thigh, sending a wave of calmness through me, although I thought what would really calm me would be fucking her whilst I used this damn tie to tie her hands up instead.
Rayhan was currently the richest man in the room. It was obvious he held power in the business world, money that funded more than just his pack. The Rossi Empire was vast, and Rayhan held the most shares. The second most wealthy man here was Kenneth Arden… both men were to play an important part in today’s event…
I poured another glass of wine, downing it in one go as I frowned, remembering the meeting I’d had with Arden a few weeks ago…
“I’m not here for pleasantries. I’ll cut to the chase, Arden. I know what you did to Rafael back at training camp.” His face instantly fell as he sat on the leather sofa before he put that mask of indifference back on.
“I see… please understand. I was a teen with issues. What happened… was unforgivable, but let the past be in the past.”
“Yeah, but you were never fucking held accountable because the Ardens are one of the richest families in the country, right? Back then, Rafael didn’t have much.” He seemed to tense but clenched his jaw and nodded curtly.
“There are many accounts of what happened, but I assure you I meant no harm. What you may have heard was not the entire truth.” I knew he was probably fucking lying…. but the fact that Raf let it go meant I wasn’t here to stir up shit.
“Yeah, maybe fucking so. I have more than one fucking way to get the truth of what happened, to the extent that I can have us revisit that scene from the past, but I’m going to let it go.”
I watched him for a reaction, but he remained emotionless. It was obvious that the first comment had taken him off guard, but since then, he was in control. People like him, you needed to be fucking careful of.
“But I think it’s high time the Ardens put back into our community. You were fucking eager to create a relationship between us, but no, I’m not here to fucking offer you one of my pups. I’m here to put forward an offer. If you agree, we will be partners in a business venture that will benefit not only our kind but our entire country.”
“I’m listening.”
“Alejandro, you need to go,” Kiara whispered softly, leaning over. She placed a soft kiss on my lips, moving back before I could even deepen it.I’ll make up for that shit later…“Good luck,” she said softly, and I took herhand, kissing it gently.
“Right, let’s get this shit done.” I stood up. The talking died down as I made my way to the podium at the front, buttoning my suit jacket up.
There were a few guests from witch families and those who held businesses in the human world called from across the city for this meeting. I just needed as many people on board as I could get.
All eyes were on me, and even with my aura reined in, everyone knew who the ultimate alpha in the room was. I took my place, glancing down at the microphone before looking out at the crowd. Familiar faces, from family to alphas and betas from most packs in the country… those who weren’t here were getting this live-streamed. This was it, the time to do something as the King of Werewolves.
“Thank you for attending and for your patience. I won’t take too much of your time, but I request that before you start throwing questions, you hear me the fuck out before putting them forward.”
No swearing, remember?Kiara’s gentle voice came. Yeah, maybe I shouldn’t swear, but I didn’t even fucking realise I did it. I glanced over at her and gave her the tiniest of smirks.
“It’s been around two decades since I united the packs of the United Kingdom under me, two decades of many trials and many changes. There was a time when each pack held a handful of allies, and the hostility between us was always there. With time, the number of feral rogues has dwindled, the number of killings has lessened, and we are living a better life. However, there have been times that we have been faced with trials. A decade ago, there were monsters that were becoming a threat to our kind, a time that we fought against Endora and those who worked with her, a battle where we lost many; friends, mates, parents, children, and pack members.”
I paused for a moment, remembering how many we had lost back then. The hall was silent, the hundreds of people remembering that night. Even if they hadn’t been a part of it, or if they had been lucky enough not to lose someone, there was still someone or other they knew who had been affected by it.
“Back then, many of us united to fight that threat, but that time made the hatred towards witches rise, a race that we were fucking enemies with to start with. Yet, let’s not forget that my so-called mother was a witch, too. Her blood runs in my veins, no matter how much I fucking hate her. Witches… it was a witch who told us where Endora’s attack was to take place. It was only because of her help that we were prepared. A few years passed, and some witches went on to work undercover with the hunters to try to destroy us, however, it was also witches who stood by our side.”
I could see the frowns on many faces. The tension in the witch-kind was present as they listened to me. The men frowned deeply, and the women tensed. Some were on edge, as if they might need to use their abilities.
