Page 1 of Microburst

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Sagan

I tried not to gag when the Alpha of Emberward tried to force me to eat with him after the meetings ended, saying we should get to know each other. I kept professional but made it clear I was annoyed that he had the audacity to say that publicly, so I added a comment that he was blowing the situation way out of proportion.

And shouldn’t again.

Fine, Iris liked his son Berlinger’s dragon. That was it.

So?

Seriously… So?

Our meal had been painfully awkward and it was clear neither of us wanted to be there. Glancing around, I saw Berlinger wasn’t at the dinnernow. He wasn’t there a lot or came right away to most meals and left.

I excused myself so the Alphas who hung around for dinner could enjoy themselves without the boss there. But I didn’t want to be around people either, so I went to fix myself some food from the family dining room and told people I was taking it in my room.

“I’m fine,” I promised everyone when they shot me worried looks. “Just wiped. I just want to hear myself think a bit.” I focused on my friend and aide, Myriam. “I can tonight.”

Because there wasn’t a Friday night fight. There had been more drama with the clubs and the “owners” trying to grab me and more.

“Yeah, get some rest. I’m digging into the numbers with Darren’s accountant guy. He’s good—really good,” she told me. “He knows Thovudin’s banking everything in a way I didn’t and is teaching me. People were messing with us and holding things up. He’s bulldozing that now. Like by Tuesday, I should have real numbers of what’s in the accounts and done.”

Awesome. That washugeand I couldn’t hide my relief which I should have better.

I went over to her and kissed her hair, chuckling when she smacked me away. I shrugged when Aunt Maple and Uncle Fraser exchanged worried looks. “The longer people don’t pay us back or fines aren’t paid—you know they brush it off easier then and I will look petty for asking.”

“We have other siblings that can get involved and throw their weight around if you need it, Myriam,” Maple offered, obviously understanding it was worse than they realized.

“We might need it,” she sighed. “One of the banks is siding with the elders and keeps basically acting like the court documents are faked and not verified.” She nodded when people froze. “The president of the bank basically tried to blame my being a foreigner and said I would steal it all for Protesia as the reason. Not even my family ties. Idiot.”

He was, because the fact she was a mob boss’s daughter was a viable argument or reason to hold things up. And he was so uneducated that he chose the bullshit one that she was a tiger?

But even stupid people were problems and got in the way.

Often.

As I was leaving, I glanced at the empty chair my uncle Darren normally sat. We didn’t have assigned places, butfamilies and even friends fell into routines and their normal seats.

And it was kind of weird not having him there after dealing with the Alphas. It made me think again that I wanted to look into Mother’s history with her family.

Also, any information I could get on the drama with the Mohans—Berlinger’s mother specifically. There had to be a reason she was such a bitch to my mother. She took a risk alienating the queen.

I swallowed a snort. Or apparently not, because my mother never did anything to stand up for herself or had a backbone. I loved how often it was pointed out that she was a perfect,docilewoman.

Chicken. She waschicken, and it was now making my life infinitely more difficult, so I didn’t think I was being harsh when I said that.

I took my tray up to my parents’ suite, nodding to the guard who was stationed there. It was only one guard now and I even agreed to give them a chair. It was sort of the “break” for the guards we trusted most that weren’t on my detail.

The private security now worked the easier job of watching all the cameras, and the Queen’s Guards were always on high alert walking the castle or stationed at the entrances. They deserved an hour here and there just sitting and guarding certain places.

My parents’ suite.

The ballroom where tons of the elders’ belongings had been brought from their residences in the capital. More would start coming again. Raquel was less than thrilled about all the temporary garage-type shelves all over the fancy ballroom to hold it all, but it was honestly the best way to display it all for the appraisers.

Raquel was in charge of all of the castle staff and Keeper of Keys, an actual title bestowed on her by my parents… And she never let anyone forget it.

Honestly, I wanted her gone, and not only because she’d always favored Elira, the snake who had made my life more difficult for almost two decades. The ward of the royal family who had done her best to take my place and tried to force herself into the royal family.