Vivianna
“Dama, I never meant for you to do it all in one day,” Astrid said, pulling me out of the financial records of the pack.
I looked over the large wooden desk covered in the paper documents that had been delivered to my office. Glancing at the clock, I noticed that I had been holed up in here for several hours.
“Good thing I’m not trying to. There is just so much to learn. I feel so far behind,” I said, leaning back in my chair, rubbing my eyes with the heel of my hands.
“It is dinnertime. Leave the work be and come join me and your mates for a meal. The break will do you good,” Astrid said, waving me over to her.
I’m starving. It was rude of you to skip lunch. You’re not the only one living in this body, you know.
I rolled my eyes at her grumblings. I promise to make sure and eat whatever looks good to you, okay?
Dinner better be fucking amazing.
I smiled to myself as I followed Astrid through the halls of the castle.
Thankfully she had come to get me, because I’m not sure I would have been able to figure out where to go in this maze of twisting hallways and stairs leading to all the different levels.
It would take weeks, if not months, for me to feel confident moving around on my own.
I had assumed that she would take us back to my personal quarters, but then we entered a small dining room.
It was cozy and inviting, with warm wood tones and candlelight.
The guys were already there, along with Sarma and Juris.
“Look who decided to come out of her cave,” Koit teased, giving me a cocky smile.
Rik stood and pulled out the open seat for me. When I sat, he even pushed it in for me before he resumed his place to my left.
Can we hurry up and claim this guy? If anyone else sees how adorable he is, they might try and steal him from us.
My wolf had a point. I’d already decided that Rik was mine, I just needed to make it official.
The thing with Rik, though, is he was such a romantic that he would need it to be more planned out.
With the other two, it had been so spontaneous, I didn’t even have time to realize what I was doing before it was happening.
“I hope all the material I compiled has been helpful to you, Dama,” Sarma said once we were all settled.
There had been a lot of information on the tablet, but I found more in the paper files that the staff had retrieved for me. Knowing that Sarma had chosen what would be on the tablet made it so I didn’t quite trust what would be on it.
“Seeing as I have so much to cover, it’s easier to search for things in the files on the tablet,” I answered, needing to keep my distrust of her to myself until I had proof that I should be worried. Telling everyone that I just didn’t like her wasn’t a valid reason not to accept her help.
I turned to the guys, who were all seated at one end of the table. “What did you guys get up to today?”
“Rik and I went over our plan for the mate prospects that will be coming and where to house them in the castle. We want to keep an eye on them and make sure they don’t have access to you,” Tav shared.
“Do we have any idea how many are coming?” I asked.
“They haven’t disclosed that as of yet, but I assume when we have the video call with them tomorrow that will be discussed,” Astrid said, pouring herself a glass of wine.
“Since we decided on the video call, there hasn’t been much communication other than confirmation that it will happen and what time. They are holding their cards close.”
“I would too—you never know what could be used against you,” I said, taking the decanter of wine from Astrid.
The aroma of roasted meat filled the room, and my wolf growled in delight.
The platter was held next to me, allowing me to take a thick slice and set it on my plate.
Just as that dish left, another filled with seasoned vegetables was in its place.
My wolf was less than thrilled about those, but I still took some, knowing the value of a balanced diet.
Seriously. You’re a werewolf. Your body doesn’t need the same kind of food normal humans do. We burn more calories, so the higher the fat and protein, the better. Don’t waste your time on rabbit food.
What if I like the taste of rabbit food?
That’s it, I’m disowning you, missy. No werewolf worth her fur would say that.
How exactly would you know that? We don’t even know that many werewolves.
Um, it’s called instinct. Look it up sometime.
In the midst of this inner conversation, everyone else had been served, and I had a full plate of food.
I glanced over at Rik, and he just smiled at me, letting me know he’d been the one to add to my plate.
Grabbing his hand, I lifted it and kissed the back of it, watching the slight pink bloom on his cheeks.
You have been spending way too much time with Koit.
Speaking of…
“Koit, what did you find to entertain yourself with today? I don’t need to make any official apologies, do I?”
Koit scowled at me. “No, I decided to get a feel for the land and took a self-guided tour of the city. It’s lovely, by the way, but I’ll warn you that in a town this small, everyone knows who you are. Especially if you’re new.”
I grinned at that, picturing what it must have been like wandering and going into shops with everyone gawking at you.
“Are you trying to tell me it’s hard being famous?” I teased.
“Let’s just say it took some adjusting. I wasn’t even hit on once,” he said with an overdramatic pout.
Good thing, because I will cut a bitch if they make a move on my mate.
Calm down. He is just being Koit, trying to push your buttons.
I laughed, knowing he was the biggest flirt ever. “Poor baby, being mated to a queen is such hard work.”
My eyes finally landed on Darius, who was watching me with those icy-blue eyes as if he had been waiting for me to acknowledge him. Since he had given me his oath, there had been a change in him. Not the kind I hoped for, but it was progress. “Darius, you look like you have something to share.”
“I had a team working all day to increase security, even in your private quarters. I added video cameras to all public areas and in the rooms that we will be having the prospects staying in. That should help us get a feel for who they really are,” Darius said, a dangerous glint in his eyes.
“As for what I did in your rooms, I put in a fingerprint scanner to only let those with clearance in. Once on the second floor where our rooms are, there is another security checkpoint at the door leading up to your private suite.”
At this information, Sarma started choking on whatever she had been eating at the moment, drawing our attention.
“Goodness, you have outdone yourself, Darius. I, for one, will sleep better knowing the castle and our Dama are well guarded. Am I to assume you will be adding to the security team?” Astrid queried.
“Seeing that there are currently only five men total on the team, yes. I will be interviewing some men from the guard. I have to say, I’m shocked that the guard has so few people.
Fifty guards to police a whole island and protect the castle is extremely limited,” Darius said, lacing his fingers together and resting his elbows on the table.
“There was no need to have such added security of the castle. None of us lived here, and the only staff here were those needed to maintain the grounds,” Juris said, looking a little pale under Darius’s gaze.
Darius grunted at this and turned to Rik. “Can we see if there are any of your pack that would be interested in the job? It would be better to add some people from a loyal pack and get some diversification here on the island.”
Rik rubbed the scruff on his chin a moment before answering. “I think there are some who would be a good fit. I’ll reach out and see what response I get. What about from your own pack? You must have some men you think might want a change of scenery?”
“Wait a moment,” Sarma snapped. “There has been no discussion of combining packs together. Rikkart and Darius aren’t even full mates to the Dama.”
Fuck this bitch and the cow she rode in on.
I could feel my hackles rise at her words, and the low growl that fell from my lips was noticed by everyone at the table. Juris cowered in his seat, unable to look at me with my alpha essence filling the room. Sarma tried to hold her ground against me, but she wasn’t an alpha and never would be.
“I know I have a lot to learn, but the one thing I do know is that this is not a democracy. The Dama calls the shots, along with her mates. When one of them speaks, count it as if I were the one saying the words,” I commanded.
“Again, Dama, Rik and Darius are not your mates. They are just mate prospects, still awaiting your mark. They cannot make choices on your behalf,” Sarma bit out, trying to fight against my hold on her.
Slowly, I stood, using my full height to look down at her.
“Then hear this. As Dama, I grant Darius power to do with the security team as he sees fit by appointing him Head of Royal Security. He will consult with me—and me alone—on these matters, so there is no confusion on what he is allowed to do.”
Sarma glanced up at me, anger burning in her eyes before she nodded her head.
I released her, and she sank back against the chair, panting as I took my seat and began eating again.
The room was silent for a few moments before the guys started talking amongst themselves, breaking the tension.
Sarma didn’t last much longer before she asked to be excused for the evening.
Once she left, I could breathe easier. Something about her rubbed me the wrong way.
“Please forgive my mate. It has been so many years that the three of us have been in charge of all the decisions. This will take some adjustment for her, to be taking a back seat to things,” Juris pleaded.