Chapter 10
Sagan
I was going to apologize, but then Kole went to stand and luckily his father caught him in time to keep him seated. He was pissed and that made me… Petty.
There was honestly no other word for it besides petty.
I met the Alpha’s gaze and let him see the truth in my next words. “There’s no front-runner. Honestly, I was thinking Alpha Vex should send another candidate so he’s not handicapped and I’m fair.”
“What are you talking about, Sagan?” Kole demanded.
“What did you do now?” the man on the other side of Alpha Vex snarled. He looked vaguely familiar, clearly a family member, but I couldn’t tell much past the full beard and mountain man look.
“Nothing! She’s just grieving and—” Kole defended.
“Nothing?” I chuckled darkly, meeting Kole’s eyes. “Actually, that’s pretty accurate. You’ve done nothing. I lose my parents and you don’t even fly here until the night before the funeral.”
“What?” Alpha Vex and that man chuffed, Kole’s father continuing. “You told us you were here and—”
“Oh, that’s interesting because I was told you needed him and it was business,” I purred. “Now add lying to your list of sins.”
“What sins?” he seethed, pissed I was calling him out like this.
It just made me pettier even if I hated to air all of this. I started ticking off my fingers. “Throwing a fit when you arrived that I wasn’t waiting around to greet you like you were coming home to take over the monarchy.”
The man on the other side of Alpha Vex reached around the Alpha and cracked Kole upside the head so fast that I was shocked.
“You might want to wait, there’s more,” I whispered, blinking at him.
“I would prefer the list in private, Your Highness,” Alpha Vex said, clearing his throat.
I gave him a sad look. “No, I’m sorry. I respect you and normally would keep it quiet, but there’s a mess and I won’t be blamed for it.”
“It also protects her so the next fool doesn’t act like a fool,” Maple added, her voice tight. “We’re always blamed as being too sensitive or spoiled princesses. We’re not. We’re just pressured to accept unacceptable behavior as women.”
I gave a slight nod. “He threw a fit about his accommodations. He’s tried to involve himself in the castle’s security and wants to be looped in like Benson.
He laid into Raquel.” I met Kole’s pissed gaze.
“And my favorite is hearing from the castle staff that you had a woman in your room instead of being at my parents’ funeral feast with me. ”
There was a good thirty seconds where no one seemed to know what to say or do before both that man and Alpha Vex went for Kole.
“Wait your turn, Onyx,” the Alpha snapped. “He’s my kid.”
Onyx? This was Kole’s uncle? He wasn’t very involved with the family and—I was pretty shocked to see him attend something like this.
“Hold on, I can explain!” Kole roared when he finally got free and darted around some tables. He used the back of his arm to wipe blood off his face as he looked at me. “It was your damn sister, Sagan. Chill out.”
That wasn’t the right way to handle this and his father lunged for him again. Two other Alphas finally stepped in and restrained Vex, others doing the same for Onyx.
“Enough!” I shouted when everyone was talking at once. I pointed to their table and made it clear the three men had better sit their asses down and behave.
Treena snorted when they did, all seething mad, but they did it.
Yeah, well, I was going to be queen for a reason. Plus, they were my allies.
Awesome allies right then though, right?
“I am an only child,” I said firmly as I glanced around the room.
“This insanity of elevating—enough. Enough is enough.” I met Kole’s upset gaze and let him see how furious I was.
“She’s not my sister. I’m done with this, and the next person to speak such nonsense, I will challenge for the honor of the family. And you will not walk away from it.”
Mouths were hanging open as I glanced around.
“She’s a ward of the royal family. One of hundreds.” I gestured behind me. “I have family. She is not family.” I stared down the elders and others. “If my parents wanted her adopted, they would have done so. She calls herself that and it’s ridiculous that people are following suit. Ridiculous.”
“She grew up in this castle unlike you and—” an elder snapped and guards moved towards him.
“So?” I threw right back, people going still.
I shrugged. “So what? She grew up in the castle. Bully for her.” I did a mocking clap.
“So have hundreds of others. Raquel’s whole bloodline grew up at the castle.
No one’s ever suggested she was an adopted daughter.
” I gestured to Benson. “He grew up here. He was born in my mother’s room.
“Our mothers were best friends. And if anyone would have been considered to be adopted, it would have been him, not one ward. His father gave his life to save a member of the royal family.” I flinched when Maple sniffled, hating to bring that up when it still upset her that someone so trusted and loved by Father died to save her.
“He was a great man,” she rasped. “I’m sorry, Benson.”
Benson didn’t say anything at first. “He did his duty and did it willingly, Princess. He would want you to stop feeling guilt over that. Please, it’s been so long. Don’t—let him rest with the gods knowing you lived and appreciated it, not pained with it always.”
I glanced over to see Maple wiping her eyes. “I will try my best, but there is no switch to change how we feel.”
Fair enough.
I glanced back around and then to that elder. “She’s one ward. I’m not downplaying how my parents valued her. She stayed and—I would even say Mother took Elira under her wing. They had…”
“It was a bit like a mentor and protégée relationship,” Darren agreed. “She had some reservations about Elira and her maturity, but she thought she had potential.”
I swallowed down my reaction that he was busting Elira in that way.
I glanced around. “She’s not my adopted sister, and no one should ever just get to throw being a member of the royal family around so easily.
It’s disgusting. Absolutely vile. I’ve said no.
Stop making decisions for me or you will not like the outcome. ”
“So this will actually be a real chance to court you and mate into the royal family,” that Alpha said awkwardly as if he was trying to get the meeting back on track.
I met his gaze head on. “Yes. I know my duty and I will take it seriously. However, we have bigger priorities and people need to seriously check themselves. I will be queen ruler. I will not put up with any—agree or—I’m done with this nonsense.”
Clearly, people understood that because every Alpha jumped to sign the agreement Darren had prepared. They gave us both their blood oaths.
Fools. Absolute fools.
They were still so greedy and “Alpha” fighting for what they saw as top spot that they didn’t realize what they’d all just agreed to.
Namely, giving me carte blanche to investigate them all. Financials… Everything. Darren had outlined everything his family had been through so my mother could mate into the royal family.
And I now had permission to do the same to the seventeen Alpha families.
Fools.
“How—what are the logistics of this, Your Highness?” The Alpha of Selka hedged.
I gave him a fairly hostile smile. “I’m not sure, Alpha. I haven’t exactly had time to work the logistics out of something as insane as seventeen suitors while burying my parents and taking over as leader of our nation.”
One of the guards had a hard time trying to cover his reaction to that. Even a look from Benson couldn’t shut the guy up and he hurried to excuse himself.
“I’d put that one on your detail,” Treena muttered. “At least you know he’s on your side.”
Good point.
“Plans will have to be ironed out now that you all agreed to some sanity and honor in all of this,” Aunt Maple interjected.
I didn’t take back over because something in her tone made me want to hear her out.
“And since it will be such extended stays, normal guest rooms won’t be what we would want to offer your family members. ”
I swallowed my amusement, seeing where she was going with this.
She was taking the final shot on the elders being fat cats.
“The suites we would want to use for something so important are currently in use,” she continued. “They will need to be cleaned out and probably some renovations completed, but once that’s done, we can start having prospective mating candidates move in.”
Meaning the elders or their family.
And the Alphas would abso-fucking-lutely choose their family.
“Also, this isn’t a contest to find out who could be the most spoiled of princes. We all train in the royal family.”
Darren snorted. “Amelia went through hell to be considered suitable to be queen. She was thrilled to give so much of herself to serve the nation, but it was rigorous. You all need to understand there will be nothing less for your sons. Unless they can’t keep up with what my baby sister did when we weren’t even an Alpha family? ”
And with that mic drop moment, the meeting was pretty much over.
We did need an actual plan and timeline since it was going to mess with people’s lives and for years, but… Everything took time.
Most hung around to talk about everything between each other and probably get some more of the castle’s fabulous food before they all started flying out. I needed air, so I slipped out almost immediately, having to swallow a yelp as my arm was grabbed and I was dragged down a hallway.
Without thinking, I twisted my arm and slammed my other hand into the chest of the person.
“Fuck, Sagan,” Kole chuffed after he crashed into the wall.
“Don’t grab me like that,” I muttered but held my hands up and backed away.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “I just pulled you off to—”
“Don’t gaslight me,” I snapped. “You put your hands on me and I should always be on guard. Use your fucking words, Kole.”