The Alpha King's Wrath

45 Little Things...

"You're no threat!" She scoffs, bruising my ego.

"Gee thanks," I grumble, rolling my eyes.

"You know what I mean, you never wanted this. Hell, Kane... Good God, that's the last thing he'd want!" she blurts out, her face twisted in disbelief.

"See?" I tease Barron with a triumphant smirk. "Even Jess knows he doesn't want the crown."

"Then why name him regent? Pick anyone else," Barron groans, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Because there's no one I trust more and the last thing he wants is to be king so he will do everything in his power to avoid it," I say with a laugh.

"And what deems us dangerous?" Jess growls, not giving up. "Where's Dimitri's file? He should be at the top of the pile!"

"It's over there, in the box because it no longer exists," Barron says, nodding to the side table. His voice gets quiet as he adds the afterthought, "It's yellow..."

Jess' temper flares and she slowly turns to face him glaring daggers at the man. "Are. You. Kidding. Me?!"

"Our intel... Threats are measured... There's a lot that comes into consideration when determining..." Barron flounders, trying to come up with a good way to justify their system. I can't hold back my smirk watching my mate's temper unleashed on someone else.

"Your system needs an overhaul." Her matter-of-fact tone leaves him without a retort and frozen in place. "Fucking kidding me when we're considered a bigger threat than that psychopath!"

I chuckle at the wrong moment, catching her attention and her skeptical glare.

"You're okay with this?!" She gasps.

"Threat management is a necessary evil," I say, scratching the back of my neck. "Knowing as much as you can about possible opponents before a conflict can mean life or death."

The truth is that back at Still Waters I had similar files on the surrounding packs. Allies and neutral alike, we kept tabs to know what we'd be up against.

Jess lets out an audible sigh but doesn't push it further. She's still learning how our world works but she's smart with flawless logic. She no doubt understands the advantage behind it.

"In Crescent Falls and Still Waters cases, their sheer sizes were what made them threats," Barron adds. "Kane and Chris have far surpassed their fathers, both have made notable strides in their time as Alpha, setting off warning bells."

Cyrus puffs up in the back of my mind proud of his pack. That someone as powerful as the royal pack views us as a threat is the highest of compliments.

"Still," she grumbles. "Desire should factor in and neither pack craves power."

"Noted, I will see to the adjustments," Barron replies. There is no hubris in his tone, only sincerity.

'Clearly, we've been handling this the wrong way... Should have sicked Jess on him from the beginning,' Cyrus snickers.

"There's still time to consider-"

"No!" I growl slamming my fist on the table. "Kane will be my regent and that is final!"

"As you command, Sire," Barron replies with a curt nod. "They should be here later today."

"They?" Jess asks, turning her attention back to me.

'So much for the surprise,' Cyrus sighs.

"Kane and Willow will be here early-"

Jess squeals and wraps both arms around my neck and buries her face in my chest. When she pulls back, the excitement swirling in her eyes is contagious.