OBJECTION YOUR HIGHNESS

Home Sweet Home

Alexis paused at the door to her office.
Something was wrong.
The air on this floor was never still—there were always footsteps, distant voices, the hum of life threading through the building. But now…
Silence.
Not the absence of sound.
The presence of something else.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the handle as a faint whisper brushed the edge of her awareness.
Then another.
Then many.
Waiting.
Alexis exhaled slowly and pushed the door open.
“And here I thought you’d come back boring.”
Alonso lounged in her chair like he owned the place, long legs stretched out, one arm slung lazily over the backrest. Mrs. Petalgate stood beside the desk, laughing softly at something he’d just said.
Just like that, the tension fractured.
“Hey, guys. I’m back,” Alexis said, stepping inside, her smile easy—practiced.
The whispers didn’t leave.
“Welcome back, darling,” Mrs. Petalgate beamed, moving toward her. “You look so much better after your vacation. You’re practically glowing.”
“Thanks, Emily.” Alexis hugged her warmly, grounding herself in something solid, something alive.
“You do look different,” Alonso said.
He was already on his feet.
His gaze swept over her, slower than necessary, more perceptive than casual. Then he pulled her into a tight embrace.
“Nice to see you too, bestie,” she said lightly, hugging him back.
“Did you have fun?” he asked, his voice lower now.
She exhaled against him, letting herself relax for a second.
“I missed you.”
A quiet chuckle rumbled in his chest. “I missed you too.”
When he finally let her go, his eyes lingered—searching.
“I got you something,” he said, reaching behind him and picking up a small box from her desk.
“What is it?” she asked, setting her bag down.
“Open it.”
Alexis lifted the lid.
The world narrowed.
A photograph.
Old. Slightly worn at the edges. Framed in gold.
Her grandfather.
Captured mid-laughter—rare, unguarded—chasing a much smaller Alexis across a sunlit courtyard while she clutched his glass eye in both hands, shrieking with delighted terror.
Her breath caught.
For a moment, the whispers faded.
“Where did you get this?” she asked quietly.
Alonso shrugged, like it was nothing. “Consider it compensation. Your grandmother tried to poison me for two weeks.”
A small laugh escaped her despite the tightness in her chest. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. You should see what happened to her cat.”
Alexis shot him a look.
He grinned. “Let’s just say the poor thing has developed a very… punctual relationship with its litter box.”
She shook her head, smiling despite herself, then looked back down at the photo.
“How is she?”
“She’s… steady,” Alonso said after a brief pause. “He’s still there. You know how she is—she won’t cross until she’s sure he’s waiting for her.”
Alexis nodded slowly.
“You think she’ll be alright?”
“Grandma?” Alonso scoffed lightly. “She’s survived worse than death itself. I’m not worried about her.”
His gaze sharpened.
“I’m worried about you.”
Alexis looked up. “Me? Why?”
“You know why.”
The warmth drained from the room.
She set the frame down carefully and moved to sit behind her desk.
“I haven’t used my powers in a long time,” she said. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
Alonso didn’t sit.
“That’s exactly the problem.”
His voice was quieter now. Controlled.
“I may not see them like you do,” he continued, “but I can feel them. And right now…”
He glanced toward the corners of the room.
“They’re everywhere, Alexis.”
The temperature seemed to dip.
“They’re drawn to you,” he said. “Like a beacon.”
A whisper curled past her ear.
Closer this time.
She ignored it.
“You’re overreacting,” she said lightly, giving him a mock salute. “Yes, sir.”
He didn’t laugh immediately.
Then, reluctantly, he did.
“Impossible woman.”
She leaned back in her chair. “So, how’s the club?”
That did it.
His expression shifted, pride breaking through the tension. “Better than we expected. After the vampire duke hosted his mistress’s birthday there—and his entourage gave us glowing reviews—it’s become the place for royals.”
“Of course it has,” she said, a small smile forming. “You always did have expensive taste.”
“We may need to open another branch.”
“You did it,” she said.
“No,” he corrected, dropping onto the couch. “We did it.”
His tone softened.
“We walked away from everything they planned for us. No coven control. No politics. Just us.”
Alexis glanced at the photograph on her desk.
“Do you think he’d be proud of us?”
Alonso followed her gaze.
“I know he is.”
A knock sounded, and Mrs. Petalgate returned carrying a tray.
“Coffee,” she announced, setting it down neatly. “And your messages.”
“Mrs. Petalgate,” Alonso groaned dramatically, throwing an arm over his face. “I’m wounded. You’ve completely forgotten me.”
She laughed. “Behave yourself.”
Alexis smirked. “You do realise she’s older than your mother?”
Alonso lowered his arm. “So?”
“She’s mated.”
“But not marked,” he countered smoothly. “Which, as you know, makes her fair game under elven law.”
Alexis shook her head, laughing. “You’re unbelievable.”
“And yet, deeply charming.”
Before she could respond, his expression shifted again—serious now.
“The equinox full moon is in four weeks,” he said, standing.
Alexis frowned. “And?”
“I’ll be picking you up. You’re staying at my place.”
Her irritation was immediate. “That’s not necessary.”
“It is.”
“As long as I stay inside, I’ll be fine. Lycans keep to their territories.”
“Not during an equinox.”
His voice cut clean through her argument.
“Their senses heighten. Control weakens. Especially for unmated males.”
His gaze locked onto hers.
“And single women become targets.”
The room felt colder.
“You’re not staying here alone,” he continued. “I’ll bring you to work and take you home myself. No arguments.”
Alexis opened her mouth—
Then stopped.
Something shifted.
A sharp, sudden ripple through the air.
The whispers surged.
The door burst open.
“Alexis!”
Violet rushed in, breathless, heading straight for the television mounted on the wall.
“Something’s happened.”
The screen flickered to life.
A lycan reporter stood behind a barricade, flashing lights painting the scene in harsh pulses of red and blue.
BREAKING NEWS: VAMPIRE DUKE FOUND DEAD IN HIGHRISE APARTMENT
The room fell silent.
“Authorities have yet to confirm the cause of death,” the reporter continued, “but sources say the duke was last seen in the company of the recently deposed Lycan Prince, Reginald Woodland—”
The name hit like a physical force.
The whispers screamed.
“—who is now missing.”
Alexis went very still.
Something cold slid down her spine.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Alonso’s phone rang.
Sharp. Jarring.
He answered immediately, his expression darkening as a rapid stream of Italian filled the room—angry, tense, escalating.
Then he switched to speaker.
“I am doing this to protect you and your mother,” an older man’s voice said firmly. “You may not like it, but you will obey the council.”
Alonso’s jaw tightened. “Father—”
“You are forbidden from offering sanctuary to anyone outside the elite magical circle. This situation could lead to war between vampires and lycans. We remain neutral.”
Silence.
Heavy. Final.
“Focus on your family,” the voice continued. “Especially your cousin.”
The line went dead.
No one spoke.
On the screen, the reporter kept talking.
But Alexis wasn’t listening anymore.
The whispers had changed.
They weren’t waiting now.
They were calling.
And for the first time since she’d returned—
she was afraid to answer.