Annoying the Alpha King

♛ Chapter 18

♛ "Your Highness, you know I won't reveal that." The King's response was to strum his fingers on his desk in agitation. The King stared at Aislin's secretary steadily for a few seconds, then tried again- this time with more force in his voice.

"Mrs. Perreault, I need to check on the welfare of the Queen and I order you to tell me what she's not revealing to me."

Mrs. Perreault kept her rigid posture and continued to look passively at the King. "And once again, Your Majesty, my Queen gave me a direct order to never reveal her secrets to you or anyone else. Sir, she knew you would be questioning me, and the relationship between the Queen and myself must have an absolute foundation of trust or it is worthless."

Mrs. Perreault waited for the normal reply, this same interview had been going on for weekly for a month now.

But the King replied differently this time. "I need to keep her safe, I can't lose her." He clamped his jaw muscles in irritation, then continued. "I only ask you that if her emotional welfare is ever in jeopardy you notify me immediately, no matter the time of day or night or where I am." Picking up a pen on his desk he started to twirl it in his fingers. "She sometimes forgets to take care of herself, to realize her limits. I can't lose her again Mrs. Perreault." The King then looked at me and stood up.

Mrs. Perreault remained seated for a moment then told the King, "Sir, she might need a small vacation, perhaps once a month. Nothing that requires much planning, just simply leaving the Palace for recreation over a long weekend. But I assure you our Queen is very healthy, and very much in love with you."

Smiling at his mate's closest friend and confidant, the King nodded. "Thank you Mrs. Perreault."

She stood and bowed to the King and left the room quietly, then walked out of the Palace to the car that was waiting for her. The Queen had insisted that if her secretary wasn't going to live in the Palace then she needed a private car and driver. And due to the intermittent long hours the tired secretary had readily agreed.

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A few days after Lyda began working for me, Harding Spense scheduled a duel between them, with her picking her weapon against him- the epee. It seemed that she would be at a disadvantage since she was smaller, but I knew my secretary could hold her own in a duel.

The morning of the duel a small crowd of off-duty Palace Guards gathered in the arena to watch. The betting was fierce, but Kendrew was forbidding me from betting, and I just huffed at him. And he also asked me again about my secret stash of cash, and I just smiled and kissed him. I get to have a few private things for pete sake, and it wasn't even very much.

"Aislin, you have financial accounts with millions in them. You don't need to keep any secret accounts from me," he told me one morning as he was tying his tie. I just smiled. And kissed him.

We walked together to the arena, I was looking forward to it. I had earlier met Lyda's husband, he was a gym teacher at a local school of mostly werewolves. Seeing them in the arena, he had his arm wrapped around his mate's shoulders and was whispering instructions to her.

"Now remember to leave the man his dignity," he was telling her reasonably. She snorted and looked at him before giving him a quick kiss. Seeing me she pulled away slightly and pulled her husband over to us.

"Your Highness," she said formally while bowing her head in respect. Turning to Kendrew she said after bowing her head to him, "My King, this is my mate Daniel Perreault." Daniel bowed his head and said "Your Highness," before they shook hands.