Chapter Seven

Randall’s POV

“What just happened, Randall? How could you take the side of the enemy instead of punishing her for laying a hand on me?” Susan ranted, going on and on about how she felt betrayed, humiliated and whatever else her mind could come up with. 

“I didn't.”

“What?”

“I didn't take her side, Susan,” I repeated, trying hard to stay calm despite the madness around me. 

“I just have more important things to do than wasting my time with that girl.” I paused briefly and faced her before pointing a finger at the door of the throne room. “Can we get in now?”

“You have more important things to do,” she muttered almost to herself, her voice nearly inaudible. 

“You mean like sleeping with her?” She finally blurted out, rolling her eyes, folding her arms over her chest. 

With narrowed eyes, I glared at her sharply and she fell silent, her gaze dropping slightly to the ground. 

“I mean, like, heading over there for the meeting we need to have,” I said, pointing to the door. 

When we got inside, a group of men were already seated, awaiting my arrival. There were five men. Three to the sofa on the left and two on the right. One of them had a star-shaped scar on his left arm and judging by how the others shifted around him, I guessed he was their leader. 

“Greetings, Alpha,” they all said, bowing their heads in unison except for that man. 

He had to be their Alpha. 

“What brings you here?” I asked after taking my seat.

“We're from the Darkhold pack,” the man began. “And we have come to strike a deal with you to secure the protection of our pack.”

He paused a little and then continued as I placed my palm under my jaw. 

“We've been facing a series of attacks from rogues for the past few months. So far, we've managed to defeat them all but we don't know how long we can hold them off. Their numbers rise with each passing day but we hope that with your protection, we can crush them once and for all.”

“We…”

Everything else he said flew past my ears into thin air as my mind drifted to something else. No— someone else. 

I recalled my encounter with Lyra and a small smile crept up on my face. They must have felt I was weird for smiling at their predicament but I wasn't. I didn't care anyway.

I'd been with a few ladies after my father died. After Susan came into my life as my advisor, we shared the bed more than a few times, too, but none of those could compare to how good Lyra made me feel, even when I didn't want it. 

A subtle tap on the arm from Susan brought me out of my reverie and I sat back up and faced the man who had stopped speaking and was now listening to Susan. 

“And why do you think we should help you with your problems?” She asked, but the men wouldn't respond. Instead, they all scrunched their faces and turned to me awaiting a response from me. 

“You should be speaking to us and not her,” their supposed Alpha finally said, a deep frown on his face. “We would only answer you and not her “

Susan arched her brows and leaned on her chair, clearly displeased but the men weren't wrong. I was the Alpha, and she was not my Luna, so they had no business speaking to her, even if she was my advisor.  And the man, being an Alpha, felt she was beneath him. 

She was. 

“Perhaps, you may come back later for my answer,” I said flatly. 

They nodded but before they could stand, I added, “But I'm going to need something that I can think about. What do my Pack and I stand to gain by helping you?”

“Oh. I was hoping you'd ask that,” the Alpha said with a smile. 

“Word has been flying around lately, Alpha Randall. Let's just say that I'm aware of your search for Alpha Max of the White Moon Pack.”

He turned to the door for a few seconds as if someone was listening. When he didn't hear a sound, he returned his gaze to me, his voice now lower than it was earlier. 

“Perhaps, we could give you all the information you need to get him,” he proposed. “There's a reason we're famed for getting information. Perhaps, you might want to experience it first-hand.”

After they left, Susan rose from her chair and stood before me, brimming with anger. “What was that? What were you thinking about?” She asked, but I remained silent, unwilling to entertain any drama.

She sighed, drawing closer to me. Then she leaned in and kissed my forehead, gently brushing the spot with her thumb. 

“You look… stressed,” she said, letting her eyes linger on my lips instead of my eyes. “I know exactly what to do to make you feel better,” she added, winking at me, but I remained unmoved. 

“Perhaps, I could just do this…” 

She leaned in for a kiss but I moved my head to the side, much to her surprise. 

“What? Why?” She asked, looking puzzled. “You always love it when I kiss you.”

“Not now,” I said coldly, leaning back on my chair. “Perhaps, some other time. I'm not in the mood right now.”

She let out a frustrated chuckle, shaking her head with her hands on her waist. 

“You don't mean that, do you?” 

I rose from my throne and tried to leave but she blocked me off, closing the distance between us, her eyes firmly fixed on mine.

“It's her, right?” Her breathing got faster, her chest heaving with fury as she balled up her hands by her sides. 

Slowly, she loosened her fingers only to dig the nails on her right hand into her skin, biting down on her lower lip, her eyes now reddened. 

“It's true. I– I thought they were all rumours but they're not, are they?”

I shrugged my shoulders. I had no clue what she was talking about.

“You did make your bed with the enemy, didn't you?” She laughed bitterly. “Was that why you failed to punish her after what she did to me?”

I tried to say something, to defend myself, to tell her that I'd never do such a thing but I couldn't because I did and I enjoyed every bit of it, despite knowing how wrong it was. 

“You know what they say, Randall… As you make your bed, so shall you lie on it,” she muttered. “It's fine. You've made your choice. I'll leave you to live with it.”

She turned to leave but I held her back. Despite her attempts to break free, I held onto her even more strongly, forcing her to face me. 

“Tell me. What would you have me do to her?”

That question brought a smile to her face, one that reached her eyes. 

“I'm not asking for too much, Randall. I just want you to humiliate that woman for daring to challenge me,” she requested. “I want you to make her the lowest-tier maid in this pack, lower than even the omegas. That way, I'm sure she'll learn a thing or two about respect.”