Chris

I should have stayed in bed.

Waking up with Jess wrapped around me after having the best night's sleep in I don't know how long was the perfect start to the day.

I should have known it was the high point and things were going to go to shit afterwards

Listening to her retell her encounter with the shadowman and Selena and Luca leaves a knot in my stomach. Hearing Derek admit that they haven't been able to find a trace of him doesn't help settle my nerves.

Strangely Jess seems remarkably calm about the whole situation. Thankfully, overall she's back to normal, like yesterday's mob incident never happened.

Fortunately we are able to slip back into the palace after breakfast without drawing any attention. Jess did wonders to calm Cyrus down but that would have all gone out the window if anyone set him off.

"How is she?" Barron asks, pushing off of the wall he was leaning against. I sigh when seeing the man waiting for me after leaving Jess with Claire.

"She's good, just spending time with Claire," I say, heading down the hall towards his office. "Sorry about taking off yesterday-"

Barron raises a hand to cut me off. "No need. Your mate needed you. I'd have done the same thing, though you have better control than I do. I'd have ripped that mob to pieces," he growls.

His genuine concern and understanding catches me off guard. Barron and I have butted heads over nearly everything, so I fully expected this to be no different.

"If we came back last night, I would have been no different," I admit.

"They're waiting in the auditorium, but Percival is waiting in my office... I figured you'd want to deal with him first." Barron's consideration keeps catching me off guard.

He leads the way into his office, a spacious one with floor-to-ceiling bookcases on the rear wall and a large wooden desk prominently in the middle. Percival sits at the desk with his back to the door, his aged posture stone straight.

"Percival," Barron calls and the old man instantly stands. His grey eyes find mine and he sucks in a breath, lifting his chin and holding my gaze defiantly.

Before I can fully process what's going on, Cyrus surges to the forefront and casts me into the recess of my mind. His anger at the male for upsetting Jess is magnified tenfold when he sees him lacking an ounce of remorse.

"Smarten up," Cyrus growls, ticking his jaw.

Percival clenches his jaw and grits out, "She may be your mate but what she did is inexcusable-"

Wrong answer...

Cyrus has the old man by his throat and lifts him clear off the ground before slamming him against the wall with a warning snarl. "Choose your next words very carefully."

'This isn't what Jess wants,' I warn, fighting my own anger only magnified by his.

'You can't tell me you're okay with his disrespect!?' Cyrus sneers. 'Look at him, he doesn't regret it one bit, he'll do it again!'

'That's the part to focus on and fix,' I bite back.

Percival claws futilely at my arm as his face turns scarlet.

Just a little more pressure and his neck will break.

Jess...

The memory of her plea is enough to get through to Cyrus and he reluctantly loosens his grip before tossing the gasping and coughing male back into the seat.

"Stay." Cyrus' order drips with authority, dropping the man and keeping him seated.

Barron watches cautiously from just inside the doorway but wisely says nothing. He makes no moves at all, clearly not wanting to interfere.

I feel Cyrus release control back to me and stalk back into the back of my mind. "Barron," I grumble, motioning him over.

"Don't be stupid old man," Barron warns under his breath as he passes Percival and takes a seat behind the desk.

"Why?" I demand, trying to understand. Percival's very function here is protocol, laws... He is such a stickler for precedent that his blatant disregard for his queen doesn't make sense.

Jess was right...

"Why!?" I growl when he doesn't respond, letting my aura wash over him.

"She desecrated the Queen's greenhouse," he finally replies, unable to withstand my Alpha order. The man sits there, glowering at the floor like some petulant child...

This is the most emotion I've seen from the prim and proper advisor since I got here!

"Desecrated is a strong word," Barron chides, giving Percival a pointed look.

"She butchered it! The Queen poured her heart and soul into that oasis and this woman butchered it!" Percival is trembling in his seat, his face an interesting shade of red as he glares at Barron.

I pause for a moment, struggling with Cyrus to maintain control as the rabid beast throws all of his might at my restraint. Letting him take over will most likely end the man's life in an instant... the last thing I want to have to explain to Jess!

"The fuck is wrong with you old man?" Barron growls, slamming his fist on the desk. "That woman is the QUEEN! That greenhouse is HERS to do with as she pleases. She could pave it over and put a pool in its place if she so wished!"

Percival's eyes go impossibly wide and his jaw drops as Barron's words hit home. He just gapes at the old Beta then me before flapping his lips but not forming words. Clearly he's never considered the concept before.

"You should be thanking the Goddess that our new Queen shares the same love for plants as the last one or your precious greenhouse could be gone in an instant," Barron reiterates.

"B-but, she can't... the plants, they're priceless!" Percival stammers, losing all of his outrage and fire, his colour ghostly white and voice wavering.

"Only to someone who knows what they are," he replies with a shrug.

"Already we've lost plants that were irreplaceable! Decades, no centuries worth of care and dedication... too many are hanging on by a thread," Percival interjects, ringing his hands like he's talking about a matter of life and death.

"If there's anyone that can save them, it's Jess," I grumble. As much as I hate to admit the truth, I see the strange level of emotional dependence Jess spoke of. It makes no sense but it's clear as day.

Percival shakes his head, gaze locked on the desk. "No, it's too important, I can't allow-"

"Allow?" Barron parrots back, cutting the aged advisor off. "Since when are you King?"

"Sir! I would never presume," Percival quickly back peddles, slowly recovering himself.

"The matter is simple," I cut in, still thrown off by Barron's unwavering support. "You disrespected YOUR QUEEN and your actions put her in direct danger!"

If Percival was pale to begin with, his skin has now taken on a sickly grey cast and he looks like he may pass out under the gravity of the situation. His reaction alone tells me he wasn't competent of the ramifications.

"I-I... I'll have my resignation on your desk within the hour," he blurts out, slumping his shoulders.

"A resignation hardly seems sufficient for the severity of the offense..." Barron muses, turning his attention to me.

"Agreed," I grumble and the old man begins to tremble. "Jess however sees something in you..."

"The queen?" Percival clarifies, locking his gaze on mine, so I simply nod. "She has petitioned for leniency for me? But why?" His brows furrow deeply as he struggles to make sense of it.

"Why indeed?" Barron agrees, arching a brow at me.

"Her heart is considerably bigger than mine," I grumble, pursing my lips. "You are by no means off the hook, and if you ever disrespect her, even hint at it, you'll pray I don't find you."

"Of course Sire!" Percival blubbers, jumping up from his seat and backing towards the door.

"I'm not done yet," I growl, freezing him in place. "You will not bother her for anything. If she comes to you for something I expect swift service with no complaint."

"Understood," he stiffly replies, once again inching towards the door.

"Barron will have your added duties for you," I add, watching his shoulders slump. "They are to be completed after your work with Ethan and you'll be getting a few new pupils."

"Of course Sire," Percival says with a bow before slipping away.

"Tedious or manual labour?" Barron asks as he reaches for a stack of papers.

"Tedious and lowly," I sigh. The man is too old to be doing back-breaking work and yet I don't want him to forget this lesson. "And a lot of it."

"Understood, I took the liberty to draft up these," Barron leads as he slides a paper over.

The list consists of duty schedules with a range of Omega tasks to added warrior shifts. It's the type of punishment to keep them busy, bruise their pride, and strongly dissuade any recurrences.

"Perfect," I say with a nod, handing it back to him. "How many others are there?"

"Footage shows six who said or did something. The rest were bystanders that didn't aid the Queen. Hopefully this will be a lesson and an example for the rest." Barron's grave tone gives me pause once more, leaving me more unsure of his intentions than before.

I lean back in my chair, absentmindedly rubbing my beard as I try to make sense of it all. Wolves are proud structured animals. I've had zero challenges since I got here, not even Barron has tried for as much as we butt heads. Jess hasn't had any challenges, not that I'd let that happen but it's not unheard of.

It makes no sense that the people would turn on her like that.

'Derek?' I link.

'Brother,' he replies, waiting for more.

'Jess was right, something feels off. Keep Mack or someone on her at all times,' I mumble.

'Already done,' he cheekily replies.

'Mira too. Barron warned me that the pack is uncomfortable with her here... If they're willing to go after their Queen, I don't doubt they'll try her too.'

'That will be their mistake when she lights them up,' he chuckles.

'And proves their point about her being dangerous?' I counter, earning a pause.

'I'll assign her a detail, the morons here don't see what an asset she is, but the Guardians are well aware... There will be no problem finding volunteers I'm sure,' he assures me.

'Thanks.'

'Anytime, Your Highness,' he teases before closing the link.

"What's going on there?" Barron asks, having noticed me linking.

"Just talking to my brother, keeping him in the loop," I dismiss. He nods and turns his attention back to the files in front of us. Finances, security reports, and every other little thing from the palace operation sit, awaiting our attention.

"We could have used Xavier," he mumbles, motioning to the financial report. Although he has been spending most of his time tending to Claire, Xavier has also been combing through the palace finances. The investments are a nightmare, old defunct stocks, a few funds that actually carry the place but over all, underperforming portfolios. Land holdings, business investments and partnerships, everything that has been left in the lurch for a decade.

Back at Still Waters, I may have overseen the finances and made the final calls, but Xavier took care of the majority of investments and Jace even dabbled some. I mostly took care of helping to back our pack members in their business endeavors, helping them grow, which in turn helped the pack prosper.

Looking over the report, Xavier has gutted what was in place, restructuring the investments completely and prioritized lists of properties and businesses for final consideration to cut and acquisitions and expansions. The end result halts the palace's hemorrhaging funds and he's actually managed to make enough improvements that they are actually gaining a bit.

'You never fail to impress me man,' I link in awe going over the lists.

'A bit more time and we'll have it growing like Still Waters,' he replies, confidently. 'Really after you take a look at that list, I'll have more capital to work with.'

'Done,' I reply. 'You've read them over, if you think they need to go, or whatever, get it done.'

'Got it.'

'How's Claire?' I ask. Doc keeps me informed and says she's doing okay but getting close and I know how anxious my friend has been lately.

'She's ready to meet our little man and I'm right there with her,' he links back, exhaustion lacing his tone.

'Enjoy your sleep while you can,' I chuckle.

'You're telling me?' Xavier laughs. 'Twins eh? That's some potent Alpha genes you've got there... but Jess seems okay with it?'

'Getting there,' I reply with a sense of pride.

"Really, things are coming along," Barron muses. "Xavier has the books heading into the right direction now that you're here to unlock them... Sara, Henry, and Nex seem to have finally hit a stride, Jace is finally catching on..."

"You don't like him because of his mate," I growl.

Barron just sighs. "It doesn't matter if I like him or not... and his mate... well, eventually it will come to a head. I wonder if he can take the job seriously or not."

"Don't mistake his carefree nature for incompetence," I warn. "He is more than capable of the job, you'll see while we're away."

"And when are you leaving again?" Barron asks. I was shocked he didn't try to talk me out of this trip, instead he only insisted on added protection.

"About three days?" I reply uncertainly. Jude and Derek are taking care of most of the arrangements to help surprise Jess. After this last incident, I can only imagine how happy it'll make her. "It's a short trip but it'll mean the world to her." I smile just thinking about the look on Jess' face when we spring it on her.

'You do know she's had enough surprises to last a lifetime,' Cyrus chides.

'Yeah, but she'll love this one,' I reply confidently.