Kaelen POV

"Alpha King, please forgive my son’s manners."

The older man bowed deeply, his grip on the young man’s shoulder tightening just enough to serve as a warning before he continued.

"He just took over the pack, and this is his first time standing before you. He’s a bit nervous and doesn’t yet know how to speak properly."

Jaxen’s jaw tightened, a flash of wounded pride crossing his face, but he didn’t argue with his father.

I looked at the father.

Then I looked at the son.

"Nervous," I repeated flatly, my voice devoid of any warmth.

"Yes, Your Majesty. He means no disrespect," the older wolf pleaded, keeping his head bowed.

I let the silence stretch for a long, agonizing moment, allowing the weight of my aura to crush whatever confidence the boy had left.

Then I took a single step closer to Jaxen, invading his space until he was forced to tilt his head up to meet my gaze.

"You have sixty seconds," I said. "Start talking."

Jaxen swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he struggled to steady his breathing.

"The rogue attacks on my territory have increased by forty percent in the last two months. My pack is struggling to defend our borders. We’re requesting additional military support."

Rogues.

Rogues, rogues, rogues.

This shit again.

Maybe it was because of the woman back at my estate, the one currently turning my mind inside out, but every time I heard that word, my anger spiraled completely out of control.

It felt like pouring gasoline onto an open flame.

"Request denied."

The words left my mouth before he could even finish speaking, and his blue eyes widened instantly.

"But, Your Majesty—"

"Fifty-five seconds."

Seriously, if an Alpha couldn’t handle a few rogue problems on his own, then what the hell was the point of ruling a pack?

Jaxen’s hands curled into fists. "If we don’t get help, we won’t survive the winter."

"Then don’t survive." I finally spoke, then turned to leave.

"Your Majesty, please—"

I stopped dead in my tracks and looked back at him, then asked, "How old are you?"

Jaxen blinked, completely caught off guard by the sudden question. "Twenty-three, Your Majesty."

"Twenty-three." I let the number hang in the air for a moment. "My Beta took over his position when he was seventeen. Seventeen. What’s your excuse for being this soft?"

Jaxen’s jaw tightened.

"I’m not soft—"

"You can’t even stand in front of me without your father holding your hand."

I glanced coldly at the older man beside him, whose grip was still firmly anchored to the boy’s shoulder.

"That’s the definition of soft."

The older man stepped forward in desperation.

"Alpha King, if I may, my son just got married, and his wife is expecting their first child. The stress of leading the pack while protecting his new family—"

"I wasn’t speaking to you." My voice dropped, cold as steel. "When I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it. And considering I’ve never asked, don’t hold your breath."

The older man’s face flushed with embarrassment, but he immediately stepped back.

I turned my attention to Jaxen again.

"You have a wife. A child on the way. And instead of making you stronger, it’s made you weak. You’re begging for help instead of figuring out how to help yourself."

I took another step closer.

"If having a family makes you this pathetic, then it would be best for your people if you stepped down now before your weakness gets them killed."

Jaxen’s face turned pale before flushing red a second later, a dangerous mix of humiliation and suppressed rage twisting his features.

His hands trembled violently at his sides. His claws were practically threatening to break through his skin, while the older man frantically tugged at his arm, desperate to pull his son back before I decided to execute them both right there in the doorway.

"Thank you for your time, Your Majesty," his father stammered. "We’ll be on our way."

They quickly stepped aside, pressing themselves against the wall to clear my path.

I walked past them without sparing either of them a second glance.

"That was harsh," Darius said as he effortlessly caught up to me in the wide corridor, his hands tucked casually into his pockets.

"He’ll live," I muttered, never slowing my pace as we headed toward the exit. "Or he won’t. Either way, not my problem."

The second we got close enough to the parked car, Darius tossed me the keys, which I caught with one hand.

"Your turn to drive," he said.

I looked down at the keys before lifting my gaze to him. "Why didn’t we take the helicopter again?"

"Because someone," Darius said as he slid into the passenger seat, "forgot to file the flight plan. Again."

I clenched my jaw.

That someone was me.

I dropped into the driver’s seat and started the engine while Darius adjusted his seat all the way back, kicked off his shoes, and propped his feet on the dashboard like he owned the damn car.

"You’re going to get dirt on the leather."

"I promise you’ll survive," he replied, pulling out his phone and immediately starting to scroll. "Drive. I want to be home before midnight."

I glared at him, but he didn’t even bother looking up.

Against my better judgment, I put the car in reverse and drove off.

By the time we got close to the estate, the sun had already begun to set, casting long, bleeding shadows across the highway.

Even then, Darius hadn’t said a single word or acknowledged what he’d done back in the courtyard.

"I know you’re trying to get a reaction out of me," I finally said, breaking the hours of suffocating silence. My fingers tightened around the steering wheel like a vise. "And I’m telling you right now, it’s not going to work."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," he replied immediately, his tone entirely too nonchalant.

He still didn’t look up from his phone.

What the hell was he even doing on that screen that had kept him occupied for hours?

"Dammit!" I snarled, finally losing what little patience I had left.

I slammed my fist against the steering wheel, the sharp crack echoing through the cabin.

"You were all over her. Anyone with eyes could see how desperately you wanted to kiss her."

Darius still didn’t look up as his thumb casually flicked across the screen.

"That’s clearly your insecurity speaking," he said smoothly. "Because we were just having a nice, innocent chat."

But the way the corner of his lips curled into a smug smirk told a completely different story.

He was enjoying this.

He was deliberately poking the beast, and I was falling for it every single time.

Fuck.

I was just about to snap and say something else, something that would probably involve me throwing him out of the moving vehicle, when Darius finally set his phone down.

"Drop me off by the mall," he said casually, pointing toward the sprawling shopping complex coming into view up ahead. "I have something I need to pick up."

I pulled the SUV over to the curb, bringing it to a sudden, jerky stop.

"What is it?" I demanded, glaring at him.

But he was already pushing the door open and slipping his shoes back on.

"None of your business," he said, his grin widening into something deeply infuriating as he stepped out onto the pavement.

"Are you serious? We’re still an hour from the estate..."

But he slammed the door shut, cutting me off completely, and started walking toward the mall entrance without a single glance back, leaving me alone in the idling vehicle.

I muttered a string of curses under my breath and flipped him off through the window before slamming my foot on the gas and pulling back onto the road.

With him gone, the drive back somehow felt even more suffocating.

At least when Darius was in the car, I had someone to direct my irritation toward.

Now I was alone with my thoughts.

And unfortunately, every single one of them kept circling back to the same woman.

The woman I had made cry.

No matter how hard I tried to focus on the road, I couldn’t stop wondering how the hell I was supposed to face her when I got back to the estate.