The lycan king grabbed the phone not even bothering to say thank you to his Beta. “Gideon,” just
hearing the voice of his beloved calmed him down.
“Ria,” he breathed out her name, so happy to hear her that he probably sounded desperate at that
moment. But he did not care. “Are you all right? Did he do anything to you? I am going to kill him! I
swear, if one hair from your head…”
“I am fine,” she assured him, “Really. No one touched me, everything is going smoothly here. With the
exception of Brayden stealing my phone.”
“Goddess Riannon,” he exhaled loudly rubbing his forehead, “For a second there I was afraid that he
forced you…”
“No,” she stopped him, “Braden is a lot of things, but I don’t think that he is capable of that. I am fine.
Trust me on this.”
“I still want to kill him,” he grunted, sitting back in his chair. Just the thought that a man who called his
mate his wife existed was unbearable for him.
“You still can’t,” Ria smiled. It felt nice that he wanted to protect her so much. Or maybe he was just
possessive of her? It felt nice either way. As long as it was him.
“I still might,” Gideon said.
“I need to tell you something.” Riannon was afraid that someone would interrupt them and she wanted
to give him the important piece of information. Apart from Maya, he was the only one willing to help her.
“I am all ears,” the lycan king straightened his back, knowing that as long as she was ready to spare
their precious minutes, it was important.
“Remember my husband’s omega mate?” Riannon played with the hem of her robe nervously.
“How could I forget?”
“Well, the thing is, I don’t think she is an omega anymore,” the Luna was eager to discuss this with her
partner in crime, “Gideon, I just talked to her and was able to get emotions out of her. Her true
emotions! For the first time! And you know what happened? She let out her claws and her eyes shone
red. Red, Gideon!”
“Did she attack you?” he growled menacingly.
“No, but she lost it. Just for a few seconds, but I know what I saw!” Ria grinned, “She is definitely not an
omega! Besides that, it’s what got her to show her true colors that matters. So, there was this captive
prisoner who tried to frame Maya right before Reid took her back. I some kind of reaction. He escaped
again, even though I made sure that the best guards were guarding him. And then he came to see
me…”
“What?” now Gideon snarled. The desire to shift and get to that damned pack to get his mate the old
fashioned way was taking over him.
“Let me finish first,” she brushed him off, “So, he came to see me and was waiting on the balcony. We
talked and he is also not so simple. And yes, his eyes also shine red. I didn’t learn much about him. He
introduced himself as Everett in the past and as Axel tonight. Anyway, I simply mentioned him to
Roxanne, and she snapped. Just a bit, but I never was able to do this before. She knows that man.”
“Goddess, Riannon,” Gideon frowned, “My list of men to kill is growing by the hour thanks to you.”
“Sorry,” she chuckled to that. “Don’t be,” the lycan , “You are worth every effort.”
She blushed, happy that he did not see her now. With him, it was hard to conceal her emotions the way
she used to.
“I think I am really onto something here,” the Luna said excitedly, “Don’t you think?”
“I agree. But I don’t want you to do anything about it until you are here with me. Safe.” he told her
honestly. “Your safety comes first before anything.”
“Okay,” she agreed, “I know how to wait.”
“Good,” he praised her. “Now, tell me everything about this guy that you can remember. How he looks,
how he talks, where did they catch him. Any little piece of information could help. And don’t worry, I
already have people looking into that Roxanne girl. Omega or no omega, there would be some kind of
information on her.”
She told him everything from her both lives and when she was done, they both remained silent.
“I miss you,” Gideon gave up first. He wanted to see her, he wanted to be with her, to hold her in his
arms and to take her as many times as he could. He wanted to tell her more than those words. But he
did not want to do it like that. She deserved more than being told that she was the love of his life over
the phone. That it was hard for him to breathe when she wasn’t
close. And that all that he was thinking lately was sinking his canines into her neck to leave his mark.
So that every man around knew she was his. So that he had the right to kill anyone who
would dare to think otherwise. faster and that she couldn’t stop thinking of how good she felt in his
arm, how safe… That he was the only man she wanted to wake up next to in the mornings and that she
still couldn’t believe how lucky she had been to be gifted such an amazing mate.
“I can push the summit a day closer,” he said suddenly.
“Don’t,” she regretted it the moment she said it. But they had a plan… “I still have to convince a few
people,” the Luna confessed, “Even with your support, I want to play it safe. Lives depend on this.”
“I know,” he groaned painfully, “But the next time we meet is final, Ria. I will never let you go again no
matter how it goes.”
“I really don’t mind that,” she smiled. But the smile dropped when she heard footsteps behind the door.
“I need to go now,” she whispered, “I will call tomorrow. Tell Maya to text me your number and I will
learn it by heart.”
She switched off the phone and hid it in a secret compartment that no one but her knew about. Not
even Brayden. Not even Maya.
The next day, Brayden ordered her to stay inside of their house while he left to talk to his Alpha buddies
about her new law. He also ordered Ash to make sure that she doesn’t leave on pretence of caring for
her safety and it felt as if she was a prisoner.
However, it was good. Because as long as her husband felt that he was in control, she had the
opportunity to work from her end.
She was calling all her father’s friends and old allies, telling them about her project and dropping
Gideon’s and Brayden’s names occasionally. Then she was sending files to them with what they
prepared, knowing that some Alphas would oppose that after seeing some of the clauses. However,
this was the law. She had to give them full information prior to the Summit.
Brayden came home late at night and she pretended to be asleep. It surprised her when he sat on the
edge of her bed and she felt him brushing her hair with his fingers softly. The way he did when they just
got married. It used to make her toes curl but now had hardly any effect at all. Lies. She was repulsed
slightly.
For her, he lost the right to touch her, and she counted seconds until he left her room. Probably to go
and check on Roxy. Both her and Brayden were on their phones in their offices, trying to persuade
people to support the law changes.
Ria just ended a call with one arrogant Alpha who believed that women had way too many rights
already and that once they got married, it should be their final decision. Somewhere in the middle of the
conversation, she just started to look for ways to end this. He was one of those she’d never get on her
side. So, there was no point to waist time.
The door knock interrupted her thoughts and to her surprise, Brayden walked in with a very unexpected
guest.
“Ri,” he beamed at her, “Alpha Zack Morgan wanted to personally talk about our project. I hope you
have a minute.”
When did it become their project? Riannon did not comment on the audacity of her husband and just
gave the two alphas her most beautiful smile, suppressing the wave of protest in her.
“Of course,” she pointed at the two seats, “I am happy that you spared us your precious time, Alpha
Morgan.”
“The pleasure is mine,” their guest chuckled. She recognised him as one of the men who were after her
attention at the Alpha Ball. He had a folder in his hands which she personally had sent to him the day
prior. His opinion was important since Zack was gaining influence rapidly among the newest and
youngest alphas.
“How can we help you?” Brayden went all the way to her and stood behind her chair, placing his hand
possessively on her shoulder.
“It was a very interesting read,” Alpha Morgan smirked and placed the folder on Riannon’s desk. She
stretched her smile a bit, not knowing what to expect. She was about to say something when her
husband interjected.
“I am happy that you think so,” he said with pride, “We’ve been working on all that for some time.”
“So, you read this?” Zack looked at him, quite bemused.
“Read it?” Bray snorted, “I helped writing the most of it.”
Riannon realized that he was taking credit for it. Probably just out of spite for Gideon since she
mentioned that the king needed that project. This was her husband’s little revenge, the only one he
thought he would be able to get on the mighty lycan was respected as the strongest werewolf Alpha
and a warrior. And if he said that he was
behind all that would they even be reading all that? All the sixty pages of boring text filled with
elaborate phrasing and terms. Ria and her mate made sure to bury everything important deep in those
papers. And not in the small print, because they knew that Alphas would pay special attention to that.
“Is that so?” Zack Morgan in front of them sounded impressed but his eyes landed on the
Luna as he nodded slightly, “Well done.”
“Thank you,” Brayden sounded so natural as if he really had a hand in all of this, “We really want for
this law to pass on the first Summit. As you know, for that we need the majority of votes. May I ask
where you stand on this?”
Their guest gazed at Riannon again and his lips curled into a soft smile.
“You have my vote. That’s for sure. I just wanted to make sure that I understand everything correctly,
but now seeing you two together, I think I can relax. This matter is in good hands.”
“Brilliant,” Brayden walked all the way to him to shake his hand, “Thank you for your cooperation. I plan
a big dinner right after the summit for our allies. I hope you could join us.”
“I will have to check my schedule and confirm it later,” Alpha Morgan smiled politely and stood up, “I
see that you are both busy, so I will not take any more of your time. I learned everything that I needed
to learn.”
Riannon stood up to see him out as well. To her, it was clear that Zack Morgan definitely read the
papers thoroughly.
“Thank you for your support. I personally would never forget it.” She stretched her hand to him but
instead of shaking, the man bowed and kissed her fingers.
“I have nothing against women in power,” he chuckled, “I am very impressed with all your work,
Riannon.”
He exchanged a few words with her husband and left, leaving them alone.
“Women in power?” Bray looked at her questioningly when the coast was clear, “What’s that supposed
to mean?”
“That women like Maya would be able to become Betas if they prove themselves,” she decided to give
him a partial truth but at the same time distract him with the feeling of guilt which he was hopefully
experiencing.
His phone rang and he had to pick up, signaling for her that he was going back to work. She tried
avoiding him for the rest of the day and succeeded at that. The next day was going to be the show.
***
The next morning, she came down the stairs, wearing a white business suit with a belt tied in a relaxed
bow around her waist with flared trousers. Brayden waited for her downstairs and watched her with
pride in his eyes as she descended slowly, holding a leather folder in her arms.
“You look beautiful, Ri,” he said and wanted to kiss her but she dodged to his surprise.
“Makeup,” she explained, realizing that this could have been a mistake. But, luckily, Bray ignored that.
“Later then,” he smirked at her, “Do not worry about today. Everything is going to be great. And about
me saying that I worked with you… Ri, I hope you understood why I did that.”
“To help me, of course,” she lied with a smile, “And I am grateful. Let’s go.”
The drive to the hotel where the Alpha Summit was held this time seemed never-ending and Riannon
counted minutes until their arrival. Finally, the car stopped and in a few seconds, the driver opened the
door for them.
The red carpet was in place as if it was some kind of awards ceremony and hotel employees were
greeting them at the doors. They walked in into the glassy luxurious foyer and Riannon felt the scent of
her mate at once.
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