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The only one speaking is Ayrie, who describes where she found each coin in her special coin binder. I thought I had
stashed it after she lost one of her rarest coins while she was in the hospital. She might have had it in her pocket and it fell out, or someone could have taken it. Whatever the case, she was devastated, so I just kind of removed the problem and distracted her with all my love and affection
Arnold seems very interested in what she’s saying, but it feels more like he’s evaluating her Knight is helping Aizen with card game his teacher gave him. Their test results still haven’t returned, and I’m shiring to get a little impatient with that
Our first dinner with Pop–Pop was pretty much a success. However, I have stomach cramps from the tension between father and son
I
“I got it Knight says when I get back to the kitchen.
“I have to do the pots and pans as well. The new ones,” I point at the two boxes beside the kitchen island
“Do I help the twins get ready for bed?” he asks skeptically
“No, let them do their thing for a couple of hours. Aizen usually watches editing videos and Ayrie colors or plays with her toys. I just check in to make sure they haven’t killed one another,
“I have noticed they fight a lot, he smirks. “It’s cute when Ayrie puts Aizen in his place. He’s kind of a know it all,”
“Leave him alone” laugh. “Why don’t you help me open up these boxes so I can rinse these off before putting them away?”
“Sure,” he agrees without hesitation. I try not to laugh when I see him cut the tape with the claw from his index finger. What?”
“It’s funny that you’re doing chores,” I laugh.
“Oh, because I’m a celebrity, I can’t do chores?”
“Have you ever done chores before?” I start to do the dishes.
“No, it’s never come up before, he answers truthfully. “My siblings are finally on the same page for once,”
“It builds character,” I try to mask how funny I find that. “Are you close to any of your siblings?”
“Some of my brothers,” he sets a few pots on the counter as he gathers all the plastic bags they were wrapped in to shove them back in the box. “There’s a level of closeness we all stop at because of the way we are. Our parents all have their own shit to take care of and it’s a lot easier to compete against one another than not,”
“So there’s a lot of rivalry,”
“Among themselves. They can get all the degrees they want, but they can never quite be the first, he smirks. “You’re so snobby,” I poke his side making him laugh. I love it. That’s where you connect with Violetta, right?” “Yeah,” he smiles. “We grew up knowing we had a role to play all along. Generational ranking rarely has economic difficulties. We’re war dogs.
I want to ask him about the King title he wants to claim. I want to know if it makes us somewhat safe, and what happened to the last king. From what Perry has taught me in her videos, he and an entire village of rogues were executed in a single night. I just don’t know why Men, women, and children were all wiped from the face of the earth
y sure it wasn’t
Wrapping my mind around this is difficult. I shot someone and Knight’s friends took her away and I’m pretty
to patch her up and have a friendly discussion about why they were sent over a cup of coffee
“You said I was somehow related to the King. Would it be smart to tell him that?”
“No,” he and his father answer in unison. He comes in from the dining room
“Often, the kill shot is taken by a member of your family, Phoebe. Being a patriarch in the packlands is a lot like sitting on a chess board. Savage is the King, he’s going to test every potential threat to him and his family when he feels like it, to remind others that he is the King. You and Knight definitely pose a threat,”
“But we want nothing to do with his throne. I don’t even understand what I am yet, much less the laws, I start to dry the pile of dishes I gathered.
“That’s what makes us an easy target,” Knight says. “The King isn’t mated yet. I am and you’re a more than adequate candidate to be a powerful Queen at court. We have two heirs on the verge of shifting. The dynamic changed when you revealed you were of alpha descent as well. This toned hinna with the other alphas.”
“Which is why I want to train you myself. Knigt Successfully unlocked! her at court once you’ve been taken care of after your shift. He will train with him and I will reamere wave you and the pups. You are not to leave this house without me Mr. Knightly informs me. I look over at Knight with disbelief.
“I hate to tell you this, Angel, but he’s right. I need to fix this, the only way I know how. I can’t bring you and the kids with me. It’s too dangerous and while I hate having him here, hell protect you and the twins,”
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“But everywhere I go?” I groan.
“You will have more than enough privacy. I won’t be looking over your shoulder all the time he tries to lie to m my dumb face
“Won’t you be, though?” I roll my eyes. His eyes slit with disapproval before he lets out a heavy sigh
“I am going to break your little eye rolling habit one way or another, little fernale. It is not a good habit to pass on to the children and the two of them already do it,” he growls.
“No, you’re not,” Knight says. “I like their eye rolls. Aizen looks just like his mother Wifen he does it. I’ll take something in return if you try. I’ve done it before. Tell me, how is your vintage Cobra doing?
Mr. Knightly stops in front of the swinging door leading into the dining room. His shoulders rise with tension. A low rumble makes me step back. Knight doesn’t move an inch, but it’s clear that he’s prepared to counter an attack
“That was a gift from your mother,”
“I nursed that wolf back to health and trained him. You had no right to do what you did,”
“You domesticated a wild animal. Ruined it, he turns around with his red glowy eyes. “And blew up my car
“I taught him to survive among our kind. He fed himself and was really good at scouting. What you did was to try and teach me a lesson for running away. I guess we both did, hmm?”
“I’ll be back,” he huffs. “Ring me if you need anything.”
“Fresh tomatoes,” I blurt out. “Actually have a list if that extends to me
“Of course,” he grunts. I take a screenshot of my list from my phone and send it to him.
“Thank you so much, I smile at him. He stares back at me and gives me a small nod before walking away “Be safe, please” He pauses, looking back at me for a moment. Then, bowing his head a little more, this time. He leaves without another word.
“You should be a little less that with him,” I point at Knight.
“You are out of your fucking mind,” he scoffs.
“He’s an asshole, sure, Nate. But he’s here. He’s probably got an agenda, but he’s trying to be here for us and the kids. He’s doing you a huge solid. He can’t help being what he is anymore than you can. Maybe just let it go. Im not saying forget. Just don’t make an issue that’s going to affect us as a family. The kids love him and I kind of like having him around. He’s crazy smart.
“I want to take him with me to look at store fronts and locations for my own agency. I know that fancy ass man knows some really cool people. He’s crazy if he thinks we’re just training all day long.”
“No wolf can handle that. He’ll train you in the morning for a couple of hours and one hour before dinner
“Sweet, I wake up for a run in the morning anyway,” we finish putting everything away
“Do you feel like this isn’t worth the trouble yet?” he pushes me forward against the kitchen island.
His hand wraps around my throat so he can pull me back enough to press his body against my backside. I look up at him when he presses a kiss to my forehead. I want to tell him how much it annoys me that he would ever think that, but now that I have more information, I understand that he’s never considered himself worthy of anything that could remotely make him happy.
“No yet,” I whisper. His eyes search mine for a moment. He gently turns me around to face him and I place my hands on his chest wanting to feel him.
“I think I might have died on that airplane ride from Paris,” he whispers as he leans in to press his lips to mine. He decides
we’re not close enough and he lifts me up to wrap my arms and legs around him. “That’s the name of your new song”
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