Alina straightened instinctively. "Hello, this is Alina. I’m Luna’s teacher from Class D kindergarten."
"Class D kindergarten?" His voice rumbled on the other side, laced with confusion.
Alina blinked.
Wait—what?
Oh no.
Her brain had short-circuited again.
"I an—I an Little Fang Kindergarten!" she corrected quickly, biting her tongue. "Sorry! I teach the Class D section... I ant—I’m Luna’s class teacher...!"
There was a pause.
She wanted to sink under her desk.
"I see," Ryker replied, voice quieter now but still incredibly firm.
"I just called to ask if Luna was alright," she said, trying to sound professional again. "She didn’t co today, so I was a little worried..."
On the other end, the Alpha’s voice changed—softer now, almost fond. "Ah. My little pup is fine," he said. "She didn’t want to co today because... my wounds have finally healed. She said she wanted to spend the whole day at ho with ."
Alina blinked, her heart warming.
"That’s really sweet of her," she replied with a soft smile, her voice gentle. "She cried in class, you know... the day you were hurt. She really loves you."
There was a pause on the line. Then, very softly—almost like a whisper—Alpha Ryker said, "...She cried?"
"Yes," Alina nodded with a warm smile. "And almost every day, she says things like, ’My daddy is strong, my daddy can beat anyone,’ or ’My daddy will defeat all the bad rogues.’ She really talks about you a lot."
Silence again. But this ti, Alina could feel it wasn’t cold. It was warm. Gentle. And even though there was no sound, she could sohow imagine a big, dangerous Alpha sitting in his den... looking a little misty-eyed with pride.
"...She really said that?" he asked, his deep voice now colored with quiet joy.
"She did," Alina replied, smiling. "All the ti."
There was a soft chuckle from the other side. The kind that rumbled deep from the chest.
"Well then," Ryker said, voice turning brighter, "you’ve made my entire week, Miss Alina."
Alina laughed lightly. "I’m glad... but actually, I also wanted to tell you sothing else. Sothing important."
She sat a little straighter again, her tone turning serious.
Ryker caught it imdiately. His voice beca alert. "Yes. Please go ahead."
"Today," Alina began slowly, "we had four other students absent. And I noticed sothing strange. One of them, Drake—his mother said he made an excuse. Claid his stomach hurt and didn’t want to co to school. And when I spoke to him, he asked if the worm monsters ca or not."
"I see..." Ryker’s voice dropped again, returning to that commanding tone.
"I think the children may have overheard sothing. Maybe about the worm monsters. Maybe they’re scared..." Alina explained. "I can’t be sure, but it felt like more than just a coincidence..."
There was a long pause again.
"...I understand," Ryker said at last. "I’ll speak with Luna myself. And I’ll ask around. If there’s a rumor going around, I’ll find the source."
Alina exhaled slowly, the invisible weight lifting.
"Thank you, Alpha," she said gently.
"You’re doing a great job, Miss Alina," he said. "Thank you for looking after my pup."
Alina smiled softly. "Of course. I care about all of them."
"Take care," Ryker added, and the line disconnected with a quiet click.
Alina sat there for a mont, blinking.
Then she set the phone down on her desk and sighed out loud.
"Dmm..."
Even Sable looked up from beside her.
"His aura is so strong I almost dropped the phone," she whispered, rubbing her forehead.
Sable blinked slowly.
She took a slow breath and tapped the next contact na on the screen: Kelpie’s Parent.
Ring~
Ring~
Far across the ocean, deep within a shimring sea palace carved from black coral and glowing pearls, a waterproof phone blinked and buzzed in a very unroyal way.
King Corvus groaned loudly.
He was lounging on his enormous shell-shaped throne, sipping kelp tea and listening to harpfish music. The buzzing continued.
He frowned. "Ugh, not this device again."
He picked up the phone with a reluctant sigh and pressed it to his ear like it had personally offended him.
"Hello?" His deep, booming voice echoed through the speaker, so strong and powerful that Alina nearly dropped her own phone.
She sat up straight, eyes wide. "Oh! Um—hello! I’m Alina, calling from Little Fang Kindergarten. I’m Kelpie’s class teacher," she said, putting on her best professional voice while holding her chair like an anchor. "Are you... Kelpie’s dad?"
"This is King Corvus speaking," ca the imdiate reply, full of noble weight. "I am Kelpie’s daddy. You... called ?"
Alina’s eyes nearly bulged. "K-King?"
She had Heard that Kelpie ca from royal blood but she didn’t realize it was actual sea royalty!
"Ah... yes, Your Majesty—I an, yes, I called because Kelpie didn’t co to class today. Is everything alright?"
King Corvus gave a dramatic sigh on the other end. "He said... school was cancelled today. That the kindergarten was on break. So I allowed him to stay ho and play with jellyfish.."
Alina blinked, her lips twitching. "Oh... I see."
Then she paused.
Wait a second.
"...But... we didn’t give any day off today."
Silence.
Dead silence.
On the other end, King Corvus inhaled sharply, scandalized. "What? No leave?!"
"No leave," Alina said gently.
"You’re saying... my precious little tide lied to ?" His voice cracked slightly. "He told he had official school leave today! I even canceled my coral council eting!"
Alina quickly covered her mouth to stop a laugh from escaping. "I-I think he might have made that up because... he was scared."
"Scared?" King Corvus asked, voice softening.
"Yes," she said kindly. "Today, four other children were also absent. I think the students may have heard rumors... about worm monsters."
King Corvus gasped. "The underground crawlers? Disgusting little soil worms? My son’s afraid of those?"
"Maybe a little," Alina said, smiling gently. "But please don’t scold him, okay? Kelpie is a very sweet, polite boy. One of the most respectful in the class. I really enjoy teaching him."
There was a long pause.
Then suddenly—King Corvus’ voice turned extrely proud.
"Sweet, you say?"
"Yes!" Alina nodded. "Always says thank you, always listens during classes..."
There was a soft sniff from the other end. "That’s my boy..." Corvus whispered, his majestic pride swelling like a rising tide. "I’ve raised him well."
"You really have," Alina smiled.
Another pause. This ti, much gentler.
"...Miss Alina?" King Corvus asked, voice now sounding like a soft wave instead of a storm.
"Yes?"
"Would it be alright if I brought Kelpie to class myself tomorrow morning?"
Alina blinked in surprise. "Of course! You’re always welco."
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