Perry’s POV
"Excellent work," I said, giving one of the warriors a pat on the shoulder after the brutal training session—sothing I rarely bothered with.
Damn. I’d nearly finished them all off during practice if Flynn hadn’t stepped in.
But here I was, acting friendly, and the warrior looked like I’d struck him as he watched walk away.
"What’s gotten into you? Sothing put you in a good mood?" Flynn approached, clutching a tablet loaded with my daily agenda. One of the elders wanted an audience to discuss Phoebe’s position in the kingdom.
The people were getting restless because I hadn’t announced my mate yet. Worse, I kept everyone at arm’s length from her, so Phoebe had only t those I’d handpicked—like the oga helping her adjust to daily life here.
"Nothing," I replied curtly, grabbing a water bottle and downing half before dumping the rest over my head.
"Nothing?" Flynn’s eyebrows shot up at the smirk spreading across my face. He never liked it when I wore that expression—it usually ant I had sothing brewing.
"No more wars. You’ve drained our treasury, and the alphas are up in arms about it."
I raised an eyebrow. "Those conquered cities will send tribute to us instead of their old kingdoms—that’s additional revenue. And which alphas are complaining? Last I checked, only ten out of forty packs actually opposed the war."
Flynn went quiet. He’d assud I wasn’t paying attention when he’d briefed on those numbers. After a mont, he switched topics.
"Elder Tricia wants to et about Phoebe," he said, earning a snort from .
"Tell him to go to hell." I wiped sweat from my brow.
"Perry, you can’t just do whatever you please. So traditions need to be respected, and you can’t battle them at every turn."
"Why not?" I tossed the towel aside and strode off. I was more interested in hearing updates from my warriors advancing toward Valerium’s capital.
"Perry..." Flynn groaned, trailing behind down the hallway. As usual, he’d have to smooth things over with the elders when I went against them. It was giving him constant headaches. "We still need the elders."
"For what?" I stopped abruptly and spun around. Flynn nearly crashed into , growling in irritation, but I didn’t even flinch. "What exactly do we need them for?" I cocked an eyebrow. "If it were up to , I’d ship them all to the front lines as cannon fodder. Then they’d finally serve a purpose."
"Perry!" Flynn’s eyes went wide. From anyone else, he’d take that as dark humor, but when I said it, he knew I was seriously considering it. It would only take a small push to make it reality. "We have to show respect for our elders."
I scoffed at that nonsense like he’d told the world’s funniest joke and continued toward my office.
"Perry, there are customs we must honor regardless of your feelings about them."
"Screw them all." I’d never forget the agony those fools had put through.
"Perry."
"Screw them all. I’ll throw them to the wild wolves if they ddle in my personal affairs again. Make sure they get that ssage."
That ended the discussion. Flynn knew better than to push further—I might actually follow through just to spite him, sothing I was perfectly capable of doing in my current mood.
So Flynn shifted to other matters, though he’d definitely give Elder Tricia a sanitized version of my response.
When we reached my office, a warrior entered to inform us that the forr beta from Obsidian Claw pack had arrived requesting an audience.
"The forr beta? Phoebe’s father." Flynn answered his own question, frowning. He wanted to tell the warrior to turn the forr beta away since no appointnt had been scheduled.
But I surprised him by granting permission and instructing the warrior to escort Caron to my study.
"You have three etings this afternoon," Flynn protested. He had no idea how long this would take, but since Caron had traveled from his pack to see , it wouldn’t be a quick chat.
"Cancel my afternoon and evening appointnts," I said.
"Absolutely not," Flynn refused. He didn’t want to reschedule with those irritating alphas—he wanted their business handled quickly so he could move on to other matters.
"Of course I can. I want to hear what he has to say. This should be entertaining."
That was Flynn’s cue to back down since I’d do what I wanted anyway. "I don’t want any part of this. I’m leaving. I have plenty to deal with."
My beta shot a dirty look for indulging in mate-related affairs while neglecting royal duties, but he knew it could be much worse.
As Flynn left to handle the eting cancellations and other business, Caron was escorted into the study. They exchanged polite nods but no words.
"Your Majesty," Caron greeted , bowing respectfully.
I slouched back in my chair and waved him toward the seat across from . "You realize this impromptu eting is completely inappropriate. You should have scheduled through my beta."
"My apologies for the oversight," Caron replied politely. "I’ve only co to request permission to see my daughter. I won’t take much of your ti."
"You want to see Phoebe?" An amused smile tugged at my lips. "Why? I heard your relationship was strained. Word is you despised your daughter for being unstable."
Caron shifted uncomfortably at airing his family drama, though he knew it ca from rumors Kevin had spread.
"That’s rely gossip, Your Majesty. Phoebe remains my daughter, and I’m concerned about her. I don’t want her causing problems under your care."
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