Rejected by the Alpha of Fire

The King is Bothered

Helio’s POV

“The eastern villages report a decline in population.”

I sat back in my seat, bored, irritated, and wishing that this meeting would be over. The Alphas of the various villages typically came to report to my father in the throne room once a month. He got to lounge on his throne and listen. I sat beside Drake and also listened.

So far, the Alphas along the border of the unclaimed territory between Ember Moon and Erupting Eclipse all had the same complaints. Tax revenue was declining because people were migrating into other pack territories. None of them were happy about it, and who could blame them?

Part of their p*****t for being Alphas came from tax revenue, and what was the point of having all the responsibility without the benefits? I should have been listening to the details of what they were thinking of doing to recover the revenue and manage the population. Keeping the Alphas in place, and keeping them happy, made managing the territory easier, but I couldn’t focus on it. My conversation with Kalinda flashed through my mind.

The insinuation that there might be more than just disdain between Cindra and me gnawed at my thoughts. What the hell was she thinking even insinuating I had any feelings for her? She was a disgrace to the family. She represented the shame of the Azers and the late Princess Asha’s indiscretion. She was unseemly, annoying, stupid, and—

“Drake, Helio, stay behind.”

I looked up, scanning the room as the Alphas began to leave. It was a normal request, but I was curious about why now. My gut twisted. I had a feeling that it wasn’t just so he could do his usual debrief with Drake. This probably had something to do with the ball. When the door closed, Father slumped on his throne with a low growl.

“It’s never ending. I don’t suppose closing the border would fix the problem,” he grumbled.

“It’s not just the eastern border,” Drake commented.

“I don’t think that’s the most pressing matter at the moment. The Alphas will get over their issues. Tighten their belts a bit. They won’t be stepping down anytime soon,” Father said. “Now, about the ball.”

Drake flushed. I narrowed my eyes at his reaction.

“It’s odd that only Helio found his mate when Aiden and Brenton are more than old enough. As I understand it, Cole and Meri also didn’t find their mates.”

“Well, Cole didn’t seem to be that interested. Neither was Meri,” Drake said quickly. I c****d an eyebrow at him, thinking back to the way Meri had looked up at me when she’d approached me after the incident with Cindra. “And Benton and Conley were outside most of the time.”

Father shook his head. His gaze bored into Drake as he narrowed his eyes. “The mate pull would have overridden all of that. It doesn’t make any sense. There has to be more to this.”

Drake shifted his weight. He didn’t look at my father or say much as the king kept going on about the outcome of the ball. I wasn’t listening to my father’s musings. I watched Drake carefully as he squirmed in place. His shoulder twitched. He shuffled his papers. His eyes darted from side to side.

I’d never seen him act like this except for when he’d done something wrong and was trying to hide it. To be fair, his position in Ember Moon was hanging by a thread. The last time he’d gotten into trouble with the king was when he’d accused an advisor from Howling Winds of being an imposter a few months ago. Drake had the man beaten and thrown in the dungeons. Once it was discovered he truly was an advisor, rather than admitting his mistake, the Beta had tried to cover it up. The man was in our dungeon for six weeks before my father found out. Drake had nearly caused Queen Araceli to invade Ember Moon for the return of her beloved advisor.

If I wasn’t wrong, Father had to pay a s**t ton of money to appease her, which was only making the current tax revenue crisis worse. Ember Moon had seen better days financially and otherwise.

“Well, there is the matter of the drought in the south,” Drake said, clearing his throat. “At this rate, winter will arrive, and we will be completely unprepared.”

“I’m not worried about it,” Father said. “The palace has its own stores for winter.”

I tilted my head. It was normal for Drake to try to slip, slide, and evade issues he didn’t want to deal with, and usually, Father was easily pulled away from whatever topic he’d wanted to talk about, but the ball was supposed to be his first step toward recouping Ember Moon’s standing among the other packs. Having it fail so spectacularly was going to make him fixate on it. “We have to get to the bottom of what went wrong at the Moon Goddess Ball.”

“Well, if we must talk about the ball, then we should start with the issue of Cindra,” Drake said. “What is to be done with the Erupting Eclipse pack? Have you come to a decision about it?”

The king shook his head. “No, but I’ll have a decision by the end of the week. With any luck, that situation will be resolved as beneficially as possible. Before that, I have a call scheduled with Queen Araceli and Princess Kora.” My father’s lips twitched. “Apparently, Her Majesty believes that young Kora is old enough to be included in such a discussion.”

I thought back to Aiden and Brenton’s words about our father’s misconception about Ember Moon’s status. The sense of unease that I’d been feeling in my gut since the ball seemed to grow exponentially.

“We’ll need to talk about it,” Father said. “You can go, Helio.”

I didn’t have to be told twice. Jumping up, I darted out the door and closed it behind me. In the hallway, my stress started to ease. I set my jaw and turned over the conversation in my mind. Without conscious thought, I headed down the hallway. My thoughts glossed over Cindra’s situation as I headed to get some perspective.