Helio’s POV
Just where the f**k had that bastard Alpha Val hidden all the gold we’d given him? I stared over the sheets in front of me, shaking my head. He was a clever son of a b***h. I’d give him that.
A soft knock on my office door sharpened my senses. “Agatha?” I asked. “Did you forget something?”
“It’s not Agatha. It’s your mother,” Queen Bridget answered.
I grimaced. “Go away.”
“Please, son. I need to talk to you,” my mother pleaded.
My patience flagged. I tapped my pen angrily on the paper in front of me. “I don’t need to talk to you,” I growled.
“Please?” The grand, elite Queen Bridget was now begging.
I sighed. I might as well listen to what she had to say. Tossing down my pen, I said, “Come in.”
My mother shuffled into my office. She wore a rich gown, embroidered with wh
