Chapter 39: You're Unbelievable

Chapter 39: You're Unbelievable
Dan knocked on Lord Adler's chamber door at precisely seven in the evening.

"The Alpha requests to see you now, my Lord."

Lord Adler was a broad man in his late fifties with the kind of face that had once been handsome and had settled into something more commanding with age. He had silver at his temples and sharp eyes that had spent decades reading rooms and people and knowing which ones were worth his time.

He straightened his coat and followed Dan to the study.

++++

Josh was standing by the window when Lord Adler entered.

"Lord Adler." He gestured toward the chair across the desk. "Please sit. Can I offer you wine?"

"Thank you, your majesty." Lord Adler sat and accepted the cup that was poured for him.

Josh sat across from him. He was relaxed. Easy. The kind of easy that powerful men performed when they wanted you to forget for a moment exactly how much power they were holding.

"Your journey from the southern territories," Josh said. "Was it comfortable?"

"Very much so, your majesty. The roads are well kept."

"Good." Josh turned his cup once in his hand. "Your proposal is thorough. The trade routes your family mapped are impressive. I have been reviewing the terms."

Lord Adler nodded, sitting a little straighter. "We believe it is a strong foundation for both packs, your majesty. My family has maintained those southern routes for three generations. The access we are offering is not something we extend lightly."

"I understand that," Josh said. "And I respect it."

A comfortable silence.

Lord Adler took a sip of his wine.

Then Josh said, still in the same pleasant tone: "A member of my household staff was slapped by your daughter this afternoon."

Lord Adler's cup stopped halfway to the table.

"The same staff member," Josh continued, "had been approached on multiple occasions over the past two days. Warned to leave her position. Threatened with removal." He looked at Lord Adler steadily. "In my palace. By your daughter."

The study was very quiet.

Lord Adler set his cup down carefully. "Your majesty, I…"

"I am not finished," Josh said. Still pleasant. Still calm. That particular calm that left no space for interruption.

Lord Adler closed his mouth.

"The people in my household are under my protection. All of them. That is not a courtesy. It is not a suggestion. It is the first and most non-negotiable rule of this pack." He looked at the older man without blinking. "What your daughter did was a violation of that. In my own house."

Lord Adler's jaw was tight. "Your majesty, I assure you I had no knowledge of…"

"I believe you," Josh said simply.

Lord Adler stopped.

"I do not think you sent your daughter here to threaten my staff," Josh continued. "That is why we are having this conversation privately and not in front of your entire delegation." He leaned back slightly. "Your proposal is still on the table. The trade routes, the military terms, all of it. I have not dismissed any of it."

Lord Adler exhaled slowly.

"However," Josh said, "Lady Seraphine will be leaving the palace by morning."

A pause.

"I understand, your majesty," Lord Adler said quietly.

He exhaled again and shook his head slowly. "I think the free hand I gave her over the years caused all of this." He reached into his coat, produced a small sealed letter, and handed it to his attendant who had been standing quietly by the door. "Deliver this to my treasurer tonight. Freeze Lady Seraphine's accounts with immediate effect."

The attendant bowed and slipped out.

"Although I do not think it needs to go that far, Lord Adler," Josh said, showing some concern.

"She has always had everything she wanted," Lord Adler said firmly. "Now she will learn the hard way." He stood, gave a deep bow, and left without giving Josh room to argue further.

The door closed behind him.

Josh sat alone in the quiet study.

He picked up the alliance proposal and looked at it for a moment. Then he set it down and reached for the small family album on the corner of his desk. He opened it slowly. His mother and father looked back at him from the worn pages, younger than he ever remembered them being. He stared at it for a long time.

++++

Lord Adler found his daughter in her chambers.

Seraphine was seated at the vanity table having her hair brushed out for the night. She looked up when her father entered and immediately read his face.

The brush stopped.

"Father…"

"You are leaving in the morning," he said.

Seraphine stood up. "What? Father, the alliance is not yet…"

"The alliance is fine," he said. His voice was very controlled. The voice of a man managing his anger carefully. "You however are not." He looked at her. "You raised your hand against the Alpha's maidservant. In his palace. After threatening her repeatedly."

Seraphine's chin lifted. "She is a servant. An omega with no…"

"She is his," Lord Adler said. "Whatever she is or is not, she is his. And you walked into his house and put your hands on her." He shook his head. "I did not raise you to be foolish, Seraphine."

"I was trying to secure our future"

"You were trying to force something that cannot be forced." He moved toward the door then stopped and turned back. "I have also instructed my treasurer to freeze all your accounts with immediate effect."

Seraphine's eyes went wide. "Father." She crossed the room and grabbed his arm. "You cannot be serious. Tell me you are joking."

"Have you ever known me to joke about money?" Lord Adler said. "Pack your things. You leave at first light."

He removed her hand from his arm and walked out.

Seraphine stood alone in her chambers.

Her reflection stared back at her from the vanity mirror. Red cheek. Perfect hair. Furious eyes.

She had done everything right. She had come here with the right bloodline, the right proposal, the right family name. She had been patient and strategic and composed.

And somehow a maidservant with no pack and no name had still won.

She did not understand it.

++++

Morning came quietly.

Olivia was in the corridor outside Josh's chambers with the fresh correspondence when she heard the sound of horses and carriage wheels in the courtyard below. She stopped at the window and looked down.

Lord Adler's delegation was loading their carriages. Trunks and boxes being carried out by attendants. The horses were already bridled and ready.

Seraphine appeared at the palace entrance below, dressed for travel. She stopped on the steps and looked up.

Her eyes found Olivia at the window.

They looked at each other for a long moment.

Seraphine's expression was unreadable.

Then she turned, descended the steps, and stepped into the carriage without looking back.

Olivia watched the carriages move through the golden gate and disappear down the road.

Good riddance, Lisa said warmly.

"Lisa," Olivia said.

What? I am only saying what you are thinking.

Olivia said nothing.

She was smiling as she turned back to the corridor to continue with her morning. Then she stopped. Debby was standing a little way down the hall, watching her with the expression of someone who was deciding whether to stay or flee.

"Debby," Olivia said. "You told Jean, did you not?"

It was not a question.

Debby straightened up. "Mother Jean sent me on an errand. I really must…"

"Debby."

"I have to go!" Debby turned and hur
ried away down the corridor.

Olivia watched her disappear around the corner.

"Unbelievable," she muttered through gritted teeth.

But she was still smiling.