Chapter 60: Agreements Must Be Made - Callista's POV

I felt Riven’s unease through the mate bond, just like the tight knot of tension already blossoming in my chest. Though I wasn’t sure what made him uneasy now, I knew something was wrong.

“Good,” the Alpha King said, seeming genuinely pleased by Riven’s answer. “Now, regarding your training, Miss Monroe. I know I said you would still go to Silver Moon Academy and there would be things there to help you, but I’m going to work with you personally on developing your seer abilities.”

“Do you have the gift of sight?”

He shook his head.

I almost rolled my eyes. “Then you can’t help me. I need someone who either has it or get books that pertain to it.”

"And me?" Riven asked, interrupting the conversation.

"You'll be training with my head combat instructor and sitting in on various pack meetings to learn about leadership and governance. Standard successor preparation." The Alpha King moved back behind his desk. "Your training will be...intensive and demanding, but I have faith you can handle it."

The words made my skin crawl.

“So, you’re going to train us. What about your son’s condition that you needed Riven for?”

“That will be conducted as we can and away from prying eyes,” he said slowly. “That can’t be…known.”

“So you intend to truly train us to make your deal look legitimate?” I asked, my voice cracking near the end.

“When do we start?” Riven asked, once again interrupting our conversation.

I didn’t know what had come over him, but these were things we needed to know.

"Tomorrow morning. Six AM sharp. Miss Monroe, you'll meet me in the library. Mr. Nightshade, you'll report to the training grounds." He pulled ‌a folder out of his desk drawer. "I've prepared schedules for both of you. You'll find your days quite... full."

He handed us each a sheet of paper. I scanned mine quickly. Every hour from six in the morning until ten at night was blocked out. Around our normal Silver Moon Academy schedules, he had training sessions, lessons, meetings, and meals. There was barely any time marked as free.

“This is every day?” Riven asked, his voice tight. “What about seeing our families? We weren’t supposed to move here at all and now you keep changing things.”

“Excellence requires your full dedication. Your families have already been notified of your acceptance and that you’ll be moving here to be under my guidance, Mr. Nightshade,” he said entirely too calmly. “You didn’t think becoming Alpha King would be easy, did you?” The Alpha King’s smile didn’t waver, not even when I gawked. “Of course, you’ll have some time together as well. There is dinner every day and Sunday is slightly lighter.”

Slightly lighter. I looked at the Sunday schedule. It still had eight hours of activities blocked out.

After a moment, I had enough. “No, we’re not moving here. That was never part of what we discussed. You said we could continue at Silver Moon Academy and live at home. I demand that we stick to that original—”

“It was never an agreement,” the Alpha King murmured. “And I said many things during our initial conversation, but circumstances require adjustment. Living here will make your training far easier with less commuting.”

“No.” The word came out before I could stop it. “We’re not moving here.”

The Alpha King's expression didn't change, but something flickered in his eyes. "Excuse me?"

Riven glanced at me, his eyes widening in shock.

“You need us way more than we need you. Without Riven, you can’t find a cure for your son,” I snapped. “So, we’re doing this our way or no way. We’ll attend Silver Moon Academy as we planned. We’ll train with you in the evenings and on weekends. But we’re living with his parents and that’s final.”

"That's unacceptable," the Alpha King said, his voice still pleasant but with an edge of steel underneath. "The training I'm proposing requires more time than a few evening sessions. You need to be here, immersed in this lifestyle and learning constantly."

"Then you'll have to adjust your expectations," I said firmly. "Because we're not moving into your mansion. We're sixteen. We have school, we have families, and we have lives outside of this training.”

"Lives that will need to take a backseat if you're serious about this position," he countered.

"We are serious," Riven said, glancing at me. I almost thought he wasn’t going to back me up and would tell me I need to calm down, but he doesn’t. With one last look at me, he shook his head. “We can’t abandon it all, so we’ll commit to the training schedule around school, but at night, we’ll go home.”

The Alpha King studied us both for a long moment. I could feel the weight of his authority pressing down, trying to make us bend, to make us submit.

But Riven stood firm, and so did I.

"Very well," the Alpha King said finally, though his tone suggested this wasn't over. "You may continue living at the Nightshade residence. However—" he held up a hand as Riven started to relax, "—you will be here every morning at six AM sharp. School ends at three. You'll return here by three-thirty and remain until ten PM. Sundays are full days, eight AM to six PM. No exceptions."

“We’re going home,” I said, tugging on Riven’s hand. “You can call us when you decide to make a schedule that works.”

We were almost out the door when Beta Kensley stepped in our path, blocking us from leaving. My wolf had had enough and was ready to tear things apart. Riven was oddly silent and docile. I needed him to help me, but I wasn’t sure what he was doing.

“You see, I can’t let you dictate everything. If you want to save Riven, then you will do as I asked.”

“And if you want to save your son, then you need to be more reasonable. We’re just sixteen,” I said, stressing our age. “This isn’t right and is unfair.”

“Life is unfair,” the Alpha King said, his voice smooth. “You’re acting like a child.”

“Technically, we still are children,” I snapped again, turning to glance at him over my shoulder. “Or have you forgotten that?”

“Your children with a mate bond and a demon in your mate,” he argued. “Don’t you think that makes you more of an adult than most? You are beyond childish things.”

I stomped my foot, which wasn’t the most grown-up thing to do, but he was making me angry. Riven squeezed my hand, catching me off guard. I glanced at him, not finding a shred of support in his eyes.

“We can’t leave, can we?” He asked under his breath.

“Not until we come to an agreement.”