Chapter 60 Summons

Chapter 60 Summons
Jesse 

The next day began with something I did not expect, even after everything I had already dealt with in recent days.

The council summoned me early.

Before the palace had fully settled into its usual rhythm.

Before most of the guards had properly rotated their posts.

Before I had even fully gone through the reports waiting on my desk.

I walked into the council hall already aware that whatever they had to say would not be minor.

But even then, I was not prepared for the level of absurdity that followed.

The elders were already seated when I arrived.

Their expressions were serious in that familiar way they always adopted when they believed they were about to deliver “important concerns.”

I took my seat without rushing, without showing impatience, and waited.

One of them cleared his throat before speaking.

“Alpha,” he began carefully, “we have received reports that require your immediate attention.”

I leaned back slightly in my seat, watching him.

Reports were constant.

Rumors even more so.

But the tone in his voice told me this was not something as simple as misinformation.

He continued.

“It concerns Mia.”

That name immediately shifted the atmosphere in my mind, even though my expression remained unchanged.

“What about her?” I asked calmly.

Another elder spoke this time, leaning forward slightly as if trying to emphasize seriousness.

“There are claims that she has been secretly instructing wolves within the pack to distribute illegal substances and collect money in return.”

For a moment, I didn’t respond.

Not because I was unsure.

But because I was trying to understand how something that ridiculous had made it all the way to a formal council session.

Then I exhaled slowly.

Almost amused.

If Mia wanted money, she would not need any secret arrangement, any hidden operation, any complicated network involving pack wolves.

She would have come directly to me.

There was no scenario where she would need to do something like that in secrecy.

I looked at them properly now.

Each of them.

One after another.

And then I spoke.

“My woman does not need to operate in secrecy to get anything she wants,” I said firmly. “If she wanted money, she would have asked me.”

The room went quiet for a moment.

One of the elders shifted slightly.

“Alpha,” he said cautiously, “we must still investigate this properly. Rumors like this—”

“There is no need,” I interrupted immediately.

My voice was calm, but it carried enough weight that it stopped him mid-sentence.

“I believe her.”

That was the end of it for me.

Simple.

Final.

Unshaken.

But the council did not look fully convinced, which I expected.

Because councils rarely trusted certainty without evidence, even when the person speaking was the Alpha.

Before they could push further, the doors to the hall opened.

I didn’t need to turn immediately to know who had entered.

The energy shifted slightly.

Familiar.

Confident.

Mia walked in.

Composed as always, her expression calm but focused, like she already knew why she had been summoned or at least suspected it.

She stopped at the center of the hall and looked at me first before glancing briefly at the elders.

“I was informed by a servant,” she said clearly, her voice steady, “that there are accusations being made about me.”

There was no emotion in her tone.

No defensiveness.

Just acknowledgement.

She continued.

“And I am willing for a full investigation to be carried out.”

I narrowed my eyes slightly at that.

Because I did not like where this was going.

“Mia,” I said immediately, “there is no need for that.”

But she did not back down.

She turned slightly toward me.

“If there is no investigation,” she said calmly, “people will simply assume you are protecting me.”

That line made the elders shift again.

Because she was right in a way that was inconvenient.

Not because there was anything to hide.

But because perception always mattered to them more than truth.

I held her gaze for a moment.

Then I stood up slowly.

And the hall went quiet again.

After a moment, I nodded once.

“Fine,” I said.

Not because I agreed with the accusation.

But because I saw no reason to turn it into a prolonged argument.

I stepped down from my seat and walked toward her.

“Let’s go,” I said quietly.

She followed without hesitation.

We left the council hall together, and the moment we stepped out into the corridor, the pressure of the room behind us faded slightly.

We walked for a while in silence before I finally spoke.

“I believe you,” I said simply.

She turned her head slightly toward me and nodded.

Not surprised.

Not emotional.

Just accepting it like it was already expected.

There was a brief pause before she spoke again.

“I need to go prepare,” she said.

I slowed slightly.

“For what?” I asked.

She looked at me then, and there was a small shift in her expression, something lighter slipping through the seriousness for just a moment.

“The Luna lead hunt,” she said, almost teasing. “How could an Alpha King forget something like that?”

That made me stop walking for half a second.

Then I exhaled through my nose, a small smile forming before I could stop it.

“Well,” I said, turning toward her slightly, “I have been distracted lately.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Oh?” she replied.

I stepped a little closer, lowering my voice slightly.

“By a certain someone,” I added.

For the first time that morning, I saw it clearly.

The faint change in her expression.

The slight blush that she tried to hide too late.

She looked away for a second, as if pretending she hadn’t reacted at all.

Then she turned back slightly, still composed, but clearly affected.

Without saying anything else, she stepped back and began to leave.

I watched her go for a moment longer than necessary.

Then I lifted my hand slightly and mind-linked my Beta.

“Follow her,” I ordered.

A pause.

Then I added.

“And keep an eye on everything. No mistakes this time.”

The response came immediately.

“Yes, Alpha.”

I lowered my hand slowly and remained where I was for a moment, watching the direction she had gone.

I wanted to make sure she was going to be safe at all times.