Chapter 288: Faye Found Malo (3)

"I would like to speak to my business partner here in private, please," Faye said. She kept her arm locked around Malo’s elbow, giving him a firm nudge toward the open air outside.

"Your... Royal Highness," she added, trying to bow. She bent her knees awkwardly, her hoodie bunching up around her neck as she wobbled slightly on the floor of the limo.

"Please, we do not do that here," Arthur said. He waved a dismissive hand, a smooth, relaxed smile remaining on his face as he watched her struggle with the sudden formal language.

Faye and Malo stepped out of the limo.

Now standing in front of the limousine, Faye groaned while tapping her forehead and stomping her foot on the ground. Her shoe kicked up a small cloud of red dirt, her chest heaving as she let out all the frantic energy she had been holding in since she first jumped into the driver’s seat.

"Malo, since last night I haven’t had a good night’s sleep. If you knew what I’ve been doing all night just to find you, you wouldn’t be shining those teeth of yours," Faye said, glaring at Malo, who was smiling at her. He stood there perfectly fine, his hair neat and his clothes clean, looking like he had just come back from a vacation instead of a human trafficking ring.

"We have to sign the deal. This is an opportunity for us. We will be rich.. richer than the Kings, the Polands, the Ericksons. We will be richer than every wealthy family out there. This is a fate-changing opportunity," Malo said. He threw his arms out wide, his eyes bright with a wild, hungry excitement that made him look completely different but still the same.

"So you’ve been making business deals while I’ve been stressed out? Dude, do you fucking know what you’ve put me through? For the first time since I gave birth to my pups, I’ve been away from them." Faye snapped, her fingers clutching at her pockets as the weight of the last hours hit her all at once.

"I’m so sorry about that." Malo’s smile dipped for a fraction of a second, his shoulders dropping as he saw the raw exhaustion lines on her face.

"I was hit on the head hard... and it happened twice. You should have seen how much blood I lost because of your parents."

"Oh my goodness. Are you okay now? How is your head? Did you get a concussion?" Malo stammered, stepping closer to inspect her hairline, his fingers reaching out nervously.

"Yes, I did, and I fainted for like 30 minutes or so... but it’s all healed now." Faye muttered, waving his hands away with a sharp flick of her wrist.

"That’s really, really good to hear." Malo let out a long breath of relief, rubbing the back of his neck.

Just when Malo thought the storm had passed, Faye continued.

"Because of searching for you, I had a big fight with my girlfriend, and she kicked me out of her own car. Princess chose her car over me," Faye said. Her voice went small and bitter, her gaze drifting over toward the highway where the long fence lines stretched out into nothingness.

Malo was about to speak when he turned and saw Princess’s car. He blinked, pointing a finger toward the glossy hood of the sports car idling quietly just a few yards away.

"But that’s her car..."

"I drove her car just so I could save you. But because of that fight, I think she’s going to dump me... but don’t worry, I’ll be the one dumping her stupid ass first." Faye growled, crossing her arms tightly over her chest and lifting her chin in defiance.

"You shouldn’t do that. Breaking up with a Kings is a very bad thing to do," Malo warned. His face went completely serious, the excitement vanishing from his eyes as he took a step closer to her.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Have you seen Adam Kings? He used to date your brother, but then Paye cheated on him with some random guy and broke up with him. Alpha Adam lost it. He kicked Paye out of school, making sure no one would enroll a pregnant person. Then, without thinking, he got married to someone else, and look at him today. He’s like a Grinch." Malo shuddered, his hands dropping to his sides as he remembered the stories.

"What I’m saying is Princess Kings is far worse than her brother. If you break her heart, she’ll be worse than a Grinch. She’ll turn the whole world upside down. Don’t break up with her. You chose her, so stay with her forever and ever if you do not want to see the end of the world."

Malo sounded serious as he let those words out. He had seen what kind of person Princess Kings was. Breaking that heart was going to be a catastrophe that the entire district would have to pay for, and he wasn’t about to let his best friend walk right into that meat grinder.

Faye, on the other hand, just stared at her friend. She blinked, the hard line of her mouth softening into a small, dry smirk as she watched him panic.

"I will never break my Princess’s heart. I love that girl to the core. Even though she acts like some crazy Alpha, that craziness is all mine, and no one is going to take my craziness away from me. I was just bluffing about the breakup part..." Faye confessed, letting her shoulders drop as a soft breath escaped her lips.

"You better be, because you’re the one who chased her until she fell." Malo sighed, shaking his head at her antics.

"Whatever. Explain to me how that royal dude knows about the fishes."

Malo told Faye every single detail. He leaned against the warm side of the limousine, his words coming out in a fast, low stream as he recounted the madness of his night.

He explained how he found out that his parents wanted to sell one of his siblings, so he took his place. Then Butcher wasted no time and sold him to a club owner.

The club owner hired him to serve drinks to his Alpha customers, while serving drinks, Malo overheard an Alpha talking with another man about capturing magical fish. The funny part was that Malo had personally helped catch one of the fish they were discussing. He had remembered the exact weight and the specific way the scales glowed in the dark when he and Faye were messing around by the river.

After the client left, Malo jumped into the conversation and offered to help them find more. He had stepped right up to the velvet booth, ignoring the dangerous growls from the guards, and laid out everything he knew.

At first, they thought he was fooling around until he listed three of the fish he had caught and explained their special abilities.

Long story short, Malo wasn’t talking to just any Alpha.

He was talking to royalty. The young prince had listened to every word, his eyes sharpening as he realized the skinny boy in front of him wasn’t lying.

And that was how he earned his freedom.

"So you sold yourself to him?" Faye asked. She tilted her head, her eyes narrowing as she tried to find the catch in the story.

"No. He paid for my freedom, and once we sign that paper, he’ll let me go. And do you know the best thing about this?"

"What?"

"He’s going to be my daddy." Malo grinned, his teeth flashing in the morning sun again.

Faye stared at him. Her brain completely stalled, her jaw dropping as she looked at his proud expression.

"Daddy? As in you’re now a sugar baby?"

"No, no, no! Not that kind of daddy. He’s going to adopt me. It’s just a way to tell the authorities that I have a new guardian who will take care of me and my siblings." Malo explained quickly, his face flushing red as he waved his hands around frantically to clear up the misunderstanding.

"That also means I don’t need my parents anymore. They can go to hell for all I care." He added, his voice growing cold as his chest tightened at the thought of his parents.

"It’s time for a face-slapping.... Once that deal is signed, I’m the man of the house. The new head of the Griffin family."

"You’ve always been the head of the Griffin family, dude," Faye said. She reached out, punching his shoulder gently with a soft smile that made him laugh.

"Then let’s make it official. Just as we’ve always dreamed." Malo said, turning his head back toward the open door of the limousine where the prince was waiting.

"We’re going to be the richest weres in the world."

Faye took a deep breath, trying to rethink her decision.

But looking at her friend and realizing how happy he was, she thought maybe this was the only way for him to gain his freedom for good.

"Alright then," she said.

"Let’s seal that deal."