Chapter 90: To Be Close To Me

Selene’s POV

The message came from the king’s chambers.

"Good day, Ms. Selene. This is to inform you that, on the king’s request, you are hereby invited back to the chambers to provide dietary advice to the Alpha and his newly acquired Luna. Your presence has been summoned by the king and you will be expected by 9am tomorrow morning."

What the fuck.

I declined before I could even finish reading it.

What in the world was wrong with Lucian? I had told him to leave me alone. I had made it plain. And yet here we were. Did Tessa even know about this? How could she know and still allow him to summon me like I was some kind of errand girl?

I was vexed. Deeply, properly vexed. Because despite every feeling I had about it, I had no real choice ... you didn’t ignore a direct summons from the Alpha.

I put my phone down hard and went to bed.

First thing in the morning, I decided I wasn’t walking into that meeting without telling the breeders. They needed to know before anything else.

When I woke up, I ran into Ms. Ashlyn on my way out and told her too.

"You have no choice but to honour his request," she said. "And if he asks you to stay on a compulsory basis, you’ll have to. Just know you’re there on business, Selene. Nothing else."

"Alright. Thank you, ma’am. I’ll keep you updated."

I left her house and immediately felt the difference. Her home was warm, tucked in and safe. Outside, the cold hit me like a wall. It almost took me out completely.

By 7am I was already at the breeders’ chambers. Valerie lit up the second she saw me, and the rest of the breeders crowded in to give me a welcome I hadn’t expected.

"How has everything been?" Valerie asked.

"It’s all been going fine," I said. "But I genuinely don’t know what’s going on anymore."

"What is it? Tell us ... can we help?"

"The Alpha wants me in his chambers," I said. "To give him and his Luna dietary supervision. Like some kind of personal dietitian."

"Yes ... he said I should be in his presence by 9am this morning."

Valerie’s expression shifted. Knowing and sharp.

"This is just a scheme to get you closer to him. So he can keep seeing you."

"Exactly what I thought."

She understood things perfectly without me having to spell them out. That was why I loved her.

"Honestly, Selene, you don’t have the luxury to decline a king’s request," she said. "So don’t even try. What I’ll tell you instead ... make yourself valuable. Put a price on it. You know what I mean."

"You know I’m not good at business and bargaining," I said, already feeling the reluctance crawl in.

"Then you’ll have to learn. You can’t give away your knowledge and expertise for free. The books you read cost you time and energy ... and they weren’t free either, so..."

I sighed. "So what do you suggest?"

"Tell him you’ll do the dietary work ... but at a price. If he asks how much, start at a thousand and five hundred pounds a month and see what he says."

"I’m so lucky to have you in my life," I said, and pulled her into a hug. Then I hugged the rest of the breeders too, one by one.

I almost kept it together until I spotted one of the girls ... the one who had been sneaking around with her boyfriend back in Winterwood. Still at it, clearly.

"Make sure they don’t catch you two," I said to her on my way out, and left before the laughter could catch up with me.

I arrived at the king’s chambers early. 8:50am.

I sat in the waiting room even though I could have walked in. I didn’t want to. I wanted them to invite me ... it was a small thing but it mattered. It set the tone.

They called me in.

Lucian and Tessa sat directly across from me. Kael and two elders were positioned to the right. Two soldiers stood at the far ends, faces blank and hard. Tessa was holding Lucian’s hand and keeping steady eye contact with me the whole time.

Are you scared, Tessa? I thought.

We all know he’s yours now. You can drop the act.

"Welcome, Selene. I trust you’ve been informed via text of what this meeting is regarding," Lucian said.

I looked him straight in the eye. Not flinching, not softening. I didn’t want him reading anything into it ... not affection, not lingering feeling, not a single crack.

"Yes. I’ve been informed," I said.

"Good." He straightened. "We’d like you to continue providing dietary supervision within these chambers. Now that I have someone by my side, I cannot afford any complications ... especially where food is concerned."

He looked over at Tessa and smiled.

I clocked it. Didn’t react.

Whatever he thought he was doing ... it didn’t land. Not even a little. That was his wife, his business, his whole performance. I had nothing to do with it.

"In essence, I want to officially appoint you as the dietary supervisor of the king’s chambers," he continued. "What do you say?"

I let a beat of silence sit between us. Long enough to matter.

"I’ll do it," I said. "But it comes at a price, and with conditions."

"I’m all ears."

I held my posture.

"I’ll be paid a thousand and five hundred pounds every month."

The quiet gasp that swept through the room was soft but I caught every single one of them.

"I’ll still have access to the library at my own discretion. And every instruction I give regarding food must be followed. Without exception."

Tessa let out a short laugh. Light and sharp, like she found the whole thing amusing.

"Done," Lucian said.

Even Tessa stopped laughing.

Even I had to compose myself.

"My one condition," he added, "is that you’ll live here in the chambers."

I nodded.

One of the guards stepped forward with a document. Lucian told me the payment paperwork and my official employment letter would be prepared, and that work started tomorrow. He said my belongings would be collected and brought from the breeders’ chambers on my behalf.

I left their presence and was shown to my room.

It was a good room. A room given with the kind of respect reserved for someone with something rare to offer. The walls were lined with framed resources, charts, and reference material ... everything I could need to actually do this job properly.

I stood in the middle of it and made myself a promise.

I was here for business. Whatever Lucian thought he was setting in motion ... I wasn’t going to let it work. He had a wife. He needed to be satisfied with that and leave well enough alone.

I was still getting settled when my phone buzzed.

Aiden.

"Can we have a video call now?" he asked.

I had promised him. I couldn’t deny it and I couldn’t walk it back.

Was I becoming too accessible? I hoped not.

I answered.

"Hey," he said.

"Hello, Aiden." His face looked good on camera. That was just a fact.

"Where are you right now?" he asked.

I wasn’t going to tell him that. Not yet.

"I’m at home," I said.

"I just wanted to see your face," he said.

"And I wanted to see yours too. A promise is a debt."

We talked. We smiled. No one interrupted and I was grateful for that.

At the end of it, he said he wanted to take me out.

He had a specific way of asking ... a little awkward, a little earnest.

"Can we go out for dinner sometime?"

I thought about it for exactly one second. I wasn’t bound to the king’s chambers, only contracted to work within them. That meant I could still move freely.

"Yes. We can go out for dinner," I said.

I was blushing and I knew it.

"Alright. I’ll send you the plans," he said.

And then the call ended.

Just like that, the same evening I had walked into the lion’s den ... someone made me smile.

Life was strange like that.