Chapter 85

Owen

There were too many people in the country who were doing whatever it took to not be a rogue and they knew it. If I hadn't restricted the number of people and how people can transfer between packs, a lot of packs who supported me would have lost all of their standing and power by now.

I had to get this under control. There was a reason I had done everything possible to ensure that Theodore had no interest in getting in front of the public. I glanced at the scrolling feed and one caught my eye.

He really does look like the late alpha king.

As I stared at the screen, watching Theodore’s face freeze mid-sentence on the paused video, I snarled.

"I want Theodore's little pet project smeared in the news. Increase the reports of rogue attacks. Hire rogues to attack. I don't care. His whole platform needs to be shut down."

If the Shelter Project got any more traction, it wouldn't be long before people did start to actually think about things. Several packs would be teetering on the edge of civil war within a week.

They said nothing. I looked at them, and they were looking at each other.

"Well? How are you going to do it?"

"Well, Your Majesty… Midnight has it's own broadcasting capabilities. Even if we pull most of the national coverage, Midnight controls the radio."

I hissed, remembering that the national radio system was through Midnight because of the military bases. Fuck.

"Well, we'll start there. I'll draft up a law about it. No websites. No posts. Nothing."

"It will cause a lot of questions, and… you couldn't stop him from broadcasting from Darkmoon if he wanted."

"The fuck I couldn't. I'm the alpha king!" I snarled. "If can't stop some upstart from spreading his agenda then what can I do? Draft a sanction on Darkmoon's communications to the rest of the nation."

I snarled. "Can't you think of anything?"

One of them cleared his throat. "Darkmoon's infrastructure supports most of the nation, Your Majesty. If you put a sanction on communications from Darkmoon, you'd effectively stilt the national communication system."

I slammed my hand on the table. "I said, I don't care how you do it. Just do it, and get out of my face!"

They turned to leave. "Not you."

My communications director went still. "What is the plan to make sure that he loses this vote."

I didn't even care about the public vote. If it was hosted by Darkmoon there was no way to manipulate the numbers short of disallowing people to access it.

He swallowed hard, flipping through his notes. “We could--- Well, we are drafting a statement condemning Theodore’s remarks as reckless and uninformed. We’ll emphasize the importance of preserving tradition and maintaining the stability of the nation—”

“Stability?” I cut him off. “He just accused us of fostering a broken system. He's already referenced our history. Do you think you have a reference to overcome current noble practices and the original alpha king?"

“We’re also working on outreach to key allies,” he added hastily. “To reinforce their disapproval publicly.”

“Good,” I said, already pulling my phone from my pocket. “I’ll handle the ones who matter. Get me that statement within an hour. Get out.”

He darted out of the room and closed the door.

I dialed the number of an alpha who had been in my corner since the beginning, one who hated Theodore as much as I did. The line picked up on the third ring.

“Owen,” came the gruff voice on the other end. “I assume this is about Victor's fuck up?"

“What else?” I asked, pacing the room. “It wasn't supposed to go like that. I'm working on suppressing the footage, but the damage has already been done to a degree."

Just having Violet on camera standing with him, clearly agreeing with him was going to get the nobles on his side. She was practically their darling, and that mess with Lucas wasn't giving me any favors.

“It's dangerous," he said. "I can't see a way to respond to this that would be in your favor. I wouldn't suggest responding at all."

I hissed at that. "Fuck. If only that fucking war…"

If only we hadn't lost and those bastards across the border hadn't taken everything they could except for the shirts on our backs. If only my father had gotten his head out of his ass and just let that stupid bitch go.

I would have never have met Theodore. He might not have even existed.

I sank down, growling. "He wouldn't have a platform to stand on."

"His platform would be more straightforward, rather." He sighed. "The war was costly. Your father made the right decision."

I scoffed. "He should have had the decency to kill her, at least I wouldn't be dealing with Theodore."

I rubbed my forehead. "How much longr can we keep the records hidden?"

"Indefinitely," he said. "The sector of the national system that is still managed by the crown is separate from the rest. It can't even be hacked. We have time, but--"

"We don't have the means," I hissed. "It would have been easy enough, if I can force Darkmoon's hand."

"I'd tread carefully with that," he said. "The nobles aren't going to just stand there and let it happen… You don't have access to the records, so you have no idea who it would fall to, even if you kill her."

For all I knew, Theodore, now being her husband, could inherit Darkmoon if she were to die. Fuck. The royal coffers were drained. The economy was crawling on the thin veneer of what people didn't see. When I thought back to all the smear campaigns against magic, the laws of exile, restriction, and everything else that had been done to keep money from flowing across the border and never flowing back the other way, my head hurt.

"If we could afford another war… I'd wage it."

"The temple would never condone it." He paused. "Have you confirmed that he has magic?"

"Not in a tangible way," I said. "That… I can only imagine that Violet being in his life is helping with that."

"It's a shame we have no laws about women with magic," he said. "You could have neutralized her ages ago."

"It's not proven that she has magic." I set my jaw. "And part of the treaty, if we decided to expatriate, would rip a hole in the nation all along the border."

All the nobles and a few other neutral packs would either leave the nation or lose a substantial part of their population.

We couldn't afford that kind of loss.

"I should have never made him general," I said.

He laughed. "Not… our brightest plan, admittedly, but there is no going back. I’ll rally the others. We'll need to start making hard moves to make sure the fear of rogues is bigger than the fear of what might happen if they were ever made rogues. Look through the archives for examples of why a national penal system isn't a good idea… or could be under the crown.”

I nodded. "It's a shame that my PR team is so useless."

"Their job is press, not scheming."

When the call ended, I sat back, and the door opened. The communication's director was back with the speech in hand.

"Scrap it," I said. "We need a statement about the dangers of the penal system as it existed and how similar it is to Theodore's plan. Focus on the cost of change, the need for magic and hype up the fear factor.”

He ducked back up and a few moments later, a knock sounded on the door, and Lucas leaned into the room. I glared at him.

"You better have damn good news."

Violet

I threw my head back and laughed. Theodore held up a sheer, barely-there piece of lace with a mischievous glint in his eye.

“You’ve got to be kidding. What even is that?"

“What?” he asked, all innocence. “It’s elegant.”

“It’s a string with ideas,” I shot back, snatching it from his hand. “But I'm a woman of my word. Let’s see what else you’ve got.”

He smirked and continued his hunt through the racks of delicate fabrics. I watched him, equal parts amused and flattered. There was nothing lukewarm about Theodore's interest in me. He looked between me and every piece he picked up, looking naughtier and hornier by the moment.

And Goddess help me, I rather liked it.

By the time combed through the whole store and picked out the ones he wanted, it was headed toward midday and the city was fully alive. Theodore carried the discreet shopping bag with the same nonchalance he brought to everything, as if scandalous lingerie was just another item on his to-do list.

We turned a corner, and a figure stepped into view—a familiar woman with dark blonde hair and a confident stride. Her gaze landed on Theodore, and her lips curled into a smile that was equal parts warm, covetous, and calculating.

“Well, well, Theo,” she said, her voice smooth as silk. “It’s been a while.”

Theodore stopped, his expression briefly flickering with something unreadable before he settled into his usual cool demeanor.

“Hello, Olivia."