Chapter 161

The words hung in the air. One of the girls at the table whispered, “I can’t believe she called him and said it directly to him.”

Another scoffed. “She is against her?”

Rowan’s voice was holding back a laugh, and he cleared his voice. “Let me get this right. You called me, your king, to tell me that you said that if I punished you for not bowing down to my nonexistent, weak mate, that you would... what? Rebel?”

“No. Not rebel. Just not respect or follow your lead.”

He snorted out a laugh. “Amy, why are you wasting my time?”

“While I can appreciate your busy schedule, I figured it was a smart move to explain the situation directly to you, so that in the future, no one could use my words against me to you.” I crouched down in front of Nina again. “Plus, I respect you enough to say my feelings to your face. Or on a call.”

He snorted, and then I could hear him clear his voice again. “Thank you, Alpha Amy, for explaining the situation. But I agree with your assessment of the situation. Any alpha that commands or demands respect for himself or his mate is a weak ruler. If you can’t earn your respect, then you don’t get the respect. End of story.”

I heard a voice in the background. “You can’t mean that, Alpha. What if the mate we selected for you is weak?”

“Then I wish you the best of luck trying to convince my wolf to accept the girl. As I said, Gerald, I will not go against my wolf in this. Find me a mate that he agrees to, or I will stay unmated until my goddess-given mate shows up, as expected for a king.”

The words seemed to deflate Nina. “But you need an heir.” The words sounded as if someone was scolding Rowan, and Nix did not like it.

She took control faster than I could hold her. “Am I on speaker, King?”

There was a pause, and Rowan’s voice sounded further away, “You are now, but who are you?”

He was a smart man. “I am Amy’s wolf.” Nix pushed. “I could not sit idle when I heard the man scold you.”

I heard a snort, and then a hesitant voice came from the other call. “Excuse me?”

“I do not know who you are, but I will say this once. You speak to your king with the respect and the reverence he deserves or I will track you down and ensure you know the error of your ways.”

There was a quick inhale, and Rowan cleared his throat. “We just spoke of respect is earned by the wolf.”

“We did,” Nix answered back. “But there is a line. I can only assume this wolf is in the council, the one that was in place by your father, and that he expects you to turn to him for his ideas and council, and he has let that get to his head.” There was another choking sound on the other end. “I will not demand respect for you, my king, but I will ensure that a wolf, no matter the rank, understands that there is a line he should not cross. He turned his back on the goddess herself when he decided he could select the next Lana Queen, instead of allowing you to wait for your mate. Not only is he putting himself above the king and the future queen, but he is trying to usurp the position of the goddess.”

“What?” Rowan sounded confused.

“I wonder why the council has decided that now, they can select who you mate, and when you should have children. Is it due to actual worry, or something more sinister? A weak queen and young, impressionable pups are easily manipulated when the king is too busy overseeing a war with rogues. Do you not agree?”

The silence on the other end was deafening. “King, you must know that our intentions are only for the continuance of your line,” the man stammered.

But Rowan’s silence stretched on. “Amy… I have to go.” His quick dismissal was surprising but understandable. “Thank you for calling me, but I have a lot of things to discuss with my council.”

“I understand.” I clicked the end button and turned back to Nina. “Well, I guess your mating might not be as secure as you thought.” I had tucked my aura away as the phone call started and Nix, after saying her peace, receded, leaving me staring down at Nina.

She surged to her feet. “You bitch.” I pointed at myself, and she shrieked again. “You think you have won something, but the king has already agreed to finding a mate by goddess bond? He can’t get out of it.” She laughed as she turned away. “You haven’t won shit.” Then she left with her group of girls following her.