The Alpha King Call Boy
Chapter 243

"Fiona," Iris said quietly.

Her dark eyes roved my face and body, taking me in. Taking in the strange sight of sniffling Fiona in emotional duress, with puffy red eyes, no makeup and my hair pulled to the side in a low, messy ponytail. I was wearing sweats. And I'm sure overall I just looked a mess. "Are, uh, you alright?" Iris's widened eyes and reddened cheeks told me she was feeling awkward, unsure of what to do with the surprising sight before her.

"Hi, Iris. Please excuse me. I'm sorry you had to see me like this."

"Oh, don't worry about it." She set down the easel she'd been carrying, letting its feet touch the floor with a kind of practiced carefulness. "You sure you're alright? Can I do anything to help?"

"P'll be fine." I did my best to plaster a polite smile on my face.

Thank you. I've just received some surprising news, is all..."

"Oh no, is it Alexander? Is he okay?"

"Alexander is fine," I said, wishing I had kept my damn mouth shut and not said anything at all to Iris about why I was upset. "I should head back to my room now. Didn't realize how chilly it was out here, before I left. I ought to go inside and get warm. Have a good day, Iris."

"Oh. Alright." She quirked her head to the side, eyeing me very thoughtfully. Her energy was changing. I got the feeling she was trying to make up her mind about something. "Bye," she said in an airy, distracted tone. "I hope you feel better soon." "Thanks, Iris. Take care,"

I turned to head back in the direction from which I'd come. But once again - Iris always tempted me to do this, with the way she shamelessly stared after me any time I left her - 1 looked back just before 1 rounded the corner to glance at her one last time. What I saw made my skin crawl. Iris was unabashedly watching me, alright. Still standing in the same spot with one hand on her easel, like she'd frozen in place during our conversation.

But her face had changed. She was now grinning from ear to ear.

She had enjoyed seeing me in this state. Seeing me looking weak.

Vulnerable. In pain.

I hoofed it back to our bedroom, where I locked the door behind me quickly and then stood, shaking, with my back up against it.

"Fi, what... what's going on?" Nina walked out from the nursery with Lexi on her hip. "Are you okay? Hey, what happened?"

All I could do at first was shake my head.

I met Lexi's eyes. They sparkled as she looked at me, happy to see her mother, and she reached both hands out in my direction. "Iris," I finally answered, looking back up at Nina.

The fierce look that suddenly overtook her light brown eyes told me I hardly needed to say anything more.

Third person

Running into Iris was something that seemed to happen to Fiona pretty regularly. But Nina had never even caught a glimpse of the girl. And Nina got around - she liked to explore, liked to visit the kitchen for snacks and now she hit the training gym pretty regularly. And she'd even started jogging near the forest in the afternoons too, whenever she had a break from babysitting and needed to stretch her legs.

"Where is her room?" Nina asked.

Fiona narrowed her steely blue eyes. "Why?"

Nina shrugged. "Tell me about our enemy, Fi. Where does she stay?" Fiona sighed. A helpless look washed over her face.

Nina could tell her friend was finally done trying to pretend that this crazy bitch was not a real threat. This last interaction Fiona just had with her... it'd shaken her up. It had been enough for Fi to finally take this interloper as seriously as Nina thought she should've been doing this whole time.

"Just about a five, six minute walk from here." Fiona pointed roughly in the direction of the West Courtyard. "About halfway between here and the barracks."

- Nina stretched and cracked her back and neck, suddenly feeling stiff and agitated.

"Nina. Please don't go looking for her."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you're feeling protective and want to go fight her? You know you can't actually do that, right?"

"Yeah. I know, babe. Listen, I'm gonna call one of the soldiers Alex left here for security, okay? He gave me their numbers." Fiona's eyes widened. She'd forgotten that her husband had left some of his guys behind in case they needed them for anything. "Good idea. Thank you."

Nina called and chatted with the soldier Alex had told her to call if there was any kind of emergency while he was away. She told him that it would make Fiona feel a lot safer if the soldiers would install a guard in the hallway outside their rooms, and of course the man agreed immediately, saying he was on his way.

"Better?" Nina asked, hanging up the phone.

Fiona nodded. Her eyes were swollen and tired from all the crying she'd been doing this morning, but now she'd lapsed into a cold, distant mood. "Yes, that makes me feel much better. Thanks."

"Listen, once he gets here I'm going to make a trip to the kitchen.

I'll get us a proper lunch put together and watch everything get prepared, so I know it's safe. I'll get a bunch of snacks and stuff for dinner too. Some fresh baby food for Lexi. And I'll walk it back here under my supervision and then we can just camp out in the room the rest of the day. Okay?"

Fi nodded again. "That's perfect," she said quietly, and then she resumed staring off into space.

Nina was only doing a bit of sleuthing, she told herself. She wasn't going looking for trouble. Yeah, she'd been eager for a chance to meet Iris, a chance to size that bitch down and put her in her place, but Nina knew with her rational mind that it was best to follow Fiona's lead with the diplomacy and conflict de-escalation strategy...

She was only doing some recon, Nina told herself. That's all she was up to when she detoured away from the kitchen and headed in the direction of the barracks, getting a visual of the approximate area where Iris lived.

Nina scanned all the doors that lined the hallway, wondering if these were bedrooms here, or something else...

Hmm... How could she figure out exactly where Iris's room was?

Fiona wouldn't tell her, that was for sure...

But just as that question entered her mind, it was answered.

A door creaked open. A small hand on the knob stretched out from the room, followed by the rest of a short brunette woman.

Nina's mind said both "YES!" and "uh-oh" as the reality set in:

This really was the legendary Iris. Nina was finally going to meet her. And... she probably shouldn't have come here, probably shouldn't be engaging with her.

But it was too late. Nina could not very well go back in time and not walk down this hallway. What was done was done. Iris spotted Nina, made eye contact with her, and started walking right at her.

"Hi," Iris squeaked. "Uh, I'm Iris... Who are you?"

Nina straightened her spine reflexively and paced forward, shamelessly sizing Iris up. Yes, she could easily take this bitch. "I'm Nina. A friend of Fiona and Alex. Lexi's godmother."

Iris did a double-take. Then fixed her eyes judgmentally on Nina's hair, which was a light turquoise color as of last night. Iris's mouth turned down at the edges. "Oh," she said flatly. "Okay. Um, what are you doing here?" "Just taking a walk," Nina answered coolly. "You?"

Iris cleared her throat nervously. "Hm. Me too."

Nina really tried to get a hold of her self. To change her energy. But her wolf was just itching to pick a fight with this girl. Something about her just triggered that response.

No one comes after my friend, a voice inside her was growling.

Especially in her own house. No one is gonna harm my goddaughter, not if there's anything I can do about it...

She clenched her fists compulsively and Iris dropped her big, round cartoon eyes down to Nina's sides. She saw, and no doubt felt, Nina's hostile energy and agitation.

Nina forced her hands open again. "Well," she said, as measuredly as possible. "You enjoy your walk, Iris. I'll see you around."Read more novels at FindNovel.net. There was no doubt that last sentence came out sounding like a threat.

And Iris absolutely looked scared. Her glassy anime eyes got even bigger, showing the whites all around.

Nina stood in place like she was rooted into the marble floor.

Standing her ground and staring Iris down.

"Alright, bye," Iris said quietly. Then she spun around and scampered away, disappearing around a corner without looking back.