The Alpha King Call Boy
Chapter 245

Fiona

Nina returned to the room about half an hour later with two kitchen attendants pushing two catering carts. She hadn't been kidding about loading up on food so that we wouldn't have to leave the room or even open the door for the rest of the day.

She seemed to be avoiding my eyes, though, as I greeted her.

Once she'd locked the door behind the servants, she wheeled around and said, "I know better than to try to keep anything from you, Fi. I need to tell you something."

"What? What happened?"

Nina sighed. "I finally had a run- in with Iris of my own. Let's go sit down. I'll tell you all about it."

And then she told me a very disturbing little story.

"Nina," I said when she finished. My voice sounded defeated, pleading. "Why did you go over there? I told you not to do that."

"I know." She hung her head. "I'm so sorry. I swear to you, I was only trying to do a drive-by. Just making myself aware of the area she stays at, in case I see someone coming from that direction..."

I was compelled to take hold of Nina's hand. "It's okay," I said, giving her hand a squeeze. I did not want to be mad at her right now.

She was my lifeline right now. "I know you were just trying to help.

That's super weird that she was coming out of her room right as you walked over there, though."

"I know, right? I didn't expect that. But listen... maybe I stirred upmore trouble, or maybe on the other hand I might have intimidated her in a good way. She seemed legit scared. Maybe she'll get the message and keep her distance, "Maybe." That would be good, if that was the case. But I doubted it.

Iris was uber-sensitive. She took everything personally. It didn't seem likely that having Nina go all Alpha She Wolf on her was liable to produce a positive result.

Suddenly 1 regretted all the allowances I'd given to tris. All the treepasses. All the leeway.

And I hated my wretched father more than ever. This was all his fault. He shot this woman in the head a decade ago in the commission of an assassination plot; he was the reason she was here in my home in the first place. And my guilt over his sins was also the reason for my letting her stay this long. I'd convinced myself that being patient with Iris was a way of doing a good deed, a way of making up for a little of the damage my father wrought when he was alive.

I had never despised him more. Yes, I already hated my father for what he did to Alexander's mother, and how he had hurt Alexander himself. But now the repercussions of his evildoing had actual put my child in danger.

How did I know that specifically-that Iris was a danger to Alexis?

I don't know how I knew. I just knew. Maternal instinct. Wolf instinct. Something I picked up on with my empath abilities when I saw Iris this morning. Some combination of all those things.

Yes, Alexis was in danger. I could not shake that feeling. And she was in danger because of what my father had done all those years ago.

It seemed like the deck had been stacked against me.

I was trying to play an honest game with my life: Work hard, be a good Luna, be a good mother and wife and businesswoman, be strong for my family, achieve and succeed.

But no matter how hard I worked, how good I was... the past just kept coming back to haunt me. The fallout from Alex and my families

'wretched history together seemed unending. It was nothing but violence begetting violence over and over again.

When would it ever end?

Third person

Iris's blood was pumping hot and fast with anger, her skin flushed all over.

Fiona's friend had really set her off. Striding up to Iris's door and staring down at her menacingly, saying shit like "see ya 'round" like she was some kind of a mob boss? Who did she think she was? Coming here to Iris's own bedroom and trying to intimidate her?

Yeah, Nina was kinda scary. She wasn't super tall, but she was taller than Iris. And she just looked like she was really strong. Her arm muscles were chiseled like an action movie superhero's-you could even see them through her sweater.

Iris clenched her teeth, fuming mad when she replayed that interaction in her head. That person, with her wild blue hair and her bossy attitude, had no right to try to make Iris feel unwelcome here.

Alexander had invited her here, after all. He'd tracked her down all the way to the moors, he'd traveled the world to find her and bring her here. He wanted her here! She was his guest!

It was Fiona who wanted her gone, Iris was sure of that. She wanted Iris out of the picture, she just made Alexander do her dirty work, made him kick out his friend he'd worked so hard to find.

This week, Iris had resigned herself to leaving the palace. She didn't want to, but it felt like Fiona had won. She couldn't think of any more things to say to Alexander that might convince him to let her stay. Fiona won, and Iris was leaving.

But now she was pissed off. After that stupid thing with Fiona's mean friend. And she was also feeling like maybe the universe wasgiving her an opportunity. That moment she'd shared with Fiona herself earlier... it had given her an idea she just couldn't stop thinking about.

She'd walked up on the princess while she was actively crying. And saying something about... she'd "rather die" than something..?

Whatever that was about, it just made Iris feel like maybe she should grant Fiona that wish.

Maybe with Fiona out of the way... while Alexander was still away... she could get to the baby.

Alexis. Lexi. She was a beauty. She might have had her cold mother's icy eyes, but she had Alexandra's everything-else, and she was wonderful. So sweet and perfect.

It had felt good to see Fiona like that this morning. To see that even she, with her too-beautiful ice queen eyes, could cry. Could be weakened, or even broken.

Iris was seated on the floor in the closet of her palace bedroom. Her back was to the wall, her feet flat on the floor, her knees up. She had a painting in her lap, one she'd finished a few days ago. It was finally dry.

The painting rested against Iris's thighs, staring up at her. She gingerly ran her fingers over the ridges of dried paint, tracing the pale peach outline of the portrait subject's cheek.

"I'll go away," Iris whispered into the air. "Mm-hm. But I will take her with me."

It had only been a funny fantasy when she thought about that before. A silly thing she liked to play around with imagining. Taking the baby back to the moors with her, and raising her as her own.

But today she just knew - the universe was sending her a message, it seemed like - today Iris knew she actually had to do it. It was what she was going to do. And she had to do it fast, before Alexander got back. "You will love it there," Iris said, smiling down at the painting.

It was a portrait of baby Alexis. She stroked the pale yellow lines of painting Alexis's hair with a gentle, loving touch. Then brought the canvas to her face and pressed a light kiss to the painting-baby's forehead.