Alpha Damien's Trouble Maker (by Ruby Anne) novel Chapter 200

200 The bold little troublemaker

Damien

What was that?

The room shook violently, a deep rumble rolling through the palace walls like something massive had slammed into the ground far away. The heavy oak table rattled hard under my hands. Dust trickled down from the ceiling beams in thin gray lines. Everything trembled for several long seconds before the shaking finally eased and the room grew still again.

I stayed exactly where I was, seated in my high-backed chair. I raised one brow slightly, scanning the chaos. The elders seated across from me looked terrified. Their faces had drained of all color, turning a sickly pale. Their eyes darted around frantically, up at the ceiling, over to the walls, down at the floor, as if they expected the whole palace to come crashing down on them. Their hands gripped the edges of the table so tightly that their knuckles stood out white.

Behind me, Jason shifted his weight. I could feel the sudden tension radiating off him. He frowned deeply, his body going rigid as he scanned every corner of the hall, one hand hovering near the hilt of his blade, ready to draw at the first sign of real danger.

One of the elders swallowed hard. His voice came out shaky and thin. “W-what is going on?” He glanced around again, eyes wide with panic. “Was that an earthquake… or are we under an attack?”

Another elder shook his head quickly, though his entire frame was still trembling. “What are you saying? Under attack? We can’t be under attack. Who would dare attack the Crimson Pack, our alpha pack? Do they

have a death wish?”

A third one nodded in agreement, sweat already forming on his forehead. “Right. It is not possible. Nobody would dare attack the pack… but what was that just now?” He paused, lowering his voice like he was afraid to say it too loudly. “Even though it was a little far, I can feel a powerful oppressive aura. Is something in the pack?”

The elders exchanged nervous glances.

I didn’t speak right away. Instead, I leaned back slowly in my chair and tilted my head just a little, watching them in silence. My cold blue eyes stayed calm, almost bored as I observed their trembling forms. They always reacted like this when they faced me, shrinking back, bodies shaking as if I were the real threat in the room. It had stopped surprising me a long time ago.

I glanced at the large clock on the far wall for the fifth time that hour. The hands were moving far too slowly today.

Just like yesterday, I had left the Warrior Rite and returned to the palace to handle pack matters. Normally, I only showed up on the first day as a formality, then left the rest to Yara and Kauis while I focused on real duties here. That was how things had always worked. I didn’t need to linger. But things were different now.

Lately, I kept finding excuses to go back to the training grounds. Whenever I had even a small window of time, I caught myself heading there. And right now, sitting in this meeting, I couldn’t stop thinking about going there. I couldn’t wait to return.

I couldn’t wait to see her again.

Jason had noticed the shift in me. He hadn’t said anything directly yet, but I could see the questions in his eyes whenever he looked at me. He knew I was acting differently, making decisions that felt strange, breaking routines I had followed for years. It didn’t bother me the way it probably should have.

I had never been the kind of man who let things eat at me, especially not when I could control them and simply chose not to. I wasn’t the type to deny myself something I wanted. I wasn’t about to start now.

Especially not with her.

I still didn’t fully understand why she was affecting me like this. She was just one woman, bold, defiant, and

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2001 The bold little troublemaker

somehow always pushing back against everything I represented. I wasn’t used to noticing anyone this way. I wasn’t used to my thoughts drifting back to the same person over and over, or my body tensing with

anticipation at the idea of seeing her again. It irritated me a little, this pull I couldn’t quite explain. But ignoring it felt even worse.

All I knew for certain was that I wanted her. And I was going to have her.

My voice finally cut through the heavy silence. “I called you here for an important meeting. You will all be entrusted with a critical matter.”

Every elder turned their heads toward me at once. Their eyes met mine, and just like always, they instinctively leaned back in their seats, bodies trembling harder. That familiar fear flashed across their faces, as if they were staring straight at something dangerous.

One of the oldest elders swallowed hard, lowering his head in a deep bow. His voice came out respectful but shaky. “Thank you for entrusting this matter to us, Alpha Damien. We will do our best to make sure you’re satisfied with whatever you want us to do.”

I didn’t say anything. I just sat there, my cold blue eyes resting on them calmly.

Jason stepped forward from behind me. He handed each of the elders a document, one by one. They took the papers with confused looks, glancing at each other as if trying to figure out what was happening.

One of them muttered under his breath, “This is the first time the Alpha has given us something to do in a long time. I wonder what it is.”

Another nodded slowly. “It’s probably very important. The Alpha is a rational man. We don’t need to worry about anything.”

They started whispering among themselves as they opened the documents. At first, small smiles appeared on their faces, like they were pleased to finally be given a task directly from me. But those smiles dropped almost instantly.

Written in bold letters across the top of the page were the words.

Famine Preparation.

The elders paused, staring at the words in confusion. They looked up at me, their eyes meeting mine for a brief second before they quickly looked away again, as if my gaze burned them.

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