Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 952

Chapter 3 : A Royal Pain

*Lucas*

The guards stopped me at King Xander's gate.

“Lucas Black," I said. “I'm here for an audience with the Alpha King." I raised my very businesslike briefcase for emphasis.

The guards looked at each other and nodded, one waving to a third inside the guard station behind the gate.

The third guard cued the gate to open, and I swept past the guards without a word.

Tall wooden double doors that could be barricaded from the inside led into a wide, granite foyer, still festooned with pillars. It still gave me both a tickle and a twinge of sadness that the columns were mostly repurposed from ancient architecture, sort of a finger at the old ways. Back in the day, when the palace was constructed, the Lycaon Church had loudly protested the practice of tearing down the old to make something new.

I was now doing the same with the Great Northern Library, which, in fairness, had become a moldering old pile of bricks by the time we got there to restore it. Nothing about it had been worth saving, except the books and artifacts.

King Xander's large audience room was down a very long hallway, which could feel even longer if you knew you came bearing bad news. Today, the hall felt particularly long. Rogues and Sasha… Rogues and Sasha… neither were going to be pleasant topics.

Another two guards stood outside of the chamber, eyeing me from head to toe, to briefcase.

“Lucas Black?" one grunted.

“Yes," I responded.

He poked his head in the heavy wooden doors. “Lucas Black, Your Majesty."

“Send him in," was the king's loud reply. “And tell Marcus we could use some coffee."

“Of course, Your Majesty," the guard said, and he gestured for me to enter.

The room where King Xander granted audience was long, pillar-strewn, and decorated on one wall with stained glass windows, depicting some of the most important events in our history. Though there was a dais and a modest throne at the end of the long walk to the head of the room, King Xander was perched behind his desk today, which was mostly hidden by two columns, but enjoyed colorful lighting from the stained glass windows behind it.

“Lucas," King Xander said, looking up and smiling at me. “It's great to see you, even on such short notice."

His smile was infectious, and I felt a little more relaxed. “It's good to see you as well, Your Majesty."

“Have the rogues been bothering you at the library site?" King Xander asked, getting right down to it. “Is that why we needed to move our meeting up from next week?"

I cleared my throat. “No, no trouble with the rogues at the site, even though we are getting awfully close to their territory, nothing like what's happening in other areas."

“Growing pains," King Xander sighed. He sat back, gesturing for me to sit in the chair across from him.

I sat down and set my briefcase to my side. Inside were Sasha's resume and portfolio, though honestly, I hadn't looked at either. There didn't seem to be much point.

I was a bit interested in the portfolio, but the audience had been granted so quickly, I decided I didn't have enough time to properly review it.

Though, I thought with a slight smile, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if the studious Sasha Wentley had surpassed even me in honing her abilities. I'd been a good student, passionate, but Sasha had always been more hardworking than anyone I knew. It was a shame she was so hot-tempered.

“What's so funny?" King Xander asked with a frown.

“Nothing much," I replied quickly. “Not the rogues or anything like that. Just… well, what I came to talk to you about, actually."

“Not the rogues?" King Xander arched an eyebrow.

“Them as well. Both topics have to do with the library." I pulled my briefcase up from the floor and snapped it open.

“Let's start with some good news, shall we?" King Xander sighed. “I could really use some right now, after all these attacks on our borders."

I nodded and took out some plans I'd drawn up. “Since the rogues are determined to think we're not respecting their borders, I thought a wall between their territory and the library might be in order–not a terribly high one, mostly just symbolic. That way, we can show them we're determined to stay on our side and them on theirs."

King Xander pursed his lips. “You don't think they'll perceive it as a threat?"

I shrugged. “They perceive everything as a threat. I thought at least this way, unsuspecting citizens wouldn't just go wandering outside the library grounds into rogue territory."

“Hmm." The king looked at the plans. “I suppose a barrier of some kind is in order, given how close to the rogue territory the library is. At least you didn't think of putting up some ghastly chain link fence."

With a grimace, I shook my head. “That would completely ruin the aesthetic of the new library."

“Indeed," King Xander agreed. He steepled his fingers under his chin. “And the bad news?"

“I can't work with Sasha Wentley. There has to be a more suitable candidate for the work-study program," I said.

King Xander's eyebrows nearly hit his hairline. “She comes highly recommended by the White Queen herself. Can I ask why you think you can't work with her?"

Ah. Queen Lena herself had Sasha's back. I hoped I hadn't put my foot in it, but if I had, it was too late.

“Well," I said uncomfortably. “She...."

What? She slapped me across the face? Telling the king about such a show of unprofessionalism could tank Sasha's whole career. I didn't want that.

“We… have a history," I tried to explain instead.

King Xander groaned. “Lucas, if I asked my wife to reject every student in the engineering school who you slept with, we would be left with a very small pool to choose from. The top ten in that class are women."

My cheeks heated. “That's not what–“

“If it ended badly, work it out between you. She'll have received her acceptance letter by now. As far as I know, she hasn't approached the queen to complain about you."

King Xander's stern expression should have been reserved for a young pup about the age of ten. Maybe I wasn't the only one holding onto the past.

“I just want the project to go smoothly," I finally said lamely. I had put my foot in it, and now I sounded like a petulant child.

Damn it all.