“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Little One. Your assessment is correct. These people mostly deal in words, bribes, and threats. Especially in the King’s Castle. They will not risk being an outcast here, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t try things away from the king. You did good tonight, though.”
“You were watching me?”
“The King would trust your safety to no one else. Remember, you are special, Little One, and very important to this kingdom.”
I suddenly felt very tired. I don’t want to be special; I just want to be me. I want to become a warrior, find my mate, and ride off into the sunset with my family like a romance movie. Is that too much to ask? I leaned into Xander and rested my head on his chest. His arm tightened around me, and I just closed my eyes, breathing in his comforting scent.
The next thing I knew, I was swaying, like someone was rocking me gently to sleep. I took a deep breath, and buried my head into the soft fabric I was laying on. I heard whispers around me, though, which was pulling me closer and closer to consciousness, making me grumpy.
“You should have seen her shut down Bastian. I’ve never seen someone else dominate a conversation with him before; it was amazing.”
“She went toe to toe with Olympia too. I thought that girl was going to wet herself. I’m already a little terrified of Sky, when she gets her full Luna powers she’s going to be a force, bigger than she is now.”
“What makes you think she will be a Luna?” I recognized voices now. Osiston was asking Oscar, I think. The swaying was lulling me back to dreamland, but I needed to fight it; I wanted to hear this conversation. Are they talking about me?
“She commanded a room of over fifty people, during the conferences today, as a female with all of these old-school bastards who think females should be relegated to the pups and the healing rooms. The only reason they brought their own daughters in, who had no concept of what was going on, was because they found out she was going to be there and wanted the chance to parade them in front of Xander, not actually participate. She shut all of them down and proved she deserved a spot at the table without being mean or petty or having a political agenda behind it. Then tonight she stepped up to each insinuated insult and let no one intimidate her. If she’s not a Luna, Warrior Brogen, I would fear for your job security.” The people around us laughed quietly.
“Here, Xander, I want her in this guest room, closest to you. There’s a few I still don’t trust that might try something tonight.” I chose that moment to open my eyes, take a deep breath, and look around.
“Hey Midge.” Xander whispered. “You fell asleep in the elevator. You’re staying here tonight and all day tomorrow, so don’t try sneaking out early to go running.”
