Chapter 291: “I have the King’s heir!”

“I—I was waiting for the right time! You just showed up and took what was meant for a true wolf of the West Way! You’re an outsider. Stay out of our affair.”

I sighed. This is what I have to deal with so early in the morning. How tiring.

I lifted my hand and blew on my fingernails in the sassiest way I could manage.

“Right. Because I was born yesterday.” I rolled my eyes. “If you were ’waiting for the right time,’ you’ve been waiting while Garrow was ruining your kingdom and doing absolutely nothing to help, despite being in the territory. You could’ve proven yourself qualified to be queen, but nope.”

I closed the gap between us and pushed my face forward, intimidating her.

“You just waited for someone to solve the problem for you. That’s not timing, honey. That’s cowardice. And definitely not the trait of a queen. You? Queen? You’re not even a competition to me, you’re just a nuisance.”

“I have the King’s heir!” she suddenly shrieked, her voice cracking. That was what she regarded as a perfect comeback to all I said. Truly pathetic. “I have given Noah a strong male pup!”

I scowled, my patience hitting zero. “Well, aren’t you lucky? Congratulations on your biology. Use your heir to live a good life and stop ruining my morning. I’m going back to bed.”

I turned my back on her, ready to dismiss the whole pathetic drama, but I heard the rush of wind behind me. Talia lunged forward, her hands outstretched, clearly planning to push me into the dirt and disgrace me in front of the gathering crowd.

My reflexes, sharpened by weeks of being on high alert, kicked in before I even had to think.

I simply stepped to the side, a smooth, effortless movement that felt like I was practicing a choreography.

Talia, having put all her weight into the shove, met nothing but air, and she stumbled, her feet tangling, and went face-first into the ground with a muffled thump.

I paused, looking down at her as she scrambled to regain some shred of dignity. I reached back, flipping my hair over my shoulder with a nonchalant grace.

“That’s pathetic, honestly,” I said, my voice dripping with boredom. “I’ve seen all your pathetic stunts up till now, and there’s really nothing impressive. So stop trying. You’re embarrassing both of us.”

I looked over at Damar and Fenric, who were now standing at the tent entrance, watching the scene.

“Is breakfast ready yet?” I asked. “I think I’ve worked up an appetite for something other than wolf drama.”

Talia sat there in disbelief, her fingers digging into the soil and her shoulders trembling at the humiliation. She couldn’t accept it. Never. And then, Noah began to make his way over there, and she spotted him right away.

Talia scrambled to her feet, her eyes brimming with fat, dramatic tears. The ’pretty’ entitled grey wolf had transformed into a professional victim in seconds.

Here came the highlight of her performance.

“Noah!” she wailed as she watched him approach from the direction of the Great Hall. “Noah, look at what she’s doing! She bullied me… she insulted me and pushed me into the dirt just because you favor her!”

I let out a massive, unbothered yawn, stretching my arms over my head. “Come on, put your back into it,” I called out, my voice dripping with mockery. “No one will believe your act if it’s not genuine enough. Squeeze out a few more tears, Talia. Really sell the ’damsel in distress’ bit.”

Talia trembled in absolute rage. In her head, she was the favorite.

She thought she was something, but she’s nothing.

Where does her confidence come from?

Well, judging by how she’s so sure Noah will stand for her, she’s not a one-night stand. She must’ve spent the most nights in Noah’s embrace compared to any other female in the kingdom, and that’s what makes her truly believe she was special.

Well, until I showed up and ruined the hierarchy.

I don’t really care if it’s a dozen women or if they all have children running about with Noah’s blood in them; they don’t mean anything if Noah didn’t really send them on a mission to seduce him and conceive. It was their very own doing, so they should carry the cross on their own.

“You have to stand up for me, Noah.” Talia wailed. “I have your heir. I cannot be treated this way.”

Boohoo.

Noah didn’t even glance at the weeping female. He didn’t care about the farce she was putting up, either. And he didn’t even address the ’heir’ comment, likely because the political weight was already a headache. Giving power to a pup who was green in the ear, one whose prowess had not yet been confirmed, was one he wasn’t ready to deal with while the kingdom was still stabilizing.

Instead, he looked at me, a playful, slightly teasing glint in his eyes.

“Little tiger,” he called and then stopped in front of me. His voice was loud enough for the gathering crowd of spectators to hear. “You should really be a little more gentle when handling the females in this kingdom.” He reached for my face and caressed it gently. “Because, unlike you, they are all quite… Not all that.”

He had this soft, adoring gaze in his eyes while he spoke, but even if his gaze made me blush, his words made me scowl.

“You mean they’re gentle?” I asked, one brow raised, and he nodded.

“The only hardship they’ve probably ever gone through is giving birth to pups, so yes, compared to you, they are gentle.”

I scoffed.

“So you’re saying I’m a bully?” I retorted, crossing my arms. “No matter how I look at it, you’re calling me a thug.”

Noah smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s not that. It’s just… You have a trait for bossing beasts around that feels a little, well, oppressive. It’s a very Queen-like quality, but maybe take it down ten percent?”

I waved him off.

Didn’t he say he was looking forward to me putting the troublemakers in their place? Did he change his mind after the war?

Well, too many died, but I won’t let him off the hook so easily.

“I don’t want to hear it,” I said and announced back to Damar and Fenric. “You hear that, boys? Noah thinks I’m a bully.”

“Shame on you.” Fenric retorted.

“Ari is the most gentle female in the world. Don’t insult her.” Damar hissed back, and I folded my arms, my chin lifted, and my eyes closed, nodding to their praise. I opened my eyes, a mischievous glint entering my eyes.

“Did you hear that? I’m the gentlest female in the world.” I said. It was a very bully-like thing to do, get testimonies from my supporters, haha.

Noah sighed, a laugh escaping his lips with the sigh.

“I won’t argue. Yes, Little Tiger. You’re so so gentle.”

I laughed and then locked gazes with Talia. The girl was practically vibrating, her face a mask of jealousy and hatred. Oh, she was burning.

’Well, if I’m going to be a bully,’ I thought, ’I might as well give her something to actually cry about.’

I reached for his face and brushed my thumb over his cheek, nearly his eyes that seemed exhausted from staying up late to handle the kingdom’s affairs.

“You must’ve been working all night, you’ve got bags under your eyes.” I stepped closer, leaning up to press a sweet, lingering peck on his cheek. “Get some rest, Noah,” I said softly, loud enough for Talia to hear. “If work gets too hard, just come find me. I’ll take care of you.”

My action was without a doubt effective. Talia looked like she was about to have an aneurysm. You know, like when your blood vessels start swelling cause there’s something blocking the flow… And then the face gets red to the point it seems you’re going to pop.

That’s how she looked.

Behind me, Fenric cleared his throat loudly, and Damar’s tail twitched with sudden interest. I chuckled, seeing the “what about us?” looks on their faces.

I didn’t mind the eyes of the beasts watching us. I stepped over and gave each of them a peck on the cheek as well.

“You two, too,” I said with a grin. “Don’t work yourselves to death trying to help out. We can only live our day fully if we take lots of rest.”

Talia was livid. She turned on her heel with her tail tucked between her legs, but her eyes were definitely promising murder. She marched away, and I knew exactly where she was going.

She was going to find the ’Committee of Disgruntled Mothers’—all the other females who had pups with Noah and felt entitled to his throne.

I watched her go, completely unbothered. I expected no less from a jealous female who could not win in a real hand-to-hand fight.

If we decked it right here right now, I’d surely win, and she knows that. That’s why she’s retreating for now. Coward.

If they wanted to gang up on me, let them try. I’d handled a lot of dangerous situations during my journey here; a group of catty wolves was practically a vacation.

“Now,” I said, turning back to my men. “What’s for breakfast? I’m starving.”

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