Wolf Bait (Perry and Jonas)

Lockwood has to call me back, and soon because I want to bring in Allegra as fast as I can. Whatever she's up to, I hope she's doing it quickly and that it doesn't warrant her a death sentence. I'm hoping the King grants her some kind of mercy so she can teach me how to

sneak around the way she has. Maybe even hand down some sweet secrets.

"Perry, do you want to come-" The King stops at the door when he catches me playing on my computer. I bet he's just as weird about me being back here as I am.

"I would, but later. I have stuff to do," I laugh when he doesn't finish. He grins, and the tips of his cars get bright red. "What's up?"

"Would you like to have breakfast with Annie and me?" he asks.

"Sure," I stand up, lock my screen, and reach for my phone.

"Did I hear Oz in here?" he asks as we make our way to the elevator.

"Yeah, she was checking in on me and asked if I needed anything from the library,"

"The library"

"Research for my classes in the spring. I have a few months to brush up on Lycanthropy basics. Do you have any recommendations?"

"Do you have a list?" he asks. I hand him my phone. He scrolls through it and then adds some things. "It's a good start. I've been reviewing some of the Lycan Tech funding programs. Think we can talk about it at the dome later?" "You have four meetings today. Will you have time?" maybe bailing me out of psych evaluation around si. Maybe?

"How do you know that?" he smirks handing my phone back.

"It is our company. It would make sense that I be made aware of what's going on," I tuck my phone away. "I actually wanted to ask you something that Oz suggested," "Regarding your powers?"

"No, regarding us. She thinks it's a good idea for us to take couples counseling,"

"Perry," he bursts into laughter. "I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that,"

"That was literally my reaction," I laugh. The elevator doors ping and then open when we touchdown on the first floor. Mackenzie and Andromeda stare between us.

"Good morning," Andromeda beams.

"Sup," Mackenzie says quietly.

"Good morning," I greet them both.

"Ready for school, Annie?" the King throws his arm over Andromeda's shoulders as we make our way to the dining room.

"You okay?" I ask Mack, letting them go up ahead. She stops me and lets out a heavy sigh.

"I can't just be here resting. I'll blow my brains out," she doesn't look up at me.

Is she asking for my permission? I look her over to see that she's absolutely serious. What was done to her in that lab must have fucked with her head more than she wants to admit.

19.29

C

"Let's have breakfast. Tshow you the workspace after. Yeah?" I offer. Her eyes light up and she nods wordlessly.

Andromeda goes on about a project she's working on with Bunny. She tells me she'd also like an apprenticeship. To which the King replied we'll see. Neither of them brought up the former Queen or the progress made in bringing her back. She also asked Mack a couple of questions. Mack gave her lightly worded answers that made Andromeda revert her attention back to the King.

"I'm going to check in with Dad before we go," Mack says and excuses herself.

When she walks away, her shoulders are tucked into herself, and her head is bowed low. She even pulls her hoodie over her head before stepping out of the room. She only ate a few bites of her food but drank a lot of coffee.

"I'll see you after school, Jo," Andromeda waves at the King. "Bye, Berry Perry,"

"Laters, Princess," I wave back watching her skip off.

"Yes," the King catches my attention.

"Hmm?" I hum turning to face him.

"On the counseling thing. I'll have Oz set it up," he glances at the doorway and then looks back at me. "How do we proceed with Mackenzie?"

"I have to get a feel around her. If I approach directly, she'll bail. The last thing I want is to spook her,"

"So, she's a mini version of you?" he smirks.

"Yeah, well you have a little female version of you as well. So, shut up," I roll my eyes.

""I'll meet you

at the dome at four?"

"Sure," I agree. We stand in the doorway staring at one another for a moment. Would it be weird if he kissed me goodbye? Do I want that? "Blink," we both step away when Mackenzie pops up out of nowhere. The King mutters an excuse me and walks away shaking his head. "Ugh,"

"You could have given him a minute to make up his mind," I glare at her.

"I gave you two like eight minutes. You just stood there. Not even blinking. Weird," she waves me off. "What are we doing?"

She changed into something a little more comfortable. A sunflower sun dress paired with an army green denim jacket and her usual black combat boots. Her socks are yellow, and her hair is up in two messy buns. She's got her holster on under the jacket. I can see the bats accessorizing her revolver under her jacket.

"Umm, we're going to the dome. Roy is gonna be there. He's going to be taking over some of the economic stuff. I just want to make sure he knows what he's doing," I clear my throat.

She groans and shifts uncomfortably, but she doesn't say anything.

The new norm is strange. Those who would whisper and gossip about me stand straighter as I walk by. They bow their heads for me. I'm grateful to get on the lift with Mackenzie who hates the attention just as much as I am.Owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

"Is it always like that for you?" she whispers when I slide the gating open for us at the bottom.

"It's different than before. They used to talk shit,"

"And you let that happen?" she glares at me.

"The situation was different, Mack. I wasn't the Queen to them. was the King's slave,"

"And you're just going to let that go? Why? It's not like you want to be Queen of the freaks," she huffs. The dirty glares she gets make me growl at them. They avert their glares but it's clear they're still listening.

"I'm married and mated to their King. I have a responsibility to do that now. Regardless of how things came to pass. I chose this,"