Karina was wrong. Zuri didn't need to use her body to be heard. She could be an opportunist, just like her father.
However, she needed to make use of this opportunity carefully.
Alpha Roland, her father, once said that she had to be grateful for what she had and make the best out of it and that was what Zuri was going to do.
"Zuri?" Xaden frowned. He was on alert. The way Zuri laughed sounded malicious, as if she had a plan concocted in the back of her mind.
Zuri cleared her throat and stopped laughing. She lifted her head and looked at him. Xaden was still naked and his cock was getting hard again.
"Fine. I will think about what I want from you."
Xaden narrowed his eyes, but he couldn't take back his words, thus he simply nodded. "We will go to the palace in a month. Be ready for that."
"Okay." Zuri didn't question why. It was a norm for them to meet with the king and queen, since Xaden was the king's younger brother.
And because people assumed they would spend the night together and try for the baby, Xaden couldn't go out. More so, starting from tonight, he must go back to sleep with Zuri every night.
With that, Xaden took a new blanket and put it on the messy bed before he laid down. "We will have breakfast together tomorrow morning."
"Okay."
Xaden treated her less coldly than the first time they spent the night together and it was because of Roland's interference, yet it didn't change anything between the two of them.
Zuri stared at her half empty cup and then Xaden, whose eyes were closed, trying to sleep.
'Pour it on his face.'
'You see the knife? Stab him.'
'Smash the cup on his head.'
"Stop." Zuri closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. The room was quiet, but it was very noisy in her head.
"You said something?" Xaden opened his eyes.
"No." Zuri put down the glass, but caught sight of the fruit knife on the table, yet she ignored it and laid down. "Let's sleep. I am tired."
She didn't lie when she said she was tired, because once her head hit the pillow, she went out like a candle and the last thing that she remembered was; she needed to take her medicine to silence the voices in her head or else, she would go crazy.
The next day, Zuri went to the dining hall with Xaden. They ate their breakfast together and her father gave her an approving look. He was crazy about keeping their image.
Both alphas knew how to keep things under wraps, because no one talked about the matter of Xaden and Faye or the rejection and the miscarriage.
Alpha Roland and Alpha Xaden handled everything well and within a few weeks, everything was swept under the rug.
"We will return to the River Creek pack tomorrow morning," Alpha Roland informed them. "I hope everything will go well here." He gave Xaden a look and the next words he said were directed at Zuri. "The first year of the union is the hardest, but after you get to know each other, everything will be much easier."
Zuri said nothing and nodded her head. After that, her father had a conversation with Xaden, while Zuri tuned everything out, as usual, staring at her meal and stabbing at her meat.
The next day, Alpha Roland and Luna Karina left the Blackthorne pack. Her father reminded her about their last conversation and swiftly ensured she took the medicine, while her mother made a point of mentioning that she had gained weight and needed to lose it.
Both Zuri and Xaden walked them to the gates and watched as the carriage took them away. There was a small entourage that accompanied them. Some of the warriors shifted into their beasts to follow them while a few ran ahead to scour the area.
Zuri nodded to both and once they left, she looked at Xaden. "I am ready with the punishment for your omega."
Xaden clenched his jaw, but he nodded and an hour later, the three of them gathered in Xaden's study room. People started staring when they watched the alpha, luna and the omega enter the room, but they didn't dare to talk about this. They didn't want to lose their tongues.
Faye looked a little bit skinnier than the last time Zuri saw her. She wanted to forget, but she couldn't.
Those eyes. She remembered how she mocked her when she kissed Xaden.
It was not even the kiss anymore that bothered Zuri. It was the way she looked at her triumphantly. Her blood boiled at the mere thought of it and now that she saw her again, the rage returned with double the force. She felt utterly humiliated and it was a feeling she couldn't shake off easily.
"Xan… Alpha…" Faye whimpered, she corrected herself when Xaden gave her a stern look.
Xaden stood up and walked around his table to stand next to Zuri, while Faye was kneeling down before them. She glanced at Zuri and then lowered her head, apologized. It didn't sound genuine, but Zuri didn't expect anything genuine from this woman.
"Remember our conversation," Xaden said. He put his hand on Zuri's shoulder to remind her about his favor, but Zuri shook off his hand and walked out of his reach.
"Faye."
This would be the first time Zuri addressed her by her name. She walked over and stepped on her fingers, which made her scream in pain. Her voice echoed inside the room and when Xaden was about to intervene, Zuri glared at him.
The alpha clearly still cared for his destined mate, despite the fact that he had rejected her. Zuri wanted to know how much he cared about her.
"I want you to cut her hand. You can choose which hand." Zuri felt generous, but Faye didn't seem to appreciate it, as she started to cry out loud. "Or, you can cut your own hand," she said to Xaden.