Page 72 of Coveted

He could still hear her laughing and the sound had warmth spreading through his chest. She’d blossomed so much in the short time he’d known her, from the prim, smothered princess, to the beautiful, teasing woman she’d repressed.

“Someone has to tell you the truth,” she yelled back at him.

He heard the door to the bedroom whoosh closed as he shook his head, a smile on his face even as he donned the hated robes.Maybe in time he could disassociate them from Chancellor Osmel.

Or maybe he’d burn them when this was all over.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Alana

Walking into the dining room where over a hundred people waited was intimidating. It wasn’t her first time being in a group that large, although almost all of the Chancellors were alphas, and male, which made things a little more uncomfortable for her, but knowing what was coming, what could happen, already had her nerves on edge.

Vax had made sure they were the last to arrive. Covered plates already sat at each place, full glasses waiting on the sidebar, and all the staff had been dismissed.

Well, all but a few who refused to leave.

Varner had traded his usual suit for a serving outfit and was slipping through the crowd, offering refills and appetizers and making sure no one tried to peek at their dinner. He was also keeping his ears open for any hint of who might have been involved in the accident at the mine, or the rotting food.

Vax made his way through the room with her on his arm, stopping once he reached the head of the long table. It was made of the black wood found on Farcon 1, polished to a beautiful shine, the light from the chandeliers making it sparkle like the night sky. With cream-colored walls and ivory fabrics, the tablewas the highlight of the room, and Alana wished she had the time to truly appreciate it.

Clearing his throat, Vax drew all the attention to him, more than one face frowning in their direction. Alana spotted her father amongst them, his expression neutral as his gaze glided from her to Vax.

“Good evening, Chancellors, and welcome to Farcon 1. I trust you found your accommodations sufficient. Please, let’s take our seats.”

The crowd began to shift, men in all kinds of different robes heading for chairs as if there was a specific seating arrangement Alana wasn’t aware of. They stood in front of their seats until some unspoken signal had them all sitting at the same time, as if none of them could bear to take a seat before the others.

Vax remained standing at the head of the table, holding her hand in place where it rested on his forearm. She’d expected to move to the open seat at his side, but his hold was firm, telling her he wanted her to remain standing with him.

“I’ll open with good news. May I introduce my omega, Alana Ca’Harse? She’s been a wonderful help the past few days, and I look forward to many years with her.”

Alana’s cheeks burned and she knew she’d turned a bright pink. She hadn’t expected the introduction, and the sudden turn of focus to her had her wanting to hide behind Vax. Vax’s fingers tightened over hers, a low vibration spreading through the side that touched him, and she sucked in a deep breath to fight back the discomfort.

Murmurs rose, unintelligible as they all mingled together until a clear voice cut above them.

“Is she the reason you’ve ignored my messages for two days? I even called, but your assistant said you were indisposed. I hope you wouldn’t let an omega distract you from more important matters.”

She felt Vax stiffen beside her, his gaze narrowing as it zeroed in on the speaker. The Chancellor was a species she’d never seen before that reminded her of nothing more than one of Earth’s frogs. He was green, a bit lumpy, with thick lips she was surprised moved enough to allow speech. The words were slurred a bit, which made her think perhaps itwashard for him to talk.

“I would never ignore my duty to my people. It comes first and foremost, which leads me to the bad news.”

Vax paused and looked around the table. It was impossible to make eye contact with every person there, especially the ones at the far end, but like he did with the crowd, he gave a good impression of it.

“I have closed the mines and the refinery.”

The roar that went up was almost deafening, some of the Chancellors surging to their feet in a bid to be heard. There wasn’t a single person at the table that wasn’t upset by the news, and Vax let them expend some of their anger before answering the question repeated the most.

“Why?”

He had to raise his voice to be heard, but his response rang out clear through the room.

“The Council has been betrayed.”

Alana watched the people at the table carefully, looking for any hint that one of these men were involved. Varner was against the wall at the opposite end of the table doing the same.

Brows lowered and expressions turned skeptical, and the ones who’d stood returned to their seats as they waited for Vax to explain.

“There was an accident at Camp Primma two days ago, caused by the unauthorized drilling of a new tunnel. It caused the death of nine miners, with many more injured, and some still in criticalcondition. The shaft that was being mined illegally was below the proper tunnel, and the accident affected both.”

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