“General, please. You can’t just stroll around again,” Jack, my secretary, said as I was heading out after finishing the tasks he asked me to do.
“Jack, I don’t like staying in one place, alright?” I smiled as he looked so stressed from my action that I was going out.
“Stop being so lazy!” He huffed and fixed his glasses. He looked like he was about to cry.
I chuckled and winced his hair. “Chill, Jack. You’ll have wrinkles if you are being so hot-headed to me.”
He shot me a glare. “Come back here, you lazy General.” He held my arm and pulled me back to my desk.
I slumped my shoulders and frowned seeing another pile of papers on my desk. “Can’t I take a break?” I asked wryly as he gave me papers in front of me.
“No. I know you, General Rachelle. You will leave me alone here dealing with them. And I am tired of chasing around with you. So do your work. Now.”
“Aww…” I huffed and rolled my eyes. He gave me the pen and shot me a glare. “You’re so serious.” I sighed and started working.
For a half of year of working with Jack as my secretary, he became more stressed with me. I always went out if I find that I have the stuff to work on. I couldn’t believe that being a General would I have to sit around in the office for the whole day and had to do some paperwork instead of making some rounds like those times when I was still a Commander. This work was so dull I couldn’t even imagine being lasted here.
I already received warning letters from the higher-ups but I ignored them and continued to move on my own. Until they stopped sending letters to me and let me move on my own. I even defied the Alpha King’s orders when he also sent me a warning letter that I shouldn’t move so recklessly but that didn’t stop me.
“You also have a conference meeting this 3 PM, General.”
I just huffed as an answer. “Can’t I be in the special operations team and skip the meeting?”
That conference meeting would have me sit in a chair for three hours. I could have sworn that was the longest hours I had been with.
“General, please!” Jack said in frustration and hit the pile of papers on his table.
“You’ll grow old, Jack.”
“If you are being stubborn then yes, I am, General.”
I cackled from his retort. He still just won’t get used to my attitude. Yes, he knew that I am a carefree person and couldn’t be tied down in a single place. He also knew that I had been suspended so many times even when I was still a Commander. But he stayed with me through ups and downs. He was my accomplice when I had to leave immediately for running some personal errands.
Or in short, I just want to escape from paperwork.
I chuckled mentally from that thought.
I was already walking to the Northside of Onyx House, the new name of our headquarters where they were holding the meeting. I was already thirty minutes late because I just don’t feel like going there.
Sad to say, I had to see Alpha King Claudian there. He was the last person I wanted to see because my wolf couldn’t be just tamed every time I smelled his alluring scent.
I was in front of the door and slowly opened it without making any noise. Then I entered without looking at them but I was already hearing their discussion.
“You’re late, General Rachelle. Again.”
That baritone voice and alluring scent shuddered me. I took a deep breath to calm my heart as I felt the eyes were on me.
I turned around and made a deep bow. “My apologies, Your Majesty.” I chuckled, not feeling sorry about it. Then I went to my respective seat at the oval-shaped wooden conference table.
I didn’t look at him and stared at the papers on top of my table. I bit my inner cheek upon reading the reports in the past. I sighed as our Alpha King continued the discussion. I saw Cairo and Benedict who were already smiling from my action.
They were having a discussion about the rogue war that happened and they were planning to set a new brigade at Auritaurie. It was meant to be lead a General so that was good news for me.
“I volunteer myself!” I raised my hand and met the cold eyes of the Alpha King which made my heart flipped and my wolf howled in excitement.
He arched his eyebrow. “You’ll use it as your playground?” he asked coldly.
I snorted silently. Was he underestimating me just because I always skipped meetings and paperwork?
“Your Majesty, I am more capable to be on the battlegrounds than staying here and doing some paperwork. My secretary knows that. General Cairo and General Benedict can vouch for me. Even Fleet Admiral Jose and Fleet Admiral Abraham know it. Also, you knew me after all, Your Majesty. You were my supervisor after you pretended to be the Knight of the Grand Alpha King.”
I don’t want to brag from people who can vouch for me but I am afraid the Alpha King and I might clash again. I don’t want to bring up the past that he was once my supervisor but the way he was giving me a look of looking down on me was visible in his eyes. It was pretty annoying.
I hate being looked down on like that. Like I am some sort of a pest.
Fleet Admiral Jose chuckled. “Indeed.” I smiled at him for agreeing with me. “Your Majesty, I was the one who trained to General Rachelle. I must say that the more you restrained here, the more she became stubborn. That is why I let her go to the front lines. She likes being in the battleground.”
“I second the motion.” It was Fleet Admiral Abraham. “As the leader of the special operations, I can assure you, Your Majesty, that she is a stubborn high official but she is a reliable one. She even dared to stroll around at Downcast Woods on her own.”
“I remember that Downcast Woods.” I met his eyes with the way he sounded meaningfully. “I remembered following her for being stubborn but still defied me even though I was her supervisor.” He smirked.
I suddenly remembered that kiss he just did. I shot him a glare when I saw the playful expression in his eyes. Don’t tell me he also remembered that?
“At least, I am doing my job perfectly.” I shrugged and averted my eyes from him. My heart couldn’t take his intense gaze. Sighing, I remembered something that enraged me. “Your Majesty, I have promised to myself that I am going to kill Magnius Lothim.” His eyes widened in surprise. “Send me to lead the brigade. I am more than willing to fight in the front lines than staying here and waiting for the reports from our intel. I wasn’t trained to sit around and watch,” I said with conviction. “Do I need to ask the permission of the court officials and military high-ranking officials so I can be the candidate for ruling the brigade? Tell me.”
“General Rachelle, you are disrespecting His Majesty.”
I turned at Fleet Admiral Francisco. Here he was again. The perfectionist admiral.
“I beg your pardon, Fleet Admiral but I am just asking for consideration. As I said, I would rather be in the front lines than staying here doing some paperwork. You can even ask my secretary how stressful he was for I wasn’t doing my paperwork as quickly as possible the moment I sat to be a General half a year ago.”
I had been itching to go again. But it was so unlucky of me that I couldn’t be in the frontlines for a while. I really want to go.
“Your Majesty.” I looked at Claude who was silently watching me. “Please allow me.”
His intense glare was penetrating my soul again and my wolf was leaping in joy. I could also feel his wolf who was trying to communicate with me. It was ticklish but I did my best to hide it.
Alpha King Claudian averted his eyes and looked down to the papers in front of him. “I will think about it.”
“What?” I parroted.
I couldn’t believe this… I immediately looked at my master, Fleet Admiral Jose asking for help. He nodded at me and mouthed ‘later’ at me. Smiling, I nodded my head. I couldn’t just let him proceed to the next topic without finalizing it.
As the meeting adjourned, I decided to leave first and didn’t wait for General Cairo and General Benedict. I went straight to the corridor, sitting there.
“General Rachelle!”
I turned when I saw the fuming mad of Jack again. I smiled wryly and balanced myself to the railings.
“No! Please, General! You still have work to do!” I chuckled as I could almost see him clutching his hair in annoyance.
“I’ll continue my work tomorrow. I promise!” I raised my hand, smiling.
He shot me a glare. “I don’t believe you at all. Argh!” He stomped his foot. “Get down there, General! Do you want to die?” He sighed in exasperation.
I looked down. I was on the second floor after leaving the conference meeting. Then I turned at Jack. “I am a werewolf and a flexible one, Jack. I can jump right from here without having any issues,” I said confidently.
His face turned sour. “And give me a heart attack again? No freakin’ way! General, please!”
“I’ll continue it tomorrow. I swear!”
“Tomorrow is your day off! Get down right here, you lazy General!”
I laughed and made a squat sit. “Oh, right. You remember. Tomorrow is my day off so I’ll continue it on the very next day. Chill out, Jack! I can see your wrinkles.”
He was about to bark again when someone cleared their throat. Jack and I both turned. I frowned as I saw again the last person I wanted to see was here along with his royal knight, Felix.
His scent was lingering in my nose again which made my wolf howling inside me. I shut her off.
“Your Majesty,” Jack and I said formally after bowing. Even though my heart was pounding wildly, I managed to bow my head down in respect of his very high-rank status.
“Get down there, General Rachelle. Are you trying to commit suicide?” He was frowning and approached me.
“That’s what I have been telling to her, Your Majesty. But General Rachelle is quite stubborn and doesn’t want to listen to me!” He sniffed which earned me a chuckle.
“Don’t listen to him, Alpha King. He knows I am flexible even if I try to jump right here.”
He sighed and shot me a glare. “Your secretary cares about your welfare and all you did in return is to make himself feeling stressed?”
I smiled mentally seeing his annoyance state. He looked cute but I don’t want to mind it. It has been a long time since I scrutinized his face. It was almost half a year when I realized the bond of us was reconnected for some reason. I have no idea why we had to be interlinked again when there was no reason for me to accept him. I already rejected him.
Sighing, I turned to the other side where I could see the ground, ignoring Alpha King Claudian’s whims.
“Don’t you dare to jump from here, Rachelle!” His Majesty ordered.
“General Rachelle, please!” Jack said, half-annoyed.
“General Rachelle, please listen to the orders of our Alpha King.” It was Felix, royal knight and secretary of Claude.
My eyes were still glued to the ground. I already tried jumping from here so many times and I love it. I would love to do it again. I smiled at that idea. Of course, I could do it again!
Grinning, I was about to jump when someone immediately pulled me to get away from the railings. Eyes widened, I lose my balance from the sudden jolt of Claude’s touch and I ended up jumping on the other side which was on the ground.
“Your Majesty!”
“General Rachelle!”
I immediately closed my eyes when I was expecting my body would land on the hard ground yet I felt landing to a firm yet soft ground. I even felt something snaked around my body. I also felt my lips landed into something that familiar bolts of electricity to my body.
I slowly opened my eyes and gasped upon realizing I landed on the top of Alpha King Claudian. And my lips…
My lips!
It landed on His Majesty’s!
Oh no!