Damon's POV
"Please just let her go." Emily begged as I observed the strange fellow in her room.
It was palace rules not to receive guests in any other parts of the palace, except the living room specifically designed for them.
I looked at Emily, and wondered how much more I could take.
Every single day with her makes it seem like I made a mistake.
"Who are you?" I asked the girl I saw in my Luna's room.
"I'm Zyna, Sir." She said, bowing.
I looked back at Emily without saying a word.
"The friend who works on the farm?" I asked her, and she confirmed with a nervous bob of her head.
I chuckled a little before leaving them both in the room.
That's the thing with keeping women less busy. They start to create work for themselves, investigative jobs.
As I walked back to my room, I wondered how I could get time off Emily's hands. I didn't want her interacting directly with anyone but Nala and I.
I needed to consult with Nala.
"Are you in?" I knocked on her door and opened it.
"Yes." She said, turning her back on what she'd been doing. But the flames in the room gave it away. "I'm sorry I'm doing this here." Se apologised
"It's nothing." I replied. "Mourn your dead however you please." I added, even though it wasn't from the bottom of my heart.
"Thank you." Nala sniffed.
"How did it go?" I asked, straightening up.
I had a very busy day, finally, all our oil refineries and depots had been signed over to me. It was a good day.
"We got all you wanted, sir." Nala said, bending her head.
I still hadn't gotten used to people speaking to me with bowed heads, and so every time it happened, I just missed eye contact. But those days were behind me.
"And aside that?" I asked, reducing my voice.
Nala should know what I was referring to.
"In the afternoon, sir." She confessed. "I tried to hurry her, keep her busy, but she just couldn't be bothered. She was with him in the afternoon, but I swear on my life that nothing funny happened. She stood all the while he played the piano. It was a harmless love of music." Nala rapped.
"Isn't that supposed to be the whole point of your being here?" I asked her, pissed. "Why did I even think this was gonna work?" I face-palmed and sucked my teeth.
It's been almost two months since Emily moved in, making it almost two months since our lives changed drastically.
For every day of those months, the rift between us grew even wider.
Dathan didn't think I should have all of our fathers properties passed on to me. He wanted a split, but that's not how things worked with pack inheritance.
I tried to explain to him in the beginning, but each time, he cut me off and threw me out.
"Hello." I knocked on his door and entered.
"To what do I owe your visit, Alpha?" Dathan asked.
He sat still by the piano, as Nala had said.
Sometimes, I missed my baby brother, but at times like those, I reminded myself that the bond we once had, had been tested by power, inheritance, and love.
"I'm checking in." I said.
"Alright." He said, and started playing some keys.
Dathan was the most talented of us both. He was an amazing artist, and an amazing creative all round. He used to be such a sweet boy, I'd sworn to never let the world ruin his shine. I swore that I'd save him from anything and anyone who'd make him feel less of what he really was.
I should have saved him from myself.
"Can we squash this thing?" I said, clearing my throat. "Everyone is uncomfortable."
"You noticed?" He asked, chuckling.
"What does that mean?" I asked him back.
"Well, there's certain things I know you're blind to. And my entire existence is at the top of the list." Dathan said.
He played an inconsistent tune, high at some point, then low.
"You know that's not true." I objected.
"I don't know why you keep doing this." He said, finally taking his hands off the keys, putting an end to the disturbing tune.
"Doing what?" I asked him. "I don't know if you've not noticed, but I need help running this pack. It's not been easy for me."
"You look like you're doing fine on your own." Dathan replied.
"What exactly do you have against me?" I asked, sitting on his bed.
The room looked like a shadow of itself.
No more fancy sweaty basketballers on the wall, no more models in lingerie, dripping wet from swimming in some glistening pool.
"I think you should get out." Dathan said, in the nicest of ways.
"No." I said,but I was distracted by something else.
As I ran my hands through his rumpled sheets, I felt something. Curiosity got the better of me and I pulled it out, only to be greeted by my wife's watch. The wristwatch I got her only weeks ago.
I smiled sadly and slipped it into my pocket.
"Please do not accommodate my wife in your room anymore."I said.
"She's Luna." He replied. "She's responsible for whatever she does, not me."
I snickered and left his roof. Dathan was smart, a sharp mouth too,
I went to my final stop, Emily's room.
I needed to have a good word with her.
"I want to talk to you."I said, making myself comfortable on her bed.
"I'm all ears." Emily replied, swallowing hard.
"Why do you continue to disobey me?" I asked her. "Do you hate me?"
"I do not know what you mean by that." Emily replied. "I did all Nala said you wanted me to."
"Don't try to act smart, young lady." I corrected her.
I was beginning to get annoyed.
Dathan was the one and only person I could take any trash from.