Bound by Duty

[27] A Mage's Counsel

"If you had waited any longer, you would have seen me in a crown," she said, playing with her amulet.

Glancing at it, Fallon rebuked half-heartedly, "You should have called me earlier. I had to check the internet to know that you were mated. Is this how little you think of me?"

Danielle rolled her eyes. "I didn't want to disturb you. Besides, the mating is something I can handle."

Fallon raised a brow. "Oh? By that you mean physically restraining that pup from marking you?"

"Pup?" Richard said incredulously. "How dare you talk about my king in that manner?"

The pair turned to look at him. Fallon frowned. "Was this one bothering you?"

"It's nothing," she replied. Glaring at Richard, she snapped, "Show some respect, beta."

"Why are you doing this, Dani?" Fallon asked, frowning even harder. "You don't need to put up with any of this. Don't mistake tolerance for patience. You suffer more with the first."

"Lupa tells me that all the time," Danielle said, amused. "She can't stand it when I don't respond to provocations."

"Well, you should know by now that she doesn't consider them as provocations but challenges to her authority. Which you haven't owned up to, yet, by the way," Fallon replied, pointedly.

Listening to his words, Richard was shocked, to say the least. Who was this god-like man? How did he know this woman? And why was she closer to him than with his king? Also, physically restraining the king? How was she even capable of doing that?

When his breathing changed, both of them turned to look at him again. Fallon flicked his finger at him and turned back to continue the conversation.

Richard startled at first. But then, he felt no different. Relieved, he turned to shoot questions at him like bullets. "Hey, who are you? Are you a mage? How do you know our queen?"

Danielle frowned. "Speak to him with respect, beta."

Fallon raised his brows. "Your queen? Neither has she been marked nor has she been coronated. With a bunch of brats like you around her, why would she even agree to be your queen? She has better places to be in."

Richard looked at him with disbelief. "Better? What's better for a she-wolf than being the queen of werewolves?"

"That's not something you, a beta, should be privy to," Fallon replied, looking amused.

Danielle was annoyed. She had met this man after years and some disrespectful wolf was intruding upon her time with him. She waved her hand at him. "Leave, quickly. We'll talk later."

The order of dismissal was so clear that Richard had no choice but to leave. He was hot-headed, not stupid. He could clearly see that he was in over his head. So, he did what he could, in the circumstance. He ran off to the pack to report to his king.

The pair didn't seem to be bothered. Fallon stretched out his hand. Danielle took it unquestioningly. The next second, she found herself in a familiar room - his office. Obviously, she was used to this by now, so she didn't show any signs of discomfort.

She sat down on the sofa and crossed her legs. Fallon poured her tea which she accepted.

"What's going on, these days?" She asked.

"Same old, same old," he said, sipping his tea. "No news is good news."

Danielle frowned. "My vak-crystal was destroyed when I left the Jade Pack. With the strict internet policing of the crown, I couldn't even access the forum from strange computers. It's been stifling."

Fallon didn't seem surprised. Keeping the cup down, he stared at her intently.

Danielle raised her brows. "What is it?"

A few seconds later, Fallon sighed. "Dani... I want to be sure that you understand your options well."

"Options?" Danielle looked at him warily. She knew him enough to expect a difficult topic of conversation.

Fallon nodded slowly. "Finding your mate is an important milestone in your life. You are at a point where..." He met her eyes. "You can choose how you want to proceed."

Danielle caught on quickly. The hand which held the teacup tightened. The next second, the cup turned into powder.

Fallon watched with resigned distress. "It was over four centuries old," he complained in a whisper.

Danielle paid him no heed. "How to proceed?" She repeated. "You know exactly how I want to proceed. No one," she said in a raised voice, "no one and nothing is more important to me than this."

Fallon rubbed his face. "You know that revenge won't take you anywhere, dove."

"And you know me better than that!" Danielle said in an exasperated tone. "Why are you trying to deliberately confuse me? No one can make me change my decision and and you know that too."

Sighing, Fallon nodded. "I know. I was just... making a weak attempt at keeping my promise."

Danielle pursed her lips, saying nothing.

At last, Fallon pointed his finger at the pile of powder and flicked his finger. The powder transformed back into the teacup. He looked at her and said with rare solemnity. "Some things are not reversible."

Danielle scrunched up her nose. "Still so dramatic. You are a mage, not a trickster. Have some dignity."

Fallon's lips twitched. "I'm of your mother's generation. You have some respect." He turned around and put the tea set away. He took out his phone and dialled a number.

Danielle muttered a complaint incoherently. "Send me back, then. I need to go deal with a very angry werewolf king."

Fallon narrowed his eyes but didn't reply. Juda picked up on the other end. "Sire?"

"Food. For Danielle." The she-wolf's eyes widened, her lips curving into a smile.

Juda sighed. "In a minute."

Danielle leaned back on the sofa. "Juda know me best," she said happily. "I haven't had food made by him in ages."

Fallon sat down across her. He crossed his legs and interlocked his fingers on his knee. "We need to talk."

Danielle bit her tongue and jumped up. "Er... It's been too long since I spoke to the others. I'll just-"

"Stay put and talk."

Danielle groaned and flopped down. "Can we not do this now?"

Fallon glared at her. "We must. Now."

She sighed. "What's there to talk? I spoke, he yelled, I argued, he yelled, I yelled, he attacked, I defended, we ran. End of story."

There was silence. When she dared to peep at him, the blue veins on his neck were bulging. But the true manifestation of his rage was through the objects across the room bursting into flames.

"Oh?" He said quietly. "Do tell me more."

Danielle suddenly started to feel sorry for her mate.