The White Wolf Chapter 168: Goodnight to the Children

When the movie ended, the groggy children were ushered to dinner. They welcomed their lost friend, who had been found, back into the fold. 

They played and laughed as if nothing had happened. At times, they were scolded for their overzealous behavior. Their interactions were pure, untainted by the mark of the struggle for power. Their day would come, and until now, they would play without a care. 

Alexia found herself sitting down at a table with the children for dinner. Enzo and Cynthia joined her. She was more at ease with the children than she had been at the grand hall eating delicacies. 

Instead, the food was simply curated for the palates of children. She was glad to be there actually enjoying her evening. 

The children would approach her from time to time asking her questions and telling her things they believed she should know. She greeted them with a smile and listened to their words. 

Amongst the chaos of children, Enzo updated the queen that the king was still en route. The terrain in which they had to traverse was treacherous causing them to to use extra caution. 

She worried for him. He had not made contact with her. It annoyed her that he hadn’t but the rational side of her wished for him to focus on the task at hand so that he could return safely. 

When she passed a guard she could see the alertness in their eyes. It was as if they were waiting for something. 

Her focus would be brought back to the children when one of them would squeal. Chasing each other around the table they did not worry about what was to come. 

It was the first time Enzo and Cynthia had been together openly in public. Their nervousness showed but their connection could not be denied. They gravitated to one another. There were questions swirling around Alexia’s head but she refrained from asking. For now. 

Instead, she focused on speaking to Cynthia about the orphanage and children. It was a good place for them to find her footing at court. Enzo seemed pleased as she would not be dealing with the vipers that circled looking for fresh blood. 

It was a game to many of the upper aristocracy to make others miserable for the fun of it. Over time Cynthia would learn who to trust but till then she would dip her toes into court life before diving in head first. 

After a long day, it came to a close for the children. Their bellies were full and sleep was on its way. 

Their bedtime came much earlier than the queen’s. She bid them farewell so that they could be tucked into their new beds. 

Enzo and Cynthia escorted her back into the palace. They were trailed by several guards. The new couple made sure the queen made it safely to her chambers. Happily she escaped into her chambers to get away from them. Being the third wheel just made her miss her mate. 

The sun was set and Caspian was not here to share their bed. She showered washing off the grin of the day. 

Walking into the closet she grabbed a pair of Caspian’s shorts and sweatshirt. She shrugged them on then took a deep breath exhaling his smell. 

The urge to link him was strong but she fought against it, worried she would interrupt his focus. They would need to remain stealthy to go undetected. 

Snuggled in their bed, Alexia quickly drifted off to sleep. The sleep was dreamless as the tiredness her body felt seemed to catch up with her. 

In the morning her hand reached for Caspian but he was still not there. Not dwelling on her misery she stired from the bed. It was still early. She had gone to bed not long after the children. 

Quickly she dressed for the day. Slacks and blouse paired with sling-back heels. She would probably remove the heels while in her office. The only way she could stand wearing them all day. 

The palace was noticeably quieter with only a few alphas left. The ones that were still there were sleeping. 

It amazed her that she had even beaten Harley up. Quietly, she made her way to the kitchens. The morning staff was awake as they began their chores. 

They were startled at seeing the queen. “Please pretend I’m not here,” she said putting her hand up to stop their immediate move to assist her. 

The smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the air mixed with the scent of pastries being pulled from the ginormous ovens. Carefully a kitchen maid plucked them from their pans to cool on racks. 

Flour covered the counters. Bread sat in baskets rising to be baked later in the day. The day's meals began to be prepped as breakfast cooked. 

Each member of staff watched the queen out of the corner of their eye as if they were failing a test. Their dirtied aprons showed how long they had already been up working. 

It seemed to cause them pain to return to their tasks as the queen poured her cup of coffee before grabbing a muffin and bidding them goodbye. She was as quick as she could be not wanting to be in the way. 

She took her time walking to the study. Enjoying the peace and quiet. She supposed she could work in Caspian’s but she decided it was better to work in hers. 

Checking email that she had neglected over the last few days seemed tedious but it paid off when Alexia read that little Ellie would be released from the hospital that day. 

She smiled as she sipped her coffee pleased with the good news. She ate the muffin she had taken from the kitchen later she would be hungry but when that happened she would send Harley instead of scaring the staff again. 

The children’s activity for the day would be decorating the bed space to make themselves more comfortable. 

Volunteers had scavenged from the ruins what they could find from the orphanage. What few belongings were rescued would be brought over after a proper cleaning. 

As she went through the emails, Alexia took notes to pass on to Harley to relay to Cynthia. Moving forward Cynthia would be more hands-on with Alexia only checking in from time to time. 

With the email finished, she moved on to reports. The door opened suddenly causing her to jump in alarm but slump back when she saw it was Edmund carrying a laptop. 

“Good morning to you” she mumbled looking at her papers. 

“Whatever you’re working on forget it. This is more important.” He said walking over to her desk.