Chapter 47

A month has passed since Arthur’s father tried to attack me at the gallery. Arthur still has no idea what happened. When Kaylee had come back, Roman had acted like nothing was amiss. I had just stayed silent. I wasn’t sure if my voice would have been stable enough to pull off any kind of performance.

I tried not to think about it. The wedding was only a week away and there was a lot to get done before then. Arthur had ordered Molly and Noah to give me the week off so I could focus on it. At least that was the excuse he gave them. Really, he just wanted me to rest and not stress out about anything.

Which I appreciated. It was nice being able to relax for once. Especially now that I could officially feel the baby moving. She was definitely a fighter. Her favorite thing to do was kick me in the ribs.

But not everything was a-okay. The closer the wedding got, the more I started to show, the more hostile Dana became. It was like her jealousy couldn’t be contained anymore. I don’t think she ever thought I would get this far.

While she hadn’t been able to hurt me physically, she didn’t hesitate to cut me down with her words. Of course, she never did it when Arthur was around and I had asked Kaylee not to say anything. Whether she had listened to me or not, I didn’t know, but Arthur hadn’t said anything yet.

I had gone back to trying to avoid her again. It was hard though since she needed my input on some of the wedding things. She somehow always managed to track me down.

Which is why I was currently at the in-house spa. So far this is the one place that she hadn’t disturbed me. Arthur had even come with me this time. We were sitting in the jacuzzi together. His back was against the edge and I was up against his chest, his arms loosely wrapped around me.

He lazily nibbled at my neck and I hummed in contentment. Throughout all the chaos of daily life plus wedding planning, we hadn’t had much alone time together. I would have to take these moments as they came and hope that once the wedding was over, it would be back to normal.

A knock at the door made us jump. Arthur growled low in his throat at the disruption and I had to smile. He was just so cute sometimes.

“Ms. Almara, it’s Dana. The DJ just called. He wants to confirm your first dance song since you haven’t made a choice yet,” she said through the door, her tone accusatory.

She didn’t know Arthur was in here with me. He was supposed to be in a meeting, but he had blown it off for me. A plan began to form in my mind. Arthur still didn’t realize how awful Dana was to me. It wouldn’t take much to make her snap like she usually did.

“Oh, um, let me think about it for a second,” I said and didn’t say anything more. Dana was not a very patient woman. I could faintly hear her foot tapping. No, it wouldn’t take much time at all.

Dana huffed out a sigh. “Ms. Almara, I don’t have time for this. Use your pea-sized brain and pick a song. It’s not that fucking hard!”

My smile grew wider as Arthur stiffened behind me. His breathing had turned ragged and I could hear his heart beating wildly. Nobody had dared to insult me when he was around. His temper had gotten worse since we found out I was pregnant. Nobody was safe.

“Um, how about that human song? The one by Elvis. I think it’s called, ‘I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You,” I told her, my voice quivering slightly. While it was my plan to make her be mean to me, I wasn’t wholly unaffected. Her words still hurt.

“Seriously? A human song? At an alpha’s wedding? Could you be any more basic? Whatever. It’s not my wedding,” she said that last part with so much venom that I thought I would die from it.

Arthur gently pushed me out of his lap, rising out of the water, his face a mask of anger. He looked like a vengeful god.

He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist before stomping over to the door. He flung it open, grabbed Dana by the neck and dragged her inside. He pinned her against the wall, growling directly into her face.

I watched Dana’s face pale as all the blood drained from it. I did my best to keep the smirk off my face. Honestly she deserved it.

I really am liking the new you, Lily said, her eyes shining with delight. She had always been the more practical one. If there was a problem, she had wanted me to deal with it directly instead of just pushing it under the rug and taking the hits. I had never listened to her until now.

“Alpha, I didn’t know you were here,” Dana gasped out but Arthur’s hand only tightened. Her eyes were bugging out of her head now. If he squeezed much harder, he might just rip her head off.

“What the fuck did you just say to my fiance? She has a pea-brain? Is this how you’ve been talking to her behind my back?” Arthur growled, his words barely distinguishable as he gave her a little shake. Her head banged against the wall. He was more animal than man at this point.

Dana could only give out a strangled noise of protest. Arthur didn’t seem to notice though.

“If you ever talk to her like that again, not only will I replace you as my beta but I will also banish you. Do not fail me again,” he snapped before releasing her. She dropped to the floor in a heap, hand to her throat as she caught her breath.

“Please forgive me, Alpha. I won’t fail you again,” she rasped, struggling to her feet. She kept her eyes down as she left the spa. I should have felt bad for her, but I didn’t. She was a danger to my baby. She had to be put in her place.

Arthur turned toward me, an apology already on his lips. I just shook my head. It wasn’t his fault. He had just put too much trust in Dana which I couldn’t blame him for. Although he really should have listened to me earlier when I first brought it up.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into her. She’s never been like that. If she bothers you again, let me know. But I think I made myself pretty clear. She’s probably just stressed out,” Arthur said and I inwardly groaned. He still didn’t see Dana as an issue. She would probably have to outright attack me for him to actually do anything.

It wasn’t a total loss though. At least he was somewhat aware of her behavior now. I would take that as a win.

Hopefully with Arthur’s threat of banishment, she would back off now. It was the worst punishment a wolf could receive. Even Dana’ wouldn’t let her jealousy get the better of her with that hanging over her head. At least, I hoped not.