So apart from the petition that Malik wrote against the elders and Evelyn's stupid lawyer suing Thor over something stupid, what else did I miss while I was unconscious? Bring me up to date." I tell Ella as we walk to the part of the mansion where Thor's home office was set up in
"While you were unconscious, let me see, uhmmm... Okay, yes! The damaged electric fence. I don't know if the General had already informed you about it?... If he hasn't then you should know that it has been fixed.
"Oh..."
"Yeah... Another thing is, Cyrus, Lindsey and their team members that were arrested with them are still in the dungeon. The date for their court hearing is yet to be determined because of what happened with you. Well, now that everything is in place, maybe we should have Alpha Nate arrange it immediately after the trial or what do you think?"
"Yeah, we should. We can't just keep them in the dungeon without proper arrangements. I'll inform Alpha Nate as regards that. Anything else?..."
"Uhmmm..."
"What about the pregnant she-wolf that was with her mate when we were ambushed? The one we urgently brought to Anders?" I asks while she's still thinking about what to tell me
"What's her mate's name again?..."
"Oh, his name is Ben. He's still in the dungeon."
"Yes, Ben... I don't know his mate's name but how's she and the unborn baby?"
"She's doing fine. Still pregnant and both mother and baby are doing great. Thank goddess, we arrived back at the mansion just in time that day. Doctor Anders said another minute late and she would have lost the baby. Anyway, she was on admission and was discharged last week."
"I'm happy for them," I say sincerely
"Yeah. She came to me after she was discharged and wanted to speak with either you or the General but couldn't. You were unconscious and the General wasn't in the right frame of mind.
Anyway, she was grateful. Even though her mate is still in the dungeon, she was still grateful that we were able to save her baby's life."
"Great! I'm glad to hear that...
Let me have the package that arrived for me from Council Yard Prison."
"I already left it inside your desk drawer..."
"Wait, what?" I stop walking to look at her in disbelief. I can't believe that she would carelessly leave something as sensitive as that where Thor can easily find it.
"How could you put it inside the desk drawer? What if Thor sees it?" I ask.
"No, no, no, don't get me wrong!" She hurried to explain.
"I didn't put it in the General's office. I meant your own office. I put it in the drawer inside your own office."
"Huh?'' I say questioningly since I know I don't have a personal office. Thor and I share his own.
"I cleared the room next to the General's office for your use. I felt since you have an assistant now, you'll need your own office space. I am efficient, wouldn't you agree!" She says with pride, grinning from ear to ear.
I can't help but laugh myself.
"Sure you are. Thank you." I replied. I know that even though it's necessary I have my own office, I would still be using Thor's office with him unless when he has a visitor then I can use mine."
We arrived at my office and I can't help but commend her efforts. She did a good job in setting up the place within such a short time.
"Has Thor seen Victoria yet?" I ask as I sit down behind my desk. I opened the drawer where she said she kept the package Neal sent to me which contained the file of the prisoner Ash killed and the CCTV feed of the incident.
"No, he hasn't. He hasn't come out of his room this morning"
Her reply makes me pause from opening the envelope in my hand
"He hasn't come out of his room and nobody deems it fit to inform me or check on him?" I say and drop the envelope on the desk to reach for my phone.
"Stubborn mule!" I murmur under my breath. I should have known he wouldn't listen to me when I advised him not to continue thinking about what happened to him the previous night. It's dangerous to his mental state.
"General!" I say teasingly when he answers my call
"God, Eric! You're going to be a brat about this, aren't you?"
'What's he saying? Be a brat about what?' I wonder to myself.
"What? What did I do? How did I offend you this time?" I ask. I have no idea what he's talking about.
"Ughhhhh..." He growls in frustration. Apparently, he feels I'm playing with him. He doesn't know I'm indeed clueless
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier."
'What!? He snapped at me earlier!? How come I didn't realize he snapped at me?...' I think to myself, thinking back to our conversation and trying to recall where he snapped at me but I come up blank.
It's funny how I thought we had a normal conversation while he thought he did something to offend me.
"It's okay. Apology accepted." I say as I laugh. Thor hardly apologizes for his actions. I would rather enjoy the moment than tell him I had no idea what he's apologizing about.
"Asshole!" He says and laughs. "So what do you want?"
"Oh, yes! I just wanted to remind you that Victoria has been waiting for over an hour. I hope..."
"Crap! I totally forgot about her!" He interrupts me. "I was busy with something here. Please tell her I will be there with her soon."
"Yeah, sure" I reply and ends the call.
He said he was busy with something but I'm sure he was thinking about the conversation we had before I left his room. The conversation about 'the beautiful girl with hair the color of golden wheat field' that I asked him to stop thinking about so it doesn't make him return to being feral.
What a stubborn mule!
***
Thor's POV
As I prepare for the day, I keep saying in my mind over and over again...
'Ash...
My mate's name is Ash...
Ash...'
Ash is just a word. An everyday word that I might have used several times in the past but right then it sounds like it's the first time I'm hearing and using the word. I say it out loud like I'm testing the way it sounds and the manner with which it rolls off my tongue as I pronounce it.
The moment I walk down the stairs and into the living area, Ivar and Henrik stand up to follow me but I stop them.
"We're not going out yet. I'm just going to the conference room to see Victoria." I tell them without stopping.
I open the conference room door and Victoria, who is lolling in her chair, immediately shoots to her feet.
"Alpha!" She greets, her head bow, her hair falls forward to perfectly hide her face from me.
I ignore her greeting. I like the fact that the chair she picks to sit on is far away from where the Alpha's chair is placed at the head of the table, which is great since I also want to put as much distance between us as possible.
I sit in my chair and watch as she stands, fidgeting uncomfortably. Shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Her eyes are red and swollen like she's been crying but I don't care. Eric said I should take it easy on her because of her good deeds but I also don't agree with him.
She tried to set me up to have sex with her, risking war over my pack. I might find what she did unforgivable but what does it matter now? It's not as if my forgiveness is oxygen that she needs to live and can't do without.
She's now mated to an Alpha and therefore no longer my responsibility. Which also means she ceases to be a member of my pack. She belongs to her mate's pack now. With things being the way it is, I can only punish her if she has broken the law in my pack, which she hasn't. What is left for her is to renounce her allegiance to me or I denounce her. She owes her new Alpha her allegiance, not me.
My eyes are on her but she's not looking at me. She's looking down at her fingers that are nervously clutching unto each other.
"How are you feeling?" She's still not looking at me as she asks in a tiny voice when she finally has the courage to speak.
"I'm so sorry! It wasn't me that caused you pain. I swear that I don't know what happened. I don't know how it happened, Alpha, please believe me! I wouldn't dare hurt you and..."
"I believe you have something to tell me?" I cut her off mid-sentence.
She's sobbing as she explains but I'm not moved by her tears. What is that saying?... Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice then shame on me.