Chapter Twenty-two

Claire finally quietened down when she was tossed inside the car, Lukas waving charismatically at those that had gathered before getting in as well.
Claire had already moved to the other extreme end of the back seat, her bare feet placed on the seat as she glared daggers at Lukas.
“I told you this would happen.” Lukas smiled coldly, staring her down like she was a cornered mouse.
Claire was unbothered, she knew that Lukas would get his way eventually, she just wanted to be as difficult as possible. “I’m hungry.” She muttered, side-eyeing him.
There was a partition between the back seats and the front seat and Lukas tapped on it, leaning forward to have a brief conversation with the bodyguard on the other side.
A few minutes later, the door on Claire’s side was opened and a wicker basket was handed to her. She smiled kindly at the bodyguard as she took the basket, making him flustered. That earned the guard a glare from Lukas and he quickly made himself scarce, bowing politely before closing the car door.
The windows were tinted but Claire could still see out them, she quietly munched on sandwiches as they went past the high gates. It had been a full week since she followed Rachel to Moonlight and for the first time she was allowed to leave the resort. She couldn’t believe how much her life had changed in a week.
The journey to Silverfall which was the only major city and essentially the capital of Lukas’ country was a little over three hours and Claire wasn’t looking forward to it at all.
She ignored Lukas the entire time, keeping her gaze outside the window as she went through the delicious snacks packed into the wicker basket.
She was probably rage-eating because she couldn't do much else about her situation but she didn't stop, biting into a red apple.
Claire got lost in thought as she watched Lockwood get left behind, she couldn't believe that she was really going to the city. It still all felt like a fever dream to her.
After over an hour of deliberately ignoring Lukas and forcing herself not to look at him, Claire finally gave in to her curiosity and peeked at him.
Lukas had his attention on his phone, his brows furrowed in concentration which meant that he hadn't even noticed her the entire ride.
Claire sighed, looking back out the window, why did she even bother? They were currently leaving Green Bay and although they hadn't driven through the town, the few people she saw were happy and lively.
She could understand why werewolves were wary of humans. Just because she and the handful of humans in Lockwood were nice to werewolves didn't mean that other humans were like that.
She didn't have any experience with that in college because after Alpha Kings were appointed, werewolves were restricted from living outside the territories assigned to Alpha Kings.
Claire had never been to the Silverfall city before, well, she had, just once but that was before Alpha Kings existed so it was just an average city.
She had been little when she went, her parents taking her on a road trip there on her birthday to ride the big roller-coaster. She could barely remember what the city was like, not that it would help much, Silverfall would have changed drastically after so much time.
Claire quickly got bored when there was nothing to see for a long while but trees and shrubs, she also started to get drowsy which was a little funny considering that she just woke up a couple hours ago. But the other alternative to sleep was to have a conversation with Lukas so it was an easy decision.
Claire hadn't packed anything, she hadn't even worn shoes, she was currently heading to Silverfall wearing the clothes she had slept in the night before. She wished she cared more.
Lukas finally looked up from his phone when a bump in the road made a sleeping Claire fall against him. He had been occupied the entire time with dealing with the workload that he had pushed aside for a full week. Not to mention, he was only handling emergencies, there would be more duties waiting for him when he got back.
He stared at Claire for a few moments, studying her peaceful expression. Her lips were slightly parted in sleep, her ponytail messy. He didn't push her away, returning to the urgent emails that he had been dealing with.
To Lukas' surprise, Claire didn't wake up for the rest of the journey, if anything she cuddled up closer to his arm, curling up like a child.
The car slowed down when they approached a pair of high gates similar to that of the resort back in Lockwood. The gates were opened in no time and the car drove in, it was accompanied by two other similar cars that were driven by bodyguards. Bodyguards that had been sent to him by the Viceroy when he found out that the Alpha King had gone to Lockwood without an entourage.
Lukas' mansion was a recent addition, he had been fine with living anywhere but Alec had insisted that it was a symbol of his authority so it had to be built.
As the car pulled up on the impressive driveway, Lukas winced, he could already see Alec waiting for him at the entrance, this wasn't going to be fun.
He sat up to carefully take his coat off without waking Claire up, he covered her up with his coat and then stepped out of the car with her in his arms. It would be easier to handle Alec if she was asleep, this was to his advantage.
Alec Stoll, the Viceroy of the American Alpha King was dressed in a black turtleneck and black fitted slacks, a clipboard in his hands as he waited patiently for Lukas to walk up to him.
A loud expression of disapproval was clearly written on his handsome face, his glasses reflecting the sunlight which hid his dark eyes, dark blond hair slicked back.
"Welcome back, your Highness." Alec bowed when Lukas walked up.
Lukas winced. "I've told you to stop calling me that."
"I'll tell you your schedule as we go in." He replied quietly, ignoring Lukas. "There is a virtual meeting in an hour that you absolutely cannot miss, I've managed to postpone it for as long as possible but you have to attend to it." He glanced at the clipboard, although it was clear that he didn't need to. "There's a mini-mall opening on 10th Avenue tomorrow, about seven different dignitaries asking to book a meeting with you…"
Lukas' blood got colder the longer Alec's list got, he looked down at Claire who was deeply asleep in his arms, wishing he could do the same.
Alec stopped halfway down the main hallway, turning around to level Lukas a bland look while adjusting his glasses. "Your Highness, if I may ask, why do you have a human in your arms?"