Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 439: The Cornered Animal

The restaurant was all polished woods, velvet chairs, and had the kind of silence that said important people ate here. In one word, it had all the warmth of a graveyard. And seated at the head of the table like a king in his den was President Roy.

Except there was one person Jameson hadn’t mentioned would be present.

Natalie froze, the breath knocked from her lungs like a sucker punch at the sight of her.

Kate.

Her stepmother.

Kate was seated beside her father and looked up the second she sensed her arrival.

"Oh, look who finally showed up," Kate said, smiling far too brightly as she peered over the rim of her glass.

But Natalie didn’t move, she stood there like a deer caught in headlights.

"What are you standing there for? That’s President Roy. Greet him," Jameson nudged her with an elbow, snapping her out of it.

President Roy didn’t look like a president, at least not in the stiff, boring way most imagined. He was in his early fifties, but age sat lightly on him.

His red hair, brushed back with a touch of silver at the temples, gave him a graceful, striking edge. Dressed in a crisp navy shirt with rolled sleeves and dark trousers, President Roy looked relaxed, in control, and deceptively approachable. Fit, tall, and confident, he wore power without needing to flaunt it.

"Hello, Mr. President," Natalie greeted, her voice breathy like someone who’d just sprinted a mile.

"Hello, Natalie. How long has it been? Last year?" He asked, his green eyed studying her.

"Two years ago, sir," she replied politely.

taken aback. "How quickly time

father, gesturing to the chair. "The kids grow up so fast these days. What are the both of

directly opposite David Avax and his wife, Kate. At once, uniformed waiters approached them and began to serve the first course: rosemary butter scallops, a bowl of pumpkin soup with smoked cream for Jameson, and grilled seabass fillet with a side of truffle

slicing through the silence

fingers tensed slightly against her napkin. She didn’t look at her when

no warmth, nor

out a dry chuckle. "That’s more than

Roy, already lifting his glass, paused mid-air. "Two

out a small laugh. "Natalie hardly comes home. When school closes, she sails off to wherever she

took a slow sip. This? All of this? It was her

seen them most of my life," she said casually, setting the glass down. "I’d like

genuine chuckle from the

that one. I was just like you when I was younger, always on the

laughter at the

Natalie. She just folded her hands in her lap, expression unreadable, and waited for the real conversation

the bull by

for the

his napkin and dropped it on the

of your new role," he began, his tone almost grandfatherly. "You’re not just a House Leader. You’re the eyes and ears of our

her brow. "So I’m a

ensure that school doesn’t become a breeding ground for werewolf

than necessary. "We’re the ones who pushed ourselves into their centuries-old academy. That school didn’t beg for human students, we barged

her, but President Roy

smile didn’t

balance. And right now, the board needs a human

this and shoved her in front of a firing squad," Natalie said flatly. "And I’m supposed to play nice while