CHAPTER 63: IT SOUNDS SERIOUS

Breakfast felt like torture for Tavian and Jason. They sat painfully stiff at the long table, barely breathing between bites. Every muscle in their bodies was tight, their hands trembling each time their cutlery scraped against their plates. The food tasted like nothing. Gazes glued to their plates, chewing silently, wishing that the breakfast would just end already.

If only there were a way to fast-forward time. To blink and teleport out of this war-zone of a dining table. Because this table... this table was hell. Every moment was another spike of tension.

Eberhard ate with short, angry bites. His jaw shifted sharply as he chewed, and beneath the table his fist kept tightening, tendons straining, knuckles whitening. Besides him, Nikki did nothing to hide her open glare. Her eyes never left Rhea for more than a second, each look dripping with disdain and venom.

Meanwhile, three people seemed entirely unbothered.

Rhea ate as though nothing in the world was wrong, fork lifting, lips chewing, eyes half-lidded with calm. Ellie mirrored her pace, relaxed, his posture easy. And Ares ate quietly, controlled and steady, his attention drifting between his plate and the tense table around him.

Then Rhea spoke, midbite.

"Keep looking at me like that. I will pluck those eyes with this fork."

Every word was smooth and casual, but her stare was lethal. She looked directly at Nikki, who jerked her gaze away as if burned.

Ares’s fork paused. "Rhea," he said quietly, glancing at her for a brief moment.

This was the second time he had spoken her name. The first had been when he rejected her. Back then, it had sounded cold and distant. Now, it felt different in his mouth, almost weighted, shaped with a strange familiarity he did not expect. The sound of it settled inside him in a way that unsettled him more than he cared to admit.

Rhea looked at him, frowning. "What."

"Mind your manners," Ares said, voice firm but not harsh.

She blinked, incredulous. "Did you not see the way she has been glaring at me? She is the one who needs to mind her manners."

"I do not care," Ares replied, his voice clipped. "As long as she doesn’t say anything to you, keep quiet. We are eating. It should be done quietly."

Rhea snorted softly. "And here I thought you had gotten some sense."

Eberhard muttered loudly enough for the table to hear. "See, that is what happens when you let her get away with things. She is as rebellious as her father."

"Eberhard, please do not start." Ares sighed.

Eberhard bristled but shut his mouth with a twitch, the scowl remaining on his face. Nikki stepped in immediately.

"But my father is right," she said, her tone sharp and accusing. "She mocked your authority in front of the entire pack. And you let it slide. Now she thinks she can do anything she wants and get away with it."

Rhea opened her mouth to respond, but a sharp kick met her shin beneath the table. She jerked and shot a glare at Ellie, who continued eating as if nothing had happened. She swallowed whatever retort had been on her tongue.

Ares set his fork and knife down slowly. The gentle clink made everyone stiffen. He lifted a napkin, wiped the corner of his mouth, and then rose to his feet.

The movement sent a ripple through the dais. Ellie glanced up calmly. Nikki froze, eyes wide. Eberhard straightened sharply. Tavian and Jason practically stopped breathing.

Rhea, however, continued eating as though the Alpha standing suddenly was irrelevant to her breakfast.

Even the pack members below had stopped eating, heads rising in unison, eyes fixed on the Alpha.

Ares released a long breath. "I’m done," he said, voice carrying easily in the silence. "For some reason, breakfast doesn’t taste good today."

His eyes flicked to Rhea before he turned away. He stepped away from his chair and began walking. Two strides later he paused. Without turning fully, he spoke clearly.

"Ellie. Bring her to my office when you are done."

With that, he walked out of the dining hall, leaving a heavy silence in his wake.

Ellie watched Ares leave the dining hall, his expression easing into something halfway between tired and resigned. He dragged a hand over his face, exhaling slowly. "Unbelievable," he muttered, pushing his chair back and leaning his elbows on the table as if to brace himself for what he already sensed coming.

It came fast.

Nikki shot to her feet, her chair scraping violently. "This is your fault," she snapped at Rhea, her voice sharp with outrage. "The Alpha has never left the dining hall before anyone else was finished. Never. And now because of you he lost his appetite." She pointed an accusatory finger at her. "You sat there like you belong here. Eating like a savage. Talking back to everyone at this table. You ruined his morning. You ruined the entire atmosphere. You do not know your place, and you drag down everyone around you."

The pack members reacted instantly. Some whispered agreeing with Nikki. Several heads turned toward Rhea with open hostility, their eyes narrowing, silently agreeing with Nikki’s accusations. A few dared to glare openly, resentment simmering like heatwaves.

Rhea calmly cut into her sausage and took another bite. Not even a twitch of emotion broke through her face. She chewed slowly, swallowed, and reached for her juice.

Tavian stared at her in disbelief. Jason stared at her in horror.

Jason swallowed hard, his fingers trembling around his fork. His breath hitched as the thought slammed into him. Did I make a mistake... sticking with her?I used to live quietly. Keep my head down. No trouble. No attention. And it has been less than a day. Just one day.

Tavian simply picked up his fork and started eating again. There was nothing he could do, that would change the current atmosphere. No way to stop the slow suffocation sitting over the table.

Eberhard stood abruptly, his glare fixed on Rhea like he wanted to crush her with it. Nikki followed him immediately, standing so close behind him that it looked like they shared a single shadow.

Eberhard faced Ellie. "This is what you get for enabling that wench. She will get you in trouble sooner or later. Mark my words." His tone was icy, confident in his prediction.

He turned sharply and walked away.

Nikki lingered a moment longer, her eyes locked on Rhea with hatred bright as flame. "You will pay for today’s disgrace, mark my words." she muttered before turning to follow her father.

At the sub-betas’ table, Seraphine rose immediately, her daughters Lena and Lyra trailing after her like obedient shadows. Without a word, they followed the Krolls out of the dining hall.

Rhea stabbed a piece of meat and lifted it. "As if she could do anything other than screeching," she muttered, not even pausing midchew.

Tavian and Jason exchanged a helpless glance.

"You have to learn when to stop," Ellie finally said, his voice low but edged with exhaustion.

Rhea paused, fork still near her lips, and looked at him slowly.

"I know the Krolls can be a handful," Ellie continued. "Both Nikki and her father. But sometimes you have to let certain things go."

"I do not know how to do that," Rhea said with a shrug. She placed the meat in her mouth and continued eating.

Ellie sighed long and deep. Then he raised his voice slightly, directing it to the room. "Everyone. Either continue eating or leave if you are done. And stop glaring at this table. It is getting on my nerves."

The pack members stiffened, several flinching. One by one, they turned their attention back to their plates. A few quickly stood and left, unwilling to share the same space with Rhea and risk Ellie’s growing irritation.

Ellie turned back to their table and pointed his fork toward Jason. "And you. Finish your food."

Jason nodded quickly and forced himself to take another bite, even though every instinct screamed at him to leave the hall before something else exploded.

Ellie looked at Rhea next. "You are coming with me to the Alpha’s office after breakfast."

Rhea shrugged as if he had asked her to pass the salt. She continued eating, completely unbothered.

Ellie shook his head slowly. She really thinks she can win everything with a fist, he thought. If only she knew.

Ellie’s gaze drifted back to Rhea, still eating with no care. He let out another slow breath.

"And Rhea," he said, tone slipping into something steadier. "After we’re done with the Alpha, I want to speak with you in private."

Rhea paused midchew and looked at him, brow lifting. "About what?"

"You will know later," Ellie replied, his voice firm but not unkind. "The only thing you need to know right now is that it is very important."

Rhea studied him for a moment, trying to read the seriousness in his eyes. Finally, she gave a small nod and went back to her food, quieter than before. It sounds serious, she thought.