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I hugged Micah to me as he dazedly tried to follow his brother. A forlorn expression crept into his eyes.

“Armani promised that he'll come back,” I comforted him. “He’ll come back to you soon. In the meantime, he wouldn’t want you to be so sad.”

Micah forced a smile. I remembered that he still hadn’t eaten as yet. It was getting late so I decided to just take him out for dinner.

“We have a meeting now,” Jackson said as he walked out of the room.

A chorus of groans came in response. I looked over at Ashton, who had been silently watching me and Micah.

Jackson paused by the door. “You too, Elizabeth.”

“Me?” I asked in surprise. I never had to attend those before.

He nodded once and then left the building. Jun grinned happily beside Kristof as he tried to annoy him into fighting him.

“I have to get Micah something to eat first though,” I pointed out, but Micah shook his head.

“I’m not hungry anymore.”

“You’re not feeling hungry right now, but you will be later. You have to eat. I did tell your brother that I’d watch over you while he’s away.”

Jun frowned in Micah’s direction.

“I know,” I said, getting an idea. “Why don't you grab something to eat with Callie while I go to the meeting?”

“Callie’s here?” he asked and I nodded.

He thought about it and then smiled. “Okay.”

I texted Callie and in a few minutes she and Daniel came to pick up Micah. After they left, I swivelled around to face the guys. I had a bone to pick with them, but I decided to just talk to them at the meeting.

Ashton walked beside me in silence all the way to his house. I wanted to say something, but the dark, brooding expression on his face killed the words in my throat. We went up to the second floor to their meeting room.

Jackson sat at one of the desks and Ashton went to the front of the room. I sat between Kevin and Raúl.

The room was a bit tense as they had just come out of a two hour long meeting. As Ashton sorted through some papers, I turned to Kevin.

“Can you tell me what happened just now? Why did Armani have to leave?”

“His argument didn’t stand a chance against three Betas,” Kevin sighed.

“But he wasn’t in the wrong,” I protested.

“We tried to help him, but the king’s advisors weren’t interested in keeping him around. He’s been in a lot of fights too. They’re tired of warning him.”

“I’m glad he’s gone,” Jun piped up from where he was lounging on the couch.

“Jun, you shouldn’t say that,” I frowned. “He fought back in self defense this time.”

“And what about all the other times?” he scowled. “He’s just an Omega who needs to know his place.”

I glanced at Jackson, whose eyes were closed and he wore an expression of irritation.

“Yes, he’s an Omega, but he’s a person too. Plus, he’s Micah’s guardian.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Jun spat. “We’ll just get rid of him too.”

“Don’t you try and hurt Micah,” I frowned.

He scowled.

“Okay,” Ashton said tiredly as Jun and I finished. “Let’s move on to something else.” He leaned against the desk. “The party will be in a few months.”

I stared at him in shock. They did not just call me into a meeting to discuss a party.

“It’s not just any party,” he stated when he saw my expression. “It’s an annual thing for royals, nobles and their soulmates. A gala. This year it’s being hosted by the Cilan Kingdom.”

“Yeah!” Raúl shouted punching the air. “They have some sexy chicas there.”

“Beau and Bianca have been there before. Kristof you should go with Diana.”

Kristof grinned. “You bet.”

“But first, are you going with her kingdom or ours?” Ashton asked hesitantly.

Kristof smiled. “Crysauralia all the way.”

Ashton considered this. “You’ll both have to choose the kingdom you’ll stay with soon, are you thinking about it?”

I frowned. I thought that would have been a private decision, but I guess everyone here was on the same team, so they had to know too.

“We talked about it. She’s okay with coming over to our kingdom,” he announced happily.

“Think that over,” Ashton commented drily as he sifted through some more papers.

Kristof frowned. “Are you asking me to change my mind?”

“Yeah,” Ashton answered honestly. “This kingdom might not be a good place for her… or anyone. She at least has a choice.”

“If you’re taking about the king, then it doesn’t matter,” Kristof said. “I’ll believe in the king that you’ll become. We'll all help you to make the kingdom a better place.”

The guys around him all nodded and Ashton cracked a smile. “Why did you all have to be so damn loyal? Now I’m going to have to work harder,” he joked.

The meeting dragged on as Ashton and the guys discussed things that I was completely clueless about. They filled me in and tried to include me in every discussion.

I was also given the task to get Jun whenever they kicked him out of the meeting. Which had already happened four times now and I was hoping he would behave because whenever he got kicked out, he turned it into a game of hide and seek where I had to go find him.

“Jun, what the hell are you doing?” Jackson hissed.

“Get out, kid,” Kevin sighed and my heart dropped. Time to go seeking.

After a few minutes I went in search of him. Only this time I didn’t have to look very far. Jun was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, staring at me as I exited the room.

“You’re not going to hide this time?” I laughed, very relieved.

“No.” He was in a dark mood. “Let’s talk about your precious Omega.”

For a thirteen year old, he could be quite intimidating when he wanted to be. He could go from zero to one hundred real quick. I walked over to him.

“What’s up?”

“Why do you like him so much?” he asked with a slight pout.

“Micah’s a really nice boy, he’s smart, thoughtful and he knows how to brighten a person’s mood among other things.”

“But I’m stronger than he is.”

“Yes, you are. You’re also very fun and energetic. You’re both unique in your own way. This isn’t a popularity contest you know,” I reminded him. “I like both of you equally. Besides, you also have a lot in common.”

“Like what?”

“Well, this one’s kind of morbid, but you both lost your parents at young ages and one year apart.”

“Because Omegas killed them,” he growled at the thought. “All Omegas do is hurt people who are more powerful than them.”

“But that’s what the king thinks. Micah lost his parents to the high ranks, Betas included.” I let that sink in. “But he doesn’t go around hating you for it.”

“His brother does.”

“But his brother’s not him,” I pointed out. “You’re also alike because you didn’t really get to choose friends for yourself. You were assigned friends while he wasn’t allowed to make any.”

“Yeah, but he’s not completely alone,” Jun said, rolling his eyes. “He has that stupid brother.”

“And you have Kristof… not that he’s stupid,” I laughed.

He was quiet as he glanced at the room that the guys were in.

“It’s just that even when you’re surrounded by a lot of people you can still feel lonely,” I told him. “You both share a pain that each other can understand. The pain of loss and loneliness.”

Jun clenched his jaw in thought. “But I’m a Beta and he’s just an Omega.”

“It doesn’t matter, Jun,” I said with a soft smile. “You might be standing at different places, but you both want the same thing.”

He stared at me and then there was a whisper of a smile on his lips. He pushed himself off the wall. “We want the same thing, huh.”

I watched as he entered the room. I didn’t know if I’d managed to get through to him or not, but I genuinely hoped that the day would come when they would be able to walk side by side.

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“Meeting adjourned. Get lost,” Ashton said, hopping down from the table.

It was now seven o’clock. My mind was still whirring with information about the kingdom and some other neighboring countries. They had discussed alliances and strategies.

Seeing Ashton talk so in depth about legal affairs really made me convinced that he could be a good king. His business side was kinda hot.

It was really cool seeing the professional sides of the other guys too.

He walked me to my car, after I'd said hello to Brooke and checked up on Micah.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at school,” I said when we got to my car.

He stared at me. “Elizabeth, do you know how worried I was about you?”

“You have a really weird way of showing that,” I frowned. “I thought you were mad at me or something.”

“Jackson told me how you tried to run into the fight between the Omega and those guys.”

“And that’s on Jackson being a tattletale,” I pouted. “Relax,” I said, playing with the drawstrings on my sweater. “I didn’t get hurt and that’s all that matters.”

“I mean, yeah, but it’s still very dangerous.” He glanced down at my sweater. “Aren’t you returning that?”

“Hmm… I will tomorrow,” I laughed. “I washed it and it doesn’t smell like you anymore, so I’ll let you wear it for a bit.”

“You look good in it,” he smiled

“Stop flirting. I’m going home,” I laughed.

“It’s the truth. I wonder how you’d look in only this sweater,” he said, giving me a once-over.

I hit his arm and he laughed. The sound was like music to my ears. I stood on tiptoes and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

“Goodnight, Ashton,” I smiled, opening the car door, but he closed it and leaned down to kiss me back.

“Goodnight, princess.”

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