“Steaks, mashed potatoes with brown gravy, and a fresh salad will suffice for both of us. Have everything brought directly to my rooms, the ones in the southwest section of the castle. You know the ones,” Russel instructed.

Roland’s anger became more intense when he said that, which was understandable. Those rooms used to belong to their father and out of all the children Carter Polver had, Roland had been the one stuck so far up his ass, it was a miracle the man didn’t smell like shit. He didn’t love the man. Russel didn’t think Carter had earned that from any of his children, but he knew Roland had respected him for his power. His power and the way he commanded obedience throughout the entire kingdom. Not a soul outside the castle ever dared to look up at him as he walked by.

That was the kind of respect Roland sought and now that opportunity had been ripped out from under him. He could issue the Blood Challenge himself, but Russel was pretty sure not one of them would have the guts for that. Carter Polver was well known for being one of the strongest and most powerful werewolves in the entire world. The fact that Russel had taken him down, somehow, meant he was a hell of a lot stronger than any of the brothers had ever thought. That fear of his power would serve Russel well, especially when it came to keeping the four of them under control.

“Aye, My King. It will be done and everything will be brought to your rooms,” Roland said. He got up, stiffly and with clenched fists, and then left. The way he walked out of the throne room with his back ramrod straight made him look like he had a metal rod shoved straight up his ass. It was preposterous and nearly made Russel break down and laugh hysterically.

He managed, just barely, to keep that bottled up. Inciting Roland to even more anger and humiliation would be a bit over the top and have serious consequences he wasn’t in the proper state to deal with at the moment.

The door to the throne room opened and then banged shut after Roland left.

The only ones remaining inside the throne room were Russel, Lola, and the human servants, Zeo and Enok. Russel sat back down on the obsidian throne. He breathed in for a few moments and then his head swiveled to the two humans who were still silent with their eyes straight ahead, staring at nothing. Lola wasn’t sure who was who but one was tall, broad-shouldered, with a mass of black curly hair and dark skin. The other was the complete opposite. He was slim but lithe with shoulder-length blonde hair and pale skin.

“Zeo,” Russel said, his voice much softer than when he spoke to his brothers. “Enok.”

The two instantly seemed to come alive and walked over to stand in front of the throne. They both dropped to one knee and kept their heads bowed so that their eyes were on the floor. No words came out of their mouths but there was a sense of waiting about them nonetheless.

“I understand you were only following my father’s orders but you put hands on someone I care deeply about,” he said, his voice soft but full of authority. “Look at me.”

Their faces rose and their eyes met the new king’s.

“Apologize.”

Something hard and extremely unpleasant entered Russel’s voice then and his eyes wouldn’t stray from Zeo or Enok. Lola wasn’t sure she liked this aspect of him, even though he was trying to have these two men atone for what they’d done to her.

“Really, it’s okay,” Lola said, reaching out and placing a hand on his forearm. “It’s not their fault.”