Chapter 299 - Mending a Broken Kingdom (2/2)

Russ stepped into the office ready to face off with whoever waited. A sigh of relief coursed through him as silver eyes met his. ”You left me waiting long enough... can't say it's been the worst wait though. Your uncle had expensive tastes.” Peg grabbed two more glasses from the wine cabinet he'd been going through and filled them with red liquid. He carried it over and held the glasses out, waiting as each took a glass. ”Did you get all the documents finished?”

Russ watched the liquid as he swirled the wine in his glass. ”Yeah... mostly.”

Peg arched a brow. ”Mostly?” He turned and walked over to the desk where several papers were scattered across them.

Russ shrugged. ”I filled out what I could.”

Peg flipped through several pages before letting out a heavy sigh and flopping down into the seat behind the desk. ”I really don't have the time to explain all these to you, kid... but if you could take notes or something, I'll try to explain them again.” He cracked his knuckles as he scanned one of the unfinished pages. ”On pages like this where you're still working on plans, I want you to put 'see' followed by the name of the plan here and its doc number. You can simply email those plans instead of printing and attaching them. He tapped his finger against another page. ”I sent you most of this information, just fill it in.” He let out a groan as he continued to flip. His attention moved up to Jaden. ”Can you not figure these out either?”

Russ's cheeks reddened as he answered for her. ”I didn't ask... She's been doing enough. I didn't want to burden her.”

Peg's eyebrow lifted as he glared up at Russ. ”These have to be finished before you can move forward with anything else. If that means someone more competent than you has to step in and do the work then so be it... besides you're still planning on making her your queen, right? This would fall under the standard duties of a queen.”

Jaden retrieved the forms he'd pushed toward them and flipped through them. She pursed her lips as she set the forms back on the desk. ”I can handle these, Sir.”

Peg leaned back in the chair as he let out a heavy sigh. ”Good, you think you can have them finished before the end of the week? They need to be processed before we can move forward with the release of the rest of the funds, the crowning ceremony, your wedding ceremony... hell, you'll have to get approval before any major work can be started on repairs to the town.” He took a long drink from the glass. ”This has been a wasted trip... Where's Ry?” Peg asked as he stood up. ”I'll let him know this will need completed and brought to the embassy by the end of the week.”

”Wait, what do you mean 'brought to the embassy'?” Russ asked in surprise.

Peg ran his hand over the back of his neck in irritation. ”I mean, they would have requested you there once the forms were approved anyway. Since they're not finished and my ȧss isn't flying back out here in another few days, you can bring them to the embassy, and we'll force them to see you then. You'll need to give your statements against Marcus and the events of that night too.”

Russ frowned, ”You think they will extend Jos's sentence?”

Peg shook his head. ”No, Jos wasn't in the wrong. Plus, the council isn't about to stand against Arei, Chary, and Dad.” He patted Russ on the shoulder as he rounded the desk. ”Get this shit finished. I'm going to go holler at Ry, then head out. I have a hot date tonight, ya know.” He sent him a wink as he headed toward the doors.

Jaden waited until the odd man had left. ”You should have asked for help if you needed it so bad. I would have been glad to help.”

Russ let out a heavy sigh. ”You were under enough stress. I didn't want to bother you...” A frown curved his lips. {Besides... I didn't want to risk being locked in a room with you for too long... I can't trust myself...} He glanced over at her as she went over the forms again.

”I can answer most of the questionnaires about the girls if you can look up the document numbers for the plans involving them.” She scanned over some of the other blank information. Her cheeks heated as she came across a form he had bȧrėly started. ”A marriage certificate?”

Russ emptied the content of his glass. ”Yeah... It requires signatures from your family... I wasn't sure how to address this...”

Jaden forced her emotions down into the dark recess of her soul they'd stayed locked away in for the past three years. ”Some things will have to remain blank; I suppose.”

Russ searched her profile. ”What... what happened to them? I... I know they're both dead now... but do you know how?”

She nodded. ”The day my sister and I were taken they were murdered...” She could feel a hot wet tear trail down her cheek.

Russ sat forward and wiped away the tear with the pad of his thumb. He hadn't realized what he'd done until she was pulling away from his touch. ”Sorry...” He stared down into the empty glass as he mumbled. ”You know, the night we rescued you guys... I couldn't help thinking 'that could have been us'... I couldn't help seeing my sister's face on every blonde girl we pulled out of there... Had it not been for Jos and Raven, we would have either been killed immediately or threw in there... more likely I'd been killed, and Shelly threw in there...” He shook his head. ”I owe them both my life... and I hate myself for the way I repaid that debt... especially to Jos...”

Jaden tilted her head. ”This Jos must mean a lot to you.”

He nodded, the image of the pain and regret on her face during one of their last arguments haunting his memory. ”Yes... More than I'll ever be able to explain... for longer than I ever should have...”

”I'm sorry it didn't work out... You need not explain the reasons. Our culture is unfair where love is involved... it is nearly nonexistent in the world of wolves... especially where royalty is involved...” She stared down at the papers, but her thoughts were far away. ”I too was betrothed... I... I'd prefer he not discover I'm alive until after we wed...” Jaden whispered.

Russ's brows furrowed as he leaned forward. ”Did... did he hurt you?”

Jaden nodded. ”I was twelve when we were first introduced, and the contracts written up... He was in his late twenties... And considered me to already be his property...” Her eyes burned as she stared blankly down at the papers. ”I was almost relieved the day I was taken away from there...”

Russ's body had already moved before he even realized what it was doing. He tugged her onto her feet in one fluid movement, pulling her into a tight hug. ”I'm sorry...” He whispered.

Jaden forced the impulse to fight against his hold down as she pressed gently away from him. ”You have nothing to be sorry for. You can't control our customs or the behaviors of others any more than I...” She turned away from him as she settled back down into the seat. ”But thank you...” She slid the papers toward him. ”We should get started...”

Russ forced himself to control his emotions as he settled back into the chair. ”I promise, I'll do what I can to see that you have a better future... You and the others...”

She could feel more tears burn her eyes as she forced her focus on the documents. ”I appreciate that....”