While Killian was looking at the ceremonial statue, Alpha Edward was staring at the new addition to their small group. From the thinning of his lips, it was quite clear that the man was not happy with what he was seeing. It was not exactly hostile, but something ... more like pondering as if he was worried about something. He commented, "I see... That you all have dressed up for the occasion."
"Well, we did have to..." Ajax tilted his head, mimicking the tone with which Alpha Edward was speaking to them. "It’s only right that we honour your pack and you, no matter how small it is compared to ours."
Alpha Edward’s smile tightened; he looked at Ajax with a hint of slight annoyance before dismissing him thoroughly. Ah, from the looks of it, the man didn’t quite like that jab. Did he? For someone who claimed that he had integrated into the human society way too deeply, this shouldn’t have caused that furrow between his brows.
"Indeed, you are correct." Alpha Edward’s smile didn’t reach his eyes as he turned to look at Laxus. "And this might be..."
"My head enforcer and bodyguard," Killian told him. He glanced at the man and stated, "I am sorry, but I cannot just appear anywhere without taking care of my security." More twitching.
Alpha Edward’s posture had turned rigid, but he still nodded with a smile. "We wouldn’t want anything to happen to the only heir of the royal blood, now, would we?"
He stepped to one side, allowing them to walk further in the ballroom. The space with a glass ceiling, looking out to the sky, with golden and white linens draped on the tables and golden flowers, appeared in front of them. The room was buzzing with sixty or so shifters. A small band was sitting in the corner of the room, but it skipped a few notes when they noticed their arrival. Killian glanced at the band and sniffed the fear that was oozing from their pores. Humans. What were humans doing in a ceremony related to the shifters?
"I hope you don’t mind." Alpha Edward walked over to them, and noticing the gaze with which Killian was looking at the band, he stammered, "We are not good with music... Only they can play these tunes."
Alpha Edward smiled, this time a bit genuinely. Killian, on the other hand, noticed the many enforcers who had come to join the banquet. The report stated that they only had eighty or so families, but more than sixty enforcers, along with their mates, appeared in this banquet hall... either they were fiercely loyal to their alpha and were worried that something might happen to Alpha Edward, or they feared him gravely.
It had to be either of the two reasons.
A waitress walked over to them, batting her long lashes and curling her lips in a soft smile. Usually, Ajax would have lapped up the charm of the woman, but he, too, only glanced at her and simply took a glass of champagne without bothering to pay any more attention to her. Now that he thought about it, Ajax hadn’t been bringing in any females for a while. Interesting. He would poke his nose into Ajax’s life after he got his own straightened up.
"I was looking forward to a private discussion." Killian glanced at the man. Tipping his chin at the statue. "I would like to know more about this statue that you have here. I have never seen this form of moon goddess before, after all."
"Of course, Alpha Sokolov. We will certainly have a private discussion once we are done with this party," said Alpha Edward, his smile tightening as he glanced at the statue behind them. "Surely, you would like to attend this banquet. After all, my wolves have come from around the city just to meet you. The royal heir."
He once again placed quite an emphasis on those words, which made Killian frown.
However, before he could think of what the man was trying to insinuate by calling him ’royal heir’ again and again, the man turned around. Alpha Edward raised his glass in the air like he was addressing a grand crowd. His eyes were searching for something in the crowd. "Tonight we have two reasons to celebrate. First, for the blessings that we have received from our one and only. And secondly, we have Alpha Sokolov—his presence itself advocates nothing but celebration."
A chorus of approval rippled through the crowd; however, instead of being one hundred per cent genuine, it sounded like it was practised and rehearsed many times before. The music once again started to swell in the air, slowly but firmly. Alpha Edward led them deeper into the gathering that had accumulated there.
Killian could already feel his jaw tensing. Even though nothing had happened yet, he was already preparing for something as if waiting for someone to jump out and attack him out of nowhere.
"May I introduce some of my pack members to you, Alpha Sokolov? They have been itching to meet with you ever since they returned home." Alpha Edward turned and looked at him with a polite smile. Practised and perfect.
When Killian didn’t say anything, he took it as permission and nodded at his enforcers, who immediately swarmed around Killian and the rest, looking quite eager to please. Some tried to talk to him about legal troubles, telling him that they were free to look at his legal cases with the humans. While the other started asking about the Lycans’ territory. Finn and the rest were also surrounded.
And yet the one thing that caught his attention was his beast’s increasing agitation.
Something is wrong here. I know it is; something smells strange... my nose—acho!!
He sneezed loudly, and Killian turned to look behind him. He tried to look for something, anything that was causing this agitation within his beast, and yet he couldn’t. Follow current novels on N0v3l.Fiɾe.net