[NOUR]
"Kalkan…" Nour chuckled softly.
"It's good to have you back, my beautiful," Delbert said as he kissed Nour's head like that was the most normal of things in front of the maddened council and the king.
There was disbelief written all over the faces of the members, but Delbert didn't give a shit about that. If anything, the only thing he cared about right now was his Erasthai, who had been tired for a long time.
"Sorry, I dozed off," Nour apologized earnestly.
"No worries. Besides, it's hard listening to old men talk about power that they don't have," Delbert said.
The silence that followed was insane. The council didn't like what Delbert had said about them, but they did not even have the power to say shit because the Lycans of Udrad were real savages.
And if this one was sent over by Alanor, the beast of the midlands, then he had to be really good at murdering people and being a protector.
They couldn't mess with that.
"Be nice," Nour said softly as he leaned into Delbert like they had done this more than once.
The king's enforcer, Grant, was staring at them with disgust if this were impossible. It was as if he had never seen such with the Lord Lucius Dumont he had interacted with over the years.
The man was never this affectionate, and now it was as if the one before them was different. Way too different. He looked like he wasn't even able to kill someone, and that was interesting because Lucuius Dumont was the devil the people knew.
A devil that only ever feared the ruby wolf of Acrod. Yet the man right here looked like he feared everything possible in the Elma, and that was why he had come back with this Zaire.
"One of these men killed your father, and they need to know we are not here to play nice with them. All we want are answers, and if they want us gone as soon as possible, they might as well give us the culprit," Delbert said coldly.
He then turned to the king.
"Don't you think so, your majesty?"
King Cassius had approved of the Delbert-Nour relationship from the get-go. The Udrad Lycan was the best thing that could happen to his son, and when Delbert did everything to help Nour recover, the king was won over by the man.
So right now, he was sure that everything the Lycan did was for his son.
King Cassius didn't care what Delbert would do, as long as Nour was alive and well.
As long as his son was not being manipulated by Grant again, as long as his son was not out there suffering at the hands of a man he had been forgiven as a mate. A man who was so ungrateful and had treated him like shit.
The king was down for whatever the hell Delbert would do, and that was scary because at the end of the day, there would never be a reason for him to step in and save anyone Delbert pointed a target at.
Perhaps that was what he was hoping for: to make up for the suffering his son had endured over the years at the hands of the bastard who had given the throne.
"That's a good take, protector Zaire. But it also begs the question of who Lord Lucius is to you. This kind of affection, if we are to endure it at the council meeting each time, perhaps it's time you told us what you mean.
"…Don't you think?" King Cassius said as Nour shifted in his seat.
He hadn't wanted his mate to be outed like that. He hadn't wanted him to be set in that position because earlier they had talked about what it meant to be together, what life would be like for them.
It was not okay, and honestly, Nour wondered if there was an angle his father was aiming for at this moment. Maybe it was to give everything clarity, or maybe it was to throw shit in Grant's face.
But even that was not making much sense at the moment.
"Your majesty," Nour began, but Delbert squeezed his hand gently, as if to tell him that he could handle himself. Of course, he could, but there was no harm in making sure that everything was headed in the right direction, was there?
"My Erasthai. Lord Lucius is my beloved," Delbert said, with his head held high, earning gasps from everyone, including Nour. He had not expected shit to be like this when they had walked into Acrod again.
They had agreed to be just a Lord and his protector and enforcer. But right now, barely days after they had set foot back here, there was much more to be dealt with.
For a moment, Nour wondered if this was a regret for Delbert, but the pride in the man's face was out of this world. It was as if he had given them the secret recipe to a meal that many had devoured and never gotten right.
This was interesting because soon after, the council started murmuring about how it was inappropriate to bring unmated partners to the meetings. It was unhinged in the worst of ways.
"That's inappropriate, Lord Lucius… to come with an unmated as your protector. Do you not worry that he will get hurt and you could lose him forever? Lycans are, after all, beasts by nature…
"...And could lose their lives if attacked by people like the ruby wolf?" Grant mocked obviously.
It took everything in Nour to not snicker at the man's comment. It was interesting just how great he was speaking right now, like he was jealous of wanting life, but then Nour knew what this was.
He knew Grant like an open book. The man was indirectly challenging him, daring him to stake a claim on Delbert. If that happened, then they would be able to control the narrative and weaken.
For werewolves, their mates were always their weaknesses.
Even the strongest of them could be defeated because of love.
And that was what they were aiming for.
If Lucius were incapacitated because he lost his mate, he would never come back to Acrod.
He would go back to farming and never show his face, while he waited for his death, because true mates were very rare, and clearly what they were seeing was a case of such. This was not okay, but then what else was there?
"Appropriate is a harsh word, don't you think, Enforcer Grant? My mate and I were bound for a mating ceremony when father died, and it all had to be postponed. If I didn't know any better;
"…I would say my father was murdered, so I wouldn't be able to marry a Lycan from Udrad. Don't you think that is a workable theory? Especially with you pointing out the ruby wolf? Last I heard, you defeated the bastard.
"Or was it all just a rumor then?" Nour asked.
Grant stared at him in shock, like this was not an angel he had considered.
For all that he could see, Grant knew that Nour was daring him; this was not just about the bond that had been unignited, but this was about what had been the intention from the very beginning.
And the moment the realization dawned on Grant that this was a bit, so that Nour and Delbert got to officially bind with everyone watching, it was too late.
"Looks like you're in luck, Lord Lucuius. Since you're here, you can marry your mate to keep him as part of the crowd, and you can keep up with the investigation on your father.
"Besides, that way you won't have to worry about your mate being a target on his own in a kingdom that had no one like him, right?" King Cassius spoke, and Nour choked on air.
His father had finally gone bonkers.
That was the only clear explanation.
There was nothing he could say to this, because what the hell was the king thinking? This was insane. The idea itself was like a smack on Grant's face because the man had been so damn ready to taunt them.
But now that the king was supporting them, he couldn't even do that without risking the position the king had given him as the custodian of the throne. What the fuck was even happening?
"If you would approve, then sure, your majesty. I would love to marry my Kalkan on Acrod grounds," Nour said excitedly.
"Great. The preparations will begin after this meeting. Enforcer Grant will aid you," King Cassius said before he left.