About thirty minutes later, I found myself sitting on a few soft cushions in some room within the palace. I wasn't sure where exactly I was, the palace being a damn maze, but it seemed to be some kind of entertaining room.
Well somewhere they attended to guests in a simple manner - there was a table in the center and some cushions to sit on. The stone walls were bare, but the window gave a nice view of the courtyard outside.
The sun was currently setting, painting the sky shades of yellow, orange, red and even a bit of pink. A massive baobab tree stood in the center of the courtyard adding to the view.
The king sat opposite me while Rowan had taken the space between Atlas and me. Which I was grateful for. I didn't want to be in the same room as that weirdo, but the king said he had to be here. For whatever reason.
Of course, we were waiting for Xavier to come back with Ahi, so the king could speak to all of us.
"Something to drink, Mistress?" The scrawny guy from earlier suddenly asked, holding up a clay jug.
I turned my attention to him with a frown, wondering if Xavier had perhaps hit him a little too hard. He seemed to have had a complete personality change upon waking up, trailing us as he asked so many questions.
"No thanks." I grumbled out, shaking my head before looking away from him.
My eyes met the king's golden ones, a sharp gaze staring at me. Like a predator watching over prey. A part of me wanted to look away from his pressuring gaze, but I knew it would be a bad idea.
The king was clearly looking for any weaknesses and I wasn't going to show him that. Instead, I lifted my chin up and narrowed my eyes, hoping the king would look away first.
A corner of his lips curled up for a second before he suddenly turned to the window. "Seems your mate and Xavier have arrived."
I immediately turned my attention back to the window just as Xavier landed on the window sill in his beast form. Ahi was on his back carrying some luggage on his back.
He jumped down from Xavier's back and I was on my feet to greet him. "Ahi!"
"My love." Ahi smiled softly, engulfing me into a cool embrace. "Are you alright?"
"I am now." I answered, snuggling into his chest as I wrapped my arms around him. I then turned my head up to look at him. "You didn't have any trouble outside, did you?"
"No… I stayed on the outskirts, so I didn't have any trouble." Ahi said before glancing over my shoulder. "Thank you for the invitation, your majesty."
"Ahem… It's only a temporary invitation." The king replied. "Your situation is quite…. unique and I had to see what kind of male you were. There is still much to discuss before I give you permission to stay here."
"Alright then I guess we should get started." Ahi murmured before turning back to me. "Shall we?"
I nodded my head in agreement and we headed over to the table. Rowan stood up and moved over to his father's side, Xavier taking his place.
Meanwhile, Ahi placed the luggage down before taking a seat next to Xavier, making sure to leave some space for me between them. However, I had other plans and sat on Ahi's lap.
He stiffened for a moment, surprised at my move, but quickly loosened up and wrapped his arms around my stomach. I knew it was out of the ordinary for me, but I had to show how much I cared for Ahi.
The king was definitely on edge with a feral around and I couldn't trust him, even with the vow. Showcasing my love for Ahi seemed to be the best way to protect him.
"It seems you care a lot for this feral, female." The king mused as he eyed the two of us. "How did you meet?"
"My mate's name is Ahi and please call me Elisa." I stated. "As for how we met, I had lost my way in the jungle after losing my tribe… Ahi saved me from another feral and brought me to a nearby village where we met Xavier. While we were traveling Ahi courted me."
The story was mixed with half-truths, Ahi and I agreeing that it would be best to say he took out the feral. Mostly so we could hide the existence of my taser. Who knew what trouble we'd get into for having that around.
Plus it made for a great secret weapon in case of any surprise attacks.
Too bad I hadn't had it or my pepper spray on me earlier. I didn't think I would be attacked in the city, but stood corrected. I would keep one of them on me for future reference that was for sure.
The king raised a blond eyebrow. "A feral courting a female? Does that not go against your instincts? Why not just kidnap her like other ferals do?"
"It does go against my instincts, but so does allowing another male to touch my mate." Ahi answered this time. "Yet I sit here despite knowing that male had his hands on Elisa. Most ferals would've fought to the death by now. However, I respect you as the king of this city and hope you'll punish him according to your rules."
I noticed Ahi's clenching fists and placed my hands over his, wanting to comfort him. Holding back was clearly hard on his willpower, but he was pushing through to resolve this peacefully.
Personally, I wouldn't have minded him punching Altas if it wouldn't cause trouble for him. Probably would've cheered him on too. He gave my hands a light squeeze before holding onto them.
"I take it you told him what happened?" The king gave Xavier a pointed look.
"I did." Xavier nodded. "You may punish me as you see fit, but I will not hide what happened from Ahi."
The king huffed, waving a hand in the air. "There's no point… He does have a right to know what happens, even if he's a feral… Lord Altas will be punished-"
"What you can't?!" The scrawny guy yelled, earning a growl from Rowan.
"Watch your tongue lizard!" Rowan snapped at the smaller beastman. "You have no right to interfere in the king's judgment. Lord Altas is only a guest here."
The lizard beastman looked like he wanted to say more, but a glare from Altas shut him down. Thus he just grumbled under his breath as he settled back down.
"Anyway, I believe it will be fine if you and your mate stay here, Elisa. He seems to know how to control himself." The king continued. "However, there will be some conditions for safety reasons as few in this city will take kindly to me allowing a feral beastman to roam freely. Even if he is mated."
Honestly, the conditions part wasn't very surprising. I had a feeling there were likely to be some restrictions, but what exactly they were, I was not sure. However, a compromise was better than outright denial.
"I understand." I murmured. "So, what are these conditions?"