King Adrian stood up from where he was seated having had enough of this boring ceremony.
'I wonder why I came in the first place, probably to get a breath of fresh air from all the workloads in the place.' He said inwardly.
I looked towards my men to see them engaged in conversations. I heard all that they said about mates but that's not my business.
'It will be your business very soon.' I heard my wolf speak and I still can not come to terms with him suddenly speaking.
'I haven't heard your voice since I was given birth to and I honestly thought I didn't have a wolf. Why are you suddenly speaking now?' I asked him.
The first time I heard his voice, he only told me his name and went quiet after that. I tried several times to call him but to no avail and I concluded that I imagined it that time.
Their kind was called werewolves precisely because they were born with an inner wolf they grew up with and could communicate freely in their mind.
'Why would you think that you imagined me? You were born to werewolf parents, no? Where did all your strength and super hearing come from then?' Kael asked. He could not believe the person he had been thrust into was this dull.
'I am not dull. If what you are saying is true, why didn't you answer me all this while? I could not even change to my wolf form all thanks to you.' Adrian replied.
The reason they were called werewolves was because they were so agile and possessed supernatural strength is because of their wolves in Adrian's case, he didn't possess that since he was birthed and he practiced hard on his own without his wolf to improve his stamina and strength to avoid being looked down upon and he soon became the best in the entire kingdom.
But after the death of his parents, he was almost denied the right to ascend the throne even though his father was the former King and after he had proved himself numerous times, all because he could not transform into his wolf or in their words, he didn't possess a wolf.
Since the beginning of time, they had not heard of werewolves missing of their wolves. And they were baffled by his case because both his parents were werewolves. Even children born from parents where only one of the parents is a werewolf, still had their wolves intact.
'Kael? Are you there? Answer me!' And there goes the wolf with the silent treatment again. I sighed and gave up trying to talk with my wolf.
'I am here. Stop shouting.' Kael said tiredly.
'What happened?' Adrian asked worriedly.
'Nothing. I am always here, I was always here.' Kael said as he sighed. 'We will talk later Adri.'
Adrian knew something was wrong with Kael but his wolf was not saying anything to him. Although he had always hated his wolf because Kael made him different from other werewolves. He could not fit in
but that didn't mean he wasn't worried about him.
He decided to keep that aside for now and ask Kaelos about it when he decides to speak again.
Now it was about time he got out of this boring ceremony.
"Your majesty, where are you going?" Brian asked as he stood and the rest of the men when they noticed Adrian stood up.
"We can't journey back today, though." He continued.
'Ahh! That's right.' Adrian thought. He had forgotten about that.
"I'll just head to my room." He replied coldly.
"There's a banquet after this, Your Majesty, and I think all guests are meant to be present." Gayle told the King.
"Alright. I don't think I'm going to attend that. Where's Ethan?" King Adrian asked. He knew Ethan to be very promiscuous.
"I am here your majesty." Ethan said as he walked in.
Gayle and Brian gave him disgusting looks and he just smirked which irked them.
"Never in one place. Always sticking the thing between his legs into every woman he meets." Gayle muttered, disgusted.
But Ethan heard him loud and clear, "It's not every woman though, just the fine and you know, full back and front side." He winked.
"You can always try it and even enjoy it more than I do."
"Ewww…" Brian and Gayle said in unison with distaste as if they swallowed something bitter and Ethan laughed out loud ignoring their look of disgust.
King Adrian sat down back and then his men went on discussing useless things according to him.
••••••
Half of the girls had already been chosen, Arielle moved to the back to remain inconspicuous, and if it were possible she would want to be unnoticed.
King William raised his hand, and the music fell silent. The room grew still and all eyes turned towards the King.
"As we all know, there is no celebration without food. The dining hall has been set for us." King William stated and the doors to the dining hall were pulled open immediately.
The hall had two doors, the entrance door, and next to it was the door to the dining hall.
"After dinner, the evening dance will commence immediately between the men and their new brides." King William continued with a smile.
The dining hall was filled with warm golden light from the candles on the wall and in the chandeliers. About ten long wooden tables were set with nice tablecloths and fine chairs arranged around them.
As guests sat down, the maids moved quickly and began serving them.
At the head of the table sat King William and on his right sat his wife, Queen Layla.
King Raphael was the Western King. He was a vampire and was the ruler of the vampire kingdom and they all reside in the western part of the globe.
He played an important role in aiding the kingdom of Everia against threats. The soldiers of Everia were just humans and couldn't fight against all sorts of by themselves. They had to ask for support.
He sat to the left side of King William, "Thanks for honoring my invitation King Raphael." King William said as he raised his wine glass to give a toast.
"It's a pleasure." King Raphael replied and clinked his glass against King Willam's.
"About the war coming up…" King Raphael started only to be interrupted by King William.
"Please let's discuss that after the ceremony with King Adrian." King William replied.
"This ceremony is quite something if I must confess."
"Yes, it has been passed down for generations and even I wasn't exempted from it and that was where I met my beautiful queen." King William said proudly as he stared at his queen.
King Raphael hummed in response and couldn't agree less that the woman sitting in front of him was a beauty.
Queen Layla smiled softly in response to the King's words. Queen Layla sat gracefully beside the King, engaging in small talks with other women.
"Your skin is so fine your majesty." One of the women said in adoration.
"I can't agree less. Her majesty takes care of herself so well and you can't even tell if she's aged at all." Another woman said as she chuckled.
"You flatter me, ladies." Queen said and rolled her eyes inwardly. 'Bunch of fools.'
She smiled warmly at the women. "Please eat, lest your food turns cold as it's not good for the body."
King William's gaze drifted to the empty seat beside King Raphael, his brow furrowing in concern. He beckoned Bernard with a discreet gesture.
"Why is King Adrian not present?" King William asked whispering into the ears of Bernard.
"He said not to worry about him." Bernard replied.
King William had a thoughtful look on his face, " Ohh, alright." He said and dismissed Bernard.
Earlier…
Bernard had gone to King Adrian, informing him of the banquet.
"King Adrian, please if you would join the banquet in the dining hall." Bernard said respectfully.
Bernard couldn't tell if the King was listening to him or not or if he could see him. 'But he walked into the palace just fine earlier, that means he can see, but how?' Bernard thought as he looked at the mask King Adrian had on and saw no space for the eyes, he could not even see his lips. The silver mask covered his face entirely revealing nothing of his facial looks or expressions.
"Ohh, you don't have to worry as we won't be joining." King Adrian's voice, though muffled, as he replied from behind the silver mask.
"You've come from far and I don't think you've gotten anything to eat your majesty." Bernard said worriedly.
"Alright then, I suppose you don't serve human flesh?
Bernard was struck dumb by what he heard. Human flesh?
"Why are you all serious? Just kidding." King Adrian said as he chuckled.
"You don't have to worry, we are good."
"Alright, Your Majesty." Bernard replied with a bow and exited.