[THIRD PARTY POV]
"Well that was unexpected," Grant said as the lycan king fell to the ground in complete and utter shock, and the leaders watched him in wonder.
Sighing, they dragged the lycan king back home, while Criselda and Zelina went to look for Gideon. Grant wanted to offer to go with them, but he knew his king would ask questions. Besides, he could wait a few more days to talk about the mate he had gotten, right?
For hours, when they had gone back into Acrod, Grant began feeling impatient.
They were all there seated, while there was no word of the whereabouts of his mate. He wanted to go seek him out himself and if he had to fight the beast of the midlands to get Gideon then Grant was ready to take the risk.
Maybe he was stupid, but then the mate bond was pulling him even closer to the man who had just gone missing. He wanted to breathe in the thick rainforest scent and he wanted to nurse Gideon in case the wild warlock protege was hurt.
"He died, I made sure of that. The only lycan who disappeared without a trace from Udrad, was the son of thieves," King Edison said, right as Gideon walked in with a tired Criselda and Zelina, making Grant release a sigh of relief.
He wanted to go to the man and hug him, but he knew he couldn't risk that. There were so many rules standing between him and his mate and honestly, he wished he was just a regular wolf, and then everything would have been easier.
"Son of thieves? Wow, who even calls themselves that," Gideon commented before getting a smack on his head by Criselda, and shutting up instantly. Gideon looked like he had gone through literal hell just to be here and maybe he truly had.
He had survived the beast of the midlands, and even though the scratches on him were harsh, but he would heal.
"No, but seriously, who are you guys talking about?" Gideon asked, maintaining eye contact with Delbert who looked so relieved to see the witch back. There was something about Delbert that even Gideon had taken a liking to, and Grant hated that.
"Well, the beast is a lycan and Edison here, didn't think to tell us that he had a rogue lycan walking around and harming the midlands in the name of children. He seems to think that there is more, but isn't really open to talk about it," King Cassius said disappointed.
"You knew him? What the fuck Edison?" Zelina said angrily, while Gideon on the other hand seemed to have forgotten that he was hurt.
Clouded by his anger, Godeon of Greroth made careful and calculated strides towards the lycan king, just like what he had done earlier in the day only this time, he wasn't going to pretend there was a lizard on the king.
Zelina watched the injured witch limp towards Edison, confirming what she already knew. The feud between Gideon and the lycan King went beyond the pain that Gideon had endured in the hands of the damned beast.
Edison was seated in the conference room, they all were, but Gideon didn't seem to care that much. So when he reached the king, he made sure to look around the room, almost as if he wanted to confirm something.
King Edison was around fifty years old and had so much power that even the wolves were sometimes tempted to bow to him. But the witch was something else, or maybe Gideon had just had enough of the beast and the fact that Edison hadn't said a word about the beast he had released out to the world.
"I believe we are all equals here, yeah?" Gideon asked with an angry smirk playing on his lips as he glanced at Criselda.
The high priestess just nodded at Gideon, curious as to what Gideon would try again. Maybe he would act all unhinged again, but was it really acting out, when he hated the king with all he had and didn't have?
He had managed to make the lycan king weary, barely hours ago and now, he was at it again. Maybe they needed to lock up the two in a cage and let them sort out their issues.
"What are you thinking of doing?" Delbert asked, concern filling his voice.
Gideon just let out a laugh at the warrior's statement.
Who even told him he could talk? But then since he had asked so nicely, Gideon would give Delbert an even nicer response.
"Something a low-class warrior like you can never even think of doing," Gideon said.
Criselda knew he was about to cause trouble, especially with the wild look on his face. Delbert on the other hand had a slumped shoulder, considering that was clearly not the response he had expected to get from Gideon.
Then again, what response was he expecting from a wild witch? It wasn't like anyone in this room was a saint anyway, so what Gideon was about to do, was justified, but was it? Was it really enough to make up for all the anger in the room or the chaos he knew so well would follow?
However, Gideon didn't care, because he used his magic to roughly and mercilessly choke king Edison, shocking everyone in the room. The king coughed, but all that faded when his face began turning pale and his hands blue.
He was losing his sight and breath, something that Gideon seemed to be enjoying so much. All this while, Gideon was staring at Delbert, as if to tell the werewolf warrior that this was who he was.
This bad and cruel protege.
It was almost like Gideon was telling Delbert to back off and stop paying attention to him, but would the werewolf warrior listen?
Grant was watching curiously and yet hopelessly as his junior warrior got the attention of the mate he desired with all of him. It was driving him nuts, but patience was a thing he had been sure to learn in the few hours he had known his mate.
'Release him, please' Delbert mouthed to Gideon who just continued choking the lycan king.
He didn't care what Delbert thought of him and there was nothing that the werewolf warrior could do to make him stop, so just like everyone else, they watched hopelessly.
Criselda tried to break the barrier between Gideon and Edison, but she couldn't. In his anger, Gideon had created a wall between them and the rest.
Criselda could do nothing.
King Cassius was confused.
Zelina looked like a proud sister.
Grant was in shock.
Ulrike was smirking openly, almost like this is what he had wanted to do and couldn't do. He didn't care about what could happen next, but until Gideon would stop choking the old bastard, Ulrike would be happy with this.
This was the victory he wanted and hadn't known how to trigger, and this was his heaven.
They all seemed like they were in a trance, one that was broken when the warriors rushed in. The lycan warriors were raging, this was their king who was being disgraced, and they would not let this happen.
Not on their watch.
However, Gideon didn't give a shit about that.
He was openly challenging them, while he tightened his hold on the lycan king. He wanted them to try and cross the barrier. He was calling them to come and see what it would take to bring him down.
It was an open challenge, to see what they would do to him. He was baiting them to start a war. He wanted to fight, he needed to let out the anger in him and what better way to do that than to fight people who were strong like him?
Realizing that the king was about to faint again, Gideon released his hold on the king, but not the barrier. He was watching all their priceless reactions, like this was the boost he needed, but then why would he target the strangest king of all?
Why would he go after the cruel man?
"You dare lay a finger on ME?!!!!!!!" King Edison boomed and instinctively, the warriors bowed, for the amount of power that the lycan king was letting on, but Gideon just stood there, bored and staring at the King with disgust, almost as if to ask the king, "Is that all you got?"