[THIRD-PARTY POV]
"Who are you guys looking at?" A voice asked and it took everything in Alanor not to turn back and look at the source of the voice.
It was one he had known so well, a voice he had wished to what aunty and every time, but also a voice he was unfortunate to hear at a mating ceremony where the unmated of the midlands were.
He could still smell the beautiful scent that drove him nuts. He could still feel the rough voice whispering in his ears, and even daring to steal a kiss for him in the night. He remembered all that so well that he wished he would just be able to walk over there and take him back.
However, that wasn't part of the mission today.
Alanor wasn't here because he wanted a mate, no, he was here because he wanted to familiarize himself with his enemies and remind Edison that the young Wynter was watching him, but why the hell was his mate here?
'Rejected mate,' Alanor reminded himself sadly as he waited to hear what Grant had to say.
"Gideon of Greroth," one of the wolves said to Grant and his breath hitched.
"What?" Grant asked, not because he didn't hear what they said, but of all the places he had thought he would ever meet Alanor. The mating ceremony and certainly not one of them. He was here to look for a mate while he had rejected Grant?
What kind of fuckery was that?
"Him, the gentleman who has everyone's attention and even outshined the lycan prince. He's Gideon of Greroth," the wolves said and Grant just let out a sigh.
"Hold this for me, I'll be back," Grant said as he handed his friends his wine tumbler.
"Wait, you're going to—"
"I have some issues to settle with him. Relax, he's not my mate," Grant said loud enough for Alanor to hear him and know that he had been too cruel.
"Well good luck brother, he's a wild one."
"Don't I know it," Grant responded before walking towards Alanor. He wasn't sure of what he was doing and what he actually expected from Alanor, but surely he needed closure too, right?
It hurt that his mate had rejected him and the next place they were seeing each other was at the damn mating ball.
For months Grant had blamed himself for not being good enough for the great beast of the midlands. He had wondered about what it was that got him rejected even though they had clearly clicked.
Maybe it wasn't their time, but even then, he would walk and ask Alanor himself.
Sensing Grant behind him, Alanor walked away from the bar.
'Please don't follow me this time,' Alanor said to himself, in the hope that Grant wouldn't follow him. He didn't want to go through the heartbreak he had gone through over the years. He didn't want to come face to face with a past that he hadn't even gotten over yet.
Life wasn't being fair to him, but then, Alanor has not been fair to himself either. This was chaotic for him just as it was for everyone who was around him. They had to learn, and this time, Alanor could only hope his heart wouldn't take the brunt of it.
"Are you dumb or just plain stupid?" A voice interrupted Alanor's thinking, making him growl out in anger. He wasn't in the mood to deal with stupid mateless drunks who were here in the name of a mating ball.
"I should be asking you the same, is something wrong with your brain cells?" Alanor countered and gasps were heard around them. A drink had been spilled on Alanor, and he was trying his best to maintain his calm.
The young Wynter was the one who had bumped into the owner of the voice, and he hadn't even apologized yet.
Well, in Alanor's defense, he had been too shocked to say a word. He was going to apologize, but the tone of the person that had stopped him, pissed him off. So he wasn't apologetic, not one bit.
"You bumped into me, you hopeless wanker. Didn't your parents teach you to apologize when you do wrong? Sure, it won't help with anything, but it's the remorse that counts. Goodness, these stupid humans think this is their place.
"I shouldn't have even come here," the voice insisted and Alanor was so close to losing his patience. Whoever this little son of a bitch was, he was going to teach him a lesson. No one was supposed to disrespect anyone here, but this idiot had to just turn this into a scene.
The bastard had even talked of parents? Who the fuck did he think he was to trigger such a sensitive topic for Alanor? Goodness, the young Wynter had just been at his parents' grave and now he had to deal with someone trying to remind him of his pain?
'Fuck, I'll break his bones to pieces' Alanor said to himself while he tried to calm down. He was trying to be rational, but the rationality wasn't even showing up when he needed it. Wherever this person was, he sure had a death wish.
Alanor looked at the tiny crowd that had formed around him and he let out a frustrated sigh. He had promised to be on his best behavior tonight, but this son of a woman was adamant about making a scene here.
Maybe he would drop the act just for a moment and teach this man a lesson, yeah? Then again, Criselda would probably pull his ears and make him do three hundred pushups again. He didn't want to be in trouble, but this guy was just testing his patience.
"What did you say?" Alanor growled out, this time, raising his head, making sure his focus was no longer on the clothes that Zelina and Ulrike had worked so hard to make, and to look at the man who had the audacity to say that to his face.
However, when he looked up, he was stuck between punching that face and being in awe of him. What the hell was happening to the young Wynter? Surely this man was just another person, right? But he sure did have a mouth on him, maybe Alnor could fix that for him.
The man in front of Alanor, looked like a spoiled little shit, probably a child of the lead warriors. Because those idiots always thought of themselves as superior men. And this imp was a fucking lycan. Damn.
Couldn't he tell from Alanor's face that he hated lycans?
Maybe Alanor would begin his vengeance against Udrad and Edison by using this man as an example. The man in question was tall and hot, something that Alanor had to acknowledge. This man was beautiful and he looked like he was the best thing in this party.
Compared to his Grant, Alanor could tell without a doubt that this man looked way better than Grant. Way better that it haunted the young Wynter. Maybe he was really losing his mind.
'Focus Alanor,' the young Wynter scolded himself. He hadn't even realized that he was comparing the mate he had loved and rejected to this stranger who had the mouth of a thieving witch. What the hell was with this man anyway?
"Watch where you're going. Don't be the reason people don't enjoy the ceremony. Now get out of my face," the man said proudly, a permanent smirk sitting on his face, making Alanor rethink his thoughts of this man's beautiful face.
Alanor raised his fist in anger, ready to send this son of a woman into next week by his punches, but when he punched, he was in shock.
An angry Alanor was dangerous, even to himself.
Zelina and Ulrike were watching from a distance. They wanted to go and stop Alanor, but that would defeat the purpose of this ceremony. They would always be there for him. He had to try and work through this alone.
Then again, they had heard the two men, and were in support of Alanor. Of course, even if he looked like he wanted to rip the man in front of him into pieces. The man before Alanor was almost the same size, but he was smaller compared to Alanor.
"Gideon, no!!" Grant shouted as Alanor landed a punch on the man before him. However, his rejected mate took the punch, making Alanor step back in shock.