[NOUR]
When Nour left Grant was confused.
He had been so sure that the Ruby wolf was gone, for a longer while this time. However, what he had just witnessed told him something else. He wanted to call the Ruby wolf's bluff, so he looked around his house for any sign of Nour.
Maybe he would find his little mate hurdled up somewhere crying about how unfair life was, right? Well, that didn't seem to go so well, because there was no sign of the mate he had beaten to a pulp.
"If you want him back, meet me tomorrow at the riverfront. I'll tell you my demands then. If you fail to show up, the entire Midlands will know of what you did to your mate. Including your little crush, Alanor Wynter," the Ruby wolf had warned.
Those words were messing with Grant's head. He couldn't believe that he had to go against the Ruby wolf for a mate he never wanted.
For a moment, he contemplated not giving in to the wolf's demands. Besides, it wasn't like there was anyone who would prove that the Ruby wolf was here right?
"At least he'll help me be rid of that omega," Grant begrudgingly sighed as he got into bed. He wasn't going to go after Nour. If the Ruby wolf wanted to eliminate his mate, then he could as well do it.
That night, Grant didn't sleep. His decision seemed to haunt him even more as the morning came. The mad wolf hadn't given him a timeline for him to go see his mate, but that wasn't what bothered him.
How could the wolf even know that he had a crush on Alanor?
Then again, as had been proven over the years since the first mention of the Ruby, he was one very meticulous wolf, a wolf of vengeance and one who would do whatever he wanted. So, it wasn't surprising that he knew about Alanor.
"Wake up, Grant!" a bang at the enforcer's door woke him up, making him groan in frustration. He had lost track of time when he went back to sleep. As if the fates were punishing him, he slept the entire day.
"I'll chop off your head if you keep banging my door like that," Grant growled in warning as he dragged his feet to the door. He wasn't in the mood for anything and he was certain that the barbaric wolf had already fucked him over.
But why wasn't he bothered by that little possibility?
He had worked so hard and done everything for Alanor to come back to him, yet the universe had laughed in his face as the fates gave him a mate weaker than he was, compared to the beast of the Midlands.
"Why the hell are you still sleeping? Did you forget what today was?" A frustrated Delbert sighed when Grant opened the door. He wasn't sure what he expected but then a man looking half-dead at him was not on his bucket list.
Perhaps he needed to think and think well, right?
"What the hell is with people telling me what today is? I don't care if that mad wolf decided to tell on me to Alanor about my dumb mate. He can take him to wherever if he wants to," Grant said as he rubbed his eyes, ready to close the door.
He was going to go back to sleep. His reputation was already tarnished anyway and he wasn't going to bother cleaning it. The king had demoted him, what else did he have to lose, if the Ruby wolf outed him to Alanor, right?
"The hell are you talking about?" Delbert asked amusedly even though nothing about what he was hearing was amusing.
"Y'know the Ruby wolf threatened to out me to Alanor if I didn't go to him to take back the mouthy omega he kidnapped from my house," Grant said nonchalantly and Delbert raised a brow at that.
"Isn't that why you are here?" Grant added when he noticed the junior warrior at his door staring at him disbelievingly. Perhaps it was the confusion, or maybe, it was the relief that Delbert felt when he realized that Nour had let him take a break from the shit show.
He had been hoping that the young prince would do that after healing, but hearing that he actually left was pleasing to Delbert's ears. He would find him later once they were done with whatever he had come for.
But even the heavens knew that he was happy his Erasthai had decided to leave for a whole.
"No. You sound crazy, man. The Ruby wolf hasn't been seen in over a month. It's almost the second month now. Anyway, I came to ask why you aren't at the banquet the King prepared for you.
"We have been waiting for two hours, and he sent me to check on you," Delbert said, the pretend happiness on his face making him want to puke.
However, he had to remind himself that he had a cover to maintain and no matter what happened, he wouldn't blow it, over the man who wasn't even worth it. He would find a way around it, though. He always did, anyway.
"Why did he prepare a banquet for me? It's not like I am done with, my punishment anyway. Or he just wants to humiliate me?" Grant sighed as he looked at the junior warrior who was facepalming. There really was no hope for this man, was there?
"Your punishment was for a month, Grant. You served it already!" Delbert said, shaking Grant enthusiastically, even though he was trying to fight the urge to break the man's neck.
He was sure that people would probably mourn Grant for a week and if they learned of what a monster he was, his memory would fade and wouldn't be remembered even in the Acrod history books. Oh, but it was so tempting.
"One month? But Farah said it was six months? One month of that hole, and the next five months, they would decide what to do with me?" Grant asked as he ran a hand through his hair.
He looked like shit, but he had been feeling like this, trying to imagine how long the five months would be. It wasn't like there was anything he could ever do to make the King change his mind, right?
"Who the hell is Farah?" Delbert asked, before adding.
"Y'know what? I don't even want to know. Go on and clean up. The entire Acrod is at the palace waiting for you. I'm not leaving without you," Delbert said as he pushed Grant back in, making sure that he understood that the werewolf King was calling for him.
"Shit, I only had a month? Which means I will get my position back? This is just so wonderful!" Grant beamed as he rushed into his bathroom and began getting ready.
"I told you earlier, right? The King appreciates and trusts you the most in this kingdom," Delbert said, adding the last bit a little over excitedly.
Delbert knew that the King could have murdered Grant in cold blood if Nour hadn't intervened. However, he wasn't going to ruin Grant's excitement on how important he was.
Ferhat would do that perfectly anyway.