[NOUR]
"Tonight, we are gathered here to celebrate Grant Hindley, the greatest warrior our kingdom has ever seen. The past month has been rocky, but I cannot deny that he has done a good job with everything else in the kingdom.
"His loyalty is something that has to be rewarded, which is why, I King Cassius Burda, hereby decree that Grant Hindley will be in charge of the kingdom, if anything happens to me, or if I retire.
"Especially now that I don't have an heir to rule after me. Every decision he makes will be considered as mine, and a defiance will not be pleasantly rewarded. I know many of you are thinking he could be a dictator with that much power.
"Well, you shouldn't worry about that, because he will be assisted by my most trusted warriors, Ferhat and Farah, along with the royal council in my absence.
"Let the party continue!" the King declared and everyone cheered on, even though Grant wasn't sure if this was a good idea.
He had been so excited to hear that he had a banquet and that he was being reinstated. However, nothing could have prepared him for Ferhat and Farah being the people who he would have to work with, come hell or high water.
Those two were easily the deadliest warriors to ever exist in the kingdom, and they scared Grant shitless. He had always grown up knowing that anyone who went against the two, was out to find themselves murder.
It was always that simple, but right now, he was worried instead of being happy.
"You're overthinking it, aren't you? You shouldn't. I was just doing my job. No hard feelings, Mr. enforcer," Farah said casually, as she reached Grant who was staring at the people at the banquet.
It was almost like he couldn't believe what was happening and wasn't sure if he needed to be wary of the killing machine before him. This woman had broken all his bones so easily that she made him feel useless and light as fuck.
She had made sure that his wolf wouldn't ever be able to heal him in the month that she had been torturing him. She had ruined him and broken his spirit one too many times in that month that standing this close to her made Grant want to run.
Perhaps he should have just gone to meet the damn Ruby wolf and been with his mate, right?
"You're scaring the guy, Farah. You should play nice especially now that we have to work with him in the open," Ferhat said, his tone so cold and sinister, as he looked at Grant who wanted to be everywhere but here.
Delbert, who was listening to their conversation from a distance, loved what he was seeing. He couldn't quite understand what game the King was playing at, but he knew that Grant was in for a long and ruthless lesson.
"Hello, Grant. Nice to formally meet you," Ferhat greeted and Grant just nodded, before shaking the hand that Ferhat had been giving him. Maybe this was a good start. But maybe, just maybe he shouldn't have been excited to come to the banquet.
"By the way, a little birdie told me you got a feisty omega for a mate. I don't see him here though. I would like to meet the man after your heart. You know, during occasions like this, mates make you more powerful.
"Make sure to come with him on the next one, okay?" Ferhat said, even though his voice was growing warmer. It was almost like he was making genuine interactions with Grant, but he knew better.
If the young prince gave him this man's name.
If the prince mentioned Grant or even his ear, he would ruin the man way worse than what Farah did to him. Then again, Ferhat hadn't received a name yet, even though he already knew that the name he would be getting was Grant's.
It was exciting because the more he looked at Grant's face, the more he realized how punchable the enforcer's face was, and the more he was determined to make sure that no one would ever find his bone if ever the Prince mentioned him.
"You're scaring him even more. Come, let the man enjoy his moment with the warriors," Farah said to Ferhat who seemed a little reluctant to leave. He wanted more, but he couldn't exactly spell it out for Grant.
His time would come though, that much Ferhat knew and he would maximize it, no matter how long it took. Patience, was, after all, a virtue he had learned, courtesy of the young prince who was always getting in trouble knowingly.
"We'll see you around Grant, and I sincerely look forward to working with you," Ferhat said with a sinister smile, before they left, making Grant release a long sigh. However, before he could catch his breath, Delbert showed up.
"You're worried about your mate, aren't you? I saw how you were distracted," Delbert said, even though he knew so well that the man before him didn't give a shit about the crown prince who was away from the kingdom at the moment.
He wanted to hear Grant lie to him, and given Delbert hated liars, he wanted to hear what the hell Grant would say to that. Just like Ferhat, the junior warrior seemed to be gathering whatever could, so that he would avenge the prince.
If only Grant knew that the list of people who wanted him to suffer and even dead, was growing longer, he would have changed. But who was to tell him, when he had just been given one of the highest positions ever granted to a warrior in the realm?
"Not really. He's a fighter and can defend himself very well. I know he has some strength to go with his mouthy state. Besides, there was a chance the Ruby wolf would return him willingly. I'm not worried about him," Grant said and Delbert just nodded in silence.
The truth in Grant's eyes was conflicting to him. He wanted Grant to stand up for Nour and yet the man was being so honest, so he wasn't sure if this was the time and place for it. Then again, it wasn't like there was much for them to do, right?
"In that case, you need not worry about anything else. Enjoy the party, man," Delbert said before he walked away from Grant, who finally let out one reliving sigh.
However, before he could take a rest, the crowd began whispering and gasping, an act that got him frustrated already.
"What is it this time?" the enforcer asked defeatedly. This seemed more like a cursed banquet than a happy one because frankly, he hadn't had a moment of peace. First, it was the ruby wolf, and now he had Ferhat and Farah to worry about.
"That's the mouthy omega, isn't he?" one of the wolves said and that got Grant's attention.
"The WHO now?" Grant asked as he rushed between the crowd to see for himself what they were talking about. There was just no way on earth that his mate was here, right? Surely he couldn't ruin his day like this, yeah?
"Holy fuck," Farah gasped as Grant finally took in the sight before him.
There in front of the entire kingdom and the King, was his mate, the man he had beaten to a pulp earlier. He looked like he had been tortured for months and weeks, even though he had come back to the kingdom the previous day.
However, Nour's state wasn't the only thing that shocked everyone. It was the three arrows that had gone through his chest and abdomen. With those arrows, was a huge white bloody sheet, one that had a message, that got the King faltering.
"Heard you got a mate. You should take better care of him. The next time, won't just be an arrow to the chest, abdomen, and right arm. It will be an arrow to his heart," the message read, and the people were confused.
They could all see the three arrows to the omega's chest and abdomen, but there wasn't one to his right arm.
As if to answer their unspoken question, an arrow suddenly whirred through the room and hit the near-unconscious Nour in the right arm, making the omega go limp, and the banquet into a frenzy thanks to the message attached to the last arrow.
"I always save the best for last… With all the hate and vengeance, the Ruby Wolf," Grant read disbelievingly, as the King went into shock.