*Sorry about the late update... power issues, sigh
[NOUR]
Anhora fumbling before them hadn't made Delbert feel any better, so he erased the poor omega's memory and sent him to sleep without looking back.
As for Farah and Ferhat, Delbert fed them the memories of what Grant had done to his mate earlier. He hated what had happened and he felt trapped here, being the most powerful creature among them all and yet he couldn't find a simpler way around this.
Done with whatever he was doing, Delbert didn't stay to see what the warriors' reactions were. He disappeared. For three days, no one saw him and no one asked for him, which was staring. The king knew it had to do with his son, but he hadn't asked about it.
"What happened?" Nour asked when he woke up three days later.
He knew he needed to get out of there fast, but when he saw Farah and Ferhat, he calmed down. He had been worried about the truth coming out, given his abilities would siphon the power in the palace but then he didn't have to worry anymore.
"How are you feeling?" Ferhat asked, forcing a smile even though he wanted Nour to mention Grant to him.
He couldn't do shit until Nour spoke, which was quite the long wait given how the enforcer had treated the prince, but just like Farah, Ferhat knew they had to be patient with the prince and not do things that would upset him or even the natural order of things.
"Like shit. Why does my chest hurt so bad?" Nour asked as he struggled to get up.
He could feel the scar had healed, but the muscle pain was still eating at him. He couldn't understand what he was even doing here but he had a feeling it had to do with Grant missing.
"Where is… Where's Grant? I mean Enforcer Grant? Where is he?" Nour asked just as the doors to the chamber opened and his stupid-ass mate walked in, with his father. He could see the slits on his father's face and the worry that was so evident.
Nour could see the blue patch on the king's neck and he knew his father had fainted or gone into shock. That was something that broke his heart and he wished there was a way around this.
"I'm here, Nour. I'm here," Grant said as he rushed past the king and to his mate who looked like he had gone through a hundred heartbreaks. Nour's eyes were still focused on his father, who was staring at him sadly.
The king knew this wasn't enough for him to pull his son out of the shadows, but he wished there was more he could do. He was the most powerful person, and yet he had turned out to be the most useless father of all time.
It was something that ruined him, but he had to respect his son's wishes.
"How are you, son?" King Cassius of Acrod asked when he reached the bedside. His warriors instinctively took a step back, while Grant stayed beside Nour as if to sell the good-mate picture to the king.
"I'm okay, your highness. I can go back to doing menial jobs and be a good mate to the enforcer. Don't worry about it, I will not distract him," Nour said in a rush, and Grant looked at him with doe eyes, like that was the best thing he had ever heard his mate say.
He had been an asshole and yet the young prince was still defending him and his wickedness. Perhaps there was more to come, but would it make life any better?
"You can take the week off—" the king began but Nour interrupted him.
"No. I can't. I have a lot to do and more time in this goddamn bed will just slow me down. I can't be here anymore," Nour ranted and his father looked at him worriedly.
His son was always trying to run away from home so this time, he shouldn't have been surprised, but then his heart was shattering each time. He couldn't just pretend that his son wasn't broken but the man he had welcomed into his circle.
Granted, it was more of a keep your enemies closer thing, but the king was so close to being completely done by the whole situation.
"As you wish, son. Be well and take care of yourself," the king said before he walked out of the room.
Without even looking at Grants, Ferhat and Farah followed closely behind, something that made Nour let out a sigh of relief. However, that didn't last long; he saw Grant's angry eyes staring down at him on the bed.
"You had one fucking job. One job and you failed so fucking miserably at it. You always want to shame me in front of the entire kingdom, don't you?" Grant asked angrily as he began choking Nour.
He knew that everyone else had gone and was certain he was alone here. He could do whatever he wanted and no one would fight him.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, please forgive me, Grant, please," Nour said, his voice raspy, and his breath shortening thanks to the chokehold that Grant had him on.
It didn't hurt and wasn't doing anything to Nour, but he knew he had an act to keep up, so he let out a few coughs. They were strained and he looked like he was getting paler by the second, a sight that broke his own heart.
How the hell had it all gotten to this?
Was this what all mate bonds were like?
"You are tempting me to reject you, don't you, stupid omega?" Grant said and Nour stared at him, horrified. Of course, it was all an act, but it broke Nour's heart, just like the first time.
However even with the harassment, the young prince swore to never stop, no matter how many times he got hurt, his father pleaded with him, and not even Alanor came to ask him to stop. He was a man on a mission and his assignment was staring right at him.
"I… I'm sorry. Please don't. I will fight back if anyone comes at me again. I won't let them ruin our bond," Nour pleaded and Grant scoffed before he angrily pushed Nour off the bed he was in, forcing the young prince to land on his wounds on the floor.
It was something that pissed Nour, but he had to keep his composure.
"Find your way out of here, and make sure to clean my chambers. Make it so sparkling clean that I won't even find the stench of your blood on the walls.
Take a fucking shower too, we have all had the misfortune of watching taking in your stench," Grant said and Nour whimpered in defeat. He was supposed to be used to this, but this was barely the third day of his suffering.
Would he hold out for as long as he wanted to?
"I'm sorry, Grant. I didn't mean to ruin your night. I'm sorry, please forgive me," Nour pleaded and Grant just walked over to where he was, on the ground, before kicking Nour thrice in the stomach. It hurt a lot.
The last thing Nour saw was Grant's boots connecting with his face, rendering him unconscious, but not before hearing a feral growl enter the room before someone was hurled at the walls and joined him on the floor.
"What the fuck did you just do!?"