[DELBERT]
"Your mate, he was burnt in the fire. I'm sorry, Your Highness," Delbert said and Grant felt his heart sink into his stomach. He hated Nour with all of him, sure, but he never thought that he would be dead just like that; it was just unbelievable.
"He what now?" Grant asked when he finally found words in his mouth. It was like he was getting a breath of fresh air, and yet at the same time, it was a fucking sad moment for him and everything he believed in.
On one hand, he was happy Nour was dead. That meant that he would be able to go c to Alanor, now that he was tasked with running the kingdom. Maybe Alanor would want him and look at him with desire.
It was a foolish man's through, but Grant was till dawn so bad for the young Wynter. It was almost like Alanor Gideon Wynter could breathe and Grant would bow in submission.
On the other hand, he was worried about his reputation.
Maybe this was a good thing for him, because he would get the sympathy of all the wolves in Acrod, and they would stand beside him in grief. This was more like a powerplay for him, but damn it was haunting him.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness," Delbert insisted and Grant sighed. He couldn't believe that all his hard work, all the things he had done to be free of the mate bond with Nour had gotten to this point. Perhaps the goddess was finally setting him free, right?
"Shit," Grant said defeatedly, even the gut Delbert could see that it was all just pretense in the name of the new position he had forgotten.
Grant would have a change of life and if the people of Acrod didn't know him any better, they would have assumed that he was happy his mat was dead. Oh, but it would be a hard call for him.
"But the mate bond…" Grant whispered, his words reminding Delbert that he hadn't yet cast a spell to deal with that. In that moment, Delbert cast the spell that cut off the bond between Nour and Grant even though it would hurt Nour too.
'Just this time, my precious,' Delbert thought to himself as he made Grant feel the worst of the spins from losing a mate. The man was a terrible actor and Delbert wished he could give Grant a taste of what it meant to lose someone the fates had given him.
It was a pain worse than when Alanor had rejected Grant and boy did it make Grant feel like the world was sinking. Perhaps it would have been because otherwise, Delbert was going to make the new rulers' life a living hell.
He would do everything to make sure that Grant felt the pain of losing the mate the goddess had given him.
"Fuck!!" Grant let out a pained growth before he shifted into his wolf and made a run for the woods, making the wolves look at him pitifully. They all knew how badly it hurt to lose a mate and they knew that the consequences would be way too dire for Grant.
The entire Acrod knew that Grant despised Nour. They knew Grant did shit to his mat that no one would ever do and yet none of the head stopped up to save Nour.
None of them had tried to stop the man and now that he was apparently dead, they seemed to be facing a truth that they would never be rid of the truth that came with them being the enablers of the man instead of reminding him the importance of mates.
"This is so sad," the wolves whispered while Delbert just walked away from the mess and went back home.
He wasn't in the mood to stand there and pretend that he was sad that this happened when the only thing he wanted to do was to make sure that Grant's head was off his neck.
He was a pissed Lycan who was determined to make sure his erasthai was safe and protected. He would never let anyone hurt Nour be damned if anyone tried to mess with the man he loved.
"Delbert… Something is wrong with him. He's been in so much pain. We can hear his whimpers but you said not to go in there, so we couldn't do anything," Sophia said, dropping all formalities.
She knew that this was a tribe time for any of the tragedies and she knew her role so well in the picture they were all so determined to paint to the people of Acrod. It wasn't going to be easy because they eventually had to figure out a way to make sure that none of this caused them all so much pain.
"I know," Delbert signed defeatedly and Sophia looked at him in realization, before he smacked the back of the clay's head in disbelief. This wasn't what they had imagined, but damn, what the fuck was even going on in Delbert's mind, right?
"You didn't cushion him you little… go, now!" Sophia said as she pushed Delbert towards the stairs as if the man just couldn't portal to the room his erasthai was in. Then again, perhaps he was scared of what he would see when he went into his room.
"What if he hates me for this, Soph? What do I do then? I basically just ripped his mate from him because I was angry and couldn't talk the way he was talking about him anymore. What if he doesn't want to see me?" Delbert asked as he sat on the cold floor.
It was a new sight for Sophia and while she wanted to scold him, she understood where he was coming from. Delbert had been the most patient with Nour, even when the young prince was being harassed by his enforcer of a mate.
He had tried his best to keep his distance, but he was a Lycan who had found his erasthai, a Lycan who was trying so hard to be the understanding one. It had just been a matter of time before they all snapped and now, he was.
"I think he expected that, when you brought him here a second time, Zaire. A part of him had to have known that you wouldn't let him go, and he let you bring him over to this place. He is a prince and we're in his kingdom, yet he didn't fight you.
"He has the most power over all of us here, and he didn't try to make you take him back to his mate when you brought him over. His father let you take him because he liked you and not because you were just another warrior.
"My words may not mean much until you see him and hear for yourself what he has to say. And it is impossible for you to know what he has to say to that, when you are on this side of the door. So go, Zaire.
"Listen to your heart and give yourself a chance to breathe in his direction, okay?" Sophia said and Delbert sighed as he got up. He was scared of the reality that was waiting for him, so instead of portaling, he just looked at Sophia one last time, before he walked up the long stairs.
Maybe if he did this, he wouldn't be so scared right?