AS THE CLOCK hit midnight, like everyone expected, there was the news of a familiar car entering their pack territory. The people on guard in that place were already told about this midnight visitor so they did not stop the car and let it drive in.
Everyone was already standing and waiting in front of the alpha's mansion. Compared to the people before, the number this time was doubled, which surprised Gener the moment he stepped out of their car.
"Welcome back, Your Highness," everyone said in unison, followed by a slight bowing of their heads.
Gener curtly nodded with a dismissive wave in his hand. But his eyes, after eyeing everyone, permanently lay on Diana, who was in the middle of everyone.
So when Diana looked up, her eyes met with Gener's, which slightly surprised her. It was only for a few seconds, though. Diana knew that she couldn't act unscrupulous at this moment, so she could only look away.
An unsuspicious frown appeared on Gener's handsome face, but he never pointed out the reason. He just continued walking steadily towards everyone until he directly stopped in front of Diana, like it was normal.
He waited for Diana to look at him again, only to be left waiting. A dissatisfied grunting sound escaped his mouth before he looked at Alpha Frank. But he did not notice it at all.
"Do we have to go inside to speak?" Gener indifferently asked.
That's also the moment when the alpha realized that they were still outside. It was midnight. Although the winter season isn't yet here, the wind at this time of year is really cold.
"That's right. Come, everyone, let's get inside first. We have also prepared some heavy snacks for everyone."
Following Alpha Frank's lead, everyone walks inside the big house after him. The warm air when they get inside is really comfortable. Especially to Diana and the rest, who had been waiting outside for no more than half an hour.
From the familiar living room, everyone moved to the dining table, which at this time, was crowded with an additional chair to accommodate everyone.
They let Gener take the main chair before everyone took their own seats. If not because Diana had already been told where she should sit, she would have chosen the chair together with her friends. In the end, she ended up in the same chair as the Lycan king.
Once again, after everyone had taken their seats, they were surrounded by silence. Even if there were fragrant and delicious-looking foods in front of them, they couldn't just eat them without the king taking the lead.
And Diana was also one of the people who really wanted to eat. When she realized that the man beside her seemed to have no plan to start picking up food, she couldn't help herself from glaring at his direction.
It was her favorite snack, for goodness' sake! A combination of her favorite beef jerky and baked potatoes. There's even a bottle of some old pinot noir wine specially prepared by Alpha Frank, who loves collecting wines. Yet, Diana could clearly see how Gener could ignore it like he wasn't hungry with that smell.
Well, she's hungry! She did not eat a lot of dinner after knowing that Luna Michelle helped in the kitchen to prepare the snack for midnight. And now, it was frustrating for her that she couldn't start eating because the man did not feel hungry at all.
Before Diana could blow up, Gener finally moved. It was unknown if he really wanted to start eating or that he couldn't ignore the heated glare of Diana, so he moved. It might be slow, but at least he finally took the lead that they had been waiting for.
Everyone subconsciously sighs. Others might be because they were really eager to try the delicious food, while some for relief. They might have also noticed how Diana glared at the king.
And so, before Gener could pick a piece, Diana had already put a few on her plate. Everyone, including Gener, who hung his hand in the air, looked at Diana with surprise. He was surprised at how her hands moved like a flash. Gener thought that the humans might be hungry to death because they were moving faster than a flash of thunder.
Feeling amused, Gener retained his straight face as he continued putting the picked food on his plate. He suddenly wanted to taste it, curious about how delicious it was.
Since everyone was busy eating, the place was really silent. Aside from the sound of spoons h*tting the plate, everything was peaceful and silent. It was only when Gener had finished a whole piece that he put his utensils on the table, took the napkin, and wiped his mouth, that the silence broke.
"I hope everyone had eaten enough."
It was really the case. Alpha Frank and Gener's people, except Selene, who was still busy eating, were already done a few minutes before Gener and were only drinking their glass of wine.
Diana, who had already eaten more than enough, shot another glare at Gener. Clearly, she was enjoying the food to her relish yet the man spoke like that. She could still ignore him, but Diana could feel that the man was referring to her when he put emphasis on his last words.
Diana didn't care if Gener wanted her to stop eating. 'But he was clearly targeting me!'
When Diana wanted to speak her mind, she suddenly felt a piercing pinch on her waist. The words she wanted to say all turned into a surprised gasp as she followed the hand to find the owner.
And she immediately shut her mouth when she met the fierce glare on her face from Luna Michelle. She's clearly warning her. Aggrieved, Diana took her glass of wine and silently took a sip. She also saw her friends, who had been laughing at her silently.
She felt more aggrieved. In the end, knowing that it was all because of the man beside her, Diana glared at Gener. But she was taken aback when she met the man's eyes. She subconsciously scowled at him before looking at the glass in her hand.
So Diana did not see the surprise look on Gener's face after seeing her expression. However, it only lasted for a second.
But Gener could still feel the scratching feeling in his insides after seeing Diana. It looks like a little coquettish kitten is staring at Gener. Those watery eyes were wide open. The slightly bulging cheeks were tinted with pink. And those enticing red lips that were pouting at him.
Gray was already howling inside him and getting excited. If not for Gener's strong control, he would have already shifted in front of everyone and pounced on Diana like a crazy dog.
Alpha Frank cleared his throat. And everyone minus Diana looks at him. "Well, I think, it's better for us to start. After all, this has been going on for weeks now."
"What's your decision?" Gener asked Diana directly.
Diana, who knew it was her who was being asked to look back at Gener. She knows that this matter now is serious, so she also has a serious face.
Since the lycan wanted her to start, Diana did not hesitate. She directly told everyone about her decision.
"I agree." Diana felt different reactions from everyone, but she never left her eyes on Gener. "I just want to be a good citizen. Since the king needed my help, why not lend myself."
Diana did not get the expected reaction from the king. Gener also looks at her seriously, like he's always done. She could only continue and stop trying to tease and annoy the man.
"But I have some conditions. I just hope His Highness won't be so stingy to not agree with them, right?"
"Heh. Look at that. Our mate is quite feisty, isn't she?" Gray's gruff voice sounded in Gener's mind. "Come on, we have agreed. Agree no matter what!" he taunted, like a devil tempting Gener to sin.
Gener snorted in his head. "What if her conditions were against our rights as her mate? Should I still gladly agree?"
A grating laugh echoed in Gener's head. "Does it count? Even if we agreed now, we can still go against them after we have claimed her. We can arbitrarily change it whenever we like."
Gener couldn't agree with his wolf's words and views. He might be ruthless, but he's not a j*rk. How can he force the human for something even if it was his right as a mate?
And what was he even thinking in advance like that? Diana hasn't told her conditions yet, but he's already thinking about those dirty thoughts he couldn't deny. He could only blame that on his wolf.
"Speak."
After a long silence, Gener finally speaks. To others, it only looks like he's thinking something. So no one knows about his short talk with his wolf.
"I only have three conditions, Your Majesty. First, I want to bring some of my trusted friends with me to the palace. I may be just a human, but I have my own vigilance and trust issues. Aside from whatever people you want to plant on my side, you have to let three of my friends be my own people. Don't worry, I trust them, so they won't say anything about the palace," Diana said seriously.
Gener and his people finally realized why there were some outsiders this time. It was because of this.
With a curious thought, Gener looked at the "outsiders" at the table. And Diana, since she always had her eyes on Gener, saw his glance at her friends.
"Kylee Crawford, Froilan Thomas, and Cornelia Demetre. Those three will be coming with me." For each name that Diana mentioned, she would point to the person.
"I agree." Gener then looked at Diana again. "The second condition?"
Diana secretly sighed in relief. Fortunately, Gener agreed. Although she knew that the man wouldn't probably really disagree with that, she felt relieved since Diana still did not know anything about the man yet.
Now, she needed to make sure that she would make the Lycan king agree with the other two conditions.
"I am not sure if you know me well, but I am a free person. Inside our Flaming Raven Pack, I have the freedom to do, act, or speak whatever I have in my mind. Everyone here has their freedom, after all. So my second condition is about my freedom too."
Diana had screened out this request as one of the major conditions after thinking about it. She had actually written a hundred conditions, but she knew it might be too much, so she only selected a few major points.
Diana grew up with the freedom that her late parents gave her. Just how hard they tried to bring her to safety, freedom was already bestowed on her by her beloved parents, and now, even the second family she had been treating is also giving her the freedom she wanted. Diana wouldn't let an unknown mate cut off her wings.
"I know, this might sound uncultured to most of you, but I grew up having freedom. Just like how I can choose whether to accept you as my mate or not or how it is my choice to come with you or not. Having no choice means having no freedom, right? And this freedom also applies to the fact that whatever I say is a must. Don't worry, I have my own principles, and I am not an unscrupulous and dishonest person. Also, I am not unreasonable who would really do anything without reasons. So just agree and rest assured."
Diana ignored the extra people and just looked at Gener, waiting for his reply. She knew that she was being too much with this second condition, especially the "Whatever I say is a must" line she had. But this is not only her little trick but also something she knew could be crucial to her life in the palace once everything's settled.
The people of Gener looked at Diana amusedly. It was the first time they had seen and heard someone use that tone when speaking in front of their king. Not only did Diana not cower or show fear, but she even courageously spoke those kinds of words to the supposed-to-be feared king.
Diana's friends had mixed feelings; they were both proud and worried for their friend. They commended Diana's courage, but it also made them fear for the life of their friend.
On the other hand, Luna Michelle was already fidgeting in her seat. She wanted to speak, but she knew it wasn't her time to meddle. In the end, she could only pinch Alpha Frank beside her, who was gritting his teeth, so he could not show how fierce his wife was.
The pitiful alpha finally couldn't hold himself. His waist was starting to feel the pain. At first, he cleared his throat, not only to get everyone's attention but also to make sure that he wouldn't sound weird when he spoke.
But before he could speak, the silent Lycan king finally spoke. And it was like they did not hear him when he said he agreed, so they all looked at Gener, dumbfounded. Not until Diana happily clapped her hands like a seal did everyone react.
This time, everyone had the same reactions, and that's surprising. They thought Gener wouldn't agree, or he might agree in the end, but with additional thoughts on the second condition.
So everyone really did not react at first when Gener agreed. They thought they might just mishear it or imagine it, only to be slapped hard in the face when Diana showed her happy reaction.
His Highness really agreed! The Lycan King agreed!
Gray once again emerged in Gener's head. "Aren't you a tricky b*stard just now? You agreed on the surface like an underdog, while you're already planning things the other way around in your mind."
Gener did not change his face as he looked at Diana, who really looked happy that he agreed. "Maybe I got it from you. After all, you're the real b*stard among us. I'm just speaking what's on your mind."
Gray scoffed with dissatisfaction. "What's on my mind is also what's on yours. Not only do we have the same mind, but we also have the same soul and heart. In other words, you're a b*stard too."
"Whatever. Stop appearing like a ghost and stay still like a good dog."
Gray growled as loud as he could. "Who's a dog, you b*stard!"
Feeling his mind crumbling from the non-stop growling of his wolf, Gener cut off his connection to Gray.
"Then let's speak about your last condition," Gener interjected. "So I can finally have my own conditions to tell."
A little arc appeared on his lips, but just like eyes blinking, it disappeared and returned to a straight line.
"About that, I want to discuss it with you alone," Diana said, hesitating not only from her voice but also from how she looked at everyone.
With one glance, Gener's people immediately got his message. They stood up one by one, and without any words needing to be said, they silently walked away from the dining room. They were soon followed by Nero, who cleared his throat.
Diana's friends, together with Alpha Frank and Luna Michelle, stood up. They look at Diana first before Diana's friends leave with Luna Michelle.
"Just give us a call, Your Highness. We will be just in the garden at the back," Alpha Frank reminded him before taking his leave.
The moment Alpha Frank was out of the dining room, Diana also stood up. Gener looked at her in question, which was miraculously understood by Diana.
"Just taking something. Wait for me here."
Gener couldn't stop the human as Diana ran away. But Gener could only silently remain in his seat. Fortunately, Diana did not take so long and returned after a few minutes with papers in her hands.
She put one piece of paper in front of Gener. "Read them. This is a contract, our contract. And the conditions written in there, plus the other two I already told you, count. Sign them after, whether you agree with them or not. After all, you already agreed to my second condition. This is just a physical contract for me."
Gener silently took the paper. He looked at Diana with scrutinizing eyes. Fortunately, he was really prepared. Or, with how sly his human mate is, he might really lose all his rights as a mate and maybe even as an individual. Diana doesn't seem to be like those other humans who would cower and look at him with fear.
At least as a human, his mate isn't a coward.
As he was told, Gener read aloud what was written on the paper. But he directly read the list of conditions below.
"As the promisor, Party A should follow and abide by the following conditions stated by the promisee, which is Party B, with all his heart and with honesty. Number one, Party A can only come near Party B at a meter distance." Gener raised his eyebrow and looked at Diana. "I don't agree," he directly denied.
"Sorry, Your Highness, but you already agree to the second condition. I was only letting you read them to inform you, not to give you a chance to disagree," Diana slyly muttered.
Gener did not speak. He clasped his hands and placed his elbow on the table before putting his chin on his hands.
"That's right. I did agree. But since we're still in the process of polishing this mate thing, I do still have the freedom to express my conditions as a part of the contract. That would only be fair, is that right?" he slowly asked.
Diana was taken aback by his words. The human did not realize that she was being tricked. Although it was natural for both of them to lay out their prepared conditions, Gener was the one who wanted the help of Diana. Her helping him was enough already. Unfortunately for Diana, Gener would not let his rights be cut. He has to fight for it.
"Well, you're right. Fine then, since I can't be that unfair."
If not for the numb muscles on Gener's face, he might already be grinning widely from winning.
"Then I might as well give my conditions while maintaining the fairness of this contract. Is that fine?"
"Fine. But if your conditions are too hard for me, I will still make them easy. So don't make it too far-fetched and impossible," Diana warned, and Gener nodded.
"That's fine with me. As for this first condition, I really can't agree to it. We'll be mates, not some cooperative or partnership, so distance shouldn't be a deterrent. I even needed to have some skin contact with you to soothe my wolf."
"Skin contact!" Diana exclaimed, her eyes bulging. "Aren't there too many skin contacts? That's even part of the range of the third to the last conditions stated in the contract!"
"Hmm?" Gener innocently hummed and read the contract again. "No kissing, hugging, or s*x allowed. Even holding hands is not allowed, nor is any intimate skin contact. Heh. What would be the use of this contract for my side? Mates on paper? I thought it only happened in marriage."
Diana pouted. It seems that she was really too much. That's only when she remembered the main reason why the man was talking to her right now.
Now she's kind of embarrassed. She could feel her face heating up. It looks like she's giving so much for a human mate.
"Okay, okay! I know now. Stop rubbing it on my face!" Diana immediately sorted her thoughts.
Every clause she included in the contract was imprinted on her memory for Diana to evaluate once more. This time, she made slight adjustments to each in order to make the situation more equitable for them both, rather than removing anything.
"I will only allow skin-to-skin contact such as holding hands, hugging, and kissing. No more than that!" Diana stated firmly.
But Gener slowly chuckled. "You won't let me have s*x with you. Then how am I going to have a s*xual release? I am a lycan alpha, Diana. I have more s*x drive than normal alphas. If you won't allow me to touch you like that, and you also restrain me from having another third party, as stated in your second condition, then how am I going to relieve my thirst? M*sturbation won't be enough for me."
"Ahh! TMI! TMI!" Diana hysterically shrieked while covering her ears.
Gener did not stop himself. He laughed loud enough for the two of them. "How cute," he whispered.
His eyes flashed with amusement while staring at the red-faced Diana. She was already acting cunningly just a moment ago, yet with only a few censored words from him, she was already blushing like a tomato. It was really like a kitten acting fiercely with its retracted claws. Instead of scratching, soft pads touched him like feathers, giving him a tingling sensation all over his body.
How badly he wanted to bully and tease the little kitten. Unfortunately, the kitten is deformed, so he can't accept it completely as a pet.
"Hmp. What deformed? Being a human is only a flaw that you can't accept, but I do!" Gray interrupted but was soon dismissed by Gener.
"I can only give you two choices, Diana. It's whether you let me use someone as my extra, or you let me have you completely. This matter can only be done like that."
In the end, Diana could only grumble before she agreed. "But only when you feel it! And when I say you feel it, it can only be done once a month when you're in your rut!"
"That would be enough. I might have a high s*x drive, but I'm not a s*x maniac."
Diana scoffed. "Only a fool would believe that."
Gener only smiled. "By the way, to be fair, you are also not allowed to have any outside relationship unless it's with me, and I'll be as loyal as you can think of."
"Whatever."
"Then that's settled, then? Should I sign this or will you produce another contract?" Gener asked kindly.
Diana took the contract from Gener. "Nah, that's a bother. Let's just edit it here and now."
So Gener watched Diana scribble on the papers. She crossed out the words and put another one above them, just like they had agreed to it. Until the contract consists of conditions that are to their liking, Diana then signs both papers with her name before pushing them with the pen toward Gener.
Gener looks at the beautiful handwriting on the papers before signing his name. He knew that one copy would be Diana's, so he gave her the other one while he took the other.
"Happy cooperation?" Diana asked, smilingly at Gener with her hand extended for a handshake.
Gener did not hesitate and took the hand. "Happy cooperation."
The smile on Diana's lips widened, which dazzled Gener. He could only look away as he stood up.
"Since this contract shows how prepared you are, I guess you can all come with us now back to the palace?" Gener asked.
"Yeah, sure—wait, what?!"