"Enough," said Zen crankily. "Why don't you tell me the real reason you brought me here?"
Instinctively he massaged near the back of his bandaged head soothingly as it still throbbed painfully.
His statement was said with a commanding voice and the Maximillian's in the backroom paled significantly.
For they recognized the tone of a dominant alpha, they understood that Zen's patience was wearing thin but did Lithe?
Lithe continued to smile at Zen like a simpleton totally unaware of the tension in the room.
Zen's mood changed when he realized something precious that belonged to him was missing.
There was only one other person on the compound dumb enough to take it.
As no one else from the Allerdyce Continent would dare to touch a Starke's prized possession.
Lithe was unaware of the fact that Zen was leaking alpha pheromones like crazy.
Even though the Maximillian's were behind a glass window they were not immune to his scent.
Somehow Zen's pheromones had managed to seep through the corners and crevices of the window.
Already, it started to affect Maximillian family adversely causing excruciating pain.
Unable to stand the scent any longer but unable to move.
Solely because inhaling the dominant alpha's scent was crippling to the mind and body.
Zen was aware that he held the impudent family by the throat but he did not care he was used to asserting his dominance.
Only Estella possessed enough sense to press a button that would wind down the window to get the Starke's attention.
"Please Lord Starke. Forgive us and reduce your pheromones. My grandparents especially are up in age and finding it hard to breathe. It's too overwhelming for them, so please take pity on us," pleaded Estella.
"Oh," responded Zen. Pretending like he didn't know, "I wasn't aware that we had an audience or I never would have been so rude to such pillars of society, what an upstanding noble family."
The implication wasn't lost on the Maximillian family; they had been impolite to one of the rare dominant alpha's from another noble family.
Even if the Starke's were labeled as outcasts and chose to live on the outskirts of Allerdyce Continent they were still peers of the Royal Court.
Lithe looked clueless but the Maximillian Family was in a state of distress.
For if word got out that they had screwed up so royally it could ruin their reputation in prominent society.
One wrong move could cause them their livelihood as if they didn't already have enough problems.
The last thing they wanted to do was have a grudge form between them and the Starke's Tribe.
Starke's were known to have a cruel and ruthless streak.
Rumor has it that when Starke's have an enemy they won't stop until the enemy's entire tribe is wiped off the face of the earth.
It was also rumored that an enemy would die in the most painful ways so much that they would rather wish for death than die at the hands of a Starke.
Zen turned his attention back to Lithe waiting to see what would be his next move and Lithe did not disappoint.
"My Lord Starke, please do not take out your frustrations on the Maximillian Family. If you must place the blame somewhere then let it rest squarely on my shoulders. I am the Chief Advisor for the Maximillian Tribe and they are only following my advice. Believe it or not, we brought you here solely for business purposes. We had to resort to such drastic measures because our messages to you were returned unanswered. You must understand that we are in desperate need of your special services."
"Before you go any further, you have something that belongs to me, return it now."
Lithe reached into his pocket and pulled out a diamond encrusted gold locket.
In front of everyone Lithe opened the locket.
Everyone in the room exclaimed loudly whether it was due to horror or surprise was open to interpretation.
Watching Lithe open the locket, the beast inside him stirred lazily.
Nowadays not much got his inner wolf's attention.
Zen had gotten used to it being lethargic and bored easily but now it was on the prowl.
Incoherent thoughts swirled in his mind, how could this be?
Lithe was a foreigner and not from the Allerdyce continent.
This was a lot to absorb in one setting but the possibilities were endless.
Yet his inner beast screamed that Lithe was a potential mate.
For his beast to be fascinated by Lithe, was a very dangerous call.
It wanted to pounce on Lithe, tear into his neck and devour him.
The fact that he and his beast managed to be in accord for once was a miracle.
How he and his beast felt for Lithe was nothing like what he had felt for the women in his past relationships.
These intense feelings were bordering on an obsession and he needed to curb it before things got out of hand.
He had taken his curiosity for Lithe far more than he initially expected.
Now like Alice he was preparing himself to jump blindly down the rabbit hole to see how far he was willing to go with no reservations.
He was loath to admit that Lithe could possibly wrap Zen around his middle finger.
Lithe was like a pampered house pet Zen could not imagine such a soft creature living in his savage degenerated world.
Lithe's body was not meant to pawed and cruelly fondled, Zen wanted to treat his body the right way with a lover's hands.
Speaking of hands, Zen stared down at his own sun beaten calloused skin.
These same hands had almost brought the naïve Lithe to a new world of indescribable pleasure.
At his age, Lithe still managed to give off the impression of being pure and impeccable.
In this day and age; it was akin to finding a rare treasure and truly astonishing.
The omega restrained his true self beneath his layers of clothing but Zen had already uncovered the startling alluring sensuality that Lithe kept hidden.
Zen had not come to Allerdyce Continent in search of a mate but he could admit that he could not have done better than Lithe.
Zen blinked twice to reorganize his scattered thoughts.
Only Lithe seemed to be unaware of the consequences involved with opening a Starke's locket.
"I understand that you possess some sentimental attachment to this locket and I'm willing to return it to you as a token of friendship once negotiations between us are complete."
After Lithe's ignorant declaration was firmly stated, Grandmother Mila collapsed in the room.