Chapter 12: Gathering for the Lycan King

Valene:

Everyone began to arrive in short order, looking exquisite, their vassals close behind displayed in their required attire of black tops and matching bottoms. We weren’t necessarily allowed to get too dressy though some vassals managed to sneak in a piece of jewelry or two. We weren’t worthy of inhuman’s attention so most times we did not garner it, but sometimes…rare times, a vassal would catch the eye of one and if the price was right…well, things could be arranged though not openly; this was a taboo practice after all. At least that was the rumor. It was mainly those who pledged their lives to the inhumans that most tried to attract them

I, along with the Beta, Delta, and the Omega’s head vassals was required to wear colors with our black to specify our Keeper’s position in the pack. It was unfortunate that the Omega’s head vassal was killed, but he had another to take her place. No one considered him much anyway, and they all knew for certain why the girl was his head in the first place. The Delta, on the other hand, I hadn’t seen whether he even had a vassal with him for the night since Harold was injured.

Some of the inhumans who arrived carried two vassals in their wake. This was actually the norm for inhumans; a vassal for each person in the family for those who thought that they had something to prove. However, the favored vassals were almost always reserved for the head of the family.

I wasn’t sure how many vassals Master Wade had or even if he had any outside of myself. I did know that I was the only one permitted to live in his home; this also was normal.

While many members of Shadow Veil brought more than one vassal, I was the only one needed for the Wade family, according to Master Wade.

“Good evening…good evening your grace…good evening.” I greeted every Keeper who stepped foot through the entrance of the building, bowing my head to each and every one like a good little human. Some acknowledged me with a half-hearted greeting while others simply acknowledged and bared their teeth at me. Fortunately, for me and them, they knew who my Keeper was, so I didn't have to worry too much. It was annoying being a gold blood even when attempting to cover my scent.

“I’ll take over, Valene.” Another fellow vassal finally interceded on my behalf. I was glad because I needed to make myself available for when Master Wade and Mistress Harlyn arrived.

I stood to the side, in my green and gold, and out of the way of the mingling inhumans until I saw Master Wade and Mistress Harlyn walk through the door.

“Hey there, Vali.” I heard someone call my name. When I looked to my right there stood Tobias, Master Slaughter’s vassal.

“Good evening, Toby.” I greeted, my gaze fixated on the door.

“You heard what happened to Harold, I take it.” He said.

This still was a sore subject with me, but if anyone understood how I felt, I knew that it would be Toby. “I did.” I finally answered.

“I know.” He murmured, seeming to understand what was going through my head without me having to say it. His gaze faced the ground whilst mine faced forward. “Look at them…all prancing around laughing and dining as if two people haven’t been mauled.”

“You’re bold to say that when we’re surrounded by those with heightened hearing,” I said cautiously, glancing his way.

Tobias shrugged. “They don’t care about what I have to say, Val.” He said to me. “The only thing that they can hear is what they choose is important enough to hear. I, a vassal certainly do not count as one of the few who has something useful to say.”

I found his cynicism amusing and so did he. “I heard that your mistress is trying to set us up.”

Finally, Toby seemed to garner my full attention. When I looked at him, he laughed, and his gaze, instead of facing the ground again, looked forward. Shaking my head, I too began to look forward as well.

“Master Talon…I wasn’t aware that you had that sort of relationship with him.”

From my peripheral I noticed Toby shrug. “You’re not the only one with cool Keepers, Valene.” He teased.

To be honest, I shouldn’t have been surprised to hear this. “Master Slaughter does seem to be a great Keeper to have and Master Talon is just like him.”

“He is,” said Toby. “I’m grateful that I fell into the lap of a Keeper who believes in second chances.”

It was then that I found myself curious about what Toby’s transgression was in the first place as to why he was under the thumb of inhumans. He seemed to notice my curiosity and snickered.

“Maybe one day, I’ll tell you, Vale.” He said. “Who knows? If this forced date goes well, you might get to know me better than anyone here.” He nudged my arm.

“I was wondering when this side would show itself,” I muttered.

Again Toby laughed. “You know it's hard to restrain myself around someone as beautiful as you, Valene. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t try to get at you on my own.” He smirked.

“Of course not.” I rolled my eyes.

“Oh what? So you don’t want to get to know me, Valene? Is that what I’m hearing?” He grinned.

“What good would that do me, Tobias?” I said. “Word around the rumor mill is that there are quite a few who know quite well. I’d rather not add my name to the list.”

“Rumors, rumors,” Tobias laughed. “That’s all they are…and even if they weren’t, trust me, you’d be at the top of a most prestigious list.” He further teased.

As he said this, my Keepers were on approach. “And on that note,” I said and quickly left Tobias’s side and swiftly moved through the crowd to catch my Master. Just as they stepped through the threshold, I found my place next to my Alpha.

“Valene,” Master Wade greeted me.

I bowed in return and then did the same for Mistress Harlyn. “Mistress.” I acknowledged.

Both were in green, Master Wade with a fitted suit, black shirt and tie with the Wade crest embroidered into it. Mistress Harlyn wore an exquisite long dress with a thigh-length slit on the side of her dress and a sweetheart neckline. Her medium-length hair was nicely coiffed with tendrils falling from the sides.

“How do we look, Vali?” I heard Harlyn ask as my head lowered in respect.

“Magnificent,” I answered without hesitation. “You both look wonderful.”

“I’m going to go mingle for a bit.” Master Wade said and from my peripheral, I saw him stare at me a moment and then glance at Harlyn. His expression was almost concerned. “Maybe you should come with me, Val.” He said to me.

I fought not to glance at Harlyn. I knew that had I caught a glimpse of her expression it would only serve to stir my curiosity even further. I stayed in my place and simply obeyed.

“As you wish, Master Wade,” I said mechanically and proceeded to follow him through the crowd.

With Master Wade being who he was, it didn’t take long for others to start crowding him, greeting, and kissing up, complimenting him on the party. They-the whole of Shadow Veil worshipped the Alpha and that didn’t even include the felines who wanted a piece of the now seven-year widower. They were all aching to be his new Luna, but I don’t think anyone was worthy enough after Mistress Caris.

“Alastair Wade.”

I smooth voice greeted. This voice I had never heard before, but when Master Wade turned around to acknowledge this man, I knew based on the change in his stance that this man was of importance.

“Lucius.” returned Master Wade, neither a smile nor a grimace played across his face as he greeted this inhuman in particular.

“How are we this evening, Alpha?” He asked. “I hear you had a rough go of it last night.”

“Nothing that I couldn’t handle as you can see.” Master Wade replied pointedly and he was right; his wounds healed up quite nicely. “I’m surprised you thought enough to show, Lucius.” He said, shifting the subject to the man’s presence.

“Ah, yes! Well, I heard that Shadow Veil will be having a visitor for a while. A most prestigious one at that. Certainly, you didn’t think I’d have missed that.” He said.

“You’re alone.” Shifted Master Wade once again. Why was he so stiff with this inhuman in particular?

“My nephew is around here somewhere.” He replied. "He's easily bored, so he may have taken his leave already."

“And your daughter?” asked Master Wade.

“Ah, you know Selena-always working…for those council people.” He said disinterestedly.

“Last I checked, you were one of those council people, Lucius.”

A council member? Living in Shadow Veil? That was definite news to me for sure. I really knew very little about the goings on in Shadow Veil; that was becoming clearer and clearer to me now.

“Ah, yes, I suppose so.” He replied, even more, uninterested in the conversation than before. “Forgive me, Alastair…for seeming so…dispassionate about the subject at hand but…I must say…your vassal has completely taken my attention.” He said and soon after, he was standing in front of me, his hand suddenly on mine.

I struggled not to gasp at the boldness of this inhuman! It was never okay to be so…attentive to a vassal. At least not in this way but this Lucius character didn’t seem to care. He didn’t seem to care.

“Hello, there,” this Master Lucius greeted me smoothly, bringing my hand to his lips. He kissed and quickly after, inhaled. “You…smell…delightful.” A growl suddenly escaped him. “Gold...blood,” his voice had changed, and immediately I knew that it was because he was hungry.

I wasn’t sure what to do at this point, and to be honest, I had hoped that Master Wade would intercede but he did not-not in the way that he would have in the past. Then I thought about it; this…this was what I wanted. This was how every vassal was treated; if my blood was intriguing to another inhuman then they had full permission to do what they please as long as the vassal’s keeper was alright with it. Still, I didn’t expect my Keeper to allow this inhuman to go this far. Nevertheless, I tried my hardest to keep cool under this pressure. When I took a deep breath and exhaled shakily, that gave me away.

Master Lucius seemed amused. “Do not worry, little gold blood,” he said to me. “Your Master has not interceded because he knows that I can restrain myself.” He retracted from me and said. “She does not know who I am, does she?” where my gaze was forward at one point, I was now slightly averted from this intimidating and mysterious inhuman.

“Should she?” Master Wade had said to Lucius.

From my peripheral, I saw this positively handsome inhuman smile, his incisors showing, and his expression full of mirth. I only guessed that he must have been of some vampiric descent.

“What a shame.” He said. “You know, Alastair, I wish you weren’t such a sour puss about the past. It’s been…what? Over a century now, and still-”

“I don’t trust you, Lucius, and for good reason. You may be a council member but this is my territory, and until I see that I can trust you again, there isn’t really much to talk about. Is there?”

“That remains to be seen, Alastair,” Lucius said.

I knew very little about this mysterious inhuman but one thing I did know was that he was not afraid to go toe-to-toe with Master Wade. That in itself made him all the more intimidating despite his cheery manner.

“Is that so?” Master Wade said.

It was after Master said this, that Master Lucius took a step toward the Alpha. “Something big is on the rise, Alastair,” He said, his tone more serious than it had been throughout this whole conversation. “And now after this little...pleasant run-in, I get the sense that I know why.” He backed away from Master Wade. “You contact me when you’re ready to talk, Alpha. Little gold blood,” his voice carried over to me. “It truly has been a pleasure.” not long after this, Master Lucius’s footsteps could be heard departing from us.

Master Wade stood there in silence for a moment, and so did I then he finally spoke and when he did, I was admittedly caught off guard.

“Dobre lee si?” He said in a hushed tone.

Bulgarian? Master Wade had taught me this language when I was a child, and he hardly used the language at all. I never asked how he learned the language-only assumed that he picked it up along the way throughout his centuries of life.

“Da, master,” I replied under my breath.

My gaze facing forward, I noticed Master Wade glance at me before nodding his head. “Good.”

“Hey you two,” Harlyn popped up.

“Harlyn,” Master Wade said. “Have you been enjoying yourself?”

“Yes, I have! Which is more than I could say for you. The Alpha has arrived and you’ve not spoken to him once since he’s gotten here.”

“I was otherwise occupied.” He said. “Important business.”

“Of course,” Harlyn rolled her eyes. “It always is with you. I thought this Alpha was important business as well.”

I could tell that Master Wade was becoming agitated by Harlyn’s continuous questioning.

“Come,” Harlyn smiled. She took her father’s hand and led him forward. “Come along, Vali.”

I followed along until we reached a stop. “Alpha!” Harlyn said in high pitched voice. She was very excited about this Lycan, it seemed. “You’ve met my father.” she introduced.

My eyes at this point made a steady connection to the ground. I was tired of trying to avoid eye contact with the numerous inhumans who passed by. So when we finally approached the lycan pack, the only view holding my vision was a pair of large dark blue dress shoes and slacks. I dared not allow my eyes to wander no farther past his legs. Being caught staring too hard could cause trouble.

“Alpha.” Master Wade greeted the lycan. It was as if on cue that Master Slaughter and Minken showed up on either side of Master Wade, their Vassals on either side of them. Minken’s vassal, though injured was standing by his side. I was glad to see Harold. Maybe Master Minken wasn’t as cold as he came off.

“Alpha,” the lycan replied.

His voice sent a chill up my spine. It was hypnotic and deep, the accent made him all the more alluring to hear. I didn’t get a good look at the lycan King but if his voice was any indication of his description, I could see why Harlyn was so excitable.

“You’ve met my right and left hand,” Master Wade referred to his Beta and his Delta. “Toran Slaughter, and John Minken.”

“I have.” The lycan King said in short. “And you remember, Zevi Almeida, and Andre Boscoe.”

“I do,” Master Wade replied. “A pleasure to meet again.” After the greetings of the pack’s front men, Master Wade spoke again. “I see that my daughter has made her presence known to you.”

“She has.” He said. “Again, it is a pleasure, querida.” His strong hand took Harlyn’s but I saw very little else outside of that.

“We have much to discuss, Alpha Barbosa,” Master Wade said. Barbosa, I assumed was his surname since everyone usually addressed titles with their surnames. Admittedly, it seemed to be a good name for the faceless dominance standing in front of us.

“That we do, senhor.” replied the lycan Alpha.

“I see you’re without a vassal.” Master Minken made a verbal note.

“With the traveling, I find little use for them outside of a meal source of late. They cannot handle the terrain that the pack has had to trek through.” he paused a moment before saying. “I see that you all have quite sturdy humans that serve under you.” He said. “Well…” he paused and somehow I knew that his attention lingered on me. When I heard him subtly sniff the air, that was all the confirmation I needed. “All except one…but even her presence I understand.”

“I doubt you do.” Master Wade said. “Looks can be deceiving, Ares. You’ve been in this world long enough to know that.”

“Well in my defense, Alpha Wade, I have never met a human woman with a skill worthy of mentioning-outside of what she can accomplish on her back and even that is subpar. Now you tell me that this one is worth more than her looks,” He scoffed. “I’d like to see proof of that.” His pack chuckled from behind him. I personally was repulsed by his words, but of course, my opinion didn’t matter. I was a simple vassal after all.

Suddenly, I was extremely nervous, praying that this arrogant Alpha would not force my hand in front of everyone at the party. Although, I had to admit that part of me wanted a piece. A party, however, was simply not the place for it to happen. As a human serf, there was technically no place where this should happen. Not without punishment to follow.

“Maybe one day you will,” Harlyn voiced, and immediately I wished that I could grab a metal bar and drill her mouth shut. She was sinking me deeper and deeper into a hole that I did not want to be in.

“But not tonight,” Master Wade cut in. “Now, shall we go somewhere and discuss accommodations for your pack?”

“Gladly.” He said. They started to walk off and I made moves to follow, relieved that the subject of me proving myself to this jerk was put to rest. Then I felt Harlyn grab my arm.

“Um, daddy, I’d like to keep Valene here with me for the time being, if you don’t mind.”

Silence followed her request and it was an uncomfortable one-for me at least. “Sure,” he said and then turned away from Harlyn and me. “Come, there’s a feast to be had.” Master Wade beckoned his guests.

When they disappeared, I felt Harlyn’s eyes on me. “Valene,”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“He seems to be quite intrigued by you-the lycan Alpha.” She said.

Where was this going? “I’m sure he only wishes to prove Master Wade wrong about my usefulness as your vassal,” I said.

She chuckled. “Maybe…or maybe it’s your blood.” Mistress Harlyn replied. “It usually is.” and she was right. That doesn’t mean that I was happy to hear it.

“That is true.” I agreed reluctantly.

“His eyes lingered before he walked away. Did you not see?” She asked.

Of course, I did not see it! Did she expect me to look directly into the eyes of a volatile lycan? “I’m afraid I saw very little of the Alpha or where his eyes were directed, outside of his shoes, and that he wore pants.”

“Ah, yes,” She moaned. “Thick…muscular…mmm, you really don’t need to see much more than that to be satisfied.” She chuckled. “You agree with me…don’t you, Vali?” She asked.

“Yes, Mistress,” I replied without hesitation. She wasn’t wrong. Nevertheless, the silence that followed after my response made me wonder whether I had said something wrong.

“Valene.” She said my name.

“Yes, Mistress Harlyn,” I replied.

Then finally she exhaled and that was when her true intentions were made known. There was something more on Harlyn's mind tonight than the lycan King and how attractive he was. “We have a lot to discuss, Vali.”