When morning came, Theodore was ready to travel. Although he had no intention of sharing his plans with anyone – the palace wasn’t a safe enough place to be honest – he did tell his beloved Emily not to wait for him in the evening. After all, he expected that the negotiations would take quite some time.
“Where are you going?” She asked, half asleep.
“You need not worry, dorogaya. I’ll be back tomorrow,” he reassured her. “Spend the day with Serena.”
She nodded at him. He leaned over to kiss her lips chastely, and then he was leaving the bed chambers, and the palace altogether.
7 hours later, he was standing at the gates of the werewolves’ palace. There were things that needed to be done, and others that needed to be said. The werewolves were not going to be happy, and thus, he steeled his resolve.
The guards thought of him as an intruder and were ready to attack him when his eyes flashed a dangerous crimson.
“The name is Theodore King,” he announced proudly. “I am here to see King Joshua.”
The guards scoffed at him.
“We were not told you would be coming. What makes you so sure we would let you come in?” One of them said defiantly.
He needed to stall and convince them. He didn’t want to start a war by killing the werewolves guards.
“Do you have such a death wish?” He taunted as he saw them approaching him cautiously. “Let us compromise,” he then added. “Get your chamberlain for me and I will let you off the hook.”
The four guards looked at one another and then decided to act cautiously and get the chamberlain as per the compromise.
A few minutes later, a tall man, who exuded confidence and elegance, was at the gates, opening them himself for Theodore.
“Our apologies, your highness,” he told him stiffly. “Had we known you were coming, we would have welcomed you with the respects you are due.”
“It is okay,” Theodore said with his commercial smile. “I have urgent matters to discuss with King Joshua.”
“The king is occupied at the moment,” the chamberlain said.
“I can wait,” Theodore told him. “Is Princess Tatiana here?”
“She is, your highness,” he was told. “Do you wish to have an audience with her as well?”
“Not at the moment,” he shook his head negatively.
Two hours and a copious lunch later, and Theodore was escorted to the conference room where he was told the king awaited him.
They exchanged polite greetings and some pleasantries, despite the burning curiosity in the king’s eyes.
“What, pray tell, brought you to this side of the land?” The king finally inquired.
“I want the mating ceremony to take place tomorrow,” Theodore said without preamble.
“I beg your pardon?” The king exclaimed. “I thought that there was still more time…”
“We have granted Princess Tatiana over 9 years of freedom,” Theodore said politely. “Hell and damnation, only six weeks remain. But as circumstances would have it, the mating needs to take place sooner rather than later.”
“I see,” the king drawled. “Sadly, my hands are tied, Prince Theodore. The decision isn’t mine to make.”
“Be that as it may be, wouldn’t you love to see your daughter made queen of dragons, King Joshua?” Theodore countered slyly.
That had the knack to make the king still and listen with rapt attention to Theodore’s words.
“I am ready to give up the throne to my little brother if – and only if – the coronation ceremony were to take place tomorrow,” he said.
“You sure drive a hard bargain, Prince Theodore,” the king said on a sigh.
Theodore chuckled good-humoredly. “Well, I am shrewd enough and old enough to know that I shouldn’t make threats,” he told him flatly.
“Threats?” The king’s eyes flashed black. “In my own territory?”
“Princess Tatiana was allowed the freedom she so wished for,” Theodore shrugged as if he had no care in the world. He paused and then went on, “she went as far as to have an affair four years ago in Roma… That isn’t something we appreciate frankly speaking.”
The king’s eyes recovered their amber color. “What do you mean?” He almost stuttered.
“I mean to say that should my little brother want to break things off with your daughter, this time around we dragons won’t be held responsible for the consequences,” Theodore smiled at him.
“Do you mean to say…” the king trailed off, looking ready to faint.
“It is exactly as I said it,” Theodore said calmly, “It’s either she agrees to become queen tomorrow or any hope of an alliance will be foolishness.”
The king nodded even as he clicked his tongue in dismay. “Do I have any real choice?”
“It depends,” Theodore chuckled dryly, “Do you really wish to go to war with us?”
The king didn’t dare to say anything more at that jab.
“I will have to talk to my daughter regarding this pressing matter,” the king then announced as he rose to his feet.
“Tic toc,” Theodore said in parting. “It’s either she becomes queen tomorrow or all bets are off.”
The king was visibly angry at the verbal ultimatum but he wasn’t foolish enough to show his displeasure openly.
“Give your daughter my kind regards, King Joshua,” Theodore said. “If you don’t mind, I will be in the bed chambers I was shown earlier.”
The king merely nodded and then both men retired, Theodore with a bit of peps to his steps, and the king probably with a heavy heart.
The werewolf king was a greedy man. He wanted power. And that was the reason why he had forced his daughter into a mating with Theodore before this latter broke things off. That being said, rumors claimed he had given her a choice when it came to Liam, and she had been the one to agree to the mating for the sake of peace.
Lest he was a foolish man, he had every reason to convince his daughter to go through with Theodore’s demands.
Theodore was hopeful. The bargain he had thrown at them was a risky one, but he believed that if one needed to win, one needed to make a wager. And what a wager did he make!