Kevin’s POV
I was glad that she wasn’t mad at me anymore. I still itched to kiss her though and fought hard to not look at her lips. It was a good thing that we had been interrupted or I didn’t know how far I would have taken the kiss. I wanted her in my bed and under my skin.
I smiled as we walked to meet the others, hoping that the throbbing erection that I felt wasn’t bulging out of my trousers. That would be awkward to explain. How could I tell them that we were only talking if I had my penis strutting out of my pants and begging to be out?
Yeah, that must have been one intense conversation. The lips had worked so much. I could imagine and hear the responses of the men in my head.
We joined the others and they raised their heads up as they sensed us. I raised my head up, daring my men to say a word.
Some of them swallowed as they looked away and I knew that they had understood the signal I had given them and would stick to the warning. Ella was already worried of what they would think. I didn’t want them to make her blush
“It’s good to finally have you join us.” Zeke said as he watched me pull out a chair for Ella.
I smiled, feeling like asking him if he wasn’t too old for teasing his daughter but I knew he was enjoying this too much and didn’t want to indulge him.
“We had something to talk about.” Ella said.
“I’m sure you had a lot to talk about.” Caleb smiled.
“Let’s not tease her.” I said, coming to the defense.
“Ooh, he defended her.” Zeke laughed. “I’m proud right now. My daughter couldn’t have chosen a better mate.”
I rolled my eyes. “Shall we eat?”
Liam chuckled. “Your food has already been served, my lords.” He nudged his head at our plates and smiled at Ella who was already eating her. “I think the Luna is already eating hers.”
I narrowed my eyes at him but he looked too amused to care. I should have known that Liam wouldn’t stick to the warning that I gave them. He enjoyed teasing me when he had the chance.
“This is delicious, dad.” Ella said, steering the conversation towards another lane.
Zeke’s chest pumped with pride. “I know, right? Your mum always ate a second serving whenever I cooked for her.”
I glanced at Ella to check how she would react at the reminder of her mum but she didn’t seem to be in pain at the memory of her. She smiled at her dad, eager to hear more of his and her mum’s love story. I was glad that she had put the pain behind her and decided to focus on the fond memories alone.
She was getting stronger everyday and I couldn’t help falling more in love with her.
She laughed at what her father had said and scooped more food into her mouth. “I don’t doubt that. I am tempted to ask for your recipe, dad.”
He snorted. “As if the Luna would be allowed in the kitchen once she gets back to the blood moon pack and gets mated.”
She sighed. “I know there will be maids to do house chores but that doesn’t mean I can’t be allowed to cook once in a while when I want to.” She looked at me. “Won’t I?”
I swallowed what I was chewing. “You would.”
“Good.” She smiled and turned to her dad. “See? You should give me your recipe.”
“You can have them if you impress me well enough when your trainings start again.”
“You don’t play fair, dad.” She pouted.
“The world doesn’t play fair, daughter.”
“Nothing good comes easy.” Caleb added.
Ella rolled her eyes at the two of them and I chuckled at how cute she looked. She went silent but that didn’t mean the table was as the men talked and laughed as they ate.
I smiled as I looked at them all and listened to them, grateful for the peace we had now before the storm.
I didn’t ever doubt for once that the storm was getting closer and crawling in on us.
Kenneth’s POV
I walked through the poultry, smirking as I looked at the cages of each bird. Only I knew what was going on in my mind. I alone knew that, not even the two guards walling behind me. They thought that I was just taking a tour round because I wanted to see the birds and appreciate nature.
I snorted. Nature, my ass.
What was my business with it that I would leave my busy desk in the study with the books clustered all over that I had to read to appreciate it? If anything, I wanted to ruin nature. I wanted to spoil the life she held dearly to her heart. I wanted there to be blood all over the ground and the scent of it thickening and filling the air instead of the mushy rosy smell that it loved to give off.
Blood all over the air and ground. Now that was beauty and not roses sprouting in the ground and birds singing all around as they flew as if they didn’t have any care in the world.
The world was too full of problems for anyone to be happy. I wasn’t miserable; I was only being real with how the world was but only few saw that.
I still shuddered at the insulting memory when I had told the elders in my court that we needed to wage a war against the other wolves. They had been against an unprovoked attack and two of them had dared to tell me that I was miserable and trying to project my misery on others.
They didn’t understand. They didn’t understand why the wolves had to stop laughing, smiling and living as if the world was delicate and beautiful. They didn’t understand my obsession.
I spat out the raw and bitter taste of anger in my mouth thinking of the day before. The elders of my clan had dared to suggest that I get myself a mate before the next full moon so I could have a distraction from my overwhelming and disastrous obsession.
I still remembered how annoyed I had been at their suggestion. A mate? A distraction? Did they think that was what I needed at this moment? Did they think I could ever get distracted? What I needed at the moment was action and not a distraction and that was what I was here for.
The birds chirped loudly at the sight of me. I didn’t wonder if they were happy to see me or the food I threw at them as I passed by their cages but I wondered if they would pretend to like me if they knew why I was really here.
It was time for them to work and pay me back for all the seeds I had been feeding them and they had been getting fat on.
It was time for them to fulfill the purpose they were being bred for. The journey was going to be hard on them but they were going to do it. That was their destiny and mission.
I knew the men behind me were exchanging glances but I didn’t care. We had been walking for the past two hours and I’d been past the cage of each bird at least more than three times and hadn’t stopped this tour. They were probably wondering now what was with me.
Let them wonder, I thought to myself as I walked to the end of the poultry for another round.
I finally turned to the guards, a slow smile on my face. I had had enough. I was done with the tour and made my decision.
“This.” I said, pointing at the bird with red and blue feathers at the north corner of the poultry.
“Uhn,” they said absentmindedly, confusion blanketing their features.
I ignored them and pointed at another bird. “That.”
“Oh!”
They finally understood what I meant and started picking the birds I pointed to. They seemed to be relieved that they were finally doing something instead of trailing around me and moving around the poultry without doing anything.
They could have told me that they were tired of walking aimlessly with me when they knew that they were bored and tired of standing guard while I did that.
I chuckled silently at my thoughts. They couldn’t have done that and told me that they were tired unless they had a death wish. I chuckled out loud at how feared I was and I loved it.
The men didn’t even glance at themselves at my sudden burst of laughter, used to my erratic moods.
I looked at them when I was done picking the birds that I wanted.
“Get them to my study.” I said to the men whose hands were filled with cages and walked out of the poultry without waiting for them.
Minutes later, I was at my desk already scribbling words on tiny pieces of paper when the men walked in.
“Put the cages down.” I said without raising my head up from what I was doing to look at them.
They did, bowed and left the room. I got up from the desk when I was done writing the letters and walked to where the birds were. I squatted down, picked the birds one after the other and rolled a letter into their legs. I walked up to the window and let the birds out, throwing them in different directions.
I sighed, smiling in contentment as I moved back to my desk. Within four days, all my soldiers who were scattered across the lands should be back and I could finally march on to battle.
I knew without a doubt that I would outnumber and overpower the wolves with that quantity of soldiers and I was excited already. They wouldn’t know what hit them until it did.
I was going to crush them and not have them cry for mercy. I laughed out loud, wondering how Kevin would look while begging me to save his life. I was certain that was a memory I would cherish till eternity.