Suddenly, a blare from a trumpet like instrument sounded, making me yelp in surprise that Lion hurriedly carried me in his arms.
The rest of the pack instantly stood beside us though they looked like they aren't surprised at all.
In fact, I can hear several groans and sighs from them.
Lion though did not pay attention to it as he kept on nuzzling and nibbling my ear.
Thunderous sounds of footsteps and clanking as a huge number of warriors marched inside the main gates of the palace that Leon used his magic to expand the front courtyard as it is already too crowded.
The foreign looking warriors positioned themselves on two lines facing each other, that started at the main gates until near to where we are standing, with a wide path at the middle that clearly showed everyone that a very important creature is about to enter the main gates.
The foreign warriors already looked intimidating to me as they seemed fierce with their appearances, not to mention that they are obviously taller than me.
Though Sly, Ghost and especially Alpha, looked more like a giant to me than them.
Of course, if Orm stands on his tail then he would tower over them.
Let's not forget about the fact that Orm is the runt of his tribe.
Soon, the foreign warriors began chanting a name in which I saw a winged steed that is clearly made out of magic with an armored rider on it approaching towards us.
I can't see the rider's face as it is covered by his helmet.
The pack began to growl softly as they nuzzled me all over my face and neck that soon I got annoyed with them but didn't show it as I noticed that Lion seemed a bit intimidated by the appearance of the rider.
Now they are making me curious.
To make them stop, I gave each of them a kiss on their foreheads in which they finally calmed down.
But still they crowded around me too close for comfort.
I'm currently standing as Leon told me to welcome the rider.
What should I say?
Leon chuckled while the pack glared at him, telling me to just stand in front of him and receive the tribute from the rider.
That's it?
Then where is Maelsa?
He should do this instead!
Leon seems to read my thoughts in which he told me that Maelsa is in another territory.
Is he kidding me right now?
Then what about Alpha?! He's the heir and he SHOULD do it!
Ah yes, I forgot about the fact that I'm his supposed elite companion.
Sigh.
Let's just get this over with.
....
The rider's magical steed disappeared in which the rider slowly made his way towards me.
I estimated his height to be a bit shorter than Sly and Ghost though he is taller than Orm.
His armor looked too flamboyant yet I can feel that despite its appearance, can withstand several fatal attacks.
When he removed his helmet, his appearance nearly took my breath away.
He is gorgeous.
His hair which is wavy, is tied into a low hanging ponytail. The best color I can describe his hair is that it looks like the color of champagne.
With red eyes that looked pleased as I kept on looking at him, he smiled at me seductively as he tried to kiss my hand.
Hey!
He must have misunderstood me.
Of course, you would be mesmerized looking at his appearance for the first time but that's it.
I don't want to be rude but I gave him a forced smile as I tried to hide my hand behind me.
He chuckled softly, telling me that I caught his interest while I began praying in my mind for a miracle.
My prayers were soon answered as a high pitched voice called out his name playfully, making him clench his teeth in annoyance.
A pretty female creature, who is a bit taller than me but shorter than Lion, suddenly embraced him from behind.
She looked like a pixie, with pointed ears and teeth. Her eyes and hair have the same shade like the rider though her hair is very short.
With a hostile look towards me, she began biting the rider's back in which the rider tried to push her away to no avail as she seemed like glue.
Trying to ignore her, the rider introduced himself to me as Deus, the prince and ruler of the allied territory who helped during the war.
Suddenly, he gave a yell of pain as the pixie began biting him hard, telling him that he didn't introduced her to me as his mate, making Deus pushed her away from him forcefully, telling her that she's not his mate and that she's deluded.
She then looked at me with hatred, telling me that her name is Bubu and that Deus is hers alone.
I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing.
Deus suddenly looked like he just had a great idea in which he told Bubu to go play with the pretty toys as he pointed towards the pack, much to their horror.
This isn't funny anymore.
The pack began snarling furiously at her, trying to avoid her as she tried to grab them.
Seeing that Deus has a whip on his belt, I immediately took it without seeing his reaction and used it to catch Bubu, who looked like she was intrigued in what I just did.
The whip coiled around her arms and waist, making her unable to move in which I pulled her towards me then I whispered in her ear, telling her softly that she shouldn't touch what's mine if she doesn't want me to get angry.
That was a mistake.
Now her attention is focused on me and tried to snarl at anyone who tried to get close to me, especially Lion.
Leon chuckled as Bubu kept on embracing me while I maintained a poker face though I understood that she just wants attention.
Soon, Leon began to look angry as Deus must've forgotten to bring the tribute to him. As the elites and citizens, along with the warriors and magic users are looking towards them, he just told Deus that they are going to have a meeting as soon as Maelsa gets back in which Deus has a terrified look on his face.
Deus is terrified of Maelsa?
Do they know each other?
Of course, how stupid of me. I forgot that Maelsa visits the other territories as part of his job.
But Deus shouldn't be this terrified since their territory is not part of our territory in which Maelsa shouldn't have power towards them.
My bad feeling towards Maelsa has just gotten worse.
....
I know how to handle Bubu now.
She always obeys whatever I told her to do.
When I told her to have fun, she began to give me little bites around my neck, much to the horror of the pack and Deus as they tried to separate her from me.
So I asked her what kind of fun that she wants in which she whispered to me, making my face turn red as she told me all sorts of vulgar activities that she wanted to do. I told her that she should not force herself towards others if she wanted to do that and must find a willing partner, along with their consent.
Good thing that she obeyed and also a lot of the foreign warriors are familiar with her behavior as they immediately followed her as soon as she gave them a certain look.
I gave a sigh of relief in which I saw my attendants approaching me as they told me they are here to help me prepare for tonight's grand banquet.
Despite the pack's protests especially Lion, I followed the attendants in which I heard them trying to brawl with Deus as he also protested as well.
.....
My attendants again did a great job, though a little too well as I attracted both females and males towards me.
I wanted attention from the pack, not from the other creatures!
It doesn't help that my appearance as a human already intrigued them.
Sigh.
Here we go again.
As I entered into the throne room, it was hard for me to walk towards Leon as the foreign visitors, without any proper etiquette, began to crowd around me.
Lion, where are you?
Sly? Alpha? Orm? Ghost?
Where are they?
To my huge relief, I can hear their growls as they approached me. Good thing that the crowd parted as the pack looked like they can start a fight right now.
Lion immediately carried me in his arms then slowly licked my neck, while Sly started to suck on my shoulder as Alpha gave small, gentle bites on my arm. Since Orm and Ghost are not my mates yet, they just stood beside us as they gave the other creatures an intimidating stare.
Despite my embarrassment, I let it be as I understood their intentions.
....
There's no chairs inside the throne room, only low lying tables with all sorts of liquor and food on it. The floor are covered with all sorts of exotic looking rugs in which everyone in the room sat down on it. Music sounded in the background while several dancers danced at the center of the throne room.
I sat on Lion's lap as he embraced me while telling me about the war while Sly, who sat beside him, fed me.
Alpha who is sitting at the other side of Lion, was intently listening to the conversation while interrupting once in a while as he told also his side of the story.
Good thing that Lion doesn't mind with the interruptions as he smiled at seeing me enjoying their stories.
Orm and Ghost sat in front of us, critiquing the food as I tried shushing them to no avail as they continued to make all sorts of nasty comments not noticing that Leon is behind them.
It took them a while to notice our horrified faces in which they took a deep breath before giving Leon an awkward smile.
Leon doesn't seem to mind on what they said as he agreed with them, telling them that he will appoint me instead as the palace's official chef, making the pack comment all sorts of flattery towards the food, much to Leon's amusement.
He seems like he is in a teasing mood as he bragged to the pack what I cooked for him while they were away, roaring with laughter as they glared at him.
While they continued to glare at him, Leon told me to show my back to them in which I just smirked at the pack, much to their curiousity.
Lion started to nuzzle me on my neck as he tried to ask me while I simply shrugged my shoulders.
Thankfully, the back of my dress is well covered though the front seems to say otherwise.
But Lion doesn't seem to mind as my mating mark with him is clearly visible.
Same with Alpha and Sly's mating marks as well as the hem of my dress is quite short, revealing much of my legs.
Leon began yawning when he suddenly perked up and cleared his throat in which all the creatures inside the throne room fell silent at once.
With a grin towards me, he announced to everyone that his elite companion is going to give everyone a pleasant performance.
Seeing that I'm about to protest, he then added that I've prepared several performances in honor of the brave warriors and magic users who sacrificed their lives during the war. Also a lovely dance performance for the surviving warriors and magic users too.
Why?!
I want to kill him.
But since the pack looked at me with anticipation and excitement, I simply gave a forced smile to everyone, whispering all sorts of threats to Leon as he just chuckled at me, telling me that it's my payment towards him for helping me improving my musical skills.
Okay, I understand that.
But why am I dancing too?!
I'll think about what to dance later as I should squeeze my brain into thinking on what appropriate songs to sing in honor of the dead.
....
I can see the delighted and elated looks of the pack as they watched my performance, proving that my singing voice had greatly improved.
Lion looks like he's enraptured by my performance as he placed aside the liquor that he's currently drinking.
Sly looks ecstatic as he stared at me while fiddling with his locket.
Hmmm...
That reminds me that I should ask Orm to paint a portrait of the pack with me beside them.
Alpha smiled at me dreamily throughout my performance despite the song that I'm singing is quite melancholic that several creatures are sobbing.
Orm seems to be humming along while I'm singing in which I just had a brilliant idea though I'm not sure if he would enjoy it.
Ghost seems like he's tearing up despite him trying to hide it by drinking several bottles of liquor continuously.
Aw.
He's trying to maintain his strong persona.
....
After my first performance, which is so successful that the creatures in the throne room kept demanding for more. I approached Orm and pulled his hand in which he instantly followed me as he understood what I'm planning to do.
Then we sang together in perfect harmony that Leon looked so pleased with our performance that he didn't got angry seeing Deus trying to sit near him.
....
As for my dance performance, I suddenly got a brilliant idea in which I asked Sly's help, much to his joy.
We danced to the music, lost in our own world in which he whispered his feelings for me as he held me towards him.
He looked so happy as he thanked me for giving him a chance to show off to everyone that I'm his mate, despite being secondary. As he twirled me around, he told me that for now, I am entirely his.
....
I excused myself, telling Leon and the pack that I want to take a few minutes break by myself in which Lion is about to get up when Leon told him that there is something he wants to discuss with the pack and Deus, who looked like he is thankful for the attention that Leon is giving him as he was being ignored by Leon most of the evening.
I stood up and told everyone that I will be back after a while, assuring Leon that I won't be long.
Lion must've misheard me as he nodded in which Leon corrected him, telling him that I was referring to him, not Lion.
The pack's eyes including Deus, widened towards me in which I hurriedly explained to them that it was Leon who choose it, making it easier for me to call him and not use his title all the time.
That's weird.
Oh, wait.
The pack must've thought that I was referring to Lion all the time.
Leon kept laughing as the rest of the pack gave him a deathly glare while Deus kept shaking his head, making all sorts of comments like Leon is too old for me.
No!
They misunderstood!
I tried not to look at Lion in which he pulled me towards him and gave a gentle nip on my neck while telling Leon that no way that he would allow it to happen.
That Lion just marked me on my neck!
I glared at him in which he just smirked at me while mouthing me the words on how he will do more than that later after the banquet.
I felt my face turned red in which I hurriedly left the throne room.