After waiting for a while with the group of young wolf magus, the old grand magus Warwick came back. This time he ordered everyone to stand in line, which was done just in time before he announced the Alpha King's arrival. A group of people soon appeared in the lobby. Emery inwardly raised his eyebrows when he saw that it was only the Alpha King accompanied by his aides. The five grand magus from the three families were nowhere to be seen. Even so, the presence of the Alpha King alone was more than enough to fill the grand lobby with a powerful atmosphere. Seeing the figure of the King, though still walking with staff in hand, Emery was sure that the man was far more vigorous than when he had seen him the first time. His crimson blood eyes stared at the nine of them before he finally spoke. "Your offerings are all appreciated." It was a short word from the king, and before they could reply, one of the aides stepped forward carrying boxes to give to them one by one. Apparently they were rewarded for their contribution, and Emery naturally received one as well. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮 When Emery opened the box, he saw a vial filled with a blood-like liquid. Seeing the expressions on the others' faces, he couldn't help but think that this was the item he was coming for, the Ancient Wolf God's Blood. 'Is this really it? No, this cannot be it. There's no way he would give such a precious item easily like this, right?' Emery thought with doubt apparent in his eyes as they fell on the small vial. As if he had expected the responses, the Alpha King revealed a faint smile as he said, "I can see from the faces of all of you that you have heard about the ancient blood. Unfortunately, those are not it." Freaki made it clear that he was disappointed by the revelation. The Talbots' Warhound, Zev, on the other hand, fell to his knees saying, "I dare not expect any gift from you, my King. All I did is to honor you." You are not telling the truth, warhound." the man said, causing Zev's body to flinch. "But it's okay. I know you are just being respectful to me." It was Jason who dared to ask the Alpha King. "My king, what must I do to be able to get hold of one of the Ancient Blood then?" The man looked at him and said, "Not losing in a fight could be a good start." Such an answer immediately silenced the young Corvin, whereupon he turned to Emery with a sharp gaze. It was considered a huge offense to question the Alpha King, but Jason was let off with a scolding. After that, he said to the ambitious young man, "I just gave a vial to your father and the other two factions for their contribution to the Silvermane. For you and everyone here, if you want one, you all have to prove your worth." Such words once again brought attention to all of them as the King revealed his intention. "I will provide one of the vials for the champion of this year's Royal Hunt." Looking at the various expressions, the man smiled faintly. "I hope that is enough of a reward to encourage all of you to participate." He then gave a short speech about how he needed a stronger next generation, and after giving encouragement to all of them, the Alpha King finally left the lobby. While the others had contemplative looks on their faces, Emery was in high spirits. He had finally found a way to get the item he was looking for here, now he just needed to find out what this Royal Hunt was all about. For now, he could be satisfied with the vial of blood on his hand. Even though it certainly was not comparable to the one he wanted, it should be something valuable, and hopefully very beneficial for him. Seeing everyone starting to leave, Emery decided to follow. But just as he was about to leave, the old grand magus stopped him once again. Facing his questioning gaze, the man said, "You are not leaving just yet. You are coming with me." The old grand magus didn't give Emery the opportunity nor time to ask questions, as he immediately turned around, beckoning him to follow. Emery's gut feelings told him that this was most likely a troublesome situation. However, the other party was a grand magus figure, and he was currently inside the Silvermane Palace. Trying to escape was a risky move and should only be chosen as a last resort. With that in mind, Emery chose to follow the old grand magus, to see what the old wolf's intention was. The further they walked, the more anxious Emery became. The old grand magus took him deep into the place, to a part of what seemed to be a dungeon. When they finally came to a stop, to his shock, what awaited him was the sight of Annara bound in chains. Other than being restrained, she luckily didn't appear to be hurt. But from her gaze, Emery knew if they managed to escape from this predicament, the girl would be shouting 'I told you' at him for days. Turning around, the old grand magus looked at Emery with an inexplicable gaze while saying, "Not only do I find your story hard to believe, I also found out that you came with a fake invitation." He walked up to Annara and said, "Instead of whatever you told me, it makes more sense to think that you are a spy of the Bat bloodline faction, don't you think?" Gazing at him with the same gaze, the old grand magus said, "Now I want the truth, or you two will not see the light of day again." ---------------------------------- Join the discussion on the discord through my website www.avans.xyz