Alpha Claude was dressed in black pants with gold buttons. On his feet were dark brown boots that reached his calves. He was shirtless except for a coat he placed on his shoulders and a gold necklace around his neck.

His servant looked uncomfortable as Claude exited the room after Hilbert, but he knew there was nothing he could do to stop his Alpha. The servant had offered him several linen shirts, but he had declined.

The Alpha marched out of the room with his coat swaying behind him. Hilbert and Theo stood outside, waiting for him. They bowed simultaneously as he appeared. Theo did his best not to react to Claude’s choice of clothing. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Lead the way, you," Hilbert snapped at him as he stood next to his Alpha.

"This way, please," Theo said and walked in front of them, leading them downstairs. The drawing room was on the ground floor, just past the main entrance.

"What’s your name, young man?" Claude asked as they walked.

Theo was so startled by the unexpected question. "T-theo," he managed to say as he scrambled to recover.

"Theo? Hmm. You’re not the Beta, right? Then it’s fair to assume that your brother, Asher, is the Beta."

Theo whipped his head around. "You know my brother?"

"Don’t stop walking," Hilbert spat out.

"Sorry," Theo whispered with his gaze straight ahead.

"No," Claude said. "On the contrary, I don’t. At least not personally, but I have heard enough. Where is he?"

"Urm, he is pretty busy at this time and out of the main house," Theo replied, saying the only excuse he could think of.

"When will he return?" Claude persisted.

"I don’t know, Alpha."

"That’s fine. One more thing. Where is she? Your Alpha’s Luna?"

Theo stiffened immediately; if it weren’t for Hilbert’s order for him not to stop walking, he would have. No one here considered her the Luna. It was far from it. Their marriage was simply revenge for Keenan, for the orphanage, and for the town.

"It’s been some time," Claude was still speaking, "and I haven’t seen any sign of her. You’d think she would have shown up by now."

Theo stopped in front of the door. "We are here," he announced unable to hide the relief on his face.

He knocked twice and opened the door, while Claude didn’t take his eyes off Theo, noticing that he avoided answering the question.

The drawing room was of a decent size. The fireplace took up a large portion of one of the walls, with two open windows on either side. The curtains were partially drawn to let enough light into the room without being blinding.

There were two long chairs in the middle of the room facing each other, and between them was a well-crafted table. Keenan stood up as the door opened and walked toward them.

"Welcome, Alpha," he said. "I apologize for not welcoming you at the entrance."

"Cut the bullshit, Keenan. Theo," he called as he walked into the room. "I’d like some tea, please."

Theo looked at Keenan, and he nodded. He bowed and exited the room, closing the door behind him.

Keenan walked toward the chairs and sat down randomly. It didn’t matter where he chose; Claude would sit across from him.

Claude took his seat across from him, with his legs crossed, and Hilbert stood right behind him glaring at Keenan. Hilbert never liked him and had made that clear on many occasions. Sometimes, Keenan couldn’t help but think there was something more between them with how intense Hilbert could be, but he never dwelt on those thoughts.

"What brings you here?" He asked without hiding his displeasure.

"You should be glad Alpha Claude would grace such a shithole with his presence."

Claude smiled. "You heard Hilbert. You’re welcome."

"Cut the bullshit!" His jaw was tight as he looked from Claude to Hilbert.

Claude laughed. "Still as feisty as ever. You know you can’t speak to me like that."

"Your presence is bothersome. There is only one reason why you could possibly be here."

"Then why pretend otherwise? Where is she? Don’t tell me you’ll hide her from me. You wouldn’t..." Claude grabbed his chin. "Well, you would." He shrugged and seemed pleased by the idea.

"She is no concern of yours."

"Rude. As your mentor, shouldn’t you introduce your Luna to me?"

"She is no such thing!"

"You did marry her, didn’t you? Sorry, I couldn’t attend the wedding. I was held up. Almost a year later and I’m still handling matters from the war. The Alpha King intends to work me to the bone," Claude said with a loud sigh. "Anyway, I digress. Are you treating her badly? Is she locked up in the dungeons as you so proudly threatened?"

Keenan had never said any such thing, and he would know better than to divulge his past to Claude. But as airheaded as Claude liked to act, Keenan knew there was no one smarter. Furthermore, if it weren’t for him, Keenan would never have gained the Alpha King’s favor or made a name for himself.

"What silly ideas do you have in your head now?" Keenan asked as he forced himself to relax. Getting agitated was exactly what Claude wanted.

"Silly?!" Hilbert’s loud voice echoed in the room.

Keenan had forgotten about his mad dog. There was no length Hilbert wouldn’t go for his Alpha; Keenan had seen that firsthand.

Claude lifted his chin so his head tipped backward and he could look at Hilbert. "Shut it, Hilbert. Don’t make me chase you out."

"I apologize, Alpha."

"There is no silly idea," Claude said, looking back at Keenan. His smile was back on his face. "I am simply here to congratulate you on your wedding. You’ve ticked everything on the list, haven’t you? So, how does it feel to get your revenge?"

Keenan took a deep breath. There was only one right way to go about it. Everything else would be doing as Claude wanted. Claude was always prying for information, especially when he was purposely taunting.

"Thank you for coming all the way to congratulate me." He kept this face as blank as possible as he spoke. "You shouldn’t have; a simple letter would have sufficed."

Claude smirked. "You don’t have to be so uptight, Keenan. As your senior, I have to make sure everything is going as you want. It’s the least I can do."