Tension in breakfast (2)

Silence.

The tension grew.

All eyes were on Ophelia, who blinked feigning innocence, and Nikolai, who had a proud smile on his face that didn't quite reach those stormy eyes of his, leaned back on his chair.

Viktor grinned incredulously. It looked like Nikolai had met his match. The dragoness was far too daring, and her attitude would place her in an early grave.

Her words continued repeating in Vladmir's head, giving him the appearance of having seen a ghost. She claimed Nikolai with her words. Just like that.

"What the.." Pavel and Boris looked at Ophelia as if she had completely lost her mind.

"Oh my!" Sasha beamed gleefully, while Yulia appeared furious.

"How dare you!" Yakim screamed out once again.

"Shush! The affection is mutual." Nikolai said in a low, seldom voice and turned his gaze to Ophelia.

"Do you find this humorous? You will undoubtedly be executed." Alexander spoke calmly and Ophelia turned her gaze to him.

The alpha was a dashing man, but he had a harsh temper. Ophelia had to figure up a way out of her predicament. She wasn't sure why she had uttered those things, but she was happy that she had.

"But I didn't do anything wrong." She spoke up, bold and a little bit unfazed.

Alexander squinted his eyes at her. His eyes danced like fire.

"Do you believe you can reverse my choice?" He grunted subduedly. "What can you do to influence my decision?"

"Alpha, you.." Devin was immediately cut off by his brother's hand to his face.

Ophelia turned to face Nikolai, who had flashed her his dazzling teeth. Noticing his fangs elongating hungrily, she frowned at him because she could see that they were accompanied by a rising tempest in his eyes. Was he joking about the situation?

"Dragon..."

"Ophelia." She snapped at the Alpha who raised his brows in amazement.

Everyone was in disbelief. No one dared to cut off the Alpha words. Such behavior was punishable by death.

"Ophelia." Alexander called, sounding soft but firm as he spoke her name. "What can you do to influence my decision?"

"We're tying the knot."

"She's expecting."

Ophelia stared at Nikolai, completely taken aback. He winked at her and thrust a spoon of spicy stewed soup into her mouth, which she stiffly received.

Tension erupted like a hurricane once more.

BANG!

Alexander slammed the table, causing it to split in two and send all the food flying.

"So dramatic." Nikolai snorted, stood up, and carefully removed Ophelia from the chair while holding her wrist.

"Are you kidding me? " Alexander hissed, dropping his head so no one could see his enraged countenance.

Nikolai's eyes glistened menacingly as he pursued his lips. His father was about to lose his life from rage. However, it would be nice because he was effortlessly frustrating his father, and his dear mate had begun following his footsteps without even knowing it.

Nikolai and Alexander had never gotten along. Even though Alexander personally trained his son in many areas, including battle techniques, they were never a good fit.

"I will take the title, but if you value your life or the lives of your entire continent, you won't touch my mate. If you do, I will make sure to annihilate every nation in Celestia."

"It's not the first time you're going to harm your fellow beings," Alexander spat out. "If you want her to stay in my fortress, make sure to keep an eye on her at all times."

Ophelia was astounded that despite their verbal sparring and the resulting tension, Alexander insisted on having Nikolai as Alpha, meaning that he would surely take over as the ruler of Celestia.

She didn't want to say anything. She had made the already tense bond between the father and son much more so.

"This is why I adore you so much father, you are so understanding." Nikolai said upbeatly, but when Ophelia turned to face him, he was not smiling. His eyes were cold and he had a somber expression.

She took a deep breath. Nikolai had a strained relationship with his father, much like she had. She felt awful.

Alexander threw his son a warning look only to see the dragoness staring at his son with tenderness and sympathy. He blinked and looked at his wife, who was pale-faced as she watched them. Once again, anger unleashed him. He stood up and so did everyone except Alina, who was still staring at her son.

Alina sensed turmoil looming for both of them. If they were to be together, there would be no sign of serenity in their life. Not even a smidgeon. Even if she attempted to keep them apart, she knew their reunion was unavoidable. They were meant to bring each other to ruin.

Ophelia tugged Nikolai's cloak bringing his attention to her.

"Are you still hungry?" As he asked, his face softened slightly, but his eyes didn't.

Ophelia found it incomprehensible that he was still more concerned about her stomach than the circumstances.

Nikolai became enraged with himself when he noticed that she didn't respond and instead was looking at him anxiously. She was now aware of his relationship with his family.

His eyes slowly softened, glimmering lightly than usual as he placed his hand slowly on her cheek and gently brushed his fingers across it.

Ophelia closed her eyes in response to his hot touch, and when she fluttered them open, they were in their glowing golden reptile form.

Red and gold clashed.

Everything and everyone around them disappeared, and it felt like they were the only ones together in existence.

Ophelia was aware that they were each other's demise, but at this point, she didn't want to leave him for fear that if she did, she would be haunted by him even after her last breath. She didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Firestorm,"

"Lai Lai?"

Nikolai face darkened but lightened again. It seemed that he had to get used to that name even though he hated it.

He cherished the sensation of touching her skin. They were smooth and stunning, like white jade. She felt hot as usual.

A guard burst into the dining room just as he was about to speak, awakening everybody from their reverie.

Ophelia became aware of all the eyes on her and Nikolai. She felt flustered.

The guard suddenly collapsed on his knees, gasping for air. "The imperial city's southern region has been attacked. There are warriors' corpses scattered all over the place."