The Mating Ceremony

[NOUR]

"You have got to be fucking kidding me. What the fuck was that for? You didn't have enough to stay there? And you can create portals like him too? Why won't you tell him that the both of you are siblings?

"What are you hiding Delbert? Is that even your real name?" Nour asked furiously when he found himself back at the mating ball.

This wasn't what he had been expecting when he came to the ball, but then as it was, he hadn't expected that Alanor would be hurt too. It was all just so insane and the sooner he faced that reality, maybe, just maybe things would be alright for him too, right?

But then nothing would ever be the same. He had just learned that the man he was standing next to, was the hsi best friend's brother and to make matters worse, he wasn't even ready to come clean to Alanor.

What the hell was going on and what was he planning on doing at the moment?

"It's none of your business. Go find your mate. He is there, alright," Delbert said as he pointed towards Grant, something that once again got Nour shocked. How was he even supposed to be sure that Grant was his mate?

All of this just didn't make any sense to him. But then this was the beginning of the long confusion, one that would breed so much pain it would even hurt for him to breathe right. But just like everything, life had a genesis, and so was Nour's.

With Delbert gone, Nour figured that he would walk around and see what the hype was about the goddamn party that every race had made an appearance to. What was it about mates that had even the craziest lining up for?

Then again, there wasn't a crazier duo than Alanor and Nour in the same setting, but that was something that the world would eventually know of. The best friends of doom, the children of hell, and the creators of silent chaos.

****

Walking through the ceremonial entry for the unmated males, Wynter wasn't sure what he expected. The ceremony was so beautiful that for a moment, he cursed himself for almost ruining it. But then they had fixed it and that is what mattered the most.

'Wow,' Alanor said, marveling at the sight before him. Sure, the setting brought bad memories to him, but just for now, he was going to pretend to be just another warlock in here.

The witches of Greroth were called warlocks outside of their territory since it was a reminder to every one of who was more powerful.

Sure, the lycans were it, but the warlocks had much more power than could be comprehended, and right now, Alanor was here as Gideon of Greroth. Unsure of where to go, Alnor went to the bar first.

He needed to sit down because he didn't know anybody here and it would be easier interacting with drunks than with sober people who probably didn't even want to interact with him. But who was to tell him that the moment he had walked in, he was the center of attention in the ceremony?

"Gideon of Greroth is here, man, he's hot!"

"Oh shit, it's really him."

"I hope he's my mate, that would really be awesome!"

"Imagine having him as your partner. He looks so regal, and he looks better than the lycan prince today. Damn."

"Maybe we should approach him, yeah?"

"Why does he look that good?"

"I look better than him."

"Stop lying to yourself man, he looks better than all of us combined. You just don't understand it."

"Damn."

"Who are you guys looking at?" A voice asked and it took everything in Alanor not to turn back and look at the source of the voice.

It was one he had known so well, a voice he had wished to what aunty and every time, but also a voice he was unfortunate to hear at a mating ceremony where the unmated of the midlands were.

He could still smell the beautiful scent that drove him nuts. He could still feel the rough voice whispering in his ears, and even daring to steal a kiss for him in the night. He remembered all that so well that he wished he would just be able to walk over there and take his mate back.

'Rejected mate,' Alanor reminded himself sadly as he waited to hear what Grant had to say.

"Gideon of Greroth," one of the wolves said to Grant and his breath hitched.

"What?" Grant asked, not because he didn't hear what they said, but of all the places he had thought he would ever meet Alanor. The mating ceremony and certainly not one of them. He was here to look for a mate while he had rejected Grant?

What kind of fuckery was that?

"Him, the gentleman who has everyone's attention and even outshined the lycan prince. He's Gideon of Greroth," the wolves said and Grant just let out a sigh.

"Hold this for me, I'll be back," Grant said as he handed his friends his wine tumbler.

"Wait, you're going to—"

"I have some issues to settle with him. Relax, he's not my mate," Grant said loud enough for Alanor to hear him and know that he had been too cruel.

"Well good luck brother, he's a wild one."

"Don't I know it," Grant responded before walking towards Alanor. He wasn't sure of what he was doing and what he actually expected from Alanor, but surely he needed closure too, right?

It hurt that his mate had rejected him and the next place they were seeing each other was at the damn mating ball.

For months Grant had blamed himself for not being good enough for the great beast of the midlands. He had wondered about what it was that got him rejected even though they had clearly clicked.

Maybe it wasn't their time, but even then, he would walk and ask Alanor himself.

Sensing Grant behind him, Alanor walked away from the bar.

'Please don't follow me this time,' Alanor said to himself, in the hope that Grant wouldn't follow him. He didn't want to come face to face with a past that he hadn't even gotten over yet. Life wasn't being fair to him, but then, Alanor has not been fair to himself either. 

This time, Alanor could only hope his heart wouldn't take the brunt of it.

"Are you dumb or just plain stupid?" A voice interrupted Alanor's thinking, making him growl out in anger. He wasn't in the mood to deal with stupid mateless drunks who were here in the name of a mating ball.

"I should be asking you the same, is something wrong with your brain cells?" Alanor countered and gasps were heard around them. A drink had been spilled on Alanor, and he was trying his best to maintain his calm.

The young Wynter was the one who had bumped into the owner of the voice, and he hadn't even apologized yet. He was going to, but the tone of the person that had stopped him, pissed him off.

"You bumped into me, you hopeless wanker. Didn't your parents teach you to apologize when you do wrong? Sure, it won't help with anything, but it's the remorse that counts. Goodness, these stupid humans think this is their place. I shouldn't have even come here," the voice insisted.