Holly blankly stared at her. "Your Highness, the head cook is waiting for you. He wants to have an urgent word with you!"

Brantley had come up to them while tying the rope of his nightgown. "What is it Bia?" he asked with a frown.

​​

Bianca looked at Holly and said, "Tell him I will be there in ten minutes."

Holly nodded and rushed away.

She turned to Brantley and said, "There has been flooding in the stores and almost half of the stock is damaged." Her worried gaze darted between his eyes. Panic rose and she walked to the bed to wear her nightgown.

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know. I need to go and take a look." Bianca hurried out of the door as Brantley followed her.

The head cook took them to the stores and walked them to the damaged site. They walked in puddles of water in the stores to reach the place of damage. The water was still seeping from there and bubbling as it entered the stores.

"If this continues, soon all the sacks will be soaked," said the head cook.

Bianca noticed that servants had already started carrying the sacks to a different place. "Where is Tymir?" she asked.

"He hasn't joined," replied the cook. He pursed his lips and then shook his head.

Brantley walked ahead of them. He sized up the damage. He was so irritated by this sudden destruction that he grunted. "This doesn't look like natural damage. I need thorough investigation as to who all came in here ever since the water had started flowing in." His face was red with anger and white lights crackled around his hand. He threw the beams towards the wreckage like a whip and the debris started to fly in the air. As if knowing where they belonged to, they all settled back in the crevices and holes snugly. Everything was just like it was before. The water seepage stopped at once. However, something bizarre occurred. Wall right behind them cracked and through an inch broad hole, fresh water gushed in a faint stream.

"What the hell!" Bianca grated as droplets sprinkled over her.

The whole thing was so annoying and strange that Brantley stared at the wall. A second later he shouted, "Get out of this place now!" A blinding light exploded from him and covered all those who were near him and the sacks of grains and the next moment, they found themselves being hauled through a portal into the main hall of the palace. Bianca crashed on the floor and noticed Holly, the head cook and a few other servants were hurtled one after the other and a whole lot of sacks of grains fell around them.

Her head whipped to the left when she heard a loud crash on the outside as if the entire building had collapsed. Her breath hitched and shocked silence prevailed as everyone looked towards that side.

Holly covered her mouth with her hands.

"The stores have collapsed," said Brantley in a voice so cold that the head cook and the servant quivered wondering what would the king do next. It was already evening and only a few hours were left for Samobian to commence. There had never been such a catastrophe in his palace.

In the next one hour, other than the head cook and his team, every servant of the palace carried the sacks to a safe place, as Bianca directed them. She ordered the cook to continue working as usual because there was no time to lose. When the ordeal was over, she went to her bedchamber to talk to Brantley, but he wasn't there.

---

Holly was dressing her up in a simple pale pink gown, which was embroidered with golden threads on the bodice in a checkered pattern. It was sleeveless and she loved it. She left her hair open. When she looked at Brantley who had come to fetch her to take for the opening ceremony of the festival, she gawked at him. He was looking too handsome in a simple white shirt with rolled up sleeves and black pants. His golden hair was neatly combed behind. Despite the smile he gave to her, it didn't reach his eyes. Yesterday's incident had impacted his mood.

Despite her request to ride the horses to the venue, he created the portal and they walked into the venue straightaway. "It's not safe for you," he muttered under his breath. He held her hand tightly and walked under a sycamore where lots of paper lanterns were hanging along with tiny red lights.

A large crowd was gathered in front of them and all he did was to pop open a wine bottle after shaking it hard. Bianca squealed when he directed the bottle towards her, bathing her in the wine. And the crowd cheered.

"Brantley!" she said with shock, completely soaked in wine.

He walked to her, licked her lips and said, "Yes sweetheart?" When she didn't answer, he turned his face to look at the crowd. "Let the festivities begin!"

The crowd cheered once again and dispersed almost immediately, as if dying to have fun.

He turned his attention to her, aware of every inch of the cloth that was sticking to her, every swell of her curve beneath that pale blue gown and licked her face from cheek to the side of the eye. He smacked his lips and said, "Now I really want to drink your lips and not just these."

Bianca was scarlet red. She pushed against his chest but the man was too strong for her.

He picked her up by her hips. "In fact I want to pour wine down there and then lick you, suck you and drink you."

She felt his erection in between her thigh. It was so hard that she was sure he would show through his pants. "There are so many people around us! Have some shame."

He whirled his head. "Nope, no one!" He nibbled her breasts. "My dear Samobian is for indulging. You are going to see a lot of dancing, drinking and sex. Don't get startled if you see people doing the deed in the open."

Heat burned her face and neck and she bit her lip. Brantley walked with her to a thicket of trees with a bottle in hand and did as he told her. He drank her after pouring the wine on her. And Bianca—she cried and cried as throes of pleasure hit her multiple times.

An hour later when he released her, she had a silly smile on her face, her hair was tousled as hell with leaves and flowers and grass blades jutting out from everywhere, and her pale blue gown was now pale red. She was stinking of wine, rather smelling great according to her husband. But none of it mattered, because when she climbed up the hill to check on the festivities, her eyes were wide as a saucer. Men and women were actually walking naked or with little clothes on. A few men looked gawked at her but they immediately scattered hearing a growl from behind.

"We need to go for the contest!" she said, giggling at her possessive husband. At the back of her mind she was still thinking about yesterday's sabotage, if that is what it was. As she sauntered towards the stall, from the corner of her eyes she noticed a movement. She jerked her head to see there but her suspicions were put to rest. It wasn't Tymir.

---

"Remember, that you can't simply wander there!" Tymir instructed the two werewolves.