Chapter 91 The Old Gray

Meanwhile, back in the private booth L3, Evernya was pacing like a caged lion. As the door to their room opened, a man who appeared to be in his 20s dressed in a gray striped suit came walking in. “Where is the shifter who claims to be the Kitsune mate!” The man yelled, not even bothering to look around the room as if it was below him. Bristled at the dismissive attitude, the already aggravated shifter stormed over to the man.

Evernya stopped right in front of the man, glaring up at him, stating with an equally dismissive tone, “I am, and who are you!?”

The man glanced down at the petite shifter for a moment before turning his attention to the group standing by the couch. “I’m looking for the Alpha claiming to be the Kitsune’s mate, not some child.”

Evernya’s eyes glowed brighter as a storm of force formed around her. Fortunately for the man, just before she could strike him, Meira stepped in. “I am Meira, are you the one Alexa went to?”

“I said I am looking for the Shifter that claims to be the Kitsune’s mate! Not some Elf.” The man shouted with increased agitation.

Sick of the man, Meira dropped her mana aura on the man, causing him to shake from the pressure. “Now listen here, boy. I tried to be polite, but apparently you are deaf, so I’ll spell it out to you. I told Alexa to stop the sale of the Kitsune because of the Alpha Mate Act or send someone who can, but apparently she sent a blind and deaf idiot. Now go get someone who can do what we ask or at least has a brain!”

“How dare you speak to me like this! I own this auction house. I could have you thrown out anytime I want.” The man threatened.

While increasing her mana aura, Meira shot back, “How could you be the owner? Evernya here is only slightly weaker than you, yet she’s less than half your age.”

“How dare you insult me! I’ll have your head! Do you have any idea who my grandfather is?”

Seriously? Why is this walking cliché here? All I want is my supposed mate free! Evernya mentally fumed, but allowed Meira to resolve the issue.

While staring down at the suited man with disdain, stating, “No, I don’t. Who is he? I’m sure he can’t be as incompetent as his grandson.”

“My Grandfather was one of the first people to settle here and is richer than you could ever dream of.” The man boasted, puffing his chest up in pride.

“Yet again sounds more competent than you. So who is he?” Meira asked again.

“The great Grayson Powell!” The man exclaimed in pride, expecting the elf to cower in fear.

Against his expectations, Meira smiled as she spoke. “Oh, you’re related to Old Gray? I just sold him a sword for his great-grandson last week. I’m sure he would love to know that his grandson is refusing to ad bide by the Alpha Mate Act, which he helped vote into effect for this city.”

“There is no way one of my family would buy something from some random elf. We only purchase from the best places available to us.” The idiot dismissed.

Before they could respond, Boswell’s announcement drew everyone’s attention out the window to the stage. “610 million going once, Going twice, Sold! To Bidder VIP2!”

Upon hearing the announcement, Evernya panicked. She turned her attention back to the man blocking her mate with renewed anger. In desperation, she unleashed the full force of her mana aura on him, causing the man who was still shaky from Meira’s mana aura to pale and drop to his knees. “Give me my mate! Otherwise, I will make you feel the pain she is feeling!” Evernya roared.

Meira acted quickly, pushing her mana aura onto Evernya, forcing her back down before turning back to the man who was red-faced with anger. “Look, let’s make a deal before this gets out of hand, forcing me to call in some Mage’s council members. Bring the kitsune here before delivering her to the slaver who bought her so we can test their soul mate compatibility. One of my customers, an accomplished wizard, specialized in soul related magic, is in attendance so we don’t even have to wait long. If they don’t have high compatibility, we will drop the issue, but if they are, she is free.”

To increase the pressure, Aiden added, “If you don’t comply with this fair offer to not break the law, I will let my family know what happened here. I doubt your business could survive my Firebear family. We may have our faults, but we have a firm stance against slavery of any kind.”

With an ugly expression, the man relented, “Fine, I’ll go along with your stupid deal, but if she isn’t her soulmate, I will have you both arrested for assault.” The man looks into Aidan’s eyes, ignoring the other occupants of the room before storming out.

After the man left, Meira announced as she pulled out her cell phone, “I am so telling Old Gray about this, though I’m sure he already knows the attitude of his grandson. He probably gave him this auction house as a test, which he already failed since he sold a slave. I only do business with people against slavery, which means this is the last time I will use this auction house. I wish old gray hadn’t stepped down from his position in the Minea mages council. He did some excellent work there.”

“What are the chances the compatibility test fails?” Evernya inquired worriedly while pacing around the room, watching the Kitsune.

“It won’t. If you felt her pain from this far away, you have excellent compatibility. I just had to make the deal seem like there was a chance he could win. He may try to pull something anyway, but I have a plan to force him to comply.” Meira stated as she called another number.

Five minutes later, two men entered the room, one who looked to be in his 30s while the other was an older man with gray hair and beard, who Meira immediately greeted. “Good evening, Old gray and Michael.”

Old gray shook Meira’s offered hand as he inquired, “It always a pleasure to speak with a follow old timer, but what is this about?”

“Well, your grandson is causing some issues for us, so I figured you would like to sit in.” Meira replied.

Old gray scowled, asking in exasperation, “What did he do this time? I always have to clean up his messes. He doesn’t seem to realize that just because we have money, that doesn’t mean other people don’t matter.”

Meira explained the situation to the two men, leaving out no details. “Stupid brat! How could he not recognize one of the most famous elves in the country! Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will make sure he knows how to respect his betters from now on.” Old gray vowed, red-faced with rage.

Unsatisfied, Meira continued to pile on. “I can deal with his attitude, but the way he treated Evernya was too far. He seems to have zero respect for Demihumans, no matter their place in the hierarchy. He called her a child and wouldn’t believe she was an alpha even when she shoved it down his throat. If I weren’t here to hold her back, she would have severely injured him or maybe even killed him. Not only was he keeping her mate from her, he insulted her by calling her a child and not giving her respect as an Alpha. She can handle discrimination but when in this situation, she has no tolerance for people like him. What if he did it that to an Alpha with a pack? They would tear him apart.”

“Damn it! I didn’t realize he was racist too. I tried to raise my family to treat demihumans with respect, but evidently I failed with him.” Old gray ranted before turning to the pacing shifter in question.

While bowing his head in respect, Old Gray apologized. “I am sorry for the way my grandson treated you. He will never do it again.”

Evernya nodded her head in respect to Old Gray as she said. “No need to apologize for him. He’s just one of many. As long as he follows through with the deal, Meira proposed, I’ll be fine. Someone like him isn’t worth my time holding a grudge.”

“Oh, he will. I will make sure of it! I can’t believe he had the nerve to auction a slave at my auction in the first place!” Old Gray vowed.

“Funny, he said he was the owner,” Meira commented.

“Oh, he most definitively is not.” Old Gray denied.

“Either way, I won’t be doing business with this auction house from now on. You know my policy, which he broke, but that’s not all. He had the gull to kick me out of my private booth because he lured in too many nobles. If it weren’t for Aiden here offering a place at his VIP Booth, I would have left right then.” Meira stated with finality.

With a sad expression, Old Gray replied, “I understand if you don’t want to continue selling your items here, I wouldn’t if I were in your shoes. No matter what happens here tonight, he will no longer be running this business. I’ve had to bail him out multiple times already. This auction was his last chance, and he failed. His cousin has been showing promise running one of my other business, so I plan to give him a chance here. I bought this place to keep it running for a friend and I intend to do that.”

After a few seconds of thought, Meira relented, “I will give this place another chance as a favor to you, but if something happens like this next year, I won’t be returning.”

“Thank you. That’s all I ask.” Old Gray stated, smiling appreciatively toward the elf.

Meira turned to Michael next to ask, “So, can you perform a compatibility test?”

“No problem Meira, I rarely do compatibility tests, but I’ll do one for you,” Michael replied.

“Thank you. I know it’s getting late.” Meira said with a smile.

“No problem, I won’t be saving much time leaving now,” Michael stated.

With everything arranged, Evernya and Aiden spun the seating toward the door to prepare for the test before everyone sat down to wait.

Ten minutes later, the door finally opened to reveal Old Grays’s grandson, followed by the man who accompanied the kitsune on stage.

Upon noticing the absent Kitsune, Meira inquired, “Where is the Kitsune?”

The slave trainer answered dismissively upon viewing the source of the question, “Being presented to her new owners by my partner.”

Evernya let out a low growl at the mention of anyone owning her mate, but Meira patted her to calm her down. “And why is that? As a slave trainer, you should know all about the Alpha Mate Act. Are you willingly forfeiting your license to run your despicable business?” Meira inquired.

“A lowly demi and her pet animal won’t threaten me. The Kitsune is right where she belongs under the ownership of another.” The slave trainer denied.

“I should have known you would try to pull this. This is why I hunted so many of your kind all those years without remorse,” Meira growled with barely veiled anger simmering under the surface.

Fed up with the blatant racism and broken laws, Old Gray made his presence known. “Enough! I see this is worse than I thought. I can’t believe my former grandson would do business with such disgusting beings. I will have you and your partner arrested and your license revoked if you do not bring the poor girl here right now. Meira offered a perfectly fair deal but evidently, you are determined to cause your downfall.”

“An old man will not threaten me.” The slave trainer dismissed, earning a surprised look from everyone, including the man who brought them to the room.

A split second later, he was on his knees as Old Gray unleashes his mana aura onto him. “You fool! Bring the girl here now, or I will cripple you. Insects like you are easy to squash.” Old gray threatened, enraged.

As soon as Old Gray released him, the slave trainer rushed out the door without a word. Old Gray then turned his attention to his former grandson. “You have disappointed me for the last time! From now on, you are no longer a grandson of mine! I planned to give you another chance with one of my smaller businesses but after seeing you refuse to ad bide by Meira’s deal and bring someone like him in here, I see you are not worth my time. Now leave! You are no longer needed here.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but Old Gray silenced him with a spell before he could say a word. In shock, he stumbled out of the still-open door just as a group of people arrived.