Jae's mood worsened with the passing of the day. Every time a pack arrived with its caravan of royals and servants, Jae would be faced with the 'applicable mates' and reminded why the convention was being held. Jae did not want to look for a mate; that was the last thing on his list. If he were to mate someone, it would be the wolf that was no longer by his side and the one of which he thought in his every waking moment. It would definitely not be one of the primmed and primed royals that came parading through the doors every time Jae thought he could take a break from bowing and greeting and saying the same lines over and over.

Jae dreaded the arrival of another pack, but he did get a break, in a way, when the only other true blood of royalty in the eastern region approached him. Den, the crown prince of Eternal Dawn, was the only other werewolf that was taller than Jae and stood at a ripe six feet and seven inches (201 cm). Being only two inches taller than Jae, the difference in height was not too drastic, but Jae had always looked up to Den as the visiting prince was six years his senior.

"Jae!" Den greeted warmly as the two males clasped hands and brought each other in for a short embrace followed by a clap on the back.

"Den!" Jae replied enthusiastically. He was excited to see Den as Eternal Dawn's crown prince was the only other person he could talk casually with other than Yejin, being Den was of the same rank. "How are you?"

Den bobbed his head a few times as he answered, "I'm alright. How are you? It's been a while, right?"

"Yeah, I think the last time we saw each other was five years ago."

"Wow," Den exclaimed quietly with a slight shake of his head. "I can't believe it's been that long." Jae responded with a silent nod before Den inquired, "So, is there an unspoken reason for this convention?" The true blood raised a brow as he looked at Crimson Night's prince.

"You heard." Jae's expression fell a bit at Den's question.

"Yeah," Den responded with a small bop of his head. "Are you okay?"

Jae mustered the tiniest side smile. "Yeah. I mean, I've been better..."

Noticing Jae's fallen expression, Den sought to lighten the mood. "Want me to help you out? Which one do you have your eyes on, hm?"

"He's not here," Jae answered under his breath, shutting down the true blood's offer.

"Oh... I see." Den pursed his lips and fell silent, which was how he stayed until Jae inquired, "So, what about you? Found your mate?" Den shook his head and answered, "Nope. Not yet. Still looking."

"Ah. Maybe you will find them here. You will get exposure to several of the packs."

"Maybe," Den agreed with a slight nod. The two's conversation was cut short when the Alpha from Eternal Dawn approached the two true bloods of the eastern region. "Enjoying the reunion?" Gen inquired of the two younger males.

"Father," Den greeted. "Alpha Gen," Jae joined Den in greeting Eternal Dawn's leader, only he added a bow.

"Jae, it's nice to see you. My, have you grown. I assume you are well?" Gen said to the prince of Crimson Night as he looked up at the young male.

"Ae," Jae answered politely. "It is good to see you, sir."

"You as well, Jae," Gen responded kindly before saying, "Well, Leera and I are going to get some rest before dinner. I'll see you boys later."

"Rest well, sire," Jae replied as the alpha from Eternal Dawn nodded in goodbye and went over to his Luna. Den watched his father and mother disappear with a servant before turning to Jae and saying, "I think I will try to get some rest as well. We should catch up more at dinner."

"Yeah, let's do that," Jae said in agreement with the true blood. "Let one of my assistants show you to your room," Jae offered and waved over another member from his hovering group.

"Thanks, Jae. I'll see you later," Den said with a wave of his hand as he walked away from dark-eyed and followed the assistant to his room. Jae watched the emerald-eyed prince leave before searching for Yejin, whom he found to be engaging the son of Eternal Dawn's Beta in conversation. The white-haired beta scrunched his eyes and released a light-hearted laugh at something Yejin had said. Jae's heart thumped when he heard the beta's laugh, but it quickly transformed into an ache. His laugh is a deeper version of Syri's laugh.

The prince swallowed dryly before turning his attention back to the door as a trumpet sounded indicating another pack had arrived. Jae clenched his fists when he recognized the call to be that of Black Moon.

The true blood's expression was hard as the royal family from Black Moon strutted through the doors of his home. Jae could tell Armina's smile was forced when she greeted Black Moon's Luna, Aihnae. Jae's jaw clenched when he saw the eyes of Black Moon's alpha princess directed toward him. The true blood ignored the princess's gaze; he wanted to avoid the alpha princess for as long as he could. It was clear she was willing to reject her fated mate, when she found him/her, to mate the prince of Crimson Night, the one other true blood of royalty in the eastern region.

Sina had tried her ways to seduce Den before she had even reached the age of mating, but Den made it clear he was waiting for his fated one. So, she turned her eyes to the one other true blood and made it her goal to be his luna. And Jae was not having any of that. Sina was the last wolf he would ever want to mate. She was known to be cruel to those below her and loved only power and wealth. Jae did not want any of those qualities in his luna.

The princess's male omega brother, however, did not reflect Sina's obvious intentions. San had always been quiet and withdrawn whenever Jae had visited Black Moon. Jae remained cautious, though, as he did not personally know the second prince and did not want to risk being played by a conniving omega. The first and crown prince, Seth, was not horny like his sister, but he was a whore for power and control. Jae had always had run-ins with Black Moon's crown prince and had decided it was best to keep his mouth just and maintain his distance to avoid causing disruption between the two packs.

Moving on from the heirs, Jae's gaze turned hard when he set eyes on Ganz, the leader of the 'scouting' party he had caught on Crimson Night's territory. Jae had lost all respect he might have had for the alpha when he experienced first-hand how Ganz treated the beta of his team, Hesha, who was now hidden and safe, much to Jae's relief. Feeling the true blood's scrutinizing gaze, Ganz shifted his attention to lock eyes with the prince of Crimson Night. A smirk came to the alpha's thin lips, and he began sauntering toward the true blood.

Jae began to mentally prepare himself to be cordial when talking to the alpha he had beaten to the brink of life and death, but a movement behind the true blood caught Ganz's attention, and the alpha stopped dead in his tracks. Jae's brows furrowed, and he wondered what could have caused the alpha to react in such a manner. Ganz let out a scoff before cocking his jaw and dashing past the prince. Confused, Jae turned to see the alpha charging Kace who had been simply passing across the opening to the entry hall. What is Kace doing here?!!

Without wasting a second, Jae chased after the alpha; he knew Ganz did not have any good intentions in rushing a member of the hosting pack unprovoked. Hearing the charging wolf, Kace turned just in time to see the alpha he had knocked unconscious reach him. Ganz grabbed Kace by the collar of his jacket and bared his teeth. "That was quite a nice send-off you did for me, Mutt." The alpha's greeting was released in a low snarl as he glared at the man in his clutches. In the next second, a fist around Ganz's wrist ripped the alpha's grip off Kace. Jae took Kace's hand to steady him as he pressed his forearm against Ganz to separate the furious alpha from his prey.

"Are you alright?" Jae asked Kace softly, to which Kace responded with a short nod. The blue-eyed glared at the angry alpha on the other side of Jae, but he did not provoke or entice Ganz. After making sure Kace was alright, Jae turned to Ganz and snarled, "Don't you ever touch him again."

Ganz lifted his hands in surrender when he heard the anger in Jae's voice. "Woah, hit a soft spot, did I?" The alpha lifted a brow and turned his gaze to the blue-eyed standing behind the true blood. "I'll have to explore this soft spot more, then. This'll be fun." Jae's blood boiled at the alpha's words, but there was nothing he could do about it. The packs were here in peace. Any fights or roughhousing would cause tension now that the heirs were grown.

Ganz released a low chuckle as he turned away from the two wolves of Crimson Night and started toward the three heirs of Black Moon. "See ya'll at the banquet," Ganz bid as he lifted his hand and gave a short wave.

After making sure Ganz rejoined the members of his pack, Jae turned to Kace and asked, "Is everything okay?" The prince's one question entailed much more than inquiring on the blue-eyed male's condition. It also asked: 'what is wrong?' 'why are you in the castle?' 'did my father do something?' 'are you safe?'

Kace looked at the prince for a moment before slowly nodding his head. He did not want to worry Jae when the convention had just begun. Jae released a breath of relief but still insisted, "Let me walk you back." Kace's heart swelled at the prince's words, and he nodded softly in response. The tiniest smile tugged on the corners of Kace's lips when Jae turned to lead the blue-eyed out a side door. The true blood shook his head at the group of assistants standing on the sidelines when he took the first step toward the door. The head assistant wavered for a moment before eventually bowing his head in submittal to the prince's command. They were not to follow.

The two remained silent as Jae led Kace out of the castle and to a secluded cabin in the forest not far from the outskirts of the palace. The true blood and blue-eyed stopped just outside the door, and Kace retrieved a key from beneath a flower pot stationed next to the door. Jae furrowed his brows when he saw the blue-haired uncover the key. "Isn't that the spare? What happened to the other one?" Jae inquired with a gesture to the piece of metal in Kace's hand. Kace replied with a shake of his head. "You lost it?" Jae assumed upon Kace's response. A second nod confirmed his assumption. Hmm. Something is not right. Kace has never lost a key before. He's usually pretty good at remembering where he put things.

"Get some rest," Jae bid Kace as the blue-eyed unlocked the door to his cabin. The exhaustion in Kace's body came radiating out of the male at a thousand percent as he nodded in thanks and entered his home. Jae waited until he heard the locking of the door before turning and making his way back to the castle to prepare for the arrival of Red Claw. The appearance of the blue eyed in the castle and the exhaustion in Kace's eyes haunted Jae as the true blood walked through the dense trees. Something is not right...