"I already hate this," Ibbi huffed when he stepped out of the changing room dressed in the outfit that had been provided to the five. Syri looked down at the clothes he was wearing in response to the omega's comment. The three males were wearing flowy shirts with ruffled collars that rose up their necks by two inches and were tucked into a pair of high-rise, form-fitting crimson pants that enhanced their curvy figures.

"At least you don't have to show this much skin," Bevy growled as she exited her dressing room. Valri's expression was filled with shock and trauma when she joined the four in the common room. She seemed as if she saw a dead body. "Bev...why do we have to be female?!" Valri cried as she mimicked banging her head against a wall made of air.

"I get exactly what you mean," Bevy replied through slanted eyes. "At least they look cute!" The three males looked at the alpha with wide eyes as Bevy gestured to them. A knock on the door did little to stop the grumbles that continued to filter out of the alpha's mouth. Bevy looked at the maid who entered with death rays for eyes as the female inquired, "Are you ready? They are waiting for you."

"Let's just get this over with," Valri mumbled before walking up to the maid and gesturing her to lead the way. The three males followed Valri out of the room with Bevy picking up the rear.

"The banquet does not officially start for another hour, but some of the guests have already arrived, so you will be sent directly to the hall," the maid explained during the five's trip through the castle and to the banquet hall where laughter and chatter could be heard seeping through the doors. "Once inside, you will line up against the back wall until you are given a tray of either condiments or drinks. Once given a tray, you will slowly make your way around the hall and offer the guests the contents," the maid placed an emphasis on the word 'slowly' before continuing, "Do not rush your rounds. It is important the guests feel comfortable and are not rushed. Understood?"

A few "Ae" floated from the five in response to the maid who stopped in front of the heavy oaken set of doors. "Once inside, stay as quiet as possible. You will receive your wages in the morning. Good luck," the maid said as the doors were opened and the five were ushed inside.

Syri sucked in his breath as he hastily searched the room. The zeta followed the omega to stand against the back wall where a line of workers were already gathered. Once stationed, Syri continued to scour the room and released a breath when he did not see the prince. Whew, he's not here yet. Hopefully, I can get myself transferred to another position before he shows up.

The five remained silent as they watched the current workers circulate through the present guests. When a worker returned with an empty tray, the next one in line would be handed a full tray and sent into the hall. The returning worker would then resume their position at the end of the line and wait until they were cycled through again.

Syri could not stop the spike in his heart rate each time an arriving guest was announced. The zeta released a short breath of relief when a group of three siblings entered the hall; the prince had yet to arrive.

"Wish me luck," Ibbi whispered when he was given a tray. Syri nodded at the omega encouragingly as Ibbi stepped away from the wall and entered the vast hall. Syri kept his eyes on the young omega and watched to make sure he was respected by the guests. Several heads turned toward the blue-haired omega as Ibbi made his way down the tables that had been positioned in U formations radiating toward the center of the hall.

At the next call, an influx of guests entered the hall. Syri was handed a tray as the newly-arrived guests took their seats. With the increase of guests, two workers would now patrol the hall at a time. The zeta sucked in his breath and sent a silent prayer to the moon goddess before stepping away from the wall. Syri made eye contact with the omega and gave Ibbi a reassuring smile before offering the contents on his tray to the guest sitting at the end of the table farthest from the center of the hall where the tables for the royals were positioned.

Chills ran down the zeta's spine as he felt several hungry gazes turn to him. Syri shook off the daunting feeling and continued his rounds despite the objectifying glances. Hardly any guest who was offered a glass of champagne from the beautiful zeta could refuse, and soon, Syri's tray was empty. The moment the last glass was given, Syri made a B-line for the wall. Ibbi, who had also completed his duty, joined the zeta in hurrying back to the safety of the workers' zone.

Much to the omega and zeta's confusion, the moment they arrived at the back wall, they were handed another round of fully-loaded trays. "Um, sir," Syri began to the beta who was managing the workers for the banquet. "We just finished our rounds."

The man smiled sympathetically at the omega and zeta before explaining, "You two made record time. The guests seem to like you, so I'd thought I'd send you out a few more times. Now, go on." Syri's heart sank at the beta's words. He would have to serve those objectifying wolves yet again. The omega and zeta could do nothing but bow and accept the duty given to them.

The chatter grew progressively louder as the guests continued to consume large amounts of spirits. During his third round, Syri sensed a set of eyes watching his every move. It was different from the ravenous gazes that stuck to him like flies to a piece of meat; it was curious and anticipating. The zeta began to trail his eyes over the rows of guests in attempt to discover the source of the curious eyes. Syri only saw reddened faces and slurred smiles until he saw found the source. Syri sucked in his breath as he locked eyes with a white-haired male sitting across the hall from where the zeta currently stood.

The male was silent as he stared at the zeta, not breaking contact when after being discovered. The white-haired was sitting in Ibbi's area of service; if it had been otherwise, Syri would have walked his way up to the man and inquired on his reasoning for the continuous gaze. Satisfied with uncovering the source of the long glance, Syri continued his rounds, but the zeta kept the male in his sights.

The man's white hair was cut short, and his gaze was piercing but soft. It was as if he was scrutinizing the zeta in the kindest way possible. His gaze was not hungry or harmful; rather, it was interested and hopeful. Syri thought the man strange; no person had ever looked at him like that. Sure, there those who were curious about his strangely sweet scent, but they usually went no further than classifying the zeta as an omega and moving on with their lives. This man, however, refused to move on. He followed the zeta's every step and gave the pink-haired his undying attention.

The man's gaze was so steady the zeta soon grew comfortable under his eyes. Syri could not explain why, but the white-haired felt familiar. The zeta mentally shook his head at himself for the wild thought. That's nonsense.

Is it, though? Aska's voice in the zeta's mind grabbed Syri's attention.

Am I crazy, Aska? I haven't even met the man, and I already feel so comfortable even though he has been staring at me non-stop for the past ten minutes. Syri gave out a glass of wine as his wolf answered. It may be weird, but it's not crazy. You don't remember much from when you were young. Maybe you had met him back in Hern.

That's true. Syri agreed with Aska. He had lost his memories when he was five due to an accident. It was possible he had met the man prior to losing his memories. I'll have to ask him when I get the chance. The way he is looking at me is no ordinary gaze.

Sounds like a plan, but you really should focus on the task at hand. You're about to hand the man whiskey, Syri. He asked for wine. The zeta snapped himself from his thoughts at Aska's warning and quickly grabbed a glass of wine to give to the waiting guest. Whew, thanks for the warning, Ask-

The zeta's thanks to his wolf was interrupted when a hand grabbed his shoulder. Syri froze at the sudden contact until he smelled the familiar scent of the gamma. Oh, thank god. The zeta released a breath and turned to see Estan staring at his through wide eyes. "Syri! What are you doing here?!" The gamma inquired in a whisper.

"They needed more workers and brought us from-" The zeta was once more cut off when Estan grabbed his arm and began leading him out of the hall. The gamma took the zeta's tray and handed it to a worker in passing as he brought Syri away from prying eyes. Estan led the zeta around a corner outside the doors to the hall and turned his head to make sure no one was in their proximity before releasing a breath and addressing the zeta, "Okay, now explain."

"They needed more workers, so they came to the stables and ordered for the females and low-ranking males to wait tables," Syri explained in a hush voice. Estan pursed his lips and bobbed his head as he absorbed the information.

"I'm glad I got here early," the gamma released in a breath before placing his hands on his hips. "Jae and Yejin are on their way, so we gotta get you out of here quick." Syri nodded in agreement as the gamma thought of a solution. "I could put you in the kitchen. You'd get free food at the end, and Jae would have no idea you were even here." The zeta's eyes lit up at the mention of free food, and Syri immediately nodded his head. He was all for free food while staying hidden. "Okay, that's what we'll do. Come on, Little One," Estan said and began leading the way to the kitchen. Thank the moon goddess I had the urge to arrive early.