Jae and Kace were silent when they entered the lively hall. The murmurs grew quiet upon the announcement the prince of Crimson Night had arrived. All eyes turned to the two as the prince and the Gamma's son made their way to the long table stretched before the front wall of the hall designated for Crimson Night royalty. Yejin was already sitting in the chair to Jae's right, and Kace took the chair on the prince's left. The chair to Yejin's right was empty causing Jae to furrow his brows. "Where's Estan?" The prince inquired of the alpha in a low voice as a worker came to offer the three royals some wine.

Yejin shook his head and answered, "He had finished early at the clinic, so he said he would go ahead and come. But he wasn't here when I arrived. I linked him, and he said something had come up but that he was alright and to not worry. He said he would be here shortly." Jae nodded in response before accepting a glass of red wine from the worker. The prince thought nothing more of Estan's absence and brought the glass to his lips to take a sip, but a sweet scent stopped him.

The true blood brought the wine away from his lips and immediately scoured the room. It was not the wine's sweetness he was smelling; it was the sweet scent of vanilla and roses, and only one wolf had that scent. The scent was faint, indicating the source had vacated the room, but it was still evident among the multitude of scents mingling throughout the hall meaning the source had not been gone for long. The prince stood to his feet and excused himself. "There is something I must see to." Without another word, Jae left the table and hurried out of the hall. Yejin and Kace looked after the prince as Jae rushed out before turning to each other with confused expressions.

Jae did not care that he may miss the entrance of the Alpha and the commencement of the banquet. All he cared about was finding the owner of the scent he had been craving. The prince followed the trail through the castle until he ended up at the kitchen. This time, Jae was certain he would walk in and see the one he had been longing for. This time, for sure, it was Syri. It had to be. This time, Jae knew he was not imagining it.

The prince held his breath and reached his hand out toward the door. However, the moment the true blood's fingertips brushed against the soft wood, the door swung open to reveal a very shocked gamma. "Estan...?" Jae took a step back when the gamma hurriedly walked into the corridor and closed the door, blocking the view of the interior to the kitchen until it was safely shut behind him.

The gamma's eyes were wide with shock as he stared up at the prince standing before him. "J-Jae, what are you doing here?" It took but a second for Estan to gain his composure. The gamma crossed his arms over his chest and put on a playfully condescending expression. "This is the kitchen, not the hall. Don't think you can sneak in here and get the first bite of the cake. You have to wait just like everyone else."

"That's not why I'm here." The prince was quick to correct the gamma.

Okay, now it's the crucial part. Act calm, act calm, act calm. "Then why are you here?" The gamma pinched his brows and feigned innocence while he asked the prince his reasoning for rushing to the kitchen.

"I picked up Syri's scent in the hall and followed it here. He's gotta be here, Estan. I just know it." Jae was earnest with his words as he tried to make the gamma believe he was not merely imagining the zeta's scent.

"Syri? Why would you smell Syri? Isn't he with his cousin? Why would he be here?" Estan hated making Jae doubt himself, but if it was what he had to do to keep Syri hidden, then he would.

"Estan, I know he is here. Did you not see him when you were in there?"

Estan made sure to act like he was thinking about the prince's question before shaking his head. "No...I didn't see Syri. Sorry, Jae."

"Are you su-" The prince stopped himself when he caught the quickening of the gamma's heart rate. It was slight and barely any different from Estan's normal pace, but it was enough for the true blood to notice. Jae's expression turned cold, and he inquired once more. Each word was slow and deliberate. "Estan, are you sure you did not see Syri when you were in there?"

Sweat began to form on the gamma's temple when he heard the true blood's serious tone. Estan parted his lips to answer, but the rushing up of Yehwa saved the gamma. Jae turned to face the beta who bowed before quickly stating, "The Luna has sent me to fetch you, Prince. Your presence is requested."

The prince fell silent at Yehwa's appearance. Jae took one more look at the door to the kitchen before answering the beta. "Very well." Jae would have loved to have been able to open that door and see for himself whether or not he was imagining the trail of vanilla and roses, but the Luna's command was absolute. He must return to the banquet. The prince was silent as he, Yehwa, and Estan returned to the grand hall. Armina was already seated toward the middle of the table and watched as her son entered the hall. Yehwa broke off from the two and took her seat to the Luna's right as Jae and Estan approached the two already sitting on either side of the prince's chair.

Yejin and Kace noticed the shift in the prince's mood when Jae resumed his position at the table. It was cold and distant.

What happened to Jae? Yejin inquired about the prince's reserved expression of his mate.

I'll tell you later. The gamma was once again saved from answering truthfully when the arrival of the royalty from Eternal Dawn was announced. The four young royals turned their attention to the doors of the hall and watched the Alpha and Luna enter followed by their three children, Beta and his mate, and the Gamma and his family. The Beta's son had already arrived and was sitting in his seat silently thinking about the pink-haired 'omega' that had been dragged out by Crimson Night's physician.

Jae immediately turned to Kace when he heard a small gasp escape from the male. Kace's eyes had widened, and his lips were parted slightly. Jae's confusion was resolved when he saw Den whip his head in their direction upon entering the hall. Jae leaned back in his chair as the two made eye contact. Kace and Den locked eyes for several seconds before Kace stood to his feet and hurried out the back door directly behind the table, leaving Den stunned. The next moment found Den rushing after the blue-haired, leaving the entire hall in shock.

Jae was the only one present who caught the beginning of the two's silent exchange, so the rest of the attendees were filled with surprise at the sudden and dramatic exit of Eternal Dawn's crown prince. A smile came to the true blood's lips. The situation was out of his control, so Jae left the two to their own devices and returned to allowing his mind to be consumed by the vanilla and roses that still clung to the air of the grand hall.

>>>>>>

"So, what's your name?"

"Huh?" Syri looked up from the dough he was kneading to see a girl standing beside him. "What's your name?" The girl placed her elbows on the table and set her chin in her palms as she repeated the question. "Oh, my name is Syri," the zeta answered. "Cool, I'm Aliza," the girl returned with a smile. The zeta gave the girl a small nod in greeting before returning his attention to the task at hand.

"So, why are you here?" The girl continued, causing Syri to look back up at her. "Sorry?" The zeta responded with a furrow of his brows. "Why are you here?" The girl repeated. "I've never seen you in the kitchen before."

"Ah," Syri sounded when he realized the intention behind the female's question. "I was brought here because they needed more workers; I work in the stables."

"Hmm," the girl sounded, pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes. "Strange...we didn't need more workers; the hall did."

"Aliza," A strong, feminine voice sounded from behind the zeta. "Leave the boy alone. He is a hard worker, and we could use all the help we could get. You should be working, too, little miss." Syri turned his head to see the head chef berating the girl affectionately.

"Ae, Chef," Aliza responded with a slow bow of her head before leaving the zeta to knead his lump of dough. Syri returned to his task as the girl resumed her duty of stirring a cream sauce. The zeta was deeply focused on his task of kneading the dough to the perfect consistency that he was able to drown out most of the gossip that was flying back and forth from the cooks, but one sentence in particular caught his attention. Syri slowed his kneading at the words, "Did you hear the prince is going to pick a mate?!"

Gasps radiated through the kitchen as all ears tuned into the newest piece of gossip. "Apparently the convention is not only for treaties and such. The prince is supposed to pick a mate from the eligible royals!" Squeals sounded from the various ranking chefs at the girl's words while Syri's heart pinged with a deeply-rooted ache.

"Oh, to be a princess!" A second chef sounded before shaking her head and returning to dicing a bunch of vegetables.

"The royals are so lucky. They can still get a mate even after losing their fated one," another chef said, stirring a round of moans in agreement. Syri furrowed his brows at the third chef's words. The zeta wanted to inquire what the chef had meant, but he was saved from talking when Aliza spoke up, "What do you mean, Hevah?"

"You know what I mean, Aliza. Us commoners aren't allowed to mate anyone who is not our fated. It's punishable by death," Heva explained. The beta added the last sentence to emphasize the severity of the consequences should a werewolf be caught mating another who is not their fated one.

Syri's heart raced at Heva's words. Then, Kip and Lili...

"But it is not uncommon for two werewolves who are not mates to fall in love," Heva continued. "This is especially easy if one or both of them have not met their fated one. Most werewolves wait for their fated mate, but who can really predict what one's heart will do?" The beta paused to taste the soup she was stirring before continuing, "There are some cases where the two never meet their fated one and end up mating. If they get caught, the consequences are severe, but if they don't, they can live together in happiness for the rest of their lives. It is rare, though, and is a huge gamble. But, some are willing to risk it if it means being with the one they love."

Syri hung his head when he heard the beta's explanation, and the zeta sent up a silent prayer that Kip and Lili would be able to remain safe and happy.

"Oh, Heva, don't ruin the mood!" A chef toward the front of the kitchen stated. "Let's make bets on who the prince is going to choose to be his mate!" With the chef's suggestion of a bet, the kitchen exploded into laughter and giggles as the cooks engaged in numerous conversations discussing all the possibilities of who the prince would mate.

A lump formed in the zeta's throat as he returned to the lump of dough before him. Syri knew he had no right to feel hurt upon hearing the names of the numerous princes and princesses that were striving for the prince's heart, but the zeta could not stop the ache in his heart nonetheless. The zeta berated himself for allowing his heart to ache at the bets being placed on who had the best chance of gaining the prince's affection.

What are you doing, Syri? There is no way you can be with the prince. You have to get him out of your head. You have to continue on. There's...there's no...there's no way you can be with him.