Unsevered Ties

44. Once Again a Beta

Chapter 44: Once Again, a Beta

Honey-colored eyes shone with so much shock that they could use him as a nightlight. Sylas was beyond silent. What could he possibly have to say? Currently, he had more favor in the Mountain than he did in his pack. His eyes cut to his mate, who didn't have a speck of attention to spare for him. Sylas looked at many faces without being noticed, noting the different looks on each. He was a master at dissecting facial expressions. He noticed every single tick of every muscle.

A quick analysis:

Queen Celise sat pleased, smug even. Her broad smile expressed happiness, but her eyes were bright with a fierce emotion that could burn like fire.

The man of honor, Sega—well, there was shock and disbelief written on his handsome face.

To sum it up, the man was stunned into silence.

King Leiodus was disturbed, then shifted to disbelief, and seemed to settle in disgust. It was a mix of his fierce eyes, the normally smooth skin wrinkling with age and emotion, and the tight set of a jaw set so hard it could crush a rock between the teeth.

The Forest King and Queen and both their sons were simply mind-blown. The Field was their closest ally, and there had been no mention of this event. Even without the Queen, Leiodus would have mentioned something. Vyjas' eyes shone with rippling anger, his eyes wrinkles deepening with the sharp downward tilt of his dark brows. Corana only slid her eyes to the side, glancing at her husband, her throat rolling with the tense gulp she swallowed. There was a slight bite to her lip as she looked at Vyronas.

Vyronas simply looked curious. Sylas knew that face well. He could see the man's brain running through many scenarios.

Honey eyes met fathomless green that reflected any color they landed on. His breath hitched for a mere second before he fixed his face and whipped his head away. Gods help him if he had the nerve to look any longer as if Valas didn't already want to wring his neck. Sylas continued his investigation.

There were the Meadow King and Queen, the only duo that didn't purposely cultivate any odd methods to prolong their age, as far as Sylas knew. The pair weren't even old yet. They were just older than the rest and gladly accepted their seniority. The two were most invested in each other, their gazes locked as they silently communicated. Their gazes were a clumped mix of apprehension, exasperation, and, Sylas was sure, amusement.

Sylas noted Lady Tahalla looking at King Aiden with a great sense of confusion. Aiden shook his head at her before turning back and sweeping over Sega and Leiodus. His expression blatantly said, What the fuck?

Celise let everyone have their shock before she softly cleared her throat, breaking everyone from their trances. There was another round of heads silently turning, gauging the reactions of anyone around them.

Leiodus raised his glass with an odd smile on his face. His anger was so hot that he ran cold. So that was the little play she had planned. She had not lied when she said she was coming for him with her all. Slitting her throat wasn't going to cut it. No, his Queen would get his royal treatment when he snagged her.

Leiodus' lips spread further, and some oily mix of anger and disgust piled on his stomach, but damn if his twisted mind didn't spark with something else. Suddenly, excitement riddled him, too. This whole time, he was playing a quiet game with himself. He moved the whole board where he wanted, with no opponent able to sit in the seat opposite him since he had lured in the Cloud King with his trap.

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"Damn if I haven't seen that face in a couple of decades. Do you even age? You're still so goddamn pretty. You have that kind of face that pisses men off, you know, because you're so pretty to look at. We deviate from the straight path for just a blink. It's that kind of face you want to see simpering and whining to be spared. It gives me a sadistic urge to just want to torture you."