The Commander of Orion ✔️

Chapter 25

We arrived in front of the packhouse sometime later. The sun had fully set and the mouth-watering scent of dinner was being waffled into the air through the open windows of the kitchen.

Kaelon and I walked into the common room, where Keyan, Zoron, Edrik and Velion had been waiting.

All of Keyan's warriors were there too, sitting on a table of their own. They were also invited as honoured guests.

Orion has a table of its own. Occupying the seats were a handful of distinguished Orion warriors who have served fearlessly and faithfully over the years.

We greeted each other formally considering the nature of this dinner. We rubbed our cheeks against one another, mixing our scents and submitting to each other's ranks.

We were all equals now.

The six of us sat down at our own table, with Kaelon at one end, and Keyan at the other. I sat next to Zoron, while Edrik sat opposite me, next to Velion.

"How was your run Keyan?" I asked, making small talk as we waited for our dinner to be served.

Keyan smiled. "More enjoyable towards the end," he replied before taking a sip of water. His eyes wandered to the area behind me, watching as someone came up.

I turned around, coming face to face with Zazel who I haven't seen in a few days.

"I made you something to say sorry," Zazel told me, eyes glancing down.

"There is nothing to apologise for," I told her, grabbing her shoulder. "It was an accident Zazel. See? It's almost all healed up now," I continued, brushing my long hair aside and showing her the stitches just below my collar bone.

The little girl reached out, small hands softly tracing the stitches. "I wanted to do this for you anyway Edrei," she replied. "My mum helped me, but I baked you cookies. Maybe you can eat them after you finish your dinner."

I nodded, melting at her kind gesture. "I'll be sure to try some and share them around."

Zazel smiled brightly. "I hope you like them."

Before I could reply, the little girl skipped away, back into the kitchen. My eyes trailed her, heart still melting.

I turned back around, eyes now on Kaelon. He had heard everything, amusement clear on his face. I lifted up one of my brows, silently asking him what he found so funny. Kaelon shook his head before engaging back into the conversation the others had started.

Dinner was served not long later. It was a full feast with chicken, slices of ham, vegetables, freshly baked bread and a variety of sides.

Juice, wine and beer were served freely, and generously. Every table their a large pitcher of each, refilled every time any of those liquids reached less than half full.

A few Orion wolves gathered in the corner of the room, each holding instruments as they played and serenaded the whole room.

The men quickly dug in, creating a mountain of food on their plates before they began eating.

The conversation around the table was casual. We started off with small talk before the topic diverged into something a little more interesting.

Dinner came and went without Kaelon or Keyan losing control. A success in everyone's books.

After dinner, the warriors started dancing, brightening up the atmosphere with their display. While others ate the dessert prepared.

The room was now louder than ever, filled with laughs and music. Alcohol was coursing through everyone's veins except mine and a small bunch of Arctos warriors.