(Author’s POV)
Jacob’s words may seem like a genuine request, but the hidden aning was clear to all the people sitting in the dining room.
Alaric held the glass. His grip on the Bordeaux glass tightened. He was barely controlling his temper.
But Brave was well aware of Jacob’s quirks and his carefree attitude. As he had received formal heir training, he had t Jacob more than any of his brothers. Noah used to take Brave with him when there was any eting related to the peace treaty between the werewolves and vampires.
To diffuse the tension, Brave held up his glass and toasted, "To strengthen our friendship and take a step further in our relationship."
Jacob smirked, feeling amused as well as happy as he spoke, "Young Alpha, you make it sound so romantic, so poetic. But~ as you said, ... to strengthen the relationship between us, Vampires and the werewolves." And sipped his wine in leisurely.
Brave grasped his twin’s hand, gesturing to him to calm down.
Alaric was pissed. He didn’t like the fact that Jacob was threatening them so blatantly, and they weren’t even able to retaliate. He gulped down the wine as if it were water. The sweet taste had little to no effect on his bitter mood and thoughts.
Jacob laughed heartily and remarked, "Hahaha ...... Lycan heir, you seem to be quite energetic. Is the wine to your liking? Why don’t you have so more? I have a lot of these in my kitty. Matt, his glass is empty, serve him so more. Haha~ ... how good it is to be young and full of life, hmm. I like you." He grinned from ear to ear.
Alaric looked at Jacob as if he was so alien. To him, Jacob’s whole being was weird.
Dion sniffed and then tasted the wine and stated, "Mr. Larson, you seem to like drinking quite a lot, as you were having one even before we arrived. For a person your age, you seem livelier than any of us. Why don’t you give us, young ones, so tips?" His taunts were disguised as complints.
"Tips? ? No ...... no, it is nothing special, just the regular ...... blood dosage. Keeps rejuvenated and alive," Jacob replied as he winked at Dion. He wasn’t offended at all. For him, this was all just child’s play.
The servers entered one by one inside the dining hall and started placing exquisite gourt als prepared by the head chef.
Within a few minutes, the nearly empty table was filled with aromatic culinary masterpieces and artworks, each one looking better than the previous one. All the dishes were made from premium ingredients and top notch products.
"This doesn’t look like a simple brunch," Elio mumbled under his breath, but it was audible enough for everyone to hear.
"I guess my chef overdid it a bit. He must have been really excited to serve such honorable people," Jacob replied casually and then added, "He is quite fond of throwing a feast and letting people try his dishes. Please do him the honors and enjoy the delectable dishes he has so thoughtfully prepared."
He then shifted his attention back to Dion, "Young Alpha Dion, I heard you were interested in art and sculptures. Umm~ ... I must say, I was quite surprised to know that. As werewolves tend to have a strenuous training regin, and on top of that, you are even helping your father in his company. When do you even get the ti to know so much about artworks? You even cracked a deal with that prestigious art gallery."
"It is nothing much. Just one of my interests," Dion muttered while having a piece of the juicy, plump shrimp.
"I heard you even acquired the most prized, ’Sanctuary of Glint’. Nobody could convince the artist, ’Dev-ine’, to sell the piece, as the person is anonymous and is quite hard to find. So, how did you convince him? Do you, by chance, know him personally? Is he an acquaintance?" Jacob questioned.
Dion felt a little uneasy with Jacob’s questions. Though he didn’t let it show on his face, he had an inkling that Jacob might know about the real identity of this artist nad ’Dev-ine’. ’But how can it be possible? We have been quite discreet. Not even anyone from our pack knows that ’Dev-ine’ is your alias,’ Drey was confused as he stated.
Jacob tapped his glass to get Dion’s attention, "Young Alpha, what happened? If it is too hard to answer, that’s okay if you don’t."
"I don’t know him personally. It was by sheer luck that I got to know him, and we cracked a deal as our interests were aligned," Dion was quick with his answer.
Jacob clapped his hands and uttered, "So, do you also paint? You must be quite well versed in this field. If you don’t mind, as you are already here, in Esteria, I would like to invite you as a guest lecturer at our Red Stone University’s Fine Arts School. My students would learn a thing or two from you."
"Sorry, but I would like to decline your offer, Mr. Larson. I am not even that knowledgeable," Dion was polite with his words.
"Ahh~ ...... my bad luck. The students would have been thrilled to have you as their guest professor. My offer still stands .... whenever you are ready~," Jacob feigned disappointnt.
Jacob’s last target was Elio. He was having his al quietly and didn’t want to get involved in any kind of conversation with the Vampire King. But Jacob didn’t spare even him, he asked, "Young Alpha Elio, long ti no see. You seem changed from the last ti we t at my main estate. I guess the advice that I gave you last ti must have helped you." He gave Elio a beaming smile, full of underlying aning.
Elio paused as his mouth twitched, listening to Jacob’s remark. Alaric furrowed his brow slightly and inquired, "Advice? What advice are you talking about?"
"Hahahaha~ you are a curious cat, aren’t you, Lycan heir," Jacob laughed, "It was just a casual talk."
"Your majesty, Mr. Larson, why don’t we talk about the matter you called us in Esteria? Father must have told you about the overall situation~" Brave started, his tone poised and businesslike.
But Jacob stopped him midway, "CFO Brave, don’t be such a spoil sport. I don’t talk about business in an informal setting. Prof. Stephens, here, has arranged the venue and ti for the formal eting. Let’s respect his efforts."
Fabian, who has been silent all along and observing the Lycans, was suddenly in the spotlight.
Brave was quick to thank Fabian, and then he added, surprised, "We really appreciate your efforts. By the way, as Mr. Larson called you a professor, are you a lecturer at Red Stone University?"
Fabian was hesitant to answer, but he eventually did, "Umm~ ... yes, I teach at Red Stone."
"You seem quite young to be a professor, Mr. Stephens. And that too at Red Stone. That’s awe-inspiring for the people of our generation," Alaric complinted Fabian. He liked ambitious and knowledgeable individuals. He then added, "But you look more like a businessman than a professor."
"COO Alaric, you are being way too kind towards . I am just a humble teacher, nothing special," Fabian stated.
"You don’t have to be modest. You have achieved quite a lot. You should be proud of it," Brave added. "By the way, what do you teach?"
"I teach finance," Fabian answered.
"Finance, it was my major too. I would love to have an elaborate discussion with you." Brave got a little excited.
Fabian didn’t share the sa idea. He frowned and rolled his eyes internally, although his facial expressions remained neutral as he replied, "I would be honored to have a chat with you, CFO Brave."
"That’s lovely. Fabian, you should befriend young Alpha Brave. As Everests Cooperation’s CFO and forr Lycan heir apparent, you can learn a lot from him," Jacob was thrilled. He then continued, "By the way, Secretary Queens. Did sothing happen? Why are you so quiet?"
Elisa was totally detached from the conversation that was going on. She was busy gawking at the protective bracelets, the brothers were wearing. As Jacob called out to her so suddenly, she was caught off guard and just replied with a," Huhh~ What?" His tone wasn’t that of a ek secretary but a haughty queen.
The brothers arched their brows at her not so secretary like attitude as Jacob scoffed, as he comnted in reproach, "Secretary Queens, you seem lost. I advise you to either get your head straight or you may take a day off or two."
Elisa realized where she was sitting as she was back to being her humble self, "I apologize for my mistake. This won’t happen again." She clenched her fork tightly as she thought, ’This damned King of Vampires. He dares to reproach , the Queen of Demons, in front of so many people, my targets. Only if I didn’t need your help. Let regain my full power. Then, the first person I will annihilate will be you, Jacob Larson."
To Be Continued . . . . . . . .
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