The Love of a Lycan

The dining room seemed very quiet, especially when the tense air surrounding the dining table got stronger with each passing second.

Even the sumptuous and luxurious meal in front of them, couldn't prevent the loss of appetite for the three people sitting around the table.

The food on the table was just like some necessity which gave them a reason to move and do something so the atmosphere wouldn't feel too awkward.

Well, Jedrek and Serefina did it flawlessly. Lilac could see how they both complement each other.

Serefina cut her meat with such perfection and looked so elegant, so did Jedrek while Lilac, who couldn't eat meat, stared at a bowl of vegetables in front of her and felt she wouldn't be able to eat all of these veggies in the same manner like the witch.

Actually, this was a trivial thing, yet Lilac was too upset. She stabbed her innocent veggies and ate them silently. However, when the stillness was almost unbearable, Lilac finally chose to break the ice.

"Serefina, you said Kace has a condition for Jedrek, what is it?" Lilac looked at Serefina, who was sitting across the table.

Serefina put down her cutleries with a soft clink and wiped her lips, she raised her head and started to speak. "Right. Kace has a condition before he is willing to bring his people to join forces in this war."

"He doesn't have people." Jedrek cut Serefina's sentence.

"Yes, but apparently, he knows many people, or shifters, who are willing to listen to him," Serefina said, but her eyes were on Lilac. "Such as centaurs."

"Centaurs?"Jedrek raised her brows. "They were extinct."

"No, they still exist. I saw them before I came here." This time, Serefina shifted her attention toward Jedrek. "And, the one and only condition from Kace involves them."

Jedrek narrowed his eyes and didn't look very happy to hear whatever Serefina was about to say.

"Kace wants you to give their land back to them.��� Serefina took her cup and sipped her drink.

"If I refused?"Jedrek didn't want to give the centaurs' land back to them again.

Just like the guardian angel, the centaurs had been assumed to be extinct for decades now. The reason why Jedrek attacked their territory was because Janus needed more power, he was so insane at that time, but too good at pretending that he was normal, and unfortunately Jedrek didn't have the courage to challenge him then and could only obey his orders silently.

But, that was not the important thing. The fact that Jedrek was the one who had slaughtered their kind was undeniable and he knew how incredibly clever the centaurs were at making long-term plans.

Serefina shrugged her shoulders. "Kace doesn't want to take part in this war."

"He thought he could escape? When we lost the war, there would be no safe place for him," Jedrek spoke grimly.

"Apparently, he doesn't care much about that." Serefina started to cut her meat again. "Especially when he had been trying to escape from a certain someone who wanted to kill his mate." The witch bit her meat casually, as though she didn't say something that could possibly incur wrath of that certain someone.

Jedrek stared at Serefina hard, yet she ignored him completely.

The witch was upset too. If she didn't want to look at the person in the eyes, she was pretending to be fine with the situation while hiding her annoyance. Jedrek knew about that and some part of his heart was glad that she hadn't changed as much as he thought. He still knew her.

"How did Kace got to know them?" If the centaurs met his younger brother, they should have killed him at the first chance they were given, but why didn't they do that? Even though, it was not Kace who issued an order to execute them, but their village was raided under Kace's attack.

"The centaurs have lived somewhere in the northern coven realm," Serefina replied. "Kace went there to heal his wounds from his encounter with Maximus," she glanced at Jedrek and smirked mockingly. "Thanks to you."

"Wounds? What kind of wounds could Maximus possibly inflict on him?" Lilac, who had been silent during the entire conversation until now, asked with curiosity. Were they the same wounds like Jedrek got from the fight with Maximus?

"A curse. Black magic. I had never seen such wounds before." Serefina shrugged her shoulders and continued to eat.

"How is he now? Does he still have that wound?" Lilac was sure, it was the same wound that Jedrek got when he fought him.

"No, it was healed," Serefina replied.

"Jedrek…" Lilac was about to tell Serefina that Jedrek also suffered the same wound, probably she could see and tell them whether it was the same wound or not, but Jedrek grabbed her hand under the table and gave it a soft squeeze as a warning.

"What?" Serefina looked at Lilac suspiciously because the latter didn't finish her sentence.

"So, Kace wanted me to give back the centaurs' territory to them?" Jedrek narrowed his eyes. He didn't like the idea to have those crafty creatures such as centaurs on his land.

It would not be exaggerating to say that they had a hidden agenda for returning. The centaurs were not naïve and they hold their grudges really well.

Jedrek couldn't believe them so easily. After what he had done to them and all they asked was for him to give back their land? How noble of them…

"Yes." Serefina nodded. "That was Kace's condition."

Jedrek shifted his attention to Lilac, who was stabbing her veggies absentmindedly. "What do you think?"

"Huh?" Lilac raised her head and cleared her throat to give herself some time to think. "Well, like I said, we need as much people as we can find." She felt stupid for being caught brooding.

"Alright then, I will let you decide for this matter." Jedrek spoke as he pushed his chair and stood up. "I have to go now." Afterward, Jedrek leaned over and kissed Lilac's temple and walked away.

That simple gesture surprised not only Lilac, but it also startled Serefina with the same effect. Out of instinct, she averted her gaze until Jedrek was no longer inside the room and when it was only the two of them, she spoke to Lilac callously.