Chapter 77: Can We Address the Elephant in the Room Now?

Everyone started eating, but Blair just sat there, frozen.

She wasn’t entirely sure what she had been expecting a dinner with beastmen to look like, but it definitely wasn’t this. The neatly arranged silver forks and knives were apparently nothing but shiny table decor. Across the table, they were all tearing into the roasted joints of meat with their bare hands. They ate like actual wild animals, ripping meat from the bone, unbothered by the grease smearing across their fingers and chins.

Blair felt even more out of place as she held her silver fork.

The mountains of food on the platters were vanishing at an alarming rate. If she didn’t act fast, she was going to get absolutely nothing. Spotting a perfectly roasted piece of meat near the edge of the center platter, Blair quickly reached her fork for it.

At that exact same second, Kyana’s father reached his bare hand out for the exact same piece.

His knuckles brushed lightly against Blair’s fingers.

Less than a second later, a loud screech echoed through the garden. Blair gasped, her hands flying up to grip the edges of her seat as Daemus suddenly, effortlessly yanked her chair right to his side.

Her face flushed a brilliant red. She looked up at him, her breath hitching when she found him already looking down at her. But then his focus shifted. Daemus’s silver eyes locked onto Kyana’s father with a look of intense hostility.

The sudden movement brought the chaotic sounds of chewing to a dead halt.

Every pair of eyes at the dinner table darted toward Daemus and Blair. The weight of their attention made Blair’s heart race frantically against her ribs.

Yennifer dropped a half-eaten bone onto her plate, her expression souring into deep fury.

"Well, I believe," Yennifer announced hotly, wiping her mouth with a napkin, "it is time to address the elephant in the room."

She glared at Clarice. "It is unheard of for a wolf to have two mates. You and your husband made this entire ’breeder mate’ thing up just to protect your son’s honor after he betrayed my daughter!"

Yennifer slammed her hand flat against the table. "We should do things the proper, traditional way! Have both Blair and my daughter duel to the death for him!"

Blair’s eyes bugged out of her skull. She was sort of hoping it wasn’t actually real. She would be crushed into fine powder in less than two seconds!

Clarice calmly picked up a small plate, loaded with neatly cut, bite-sized pieces of meat and roasted vegetables, and smoothly slid it across the table to Blair.

"Here you go, dear," Clarice smiled.

Blair nimbly nodded her head. "Thank you," she mumbled, her voice almost inaudible.

Clarice then turned her attention back to the fuming blonde beastwoman. "Yennifer, I understand that you are upset, but you must realize this is the Moon Goddess’s will."

"You use the Moon Goddess as an excuse for everything!" Yennifer argued loudly.

Clarice kept her polite, unbothered smile, trying to calmly reason with the stubborn mother. As the two women bickered back and forth, Beralt slowly turned his head. He looked at his son, a slight, disapproving furrow pulling at his brow.

"Daemus," Beralt prompted smoothly. "Now would be a good time for you to say something."

"Why?" Daemus responded dryly. "When since what I wanted mattered?"

The argument across the table abruptly stopped. Clarice and Yennifer both turned to look at the Wolf Prince.

"I said it many times that I do not want Kyana. I have no interest in her, I’m not attracted to her in any way," Daemus stated bluntly, his silver eyes flashing with irritation. "And still, you invited her here. I told you Blair is my fated mate, and you twisted it, saying she is my breeder mate—which, I agree with Yennifer, isn’t even a thing."

He leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. "I told you I didn’t want to go to this stupid dinner. And you used Blair to lure me here."

Daemus reached over and picked up Blair’s plate of neatly cut food. He looked at the meat, then looked dead at his mother.

"And they put an aphrodisiac in her food," Daemus revealed to the table, his voice a low, disgusted rumble, "and sprayed the scent of a female in heat on her."

Blair bit her bottom lip. In a way, she already somewhat guessed something along those lines was going on. She had her suspicions but didn’t dare even voicing them in her thoughts.

"What were you hoping to achieve?" Daemus asked, dropping the plate back onto the table with a clatter. He didn’t wait for an answer. "It doesn’t matter, because we are leaving."

Daemus stood up from his chair. He took Blair’s hand, but she didn’t get up.

She looked across the table, meeting Clarice’s gaze. Blair nervously bit her bottom lip. She promised Clarice she would help her...she had to do it.

"We should stay," Blair said quietly. "We should hear what they have to say."

Clarice’s lips curved into a triumphant smile.

"See?" Clarice said to her son, gesturing toward Blair. "Even Blair wants what is best for you. You should listen to her."

Clarice folded her hands neatly on the table. "You are just confused, Daemus. Just because she gave you an erection when you two first met, does not mean she is your fated mate."

Blair wanted to melt into the chair and disappear forever.

"And about the aphrodisiac... well," Clarice sighed, offering a perfectly crafted look of guilt. "I was selfishly eager for grandchildren, even though Blair said she wanted to wait until after she graduates. I am sorry about it now."

Clarice continued. "And the scent also affected your father and Kyana’s father. I apologize for that as well if their glances at her upset you. So, please. Calm down so we can talk like mature beastmen."

Daemus’s jaw ticked so hard it looked like his teeth might shatter.

Beralt spoke up next. "You are embarrassing me with this tantrum, Daemus. Sit down and be sensible."

A heavy silence fell over the indoor garden. The Wolf King and his son stared at each other, a clash of alpha dominance. No one at the table dared to move or make a sound.

Daemus tightened his grip on Blair’s hand.

"No," Daemus said. "Fuck you."