C2 The Alpha's Son

"My lady...!" one of the servants came rushing to Masha who was still on the ground.

The man on the horse had ridden forward before climbing down. Extending a hand, the servant helped Masha from the ground and the moment she was on her feet, she turned to face the young man that had knocked her down. She had expected to find him equally staring at her and looking for a way to apologize, but surprisingly, he was heedlessly handing his horse to a guard that had come up beside him.

Another surprising aspect for Masha was the fact that it did not bother him how he had disrupted the party and kept everyone on hold. It just did not seem to bother him at all. Who did he think he was? With the way the wolf guards had rushed over to take his horse, he seemed to be someone important. Was he one of the Alphas?

When he had handed his big black horse to one of the guards, he finally turned to look at Masha. Masha wondered if it was just her, or there was actually nothing akin to remorse in his eyes. Instead, she could decipher unspoken words like: "Are you blind?" "Next time, be more careful around me".

He never said them, but somehow, she could tell those were the words in his head.

After throwing her the cold stare, he turned and began walking away - walking toward the VIP tables. As Masha watched him, she felt herself being so irritated. On a normal day, she would have stumped toward him, yank his long hair and make him pay for what he did. But staring at the man before her, she felt all her revenge motives being numbed. She could not tell, but there was something about him - something that looked scary.

"Are you alright, my lady?" The servant beside her asked as she swabbed the dirt off Masha's dress.

"Yes, I...I am fine", she blinked rapidly to get a grip of herself.

The party drums had resumed rolling. So, Masha knew she had to get off the stage. She huffed as she headed for the VIP high table. She could feel all eyes on her which was very awkward. It was something she hated a lot. So, she had to keep her eyes low as she walked all the way. But, approaching the high tables, she lifted her gaze to the Supreme King's table and found the young man that had knocked her down, occupying the empty seat beside the King. Hold on, was he the Alpha's son she had heard about?! The ruthless heir and future Supreme King?

Her stomach grumbled and somehow, she thanked her stars for not confronting him like she had planned on. Perhaps, there would have been scars on her face already.

She could see the Supreme King angrily whispering into his ears. And while he seemed angry, the son did not seem to be bothered at all. As a matter of fact, he was eating some berries from the table - although, he ate it slowly.

Masha was not interested in eavesdropping at their conversation, So she just turned to her family's table which was beside her.

"Hey, are you alright?" Her elder brother - Kona - asked when she arrived them table.

Her mother was simply throwing an angry stare at her, signifying she had been careless enough to let the accident happen.

Masha rolled her eyes and took her seat.

"Hey. Did you hear me at all?" Her brother roused her with a gentle nudge.

"Since when did you begin to care?" Her firm lips pouted in a sulk.

The discomfort rang through her body language.

"You are unbelievable. You are lucky the horse did not smash your face", he scoffed, trying to goad a reaction out of her.

But Masha ignored him as she took a careful stare at the Alpha's son. It was careful because she did not want him noticing.

She held down a clenched fist as she glared at him, the memories hitting hard at her. Now, she understood the rumours better - why everyone kept speaking of his unruly behavior. Although, Masha would not deny that he had a good physical appearance. His dark, glossy, shoulder-length hair was the longest Masha had ever seen on a man. He had such grey monolid eyes that portrayed coldness, yet danger at the same time. His body build was nothing less of what she had heard as he had a broad chest and big muscles. No one needed to be told he was a big trainer. Well, Masha wouldn't be surprised, considering he was the King of the pack. Yes, his father had the title of Supreme King, but the son was the one known to carry all the responsibilities. Still, it should never give him the right to do what he just did to her.

His young charming look was totally different from his intractable behaviour.

Our of curiosity, Masha took a peek at the rest of the family as it was her first time meeting them.

Beside the Supreme King was his wife - the Supreme Queen. Masha could attest that the rumours were true. The rumours of the Queen looking so cold and harsh.

From her face, one would think she had never smiled before. Masha was not sure, but she looked like she was irritated being there. She seemed disgusted. Her hands were folded beneath her silk and fur dress while she held her head up high, staring with irk.

Beside her was a young pretty lady. The lady's mood was a bit similar to the Queen's. Only that there was a bit of sadness in her eyes. With the way she appeared and sat next to the Queen, Masha could guess she was someone important. Perhaps, she was Sephora - the mistress to the Alpha's son.

Few days ago, Terra had told Masha the little she knew about Sephora. Sephora had become the prince's mistress after he lost his mate in the war. The loss of his mate had left him broken and created a never ending hatred for the vampires. The only reason he was at the collaboration was because he had no choice. Apparently, Sephora wanted more between her and the prince, but unfortunately, he was only making her his bedmate.

Next to the Alpha prince was a younger lady. And with the resemblance between her and the Queen, Masha could easily guess she was the Queen's daughter.

She looked warm, happier and unproblematic - unlike her mother and brother's mistress. She was equally enjoying the dance performance while tossing some berries into her mouth.

There were other tables of the other Alphas present with their families, but Masha did not take note of them.

Suddenly, the party drums stopped and Masha looked away to see what was happening. Oh! Nothing was happening. The dancers were just done performing. At last - Masha sighed.

As they exited the stage, noise emanated from the crowd. Most people were commenting and chuckling about the performance, while others used the "drumless" opportunity to say what they've wanted to say to their fellows.

Masha was getting irked by the noise, she had to keep herself calm by taking a drink. But soon, the noise began to dwindle when one of the tallest men in their coven stepped into the stage.

His name was Vader. And he was one of the coordinators of the party. On a normal day, he was known as Lord Galadriel's closest guard, personal messenger and assassin. After Lord Galadriel, he was the most feared man in the Night Nation's Coven as just his height alone was intimidating.

Everyone labeled him to be dangerous, but the few times Masha had spoken with him, he had seemed nice and friendly.

"Is it time?" Masha heard her mother ask her father. And he simply nodded.

Time? Time for what?

"A big thanks to the dancers for their wonderful performance", Vader began, his voice loud enough to go through the quiet crowd.

"I know you have already been addressed, but once again, I want to thank everyone of you for coming. We all know how important this day is to us. It is the beginning of a new dawn, the beginning of a greater friendship that has never existed. But for now, we have something more pressing to deal with", He paused and turned to some guards at a distance.

"Bring the prisoners!" He commanded and without reluctance, the three guards bowed and left.

Prisoners? Masha pondered. Oh! It suddenly dawned on her. They had captured some men from the previous night - three of them. They had come in disguise and tried assassinating her father and the Supreme King, but fortunately, they were caught and locked up. They had already confessed to who sent them - which was another VampLord - but Masha's father was not ready to face him yet.

The people mumbled amongst themselves as the guards arrived with the prisoners who were bounded with vervain ropes.

They were were made to kneel in the middle of the stage, facing the direction of the VIP tables. Once again, silence dominated the crowd.

"These three traitors over here" Vader continued. "Were sent by Lord Kylo to assassinate our dear Leader and the Supreme King, but all thanks to Absalom, they were caught just before they would carry out their evil act. Although, they've confessed and pleaded for mercy, but we show no mercy to traitors!!! And Lord Galadriel has already ordered their execution.

"So, right here", he paused and stretched out his hand toward the guards. A sword was placed on it right away. With how sheeny the sword shun, everyone could tell it was sharp enough to cut through a stone.

"I will be executing them in the presence of everyone, so a message can be passed across to everyone - that whosoever makes an attempt to fight against this collaboration, will end up just like this men!!"

A few people concurred with a "YES!".

Masha's heart gave a leap as Vader went round to stand behind the first man. Would they really be killed?

She looked at their faces and could not help but feel pity for them. They looked so scared but could not scream it out.

When Vader placed the edge of the sword on the neck of the first man, Masha flinched and looked away. For Absalom's sake! She could not watch the horrible sight.

She grimaced with her face, her heart continued thumping fast. But suddenly, a voice was heard:

"Stop."

It was not stressed, yet so loud and deep, it could be heard by everyone.

Masha arched her brows and looked up to see the Alpha's son on his feet. She was confused, and so was everyone. Why was he interrupting the execution?