Chapter 3

I was the first to sever my eyes from him His gaze continued to stay on me for some time, pricking my skin in a manner I had never experienced. When I finally felt him turn away, a small sigh of relief escaped my lips.

He was speaking with the Royal Couple when I turned to look back at the balcony. They appeared to be discussing a very important topic as they gave their full focus to the chat.

I occasionally felt his eyes on me as the evening wore on as I was spending time with the three of them. I constantly had to suppress the impulse to gaze at him. I felt compelled to look at him by some unseen power inside of me. It did force me to stare at him a few times, locking eyes with his brown eyes from a distance before I was the first to look away once more.

Every time I sensed his sight lingering on me and scorching my skin with his fierce look, my body tensed. Unfortunately, the dinner had not yet begun when I decided to escape and spend time with Dal while I hid in my wing.

We would all be seated at the big table together, so I knew that would be the most intense time of the evening. Even just thinking about it made me anxious. Along with me, my inner wolf was pacing in anxiety.

We had no idea what to anticipate. The night seemed to drag on and the tension in the air was too heavy.

What took place? When Locros realized that I had become excessively silent and wasn't taking part in Embry and Jacob's argument, he asked me.

I took another drink, mumbling, "Er... nothing." I welcomed the booze and anticipated that it would reduce my anxiety, but it didn't. I sensed his eyes on me once more, which increased the stress.

I resisted the impulse to peek in his direction as soon as his sight rested on me. However, Locros didn't seem to be happy with my answer.

"Are you okay?" He persisted.

I replied to him, "Yeah," with a breathy voice. "I'm good. All I want is for this to end soon. Returning to my wing, I want to sleep "I told him the truth.

"Yes, today was a long day. particularly the training "I was relieved when he stopped asking me any more questions after that.

When the dinner was eventually announced, my stomach was in knots and my heart was pounding in my chest. While the ministers and their families sat at the long table with the Royal Couple and the principal guest, the other guests sat at tiny tables about the room.

Between my father and Locros, I took a seat. I was seated only a few chairs apart from the Royal couple. The Royal couple were seated next to him. He continued to look at Locros for a little moment before turning to face me, which I didn't miss.

He must have realized that Locros was getting more of my attention. I did not, however, dare to look at him once during the meal. The fact that my father was talking to him the majority of the time didn't help.

Lucian was here to increase military collaboration, and Jacob was right. This dinner's main focus was on it. It increased the already present tension in the room, which persisted throughout the dinner.

As I chewed, the expertly prepared dish tasted like sand. The environment became overwhelming for me at one point, and I wanted to leave. Everything seemed off at that time—his continual stEmbry, the tension, the talk, the food, the company.

"Who do you think will replace you?" At one moment, Lucian questioned my father. The dinner was going to end at that time.

My father replied, pointing at me, "My daughter, Athena." Over supper, we again locked eyes, but this time with more purpose. He had a grimace on his face, but I could see movement in his eyes.

"A woman?" In a patronizing tone, he questioned, "As a general?"

The tension in the air had already been raised by his statements. Rapid escalation occurred. It wasn't until the glass broke that I realized I had been gripping it too tightly. At this, a few individuals, particularly the woman seated at the table, gasped a little.

"Why? What's incorrect with that?" Before anyone else could speak, I lost my temper. This time, I didn't look away. I kept my demanding look fixed on him. My jaws clenched, and my lips formed a narrow line. My father's anxiety was palpable throughout my entire body, and I could sense it in him as well.

It wasn't the first time that someone has questioned my talents solely on the grounds that I was a woman. Hearing it from my friend only made it somewhat worse on my nerves despite the fact that I had dealt with it many times and was by this point extremely immune to it.

Lawrence tried to break the tension, but Lucian immediately cut him off as the intensity in his eyes and the air only increased "In particular, I wouldn't trust a woman in a General-level post. I'm afraid you might wish to look for a different replacement."

"The General would be her. The decision has been made. She is equally capable of being the General despite being a woman." This time, my father spoke, seeming extremely serious and almost demanding. In answer, Lucian raised an eyebrow at my dad.

In the same patronizing manner, Lucian said, "The future partnership would suffer."

The extremely easy return of my father was, "Then it's your problem." He was respectful while also being gloomy. As the dinner neared its conclusion, the tension persisted to break over it.

I mentally kept track of the passing time and prepared to jump as soon as the dinner was through and vanish into my wing. I had had enough with him tonight, and I didn't think I could take his intimidating presence anymore.

As soon as dinner was ended, I felt his strong, lingering gaze on me. I quickly excused myself, sprinted away from the packed area into my room. As soon as I returned to my wing, I was able to finally exhale in relief. I didn't care that my shoulders were still clenched tightly.

I had my leopard with me at home. To see Dal, I made my way to my bedroom. He was the one I always looked for when I needed comfort. I couldn't put into words the peculiar sensation of relief and security he gave me.

Perhaps it was because he was there for me from the beginning, when I was still only a beating heart within my mother's womb, even before I was born. Even in the hereafter, I would always remember his deep purrs.

I'm back, Dal! I walked into my bedroom and yelled for him as I did so. When I didn't hear a noise in return, a frown began to form on my face. I hurried to my bedroom but it was empty and Dal wasn't there.

I couldn't help but shuffle about the room, searching for him, but he wasn't there. His aroma lingered in the air very faintly, giving the impression that he would be long gone.

"Dal!" I yelled for him while shaking with fear.

Where did he go?

He wasn't in his playroom when I left my bedroom and went there instead. I looked everywhere, including my training room and study. He simply couldn't be found anyplace.

I could not help but feel fear. What if he was going for a run outside? I kept saying this to myself to get myself to stop freaking out, but I couldn't get rid of the sensation in the pit of my stomach that something wasn't right with him.

I waited for him all night, but he never showed up. In the wee hours of the morning, I went for a run to look for him after pacing about in my wing. I searched wherever he might be, but he was nowhere to be found.

In the morning, I was in a lot of distress. Never had anything like this occurred. Dal had never vanished in this manner before, and I was worried about him. The moment I woke up, I hurried to my father and told him about my leopard's absence.

He immediately became worried and despatched some wolves in search of my leopard, but I had a hunch they would return without it, and that is exactly what occurred.

They simply were unable to locate my leopard anyplace "Go away, Athena. He would return. I'm going to discuss it with Lawrence. Even if your leopard got lost in the abyss, he would still return it to you." My father reassured me, but I was already crying.

I spent a lot of time looking for my leopard but was still unable to discover it, so I arrived back at my wing late in the morning, fatigued and really anxious.

It entirely escaped my notice at first, but when the crow croaked, I suddenly became aware of it perched outside my bedroom window. It seemed really unusual to me. Even though it was snowing heavily outside, I had never seen any crows here. But then I saw something connected to one of the bird's foot.

In an apparent attempt to get me to open the window, the crow kept banging on it with its beak. I jumped out of bed right away and opened the window. As soon as I removed the parchment that was attached to the crow's feet, it took off flying.

When I opened the parchment, I discovered that it had been written on in blood. As I read the bloodied words, "Looking for your leopard," my eyes became wider. After dark, search for it in the forbidden forests.

-L