THE DINNER PART 1

FREDA

"Much Better, Isn't It?" The vampire king sat at the head of the table with a sly grin on his face, his piercing red gaze sweeping through the room and lingering on each alpha and their daughters. When his gaze landed on me, a slight chill ran up my spine. I felt so uncomfortable; I wanted the earth to swallow me up.

The vampire stewards continued to bring in dishes, and the enticing aroma wafting from the plates did little to alleviate the tension hanging in the air. Despite the delicious smells, my appetite had vanished because of the earlier skirmish.

The stewards began to serve drinks in crystal goblets. When a steward poured a drink into my goblet, I sniffed the contents and detected a sharp, pungent smell. It was blood. My eyes narrowed as I turned to my father, who was frowning at his own goblet. I was right; it indeed was blood.

The alphas around the table grew visibly uncomfortable. After a moment, one of them spoke up, a growl rumbling in his throat.

“What is this, Your Majesty?” he asked, barely restraining his anger.

“Why, that? It's a fine vintage, Alpha Ryker. The best blood our cellars have to offer.” The vampire king chuckled as he took a sip from his goblet.

“You know we don't drink blood, Your Majesty. Should we take this as an insult?” Ryker's face had turned red with anger, his fists clenching and unclenching.

“Oh dear. I'm so sorry,” the vampire king gasped mockingly. “I forgot I was in the presence of mere wolves who didn't know the high taste of blood. Please, do forgive me.”

All the alphas, including my father, bristled at the king's words. I could feel how the resentment, and the tension in the room skyrocketed, making me very uncomfortable.

I glanced at the vampire king and noticed he was still smiling, not bothering to order the stewards to remove the goblets of blood from the table. It was all a game to him, leaving them there to provoke the alphas. Thankfully, none of them acted up; they refused to touch the goblets, expressions of disgust on their faces.

“Well, well, well. It seems the ‘alphas’ are just a group of teetotalers. How amusing,” the vampire king drawled as he took another sip.

“We don't drink blood, Your Majesty. We are not savages,” Alpha Ryker retorted, gritting his teeth and trying to control his anger. I hoped he would, as I really wasn't looking forward to this dinner turning into a battle.

“Oh?” The vampire king chuckled. “How cute, the dogs think they are above us. How quaint.”

I nearly slapped my forehead in frustration. He wasn't even trying to make the situation any easier; it was obvious he was trying to stir up trouble.

“And what, pray tell, is the ‘high taste of blood’ like, Your Majesty? Does it taste like the fear of your victims?” my father asked with narrowed eyes.

“Oh no, dear alpha. It actually tastes like power. Something you wolves will never have the true taste of,” the vampire king responded, his smile widening.

The tension in the room was so charged with hostility that I felt like I was sitting on a powder keg waiting to explode. The vampire king's words were like slow-burning fire, designed to taunt and goad the alphas into a reaction.

“And what of your precious cellars?” another alpha sneered with disdain. “Do you keep your victims there, locked away like animals, waiting to be drained of their blood?”

The vampire king raised his head and laughed loudly. The vampire stewards looked at each other, subtle grins on their faces.

“Oh no, our ‘cellars’ are for the finest vintages only. The best blood, the rarest and most exquisite. You could try it to confirm whether I'm lying or not,” the vampire king smirked as he sipped from his goblet once again.

What was supposed to be a ‘friendly’ dinner had turned into an avenue for throwing jibes and veiled insults. This was not the dinner I was expecting. I had hoped for a calm affair, something in the lines of trying to find common ground between the vampires and the werewolves, but it seemed the vampire king never wanted peace. I didn't know what his game was, but it obviously wasn't anything good.

I tried to distract myself by picking at the food served in front of me, but I couldn't eat, not after discovering they gave us the blood of God-knows-what to drink. I wouldn't be surprised if they used blood as a sort of spice in their food.

“Excuse me, please.” One of the alpha's daughters excused herself. She stood up and hurriedly made her way out of the meeting hall without so much as a glance from the vampire king.

“So that's allowed?” I muttered, weighing the option of ditching this so-called dinner.

“Don't even think about it,” I heard my father's stern tone and turned my head sharply to look at him.

“Don't think about what?” I asked sharply.

“Don't leave on your own. It's too dangerous,” he responded, but his eyes were trained on the vampire king. I pouted my lips, annoyed by his command. Who was he to tell me what to do? Someone who had abandoned me for years shouldn't have the right to control me. Besides, I still felt his changing attitude towards me ever since we came to the vampire castle was very suspicious.

“You're not the boss of me.” I summoned up the courage to respond to my father in a quiet tone before standing up from my seat.

“I need to use the restroom. May I be excused, Your Majesty?” I said, addressing the vampire king. I tried to look brave, but I couldn't help the goosebumps that rose on my skin when he stared at me with his crimson eyes.

He lifted his goblet to his lips and gave me a curt nod. Ignoring my father's stern gaze, I grabbed the hem of my dress and quickly made my way out of the suffocating meeting room.