Mated to the Mad Lord-Chapter 64: Exchange of words

The first hour passed quietly with Cain sitting on a sofa and Frank standing silently behind him.

But while Cain looked completely unconcerned, his legs dangling back and forth with nonchalance, Frank looked like he was going to explode.

"You’ll get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that! We’ve gone through this many times already. One would think you’ll already be used to it."

"I’m sorry, My Lord, it’s just... it’s just... annoying!" Frank said, finding it hard to explain just how pissed off he was.

"I’m just worried that he might leave us waiting for longer than he did before, which was about five—"

"Have you forgotten about the meeting? Even if he wanted to, we still need some time to talk before the meeting is convened!" Cain responded, his gaze shifting around the room with a bored expression on his face as he looked around.

"If I had to guess, I’m sure he’s already on his way!" Cain sighed, leaning farther into the softness of the sofa he sat on when the door was suddenly thrown open, about a dozen guards entering first, splitting into two rows as they stood in two opposing rows by the door.

Lord Eldric walked in, wearing a white shirt and black pants. His hair was greyed out, but he had a presence that showed that he was used to being obeyed and getting whatever he wanted.

His body was tall but nowhere as tall or as muscled as Cain, who, regardless of seeing him walk in, refused to get out of his seat as Frank immediately got on his knees and bowed to him.

Cain, though, sat there with a smug expression on his face, his eyes sliding over the many guards Eldric had brought with him.

"Don’t tell me your injuries from that day are yet to be healed! I can’t imagine why else you would be an hour late!" Cain began to speak with a subtle tone of mockery in his voice as he continued.

"...Or maybe it’s old age. I heard from a good source that some werewolves don’t age well. The older they get, the weaker their bones get!" Cain said as he watched Eldric settle into the sofa right opposite him with a mostly blank expression on his face.

His gaze fixed on Cain’s face as he smiled and fixed his deep brown eyes on Cain without speaking or responding to what he said, even as his fingers continued to tap against the armrest of the chair he sat on, before turning his gaze to Frank, who stood quietly behind Cain.

"Get out!" he ordered in a deep tone. Frank, who hadn’t dared to even look directly at Lord Eldric the second he entered, immediately turned his gaze to look at Cain, almost as if asking to know what he wanted, only to hear Lord Eldric speak again.

"I won’t ask you again!" he said, his tone icy with a subtle threat attached to it, even as Frank immediately bowed his head to both of them before heading straight to the door, only to hear Lord Eldric speak again before he could get out of the room.

"...And Frank, if you ever defy me again, I’ll cut you down before you can ever do so again!"

Frank nodded, not once stopping as he hurriedly left the room faster than before.

"Really? You’ll kill my personal guard. I didn’t know you had the authority to—"

"I own you, Cain! Without the medicine I give you, you would have been put down just like your parents were when they suddenly lost control of their beasts!"

Eldric said, to which Cain smiled in response, his gaze sliding over to the guards who continued to stand by the door even as he responded.

"...Really? Is that why their blood also had to be drained? It makes me wonder where you suddenly get the red potion from and which powerful witch was able to quickly conjure such a thing!" Cain responded, satisfied to see the flicker of a frown flash across his uncle’s face as he stared at Cain, whose smile turned into a grin.

"You don’t own me! You need me to remain sane because you need me! Who else is going to stop all the other Lords from rebelling against you while you slowly attack their territories?" Cain flippantly asked, still grinning, but the intensity of his gaze told a much different story.

"I don’t like it when my servants are threatened!" Cain continued, only to watch Eldric’s gaze become darker, laced with hidden fury.

"You’ve become much bolder! One would think you no longer need the medicine I alone provide!"

"You can’t blame me, Uncle! You’re the one holding a leash with trembling hands!" Cain said, gesturing at the dozen or so guards which Eldric had allowed to remain in the room during their conversation instead of sending them out.

"What do you expect? You attacked me the last time we met!" Eldric barked out, a look of absolute rage in his eyes as he said it, his hands balled into fists and teeth clenched as he spoke.

"You tried to kill the only person keeping you alive!"

"Well, maybe the leash was too tight, and I didn’t feel like being alive!" Cain coolly responded, a sly look in his eyes when he saw a flicker of surprise in Eldric’s eyes at his admission, even as silence settled between them.

"The potion still works, doesn’t it? Your beast only goes crazy for a few hours after midnight! It’s better than being unable to return to your human state!" Eldric told him, his eyes now completely devoid of any emotion as his gaze roved through every part of Cain’s body, almost like he was looking for something—something he couldn’t find.

"Finding the witch that placed the curse would be better!" Cain responded, only for Eldric’s gaze to darken even more, the sound of him tapping against the armrest becoming more vigorous than before as he leaned forward.

"That’s not why I called you here! I called you here because there’s someone I need you to kill! An example has to be made of him," Eldric said, and Cain had to stamp down the urge to sigh when he heard Eldric speak, already aware of who he was talking about.