At the end of it all, the physician wrapped the final bandage securely around Aries’s stomach and lifted his hands away with a slow exhale. He reached up and wiped the sweat from his forehead, his fingers trembling slightly now that the urgency had passed.
Aries still lay unmoving on the bed, his body frighteningly still. There was no sign of his eyes reopening, no flicker of consciousness returning, but at least his breathing had steadied sowhat. It was shallow, yet more regular than before, thanks to the tonics that had been administered repeatedly throughout the surgery.
Lucien stepped forward just as the physician rinsed his hands one final ti in the bowl of water prepared for him and began packing away his tools.
"So... how is he?" Lucien asked, his voice tight with restraint.
"When will he wake up?" the king added quietly.
At that, the physician froze. Only then did he realize, truly realize that the king was still present. Where had his manners gone? Panic flickered across his face.
He imdiately abandoned what he was doing and bowed slightly.
"Your Majesty," he said quickly, "he is currently out of danger’s reach. I have cleaned the wound thoroughly, sewn several ruptured arteries, and administered tonics to stabilize him. However... I am afraid."
"Afraid?" the king repeated, confusion lacing his tone as he waited for the explanation.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the physician replied.
His words were slow and deliberate, almost as though he wished to soften the fear he was about to plant. "Yes, he is out of imdiate danger, but his body temperature is far too low. He is excessively cold. I do not know if it would be too much to ask, but he requires a warm place or at the very least, warm clothing to help regulate his temperature."
At once, understanding dawned on the king’s face. He turned sharply to Kenzie.
"Kenzie," he called.
The beast, who shared many of the king’s traits and had been standing quietly by the door the entire ti, stepped forward at once.
"At your service, Your Majesty."
"Take a few guards with you," the king ordered, "and assist Consort Kiria in vacating her quarters. I recall her once saying her chambers are warm, perhaps even too warm for her liking. I believe she would not mind relocating elsewhere."
A ripple passed through the room.
The officials’ eyes lit up at the decree. Consort Kiria, the king’s favorite consort, or perhaps forr favorite consort to be was being asked to relinquish her most cherished quarters. Quarters everyone knew she adored which knowledge has sohow erased from the King’s head because of Aries. And all of it was for an unnad beast.
Whispers blood instantly, buzzing like insects trapped in hair.
’Had the king begun doting on a tiger beast? Or perhaps... not a tiger beast at all?’
The officials had originally co with matters of governance, but since the king had not formally dismissed court that morning before rushing out, they had been forced to follow him. Now, strangely enough, they did not regret it. This was far more intriguing than paperwork.
What they wished to know, what would fuel the palace rumors to their highest peak was who the injured beast truly was. Was he truly a tiger beast, as claid, and deserving of punishnt? Or was he sothing else entirely? Sothing unknown?
As Kenzie received the decree, a bitter realization settled in his chest. Killing Aries now to hurt Lucien would be nothing short of suicide. A suicide attempt he had no intention of making.
The king’s gaze had been sharp, deliberate. In one single command, he had revealed how important Aries truly was to him—a fact that baffled Kenzie even now.
It forced him to reconsider everything. ’Had killing Aries ever been a viable option? Especially now that the king acknowledged him after witnessing his human form, the form Aries himself had claid as his true one.’
Accepting the order, Kenzie bowed and stepped out of the room.
And with that, the palace began to murmur with words.
The mighty king of the Wolf Kingdom had ordered his prince to send his most favored consort packing for the sake of an unnad male beast.
The news spread like wildfire.
It beca the hottest topic circulating the palace halls, while Aries lay unconscious in his new quarters, stretched out upon a warm bed. Still, there was no sign of him waking anyti soon. The king tightened security around the chambers, making it nearly impossible for Kenzie to even consider attempting another assassination, should he wish to.
A few hours later, after everything had settled sowhat, Lucien could be seen seated beside Aries on the bed. He sat perched at the edge, gently wiping Aries’s body with warm water, careful and attentive with every movent.
After the relocation, Lucien had needed to ask his father for permission just to visit occasionally. The king had decreed that no one except selected maids and guards was allowed inside. He had officially declared Aries a special guest.
As Lucien cleaned him, his thoughts drifted back to sothing Roger had said earlier.
"It’s just like you said," Lucien murmured, glancing briefly at Roger beside him. "Humans are truly valuable."
"That isn’t even the full case," Roger replied thoughtfully. "When my father was still alive, he dedicated much of his ti to researching them. I rember it clearly. Your father was particularly interested as well. It wouldn’t surprise if he’d been researching them for years. Seeing one for the first ti would be enough to overturn everything."
Lucien hesitated, his hand pausing for a mont.
"So... does this an I might never get to love him the way I want to?" he asked quietly. "Never get to shower him with kisses because the king would want to claim him?"
Roger’s lips twitched. He summoned a straight face before replying,
"Well, I don’t think your father’s sexual orientation is bent."
The seriousness broke instantly, and Lucien couldn’t help but let out a breathless laugh.
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