Birthday Banquet: Prelude to a Storm

A soft sound came from outside the terrace, and a shadow flickered on the other side of the glass window.

Elaine returned to his usual expression and gently patted Shi Sheng, who was asleep, making sure the Omega was sleeping soundly.

The shadow was still moving, even tapping on the glass, though the sound was faint.

Elaine walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. He did not open the terrace door, merely stared at the shadow through the glass.

It was a strange beast. It looked like a wolf, but its fur was an unusually deep black, and it had exceptionally sharp fangs.

Its red eyes met Elaine's.

"Go back," Elaine said coldly. "Go find Lindsay yourself."

The beast ran off without looking back. It made no sound as it leaped off the terrace.

Two days passed after that. Before the Capital Police Bureau's investigation could yield any results, the Crown Prince's birthday banquet arrived first.

Early that morning, Lindsay came to Yumian's bedroom and watched him drink the medicine.

Yumian lay facedown on the sofa for a while, waiting for the beast ears atop his head to gradually disappear and his slightly pointed teeth to return to normal.

"Done." His voice was a little hoarse. "I'll definitely be normal today."

Lindsay frowned, a rare sight. "Can't you just not go?"

Yumian yawned. "A-Zhao personally sent the invitation. It wouldn't be good if I didn't go. Besides, I haven't shown up for two days. Wouldn't Shi Sheng get suspicious?"

"This isn't a good time," Lindsay said. "The full moon is already approaching, and you just had an episode."

"But I have you." Yumian said, "Anyway, that happened because I was in a bad mood that day. It won't happen today."

Lindsay asked, "What happened? Why were you in a bad mood?"

Yumian did not answer. He only complained, "You're still the one who cares about me. Unlike Big Brother—when I was like that, all he thought about was chasing me away, like he was afraid I'd disturb Shi Sheng's sleep."

"The head of the family is very attentive toward Sister-in-law," Lindsay said.

"Sure." Yumian shrugged. "I'm going to change."

"I'll bring some medicine for you to keep on hand," Lindsay said. "Izel is the only one whose condition has been stable lately. We should still be careful."

Yumian drew out a long acknowledgment.

The Crown Prince was hosting a birthday banquet. Although there was an opening dance, no one was required to bring a dance partner.

So among the Carlos brothers, Elaine accompanied Shi Sheng, while the others came alone.

Shi Sheng was still wearing that beast-bone collar today, and Yumian could not help glancing at it several times.

"Is it really that nice-looking? You wear it every day," he quietly complained to Lindsay. "It's all black."

Yumian's tastes were the extravagant sort. He simply could not appreciate what was beautiful about beast bones.

Lindsay smiled good-naturedly. "I don't really understand that sort of thing either."

Yumian looked at him. "You only know how to deal with the research institute every day. Of course you don't."

Lindsay rarely attended gatherings of the capital's nobility. He was only going today because he was worried about the other three.

His looks were already outstanding for a Beta, giving him the air of a kindly intellectual at first glance.

No one would have guessed he was the petty man Shi Sheng had previously thought would resort to underhanded tricks.

Suddenly, a weight settled on his shoulder. Lindsay looked up to see Izel draping an arm over him, yawning lazily.

Yumian glanced at his second brother. "I thought you weren't going today. You're never around."

Izel had not returned home for some time. Everyone simply assumed he was off indulging himself again.

The blond Alpha looked listless, his wolf-tail hair hanging weakly down the back of his neck.

He had been investigating certain matters lately, and this birthday banquet was one he absolutely had to attend.

Yumian suddenly remembered something and found it amusing. Leaning close to Izel, he whispered, "Don't tell me you're going to find Noah and do that... forced-love thing?"

Clearly, he had remembered the thoughts he had overheard from Shi Sheng before.

Izel smacked Yumian on the head. "You should worry about the old man first."

Yumian glared at him, then dragged Lindsay into the car ahead of them.

In another car, Shi Sheng saw the two brothers "messing around" through the window and turned to Elaine with a smile.

"They... have... such a good relationship."

Elaine glanced over, smiled, and said nothing.

Probably only Shi Sheng thought Yumian and Izel had a good relationship.

The two had argued from childhood all the way into adulthood, especially after Yumian's "curse" began to manifest.

Elaine remembered clearly that after Yumian first lost control and transformed into a beast, he had gotten into an argument with Izel for some unknown reason.

With tears in his eyes, the child bitterly asked Elaine, who had rushed over, "Why can everyone else's older brothers protect their younger brothers, but you can't even love me?"

"Is it because we don't have the same mother? But don't we have the same blood?"

"Or is it because I'm a monster? You don't want a monster for a little brother. I know it!"

At that young age, Yumian did not know that his two older brothers were monsters too.

Yumian received no answer then, and no one ever discussed that topic again.

The three Carlos brothers carried on like that, tacitly muddling through.

But tonight, they did have one thing they all cared about.

Elaine turned his head and saw Shi Sheng pressed against the car window, looking at the scenery outside. All he could see was the fluffy back of his red head.

"What are you looking at?" he asked softly.

Shi Sheng turned back with bright eyes. "Over there... an opening... performance."

By the time they spoke, the car had already gone far past it, but Elaine still played along. "Mm, I saw it. It was lively."

His gaze fell to Shi Sheng's neck, and he reached out to adjust the anti-bite collar for him.

"I'll stay by your side tonight," Elaine said in a low voice. "You don't have to talk to anyone you don't want to see."

Of course, for certain reasons, at least Shi Sheng's cousin would not be appearing at the banquet.

Shi Sheng nodded, then smiled again.

The birthday banquet was still being held in the imperial palace, though not in the ballroom used for the previous dance.

As usual, everyone's belongings had to be inspected upon entry.

But the people stationed outside the hall today were not palace guards. They were a group of Alphas in Capital Police Bureau uniforms.

Hovis leaned off to one side with a cigar between his teeth. Every so often, he lifted his eyelids to watch his subordinates carefully inspect the nobles.

Not far away, Yumian and Lindsay's car arrived first, only to be stopped at the entrance.

It was the first time he had been stopped for carrying a dagger, and he found it baffling. "I always carry this."

The Capital Police Bureau Alpha spoke in an official tone. "No weapons are permitted tonight."

"It's not a weapon." Yumian lied with wide eyes, shaking the ornate gemstone on the dagger. "It's only an accessory."

"If it has been sharpened, it is not permitted, Young Master Carlos."

Something in those words clearly struck a nerve. Yumian frowned as he examined the other man's badge and uniform, then said coldly,

"What if I insist on bringing it? Who can guarantee there won't be another accident like last time?"

The Alpha said, "It is precisely because there was an accident last time that we are here, doing everything possible to ensure everyone's safety."

Yumian was furious. With a flick of his wrist, the dagger left its sheath.

But before he could do anything, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his wrist, and the dagger slipped from his grasp.

The brim of Hovis's police cap was pulled low, making his entire presence seem dark and heavy.

"Young Master, what are you doing?"

Yumian looked at the approaching Alpha, coolly withdrew his gaze, and bent down to pick up the dagger.

"Yumian." Lindsay quickly grabbed him and whispered, "Bear with it. You've recently been..."

"I wasn't planning to do anything." Yumian straightened up and calmly glanced at Hovis before tossing the expensive dagger into his arms with a smack.

Yumian curled his lips. "You'd better keep us safe tonight."

With that, he walked away without looking back.

Hovis caught the dagger and watched him leave with a frown. "Damn temper."

Shi Sheng and Elaine arrived a little later. They did not know about the small incident at the entrance and only felt that Yumian looked rather unhappy.

Gentle, elegant music had already begun to play inside the hall.

A faint fragrance hung in the air, different from the perfumes used at previous dances.

Nearby, several noble ladies were discussing what kind of fragrance it was.

Many people were secretly watching the Carlos family. After all, it was exceedingly rare for all the brothers to appear together.

But before long, everyone's attention was drawn elsewhere.

The Crown Prince, Ning Zhao, slowly entered with his dance partner for the evening.

"So it really is him..."

"Looks like the rumors are true. We're really getting a commoner Crown Princess."

Ning Zhao still had the warmth of the morning sun. His gaze slowly swept across the hall, and with an elegant smile, he first thanked everyone for coming before wishing them a wonderful evening.

A noble familiar with him joked, "Your Highness, what are you saying? Naturally, everything will be wonderful tonight. Even this fragrance smells marvelous."

Ning Zhao seemed only then to notice that today's fragrance was different. Smiling, he said, "What a coincidence. I only just noticed too."

He turned to Noah with a gentle look. "Did you prepare it? You've worked hard."

Seeing them act so close in such a setting, everyone felt that this Beta truly was favored.

Noah smiled, but the hand looped through Ning Zhao's arm unconsciously tightened. "It was simply what I should do."

When we arrived earlier, I think I heard Viscount Deli's name.

Shi Sheng's thoughts suddenly entered the brothers' ears.

Elaine turned his head and saw Shi Sheng staring at Noah, his pale face expressionless.

Isn't that the old man Yumian eventually marries?

Yumian also turned, his gaze falling on the crowd.

I have a really bad feeling. Did seeing the Crown Prince enter with Noah make Yumian jealous? Is that why the plot will happen?

But where would Yumian get the medicine?

Let's watch discreetly. He really does seem a little unhappy.

The brothers all glanced at Yumian from different angles.

"..." Yumian held himself back and said nothing.

Forget it. No matter what, we have to watch out for Noah.

Even if Yumian doesn't make a move, that doesn't mean Noah won't cause trouble.

Yumian nodded in agreement.

Amid the crowd's laughter and conversation, the orchestra on stage began a new piece.

Ning Zhao took Noah's hand and glided into the dance floor. The banquet officially began.

Shi Sheng was still staring at Noah when a shadow suddenly fell before him, and he was enveloped by the Alpha's figure.

He looked up. Elaine's face was somewhat hazy in the backlight.

Yet he seemed able to see the gentleness in the other man's eyes clearly.

"May I have the honor of this dance?"

Elaine bent down and extended his hand to Shi Sheng.

Shi Sheng's heart pounded. Without a second thought, he carefully raised his hand and placed it in Elaine's palm.

At that moment, he forgot that he could not dance.

But what did that matter?

Halfway through the banquet, Izel noticed Noah was no longer in the hall.

The Crown Prince was surrounded by people, a flawless smile on his face.

Izel watched for a while, signaled Lindsay to keep an eye on Yumian, and turned to leave.

Noah hurried down the long corridor.

Izel slowly emerged from around a corner and held out an arm to block his path.

"Where are you rushing off to?"

Noah looked up in panic and could only see Izel's careless smile.

Lindsay took a dessert from the buffet. Just as he turned to speak to Yumian, he was bumped by a passing attendant.

The item in the attendant's hands hit the floor with a clang, spilling everywhere and splashing onto Lindsay's clothes.

"I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" the attendant hurriedly apologized. Lindsay waved a hand to show it was fine.

A strong scent lingered around his nose, and his gaze dropped to the floor.

"What is this?"

"It's the fragrance that was supposed to be replaced," the attendant answered.

The fragrance in the air grew increasingly intense.

Yumian waited outside the washroom, privately complaining that Lindsay had even called him over just to clean himself up.

But he also knew that Lindsay was probably worried he might run into the accident Shi Sheng had mentioned.

Still, everything seemed to be going fairly smoothly tonight.

Thinking that, Yumian paced back and forth in boredom, about to urge Lindsay to hurry up.

Disordered, sluggish footsteps came from ahead. Yumian turned his head.

He saw Viscount Deli, his face flushed bright red, staggering toward him.