[THIRD PARTY POV]
"Gideon," the werewolf said to Gideon, as he swirled his tongue over Gideon's ears, making sure to blow slow breaths in his wake, while he let his tongue linger longer than it should have.
But then again, how long was he supposed to linger like that?
He wasn't holding Gideon; he wasn't even touching the man. Sure, their bodies were up close, but the warrior was working with his tongue and lips, as Gideon stiffened continuously, all with his hands still folded behind his back.
"Hmmm," Gideon subconsciously groaned, officially not giving a fuck about anyone that could have passed and seen them there.
Tomorrow he would be leaving this pace anyway, and the warrior would be with his mate in the future.
However, tonight was just about the two of them.
Grant took that as an invite to pepper kisses on Gideon's shoulders, gently unbuttoning his shirt, just enough to give him access to the warlock's broad shoulders.
His lips on Gideon's skin made the warrior feel so good, that he nibbled, sucked, and bit it, leaving beautiful marks. It was like he was making art on Gideon's skin, and the man wasn't even trying to object.
Gideon let Grant do whatever he wanted with him. He, after all, loved what he was feeling.
The sparks between them were undeniable, and maybe that could explain the intensity of their desires to bed each other. They knew the bed in the guestroom would do them more justice.
However, they also knew if they broke this, there was a chance they would never get to it again.
"Do I stop?" The wolf asked as he doubled on Gideon's jawline, sucking and blowing slow breaths each time like this is what he had been yearning to do since he saw Gideon. All this time, Gideon was responsive, giving him access to whatever he wanted.
Grant, then slightly bent down, just enough for him to have access to Gideon's Adam's apple which was popping up and down, a little too fast, a reminder that Gideon was beginning to get affected by the warrior.
"No," Gideon said, making Grant pause.
It was something that he hadn't expected, even though a part of him was thankful that this was happening right now, and that it was with his mate. Maybe he wouldn't have to make a run for the hills at the end of the day.
But was it ever going to be that easy for the both of them?
"No?"
"Don't stop," Gideon confirmed.
"You taste so divine," Grant said huskily in response as he trailed his tongue from Gideon's Adam's apple and back to his jawline.
Kissing Gideon seemed to be something that Grant had been waiting for, for a while, but he had been unsure whether the witch would like being kissed out of the blue like that.
However, now that he had the approval, he wasn't going to use it.
He peppered kisses on Gideon's nose, before settling on the corners of his lips, leaving slow agonizing kisses.
"Tell me, how shaky are the waters right now?" Grant asked as he peppered kisses over Gideon's face.
The warrior knew they both liked what was happening.
Grant had seen Gideon get violent with people today, and not once had the witch tried to push him away. Instead, he had responded to all the advances. That was a sign that what he was feeling, the witch of Greroth was also feeling too.
Maybe this was the time Gideon of Greroth had lowered his guard, but had he?
The warrior seemed to be waiting for Gideon's answer, but Gideon didn't even have the strength to respond.
If he did respond, then the warrior would know how much he affected Gideon, and that was something that Gideon wasn't going to let him know. So when the warrior kissed Gideon's eyebrows, the witch knew he had to be stopped.
"Stop," Gideon said, but it all came out as a moan. He wanted to hold the warrior back this time because he was losing himself and that wasn't okay.
Grant being here, and like this, wasn't a good sign.
Someone was going to get hurt and it definitely wasn't Gideon. The witch knew never to get attached to anything or anyone. And over the years, that had been his strongest suit, not that he was about to break barriers today.
That was just not going to happen.
Was Gideon alright?
He was startled by everything and how he still yearned for more, despite wanting Grant to stop. He wished there was a way he could make his body stop responding, but all that was going to be of no use to him or the warrior.
That was also why he wanted to give the warrior a chance to back out before they acted out their desires, which were very inappropriate, especially with what was going on.
"Yeah," Gideon said, his voice coming out as a moan, again, but this time, it was one that Grant was willing to drown in.
Gideon gently held the warrior's neck and slowly rubbed it, while his fingers laced the warrior's hair, almost like he wanted to kiss the living lights out of this man.
The witch of Greroth knew he was almost giving in, considering how hot his body was with desire.
He wanted to devour this man who had just brought himself to him. He wanted to kiss him till he dropped, and fuck the warrior till the whole of Acrod heard his screams, but he couldn't.
Not here.
Not now.
Definitely, not today.
He needed to practice self-control. He couldn't let himself wallow in his desires, not today.
Gideon knew Grant was not like the women of Greroth who he slept with whenever he wanted to. He didn't want to sleep with this warrior just because he could. He wanted to create a connection.
He was desperate for it, though he would never admit it out loud.
'Pull yourself together,' Gideon said to himself when Grant moaned.
"Gideon," Grant dragged, his voice husky and needy, almost like he wanted more.
He needed more, but maybe what he wanted today was more than Gideon was willing to give, because the young witch of Greroth pulled back instantly, like he had touched hot metal.
"Go sleep warrior, tomorrow awaits you," Gideon said dismissively, his voice cold and full of anger, as he walked away from Grant, leaving the poor man out there in the cold, almost like Grant had pissed him off.
Grant stood there in shock, unsure of what he expected of Gideon of Greroth.
Of course, the rumors had been true.
Gideon of Greroth never got into relationships.
Everyone knew he would sleep with anyone, male or female, old or young, anywhere, and everywhere.
"Gideon," Grant tried calling out to Gideon, but even he could tell that this was the end of the night. Sure, their interactions were limited, but they were interactions that the warrior was never going to forget.
"Maybe some other day, you will look at me, right?" Grant asked no one in particular, but he still hoped that somewhere in the distance, his mate heard him.
Maybe he would even come back to give him one more kiss, right?
But then just like everything that had been happening, that night was probably the last time they would be seeing each other as whatever they had had in the night.
Grant knew that too.
Besides, how else could a broken heart get even more broken, right?
By mid-morning, the leaders assembled in the conference room.
"Good morning," King Cassius greeted.
"Why did you wake us up this early," Zelina complained.
"You guys look like shit," King Cassius said and they all groaned.
"No shit, Sherlock," Zelina whined, as she leaned her head on the conference table.
"Delbert, Grant, give them copies of this accord," King Cassius said to his trusted warriors who were up for the task. They were efficient and that was also why they were here in this room, with the leaders of the midlands.
"Yes, Your Highness."
"You guys read through the accords. The contents are as we discussed yesterday. Anyone with objections can raise them so we fix the accords here and now," King Cassius said and the Midlands rulers looked at the scrolls in front of them.
King Cassius sat back, waiting to see what they would say, even though he wanted to laugh at them.
However, King Cassius understood them.
The midlands couldn't afford to lose more soldiers. The Lycan beast didn't care about anything other than the children. So maybe if they got the children out of the equation, they wouldn't have to deal with the beast again.
"It looks good to me," Zelina said.
"Me too. It covers all we talked about," King Edison added.
"Yup, not a complaint from me, now can I please go back to sleep?" Ulrike whined, and Gideon just laughed at him. Ulrike was tired, he needed all the sleep he could get, after fighting with the beast of the midlands last night.
"You look like you spent your whole lifetime without sleep, but you look worse than yesterday," Gideon said with a light laugh, almost like he and Ulrike had been doing something else last night or even during the day.
In response, Ulrike just pouted and went back to sleep, on the table in the conference room.
"So all we have to do is sign with our blood, yeah?"
"Yeah," king Cassius said as Delbert and Grant once again gave the rulers the small knives they would use for the treaty signing.
The blood treaties were binding forever, and even in the years after their extinction, they would still be in place. It was important that they all take part in this and all they could do was hope that their people listened.
"Do I also have to? I don't want to, besides, Mother dearest is here already on behalf of Greroth," Gideon argued and since no one wanted to argue with, or challenge him, they just nodded.
And so they spent the next hour discussing the treaty and how it would take effect.
The afternoon sun was high up in the sky, when the faction leaders had left Acrod.
Gideon and Criselda had been the last to leave Acrod, given that Gideon had said he still needed to catch up on more sleep.
However, before they reached the gates of Acrod, Gideon stopped walking, making Criselda pause too.
"Why did you stop Gideon?"
"I— I have to say goodbye to someone, Mother," Gideon said to Criselda, making her look at him, like there was something wrong with him.
Or maybe her son had finally found his link to humanity, the one link that could save his life and help him reform.
But had he?