King was yanked by the collar. "You have guts," the stranger spat, putting his face closer to King. "Do you think that I'm going to forget what you did before?" 

King clamped his jaw. "Hah. I thought you might with that narrow head of yours."

"You insolent shit."

"Hey, hey! Stop." Viviana pushed herself between the three, hoping to hose down the ensuing fire. Just then, a man wearing a raven mask and shouldering a heavy black fur coat above his suit casually walked into the scene while holding a glass of Shotgun, an intimidating mix of cocktails, on one hand. Kain.

"What's going on?" 

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the redhair's eyes immediately widened. He looked to where the alpha stood and took a step back, dropping his hold of King. The alpha walked in. "K-Kain. Look, I was only—" Kain pressed a palm on his chest, stopping him from speaking. The brunette instantly quieted and took a step back from his presence. 

"I apologize It seems like my companion here has been causing quite a scene," Kain said, though not sounding and seeming too apologetic as he implied with that slight grin on his half-shrouded face. An arrogant tug pulled on his lips. "But on the other hand, I do want to hear some apologies on your side, though, I did hear the 'mutt' part."

King and the others grimaced at hearing his accusation. Bloody liar, what mutt part? No one said that, nor anything even remotely close to that. King's scowl gradually deepened, even more when he realized that the gaudy man was directing his icy gaze at him out of all three of them. He felt Déjà vu... Then his eyes bulged.

Right. That mutt (chapter 5 reference). 

It was the night of the big event. Marius Albescu, King of the Leones pride, was finally turning sixty. Along with the celebration, they figured it was the best time to finally announce his eldest son's last steps in inheriting the title.

The Leones pride owned a prominent mansion designed in the baroque style with the gilded ceiling taking the guests on a journey back to the wealthy landscape of the 17th century. Extravagant chandeliers dominated the skyline, whisking the entire place into a golden fairytale. The entire area screamed regality.

King felt nostalgic. He had been in this place so many times already. And on every visit, it seemed like a new line of collections would be there to greet them.

King stood on one side, observing and listening while carrying a glass of champagne, a phantom gold mask donning his features. He raised the glass and took a sip, tasting citrus swirl on his tongue and down his throat. Wherever he looked, he saw splendid outfits and faces covered in sets of dramatic and sorts of bizarre masquerade masks. Despite the slight sense of security from the veil, he still felt uneased. 

The Lykaios pack. Just why exactly did the Leones— no, Marius, was interacting with them? 

King was thrown out of his thoughts when he heard the voices near him grow loud. He turned his head, and speaking of the devil, there was Marius. Marius wore a fine burgundy suit and a black mask contrasting his radiant smile. He greeted and entertained a group of guests at a table. King instantly recognized him because he had already met the man on many occasions. And that ornamented cane, it was just like an extra body part for the old man.

After a few moments, Marius finally declared his leave to the group of guests he was talking with. He then walked in the same direction as King, and their eyes accidentally met. The corners of Marius' lips curled up. King was able to stop his lips from curving the opposite way.

"Ah! King," Marius called. He had recognized the lad from earlier's greetings.

Ah, great. 

King turned his body towards the approaching man and reached out a hand. "Happy birthday, King Marius," he greeted. His gaze raked down to the cane the man possessed. It was embellished with ruby stones; one rock would have been worth months, at best a year, of their housing expenses back in Venice.

Marius received the gesture and shook his hand. "I'm pleased you are able to come back here after so many years. How many has it been again? Five, four?"

"Six, sir."

"Oh, is it already? How have you been doing?" Marius shortly trailed his fingers on the shoulder of King's coat, then gave his outfit a quick look. "What a fine suit."

"Surprisingly very well, sir. And thank you. A friend of ours had made my dress. Perhaps you have met him already. Aléxandros?" he said, looking back at Marius.

"Oh, yes. Good old Aléxandros. Please do recommend me to him. I would like to personally see his touches on garments."

King just nodded. He felt a bit irked. They have been recommending Aléxandros to him since he was little. It was Marius who did not really take the matter seriously. He preferred his private clothier.

"So, do you plan to permanently stay here?"

King held a chuckle, unintentionally finding the statement comical. "Unfortunately, no, King Marius. We are just awaiting Axel's ascension, and then we'll be making our way back to Venice again."

"Oh," Marius uttered. King felt uneasy by his displaced sparse smile and distant gaze. "That really is quite unfortunate," he said.

There was an awkward pause between the two. Their gazes went to the crowd. King took it as a moment to finish his glass. Or just did it to fill in for the void. He then reached the empty glass to an incoming server.

"Well, I hope you haven't turned impatient with these types of gathering. It does tend to get boring at times," Marius said.

King slightly smiled at him. "Do not worry about me, King Marius.”

Marius smiled back. After a few seconds, he pounded the sole of his cane on the marble floor thrice and threw his arm up into the air. “Well, have some more drinks then and enjoy the night. You never know. It might just be our last."

King faked a chuckle. He didn't know how to respond to that, so he just nodded again.

"I'll take my leave now then," Marius said, taking several steps. He grabbed King by the shoulder and patted him. "I hope you'll enjoy the party for tonight, King."

King tilted his head down as a sign of respect. "Thank you, sir," he said,

Both threw a simplistic smile at each other before Marius moved on his way, blending with the crowd. King sighed in relief. He hated socializing at parties and events, which was generally just a formal way for tell-tales and gathering gossip. But more than idle talks, King also didn't feel comfortable around Marius.

Suddenly, a figure stepped beside King. He looked over to his side.

"Seen them yet?" Pandora asked. She fixed her silvery dress and adjusted her white Venetian metal mask with a gloved hand.

King raked his eyes at the crowd again. There were the members of their pride, Leon, Hugh, Axel, and some other council members, mingling and conversing. King unintentionally scoffed when he saw his father flash smiles. That fake old bastard.

"Not yet,” King said. His sights landed back at Marius from afar, who had just gone up a level and into a door with his guards who followed close behind him.

"... Why do you think he invited them—"

"King? Pandora?"

King and Pandora froze when they heard someone address their name throughout the noise. They turned their heads and landed sights on a woman wearing an elegant jaded dress. Once she saw them, she squealed and ran toward them, holding her skirt up while waving her ivory-gloved arm. Her pace seemed to be unbothered by her high shoes. 

Pandora and King were wide-eyed when they were tackled into a hug.

"I'm so glad you guys came!" the woman exclaimed before releasing them. "It's so good to see you!"

Pandora and King kept their eyes fixed on her. After a few seconds, a bulb clicked. "Viviana?" King said. 

The woman laughed. "Yes! The one and only!"

Both Pandora and King's eyes rounded again.

"What's this?" came another voice, this time of a man. They all turned to where the other person was, then saw a man in a navy tailcoat, gardenia white trousers, and shin-length black boots. The man gasped.

"King!" Constantine exclaimed, his following squeal a constant teasing impersonation of his older sister's. Viviana gave him a dirty look. Constantine, however, ignored her and moved towards King, glass in one hand, his smile reaching his ears and his arms stretched wide open. However, before he could bolt King in his embrace, the latter blocked him with a firm palm on his face a second later.

"What are you doing, idiot?"

Constantine chuckled and plucked King's hand out of his face. "Such a touching reunion, isn't it?"

"Shut up, Stan." The unchanging stingy reaction from King made Constantine laugh, all the good memories crashing in at that moment. Along with Axel, Constantine had been one of King's closest friends when they were young. Although he was biologically a werecat, the man's character resembled that of a mischievous golden retriever who constantly loves to annoy the hell out of people, especially King, who always seemed like he was ready to throw hands at him any time. If anyone could defeat Douglas in being annoying, it was definitely Constantine.

King dropped his guard. It was a mistake since not even a second later, the other lad had lunged and locked him in a tight hug. King gasped.

"You old goof, I missed you!"

"Ack! Get off me, stupid!"

Constantine puckered his lips and drew his face closer to King, who, on the other hand, clenched his teeth and pulled his head back with equal force. His hands found their way to Constantine's neck, and he started strangling the giggling lad instead. This time, Constantine was the one trying to pry him off.

Viviana smirked helplessly and shook her head as she watched the two. They're still idiots. "Okay. Cut it out, you brats—"

Someone suddenly bumped into the two males, enough that Constantine's drink jumped out of its glass. The champagne splattered on the checkered marble floor, and the four immediately stepped away from it. Good thing Constantine had a fast reflex and had jerked the glass far away when it did; else, it would have landed on him and King. His hand wasn't saved dry, though.

King looked over his shoulder and then bore an unimpressed expression.

"What the hell, Vance?" Stan said with a dry chuckle. He scaled both his arms on his sides.

"Well, stir out the way, scums," Vance said.

With gritted teeth, King turned in Vance's direction, set to put someone's buttocks on the ground once again before Pandora grabbed his arm. She held him firm.

"Calm down. We're in a party," Pandora muttered.

Though reluctant, King listened.

Vance pressed his tongue against his cheek while looking and passing by them, then shot a smug disappointed smile at King's lack of reaction. Both of them had a stare-off. Vance then just scoffed before continuing on his way, his amused companions close behind him.

King clicked his tongue. "What the hell is his problem?"

"You better get used to that if you're staying here," Viviana huffed, "That's a typical event with Vance."

King snorted. Though intensely annoyed, he couldn't help but feel the tinge of bitterness inside of him. His anger, while staring at Vance, gradually turned blue. All he remembered of the lad were good memories from before. Now, it's like the Vance he knew didn't even exist. "... What happened to him?" King asked.

Constantine shrugged. "Well, you know his family and their ordeal. Messed him up real bad. And now Vance is just a disaster waiting to happen."

King didn't reply. He knew all about Vance's troubles before since the boy would come up to him every time his parents fought. He would go on and on, telling every little detail, which mostly consisted of something an adult could only understand. And even though King, most of the time, could be an imbecile before, he still became one of Vance's greatest comfort zones.

While caught in his thoughts, the noise suddenly changed into a different rhythm. Murmurings inaudibly occupied the massive room. King blinked, and he felt his heart perform a huge dive when he discerned the possible reason for the whisperings and the new addition of scent in the air. He turned his head towards the direction of the entrance, and then he swallowed. 

People poured in at the heavy doors. The Lykaios. They're here.