[GRANT]
When Aurora had heard that Lord Lucius Dumont had come to the capital, she knew that trouble and uncontrolled anger had walked in through the front door of her grandson's establishment.
She knew it was the most dangerous of things that Grant would ever have to deal with, perhaps because of the way that life had changed so much for her grandson. It wasn't the easiest of things, and she knew he would spiral.
Eventually.
Aurora may have kept away from the politics of Acrod, but she was awfully aware that something was wrong. She had seen her grandson change so much that she never expected it to some extent.
Maybe at the end of the day, the storm that her dearest grandson was always running away from would always find a way to get to him, and he wouldn't have a way out unless he made the only rational choice then.
Grant would have to face it all.
Which was also why, when the door to her house was pushed open gently in the way that only her grandson ever could, Aurora knew trouble had finally knocked on the door. She knew that the past had to have something to do with this.
Even then, a part of her still hoped that, for the love of everything that she believed in, this present wasn't going to harm her grandson. She hoped that the universe was kinder.
But did Aurora not know how much of a devil her grandson had become, or was she just selectively oblivious of all that could ever happen then?
"Been a while since you came home, kid," Aurora said calmly as she sat on her usual wide chair next to the window, where the evening sun always did reach her in the best of ways.
She looked older than the last time Grant had seen her, but then time was something that they could slow. That was a reality that Grant had grown to accept. So maybe this was supposed to be normal.
Maybe this was supposed to make him understand that, at the end of the day, there would always be forces doing worse than they needed to and that life and love were not always going to mean the same thing on some days.
It was hard for him, but also because there was a chance that his grandma's aging fast meant that soon enough Grant would be left alone and there wouldn't be a soul on his side. Not even the king of Acrod, whom he had thought was always on his side.
Perhaps Grant was overthinking, but then, after all that they had had to face and deal with, was it any consolation?
"Sorry it took me so long, Grandma," Grant said as he walked over to her and kissed her cheeks softly.
Aurora watched her grandson, and she could see that the past few days had clearly taken a toll on him.
Grant was wearing the same face he had worn years ago, when the beast of the Midlands had rejected him, when the fates had taken everything that he had held for and gave him an omega in truth.
That was the face that had always horrified Aurora the most.
Because she knew that she was never going to be able to protect him from such.
The matters of the heart were always complicated, and anything Aurora had to say about that would never make it any better. But if that was so, maybe Grant wouldn't be coming to his grandma at every inconvenience that seemed emotional, right?
"I presume Cassius found a new way to test your patience and ruin your day, hmm?" Aurora asked casually.
It was like she already knew that there was only ever one person in the entire kingdom who had that much power over what Grant felt and showed. How Grant acted and how he responded to most things.
That was a lot of power to hand to someone, but then Grant was a warrior of Acrod. He was an enforcer of the king. Of course, most of the days would always be about his service to his kingdom.
Yet even that made him no exception to the trickery that came with the seat he was taking on. Gods, it was really a hard time for him, and he hoped that there would be better days.
Would Lucius Dumont really agree to that, though?
"Wedding preparations," Grant began dryly as he crossed over to the kitchen cabinet to get himself a drink.
At the moment, that was the only thing that would make the noise in his head calm down; anything that would make his life easier, even if that was just for a moment, he was desperate for a moment of peace.
And if drowning in his grandma's beer was the only way to get through this, then he would do it without question. Maybe just to pass the time, right? Or maybe to keep himself steady.
Because if he didn't do that…
If he hadn't come back to his grandma, he would be out there starting fights with a Lycan of Udrad who looked awfully familiar to Alanor Wynter, and who was also walking around like a reminder that almost had really left Grant and gone for Unar.
It was a harsh stab in the heart, but life was what it was for Grant, wasn't it?
"Well, you are the—" Aurora began, but her grandson interrupted her.
"He wants me in charge of the wedding. That whole fucking circus, grandma, and he doesn't want to listen to any objections from me," Grant said angrily, tucking his tongue like that was supposed to make him feel better.
Sadly, it wasn't helping him.
He had not signed up for shit like that.
But what the heck was he supposed to do when the king had lost his goddamn mind and was redirecting important resources to a wedding just because of a werewolf Lord who was here to seek justice for his father and find the answers?
Fuck it if Grant didn't regret not dealing with Lord Tristan Dumont well before. Because now he had to deal with that man's vicious devil of a son and had to prepare a wedding for him. What the fuck kind of fate was he being forced to run now?
"You're the custodian of the crown, kid. Of course, he would trust you with that. Besides, only you can show the entire realm what Acrod is and stands for. That is a good thing, if you ask me.
"So why in all that is in the realm do you look like the king asked you to make Acrod look like the moon goddess's floor?" Aurora asked calmly, like she really wanted to know what was bothering him.
And it annoyed Grant with how calm she was about all this, when life was falling apart, and the one person he could run to seemed to be agreeing with the king on the task he was given.
This was madness to him.
There was no other enforcer who was ever forced to run a wedding show like he had been forced. This was crazy, and someone needed to tell the king that Grant was the enforcer and he was built for wars, not floral arrangements.
Then again, was that something that had the guts to tell the king after the dismissal earlier?
"Because, grandma… they are coming."