Chapter Twenty One

(Thane)

Emperor Thane Rhysling sat upon his thrown, it was steps higher than the actual palace floor, and on huge feather pillows, where his Harem women would sit seductively. It was tradition for Thane to have only the highest concubines of his Harem on display, when hosting such a large event. Thane's harem was the largest in all the realm, down the sides of the steps all around him, the beautiful concubines, finely adorned with jewels would perch. This was their night to shine and dazzle, most Emperors did not let their Concubines out of the Harem for any reason, but many Emperors were jealous men. They did not want other men lusting after what was theirs, Thane had no problem with this, none of these women were his favorites, or his wives. They were simply a distraction, flaunting them all like this, hopefully, would draw some of the attention away from the one woman, whom everyone's focus would be on. The one Omega that was in existence so far, there had to be more, they were just in hiding. Hiding very well, if no one had heard of one in thousands of years, he had Jubal looking into this matter. Celeste could not be the only one that survived and once he found the others, he would offer them his protection.

The palace itself is mostly white in color, with golden domed ceilings. The throne room is entirely clad in white marble. Alluding to the stone's luminosity, the throne itself in which Thane sat was shaped in the form of a Kripton. Thane himself was dressed in the softest cream material; his vest encrusted with the deepest red rubies. This was one of the few times he had sat upon the throne, it was not something that he felt comfortable doing, it felt wrong. Like somehow, he was betraying his late fathers' memory, he knew it was his job, was required of him…that still did not make it feel right. The sun was setting now, it beamed through the wide-open arches on the far side of the walls, his eunuch guards surrounded the room, incase there was to be an outbreak. With so many foreign rulers supposed to be gathered here, there was no telling what would happen. It was the first time in Vlallas history that so many men of importance would be meeting in one spot like this. It was a momentous day, one that his people would remember forever, stories would be told of what happened here.

Thane needed to make sure that everything ran smoothly, that there would be no declarations of war stated, nor threats headed in that general direction. This meeting was to show what he had, and he had to make sure that everyone here knew his intentions and that regardless of how Celeste felt, that she did indeed belong to him. It would be the only way to protect her, keep her safe. Celeste would need to trust him and put aside her wild independent streak for just a night, then she would be free to oppose him all she liked, he rather preferred her like that. The woman had a way of making him think, never letting him know what she was thinking, what she wanted. The little hell cat kept him on his toes that was for sure, just like last night. Thane had handled that situation poorly, he let his temper get the best of him, and he regretted that he was not able to discuss his plan with her like he had wanted. Celeste had no real idea of what to expect tonight, he had told his mother to inform her of what her duties were, but with Celeste one could never know what she was really thinking.

The knowledge that his fiery Omega had a mind of her own and could be rather reckless when she felt she was being pushed into a corner, had not been lost on him. Thane sighed inwardly, there were too many variables that were not accounted for and he did not like when the odds were not one hundred percent in his favor. At least they had the upper hand now, the meeting was taking place in his region, in his palace. The foreign Kings would have a hard time of it, if they wished to make a scene while in his home, on his land. No, if they felt betrayed or insulted, then they would more than likely wait till they left, and Thane would hear word of it later. War was not an uncommon thing, his father had his many shares of it, Thane had fought in a few himself. From an early age he was taught about battle, practiced with swords, and weapons of every type. His father had honed him into a very lethal man, though he would rather settle things peacefully if he could. The Vlallas army was one of the finest the realm had ever known, going up against them would be a fool's errand, though he had known Kings to go to war over far less. War for an Omega, that was a war that would be legend, and Thane did not know if he would have the numbers if all three Kings banned together to try and overthrow him.

Too many variables, so many decisions to be made, if tonight did not go perfectly, then Thane would be sending his Kingdome into war over a woman. Would it be worth it? To be known as the Emperor who let his city fall, because he was to stubborn to give over one woman. Even as the thought surfaced Thane felt himself push it to the back of his mind, Celeste was not just any woman. Celeste was an Omega and he was certain she was his Mate, he would go to war with a thousand armies, if it meant that he could keep her by his side. Gods forgive him for what he was about to do, he would rather Celeste hate him, then lose her.