The Greatest Showman?

[ACROD]

The Acrod throne room doors opened with a loud creak, alerting the king of his enforcer's precedence and that of the junior warrior. He had been expecting them but what he was met with was certainly nothing he would ever be able to figure out for a long time. 

The enforcer looked like he had been to hell and back, he looked like shit. He looked like losing his mate was the worst thing that could have happened to him. He was sweaty as fuck, and he reeked. 

He looked like he had taken a shower in the three days since Nour had apparently died. His hair was unkempt, his clothes tattered as if he had been torturing himself for the greatest loss of his life. 

His face was tear-streaked and his lips so chapped it was almost a pity. His eyes were so red like he had spent the entire day crying his heart out. He looked like a real mourner, and like someone who has truly lost someone. 

He looked worse than he had looked when almost had rejected him, and boy did Grant look like shit back then. Right now, the king almost felt pity for him. That just showed how good he was at showing up. 

Beside him, was the junior warrior who was helping him walk, seeing as the enforcer had a hunched back like he had spent all the time looking for Nour in their house. The enforcer was covered in ashes and boy did he look so terrible. 

This was definitely not what the mad king had expected. This was top-tier madness and as Delbert helped Grant into the throne room, the warriors who were there watched sadly. 

They could all feel and see the pain from Grant and it was a little too much. His pheromones were bitter as shit and they could almost hear the sound of his broken heart.

"Oh, goddess," the king let out softly, making sure that Grant had heard him. His tone had been so soft and defeated like he felt terrible for his greatest enforcer. Honestly, as an enforcer, Grant was a force to be reckoned with. 

He was one of the best out there and Record was no doubt blessed to have him. He was good at his job, so damn good that anyone knew to keep order just at the mention of the Acrod enforcer, but as a mate, he was the lowest of all scum in the realm. 

The King knew that Grant himself knew that too. But no one would voice it to the other. After all, today wasn't about judging the man who desired to be judged by the worst of the worst out there, right?

"M… my apologies sire. I…" Grant said before he broke into a fit of coughs, making Delbert look at him disbelievingly. Granted, they had planned for this, but the sheer audacity was making it a little hard for Delbert to put up with this shit. 

He could be with his Erasthai back in his house but he had to just be here with the shittiest man that ever lived. What the fuck was Grant playing at? Oh, this was sickening to the core, but Delbert knew that he had not seen this right. 

It had been this idea after all, so he couldn't let shit just go like that, he had to see this to the very end, no matter how much he wanted to strangle the enforcer at that moment.

"Easy there, Grant. Take it slow," Delbert said kindly and the king and the Lycan cringed at the tone the Lycan was using. This was not how their fates were supposed to be, but perhaps this was what they had to endure just to make it through to the next days, right? 

Surely it wasn't that hard for them, no? 

Well even then, it didn't make what Grant was doing any better. 

This man deserved a fate worse than death and every little thing he did right now was reminding Delbert to never show him any mercy, no matter what the man wanted to see in the future. He would suffer and Delbert would make sure of that.

"Damn. Grief is really something… here shot him at this table," Ferhat said in the kindest tone he could muster. He, just like the king and the Lycan, was trying his very best to not snap. 

He couldn't afford to mess up, because if he did, then he would have ruined the Lycan's plans and frankly, that wouldn't be fair. They all wanted Grant to suffer in the worst of ways and they would all see to it that it was a reality. 

But that wouldn't be easy to achieve if they meddled on the sidelines a little too much.

"Thank you, sire," Delbert said as he ushered Grant toward his seat. 

He held the enforcer's hand carefully as he guided him, making the king roll his eyes at the sight. However, thankfully, the king's face was not visible until Grant finally took his seat. 

Then, the candles in the throne room were lit up, making the throne room a warmer place. Even then, there wasn't anything that Grant Hindley was disgusting right now.

"What brings you here this late, warrior?" King Cassius asked like he didn't already know the truth about what had apparently happened to his son. He wanted to hear what kind of lie Grant would come up with this time. 

He wanted to see for himself what this would be about and frankly he was a little too curious for a man who had been bothered by the Grant's existence. The king only ever wanted to kill Grant. 

And it wasn't that hard for him. 

At least everyone in his inner circle knew that.

"I… forgive me, your highness," Grant began and Delbert stared at him curiously. 

The man could be an actor with the way he was so good at pretending; it was sickening. Then again, Delbert had himself to blame for encouraging the absurd to do this. Then again, this had to be done. 

He had to make sure that King Cassius hated Grant just enough to the point that he would never think of forgiving the enforcer just because he was the best in Acrod. This had to be done either way.

"Go on, warrior," King Cassius urged gently as he wanted to truly listen to what Grant was saying. It was almost like the king wasn't already thinking of his battered and bruised son who had been brought to him. 

The memory was burnt in the king's mind and he would never forgive Grant for what he had done to his little boy. 

His Cassius junior.

"I have come… to let you know of my mother's passing three days ago in a fire. I apologize for not coming to make a report sooner. I was trying to get around the specifics so I could know what caused the fire. 

"Please forgive me, for not being able to protect my mate, even when I am an enforcer of Acrod. I should have been there… I just… I didn't expect… I'm sorry," Grant said as he wiped the angry tears that were falling down his face. 

For a moment, Delbert wondered whether the tears were still fake and the shaking lips too. This was some top-tier performance for the enforcer if that was the case and Delbert wondered what else Grant had been capable of holding from them. 

This was more than nine had assumed and right now, life was a tad messy for them.

"I'm so sorry, sire," Grant said before he broke out into full-blown sobs with snot running down his nose. 

He looked messy as shit and even more disgusting. The entire time, the king was fighting the urge to kill the man, so before he could do something he wanted, the king spoke.

"You can take the warrior to his new chambers in the palace. We can talk later. A twelve-day mourning period will be declared in the horror of the enforcer's mate," the king announced and Grant stared at him sadly. 

It was almost believable that he missed his mate. 

And that he wanted to see Nour one more time. Perhaps that was a possibility that none here knew of, but with the man being so sinister that the fates despised him, it was hard to tell what was genuine about him or not.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Ferhat said as the king walked away from the throne room, leaving Ferhat and Delbert with the burden of dealing with the man they hated the most.

"My beautiful butterfly is gone, Delbert," Grant mourned.