16 Dancing in the Crowd

"Do you mind to elaborate, Your Grace? How is me being your mate endangering my life? Does everyone suddenly want to kill me after I become your mate?" asked Melva in bewilderment.

No matter how Melva thought about it, she didn't understand why becoming a mate of a werewolf was dangerous. Mate was another word for spouse, right? She never saw a spouse as a weakness. If anything, spouse was a strength. In Vance's case, he needed her touch to go on living, which meant she was his source of strength, was it not?

"Oh, Melva! How dense are you to be unable to understand the reason?" Vance was getting impatient as he shut his eyes closed to take a deep breath and calm himself down. "I just told you that so many people want my position and they would do anything to achieve that. That also includes taking your life."

"Pardon me, Your Grace. I am not following. What do people achieve by killing me?" Melva was probably testing his patience at this moment, but she honestly didn't understand the correlation and Vance being vague in his answers just made it even more difficult for her to make sense of it.

"An alpha who fails to protect his mate no longer suits being an alpha," said Vance, finally saying something that she could understand. "I never had a mate before, so they never had an opportunity to take me down. They must be dying to kill you once the rumour of my marriage reaches their ears."

Melva widened her eyes in surprise and quickly nodded in understanding after she recovered from her shock. His strong refusal of their marriage now made sense. "All the more reason to get me a bow and arrows to protect myself. It must be difficult for you to fend off your enemies by yourself. Let me help. And your pack members will also lend a hand, right?"

Vance scoffed indignantly. "What made you think that they will not eye the position themselves? Who knows what they are feeling while they are under my command. They might despise me for all I know. I never trust them completely. You shall not as well. We are alone in this whether you like it or not."

The tension around them was palpable as Vance brought up how their situation was not favourable at all. The odds were totally not in their favours. At that moment, the worker of the tavern came over to their table to serve their food. With reality hitting her hard, she thought she would not be able to find their meal appetising, however, she was wrong. 

The roasted chicken that was served on a plate before her seemed so delicious that she gulped down her saliva. Her stomach was rumbling even if she had had too much food in the morning. The walk into the woods must have digested all that food already.

"What are you waiting for? Start eating before you embarrass us more with your loud stomach." Vance was already eating his chicken nonchalantly when she raised her head to see him.

Melva's cheeks blushed furiously at his words. She rapidly looked down again and fixed her gaze on the roasted chicken instead, too embarrassed to face him. Did Vance hear her stomach rumbling? Just how sharp his sense of hearing was? How could he possibly hear it in his human form?

Unable to come up with any words to counter him, Melva resorted to start eating her food and satisfy her hunger. She didn't need to give him any more reason to make fun of her. It was not polite that he would use his sharp hearing to listen in on the sound her stomach made. If he had any manners, he wouldn't mention it to her and purposefully embarrass her.

They were silent while they were eating, basking in the lively atmosphere inside the tavern to raise their spirits after the harsh realisation had dragged them down. Glancing occasionally at Vance, Melva caught him looking at the fun crowd downstairs with so much fondness she had not believed he was capable of. The Duke cared about the people in Nightwind despite his aloofness.

One of the townspeople downstairs suddenly looked up and his gaze fell upon Vance by the railings on the second floor, recognising who he was immediately. He stopped the bard from singing and directed everyone's attention towards Vance by announcing out loud.

"Duke Vance of Nightwind is here!" exclaimed the man while pointing his hand at Vance on the second floor. "Long live the Duke!"

"Long live the Duke!" shouted everyone inside the tavern simultaneously as they all stood up and bowed their heads in his direction.

With all eyes on them, Melva had no idea where to look, therefore she fixed her gaze on the table. She was concerned about what people would think when they saw her having lunch with the Duke. Her face was red from all the attention she suddenly got by sitting at the same table with Vance.

Vance also stood up from his seat and everyone was silent in an instant, waiting intently for him to speak. "Thank you for the warm welcome. Please don't mind us here and go back to what you were doing."

Unfortunately, the townspeople wouldn't leave Vance alone. The cheerful man who had been leading the crowd climbed up the stairs and asked him to join them downstairs, claiming it as his welcome party and it wouldn't be fun without his participation. Melva was quietly eating her food and trying to seem invisible, but she was noticed because Vance kept looking at her, silently asking her for help.

There was no way Melva would grant him that leisure to stay out of this. If she was given the opportunity to spite him, she would without wasting any seconds.

"Come on, Your Grace!" exclaimed Melva, faking her excitement as she stood up and encouraged him to do the same. "We have not properly celebrated your return to duty! Let us make use of this chance!" 

Although she was doing this to irk him, a part of her was eager to blend in with the crowd. The townspeople in Ichorhold had seen her as a freak and refused to come near her, therefore she was never in the company of so many people like this. Dancing amongst the townspeople was something she had never experienced. This was a win for her.

The lively man passionately nodded his head in agreement. "Listen to the lady, Your Grace! We shall have a little fun in the midst of our busy days!"

Vance sent a glare in Melva's direction before sighing out loud and nodding his head at the man who cheered enthusiastically when he did, causing the other townspeople in the tavern to follow suit. While they were heading downstairs, he grabbed her hand so firmly as though he never wanted to let her go. Whether it was because he feared to show his weakness of depending on her touch or he feared that someone might come after her to kill her. Or, he was worried that she might run away. How paranoid.

The bard began singing again at the cue of the overly-excited man, who seemed to be drunk now that Melva paid attention to his reddened face. Drinking in the broad daylight was always viewed as a bad thing in Ichorhold, so she was astonished to see it treated as a common thing here. 

The townspeople in Nightwind gave her the impression that they were wild and free. They were living their lives to the fullest. They were very much alive. That was something she set her eyes on. It was her goal in life.

Nightwind seemed to be a great place to live in. And then her eyes fell on the ruler of the region, who was walking by her side, greeting the townspeople he passed by while going towards the heart of the tavern where the dance took place. He must be such a commendable duke, for he gave them no worries in life. However, she had a difficult time believing it after observing him at a close distance.

The people formed a circle around Vance and Melva when they arrived, the bard singing nearby and playing his harp. They clapped their hands to the rhythm of the song and encouraged them to dance.

"I cannot dance," whispered Melva to Vance panickedly once they were escorted to the centre of the circle. 

She was not used to the attention, thus she was very nervous to be standing in the spot where everyone could see her clearly. Her eyes kept glancing at her surroundings to see how many people were fixating their eyes on her. And as the number was immense, she began to feel dizzy and her heart rate spiked up.

"Look at me, Melva," said Vance to distract her from the crowd. "And follow my lead."

Melva forced herself to stare into Vance's eyes and focus on them, letting Vance move her body along with his. One of his hands was on her waist and the other one was holding her hand. She could feel the touch of his hand on her waist and it was burning her skin—it was an indescribable sensation, honestly.

She had to slightly raise her head to look into his eyes, for he was taller than her—she was only as tall as his shoulders. Now that she had the chance to study his eyes from such a short distance, she realised how beautiful his eyes were. The blue was as clear as the sky and they were glowing like the moon.

The song the bard was singing was lively and Vance was making her dance at the same cheerful rhythm, yet she felt the time slowed to a stop as she was lost in the beauty of his eyes.

'How could there be such a beautiful man like him?' thought Melva in admiration.