Yehwa

The true blood, alpha, and theta stood silently as the king gave the two delegation teams their orders.

"Do not return until you have had an audience with the pack's alpha and obtained a response in consideration of the situation with the wolves from Black Moon. Understood?," the king commanded to each of the teams.

"Ae!" The leaders of the two teams responded respectfully as they bowed their heads in acceptance of the command.

"Good," the king stated before turning and exiting the hall.

Jae took a few steps forward to stand in front of the two delegation teams as the alpha left the King's Hall. The prince then turned to address the leader of the team whose destination was White Fang. "Estimated time to reach White Fang: nine days. Total distance traveled to destination: 615 miles north. You will cross over Eternal Dawn which spreads 415 miles. Acquire permission to cross Eternal Dawn's territory before proceeding. It will take you an estimate of two days to acquire permission; this has been factored into the travel time. Distance to White Fang's capitol from White Fang's border: 110 miles. Obtain permission before entering White Fang; this will take approximately two days. Estimated delegation time with White Fang: four days. Accounting return travel, total estimated mission time: 22 days." Jae paused when he had completed the mission's brief. "Any questions?" The true blood inquired as his eyes trailed over the team's members. When a few moments of silence passed, the prince continued, "Total mission time is liable for change as negotiations may take longer or may be faster than estimated."

"Understood," the leader of the team responded to the prince's information.

The prince nodded at the leader before turning to the team whose destination was Black Moon. "Estimated time to reach Black Moon: six days. Total distance traveled to destination: 315 miles east. It is 195 miles to Black Moon's capitol from the border. Estimated time to acquire permission: two days; this has been factored into the travel time. Estimated delegation time with Black Moon: four days. Accounting return travel, total estimated mission time: 14 days. You will depart for Black Moon in three days to arrive when Team 1 reaches White Fang. Any questions?" Again, the true blood paused to give members time to inquire on the details of their mission. When no questions came, Jae continued, "Total mission time is liable for change as negotiations may take longer or may be faster than estimated."

The prince then turned back to Team 1 and addressed them, "Be ready for departure in four hours. You leave at sunset."

"Ae!" The members sounded in unison as they bowed their heads.

"I will see you at the northern gate at 20:30," the prince stated before turning and walking toward the hall's exit. Yejin and Haikon nodded to the teams' leaders before following the prince out of the hall. The three remained quiet as they made their way to Jae's office.

"That was a nice brief," Yejin complimented the true blood as Haikon closed the door to the office, sealing the three friends away from the rest of the castle.

"Was it?" Jae returned as he sank into the chair behind his desk.

"Sounded quite professional," Haikon commented as he and Yejin sat in the two chairs stationed in front of the wooden desk.

The true blood let out a huff as his eyes trailed over the stacks of paperwork filling his desk. "Will there ever be a day when I don't have to do paperwork?" The prince exclaimed with an exhausted sigh.

"When you get mated," Yejin teased his prince. "Whaaat?" The alpha asked defensively with a bit of attitude when Jae gave him a side glare. "We're given a couple of days to acclimate to newly-wed life. I thought you knew that," Yejin added with a pouty face and slow blinks at the true blood.

"You know, for an alpha, you are awfully dull," Haikon said as he shook his head at the blue-eyed man sitting next to him.

"What?" Yejin mouthed at the theta as Jae began sifting through the endless papers piled on his workspace.

"Read the room, Yej," Haikon stated quietly as he patted the alpha on the back.

Yejin turned from the theta to look at the man sitting in front of him, his heart falling when he saw the sad look in Jae's eyes. The alpha pursed his lips as the theta stood to his feet, a small smile painting his pale face.

"Xander is whining for apples with peanut butter," Haikon told his friends as he walked to the back of the chair. "I am off to tend to my mate. Link me if you need anything," the theta said as he walked to the door.

"Tell Xander 'hi' for me," Jae responded as the theta reached the office's exit.

"Will do. Bye," Haikon bid as he walked through the door, shutting it on his way out.

Yejin leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes as the prince continued to sort through papers. The two remained in silence for a few minutes before the alpha's head snapped up. "*Inna is calling me," Yejin stated as he sat up straight.

"Better hurry. Inna's going to kill you if you're late," Jae warned with a smirk.

Yejin hurriedly nodded in agreement as he stood to his feet and scrambled to the door. "I'll see you at the gate!" The alpha called in farewell before rushing out of the office.

Jae let out a breath as he set down the stack of papers he had been going through and rested his elbows on the desk. The true blood ran his fingers through his midnight hair before continuing his work.

While the prince was working diligently in his office, the blue-eyed alpha was hurriedly making his way to the training yard just outside the castle. The alpha let out a short pant as he jogged onto the yard to see the luna's right hand standing toward the entrance with her sword strapped to her hip.

"You're late," Yehwa stated as she heard her brother approach her.

"You literally called for me five minutes ago, Inna," Yejin responded as he caught his breath. "What do you want?" The alpha inquired of the beta.

"Where's Estan?" The beta inquired of her younger brother.

"He's in Alia. Why?"

The beta furrowed her brows as she turned to face her brother fully. "Why is your mate in Alia?" Yehwa's tone was scrutinizing as she studied the alpha.

"He, uh, left when I was on the hunt for the unstable wolf and decided to stay for a bit to unwind and take a break." Yejin maintained a straight face as he lied to his sister. He could not afford for Yehwa to find out about Syri. Not yet, at least. Yejin knew that Jae wanted to keep Syri a secret from the royals for as long as was possible, and that included Yehwa since she was the luna's right hand.

The beta looked at her brother intensely for a few more moments before saying, "Let me know when he is back. I have something to discuss with him," before turning and exiting the yard. Several of the soldiers who were out practicing stopped what they were doing and promptly bowed to the beta as she walked passed. Yehwa was a renowned warrior and was respected by everyone except the haughty king for her impeccable combat skills and intelligence.

Yejin felt chills cover his body as he watched his sister walk away. Even after twenty-two years, the alpha remained in awe of his older sister. "I need to warn Jae. Inna is becoming suspicious," Yejin voiced to himself as he, too, exited the yard and made his way back to the prince's office.

Inna - term for older sister/female figure