(Author’s POV)
Jacob’s words may seem like a genuine request, but the hidden meaning was clear to all the people sitting in the dining room.
Alaric held the glass. His grip on the Bordeaux glass tightened. He was barely controlling his temper.
But Brave was well aware of Jacob’s quirks and his carefree attitude. As he had received formal heir training, he had met Jacob more than any of his brothers. Noah used to take Brave with him when there was any meeting related to the peace treaty between the werewolves and vampires.
To diffuse the tension, Brave held up his glass and toasted, "To strengthen our friendship and take a step further in our relationship."
Jacob smirked, feeling amused as well as happy as he spoke, "Young Alpha, you make it sound so romantic, so poetic. But~ as you said, ... to strengthen the relationship between us, Vampires and the werewolves." And sipped his wine in leisurely.
Brave grasped his twin’s hand, gesturing to him to calm down.
Alaric was pissed. He didn’t like the fact that Jacob was threatening them so blatantly, and they weren’t even able to retaliate. He gulped down the wine as if it were water. The sweet taste had little to no effect on his bitter mood and thoughts.
Jacob laughed heartily and remarked, "Hahaha ...... Lycan heir, you seem to be quite energetic. Is the wine to your liking? Why don’t you have some more? I have a lot of these in my kitty. Matt, his glass is empty, serve him some more. Haha~ ... how good it is to be young and full of life, hmm. I like you." He grinned from ear to ear.
Alaric looked at Jacob as if he was some alien. To him, Jacob’s whole being was weird.
Dion sniffed and then tasted the wine and stated, "Mr. Larson, you seem to like drinking quite a lot, as you were having one even before we arrived. For a person your age, you seem livelier than any of us. Why don’t you give us, young ones, some tips?" His taunts were disguised as compliments.
"Tips? Me? No ...... no, it is nothing special, just the regular ...... blood dosage. Keeps me rejuvenated and alive," Jacob replied as he winked at Dion. He wasn’t offended at all. For him, this was all just child’s play.
The servers entered one by one inside the dining hall and started placing exquisite gourmet meals prepared by the head chef.
Within a few minutes, the nearly empty table was filled with aromatic culinary masterpieces and artworks, each one looking better than the previous one. All the dishes were made from premium ingredients and top notch products.
"This doesn’t look like a simple brunch," Elio mumbled under his breath, but it was audible enough for everyone to hear.
"I guess my chef overdid it a bit. He must have been really excited to serve such honorable people," Jacob replied casually and then added, "He is quite fond of throwing a feast and letting people try his dishes. Please do him the honors and enjoy the delectable dishes he has so thoughtfully prepared."
He then shifted his attention back to Dion, "Young Alpha Dion, I heard you were interested in art and sculptures. Umm~ ... I must say, I was quite surprised to know that. As werewolves tend to have a strenuous training regimen, and on top of that, you are even helping your father in his company. When do you even get the time to know so much about artworks? You even cracked a deal with that prestigious art gallery."
"It is nothing much. Just one of my interests," Dion muttered while having a piece of the juicy, plump shrimp.
"I heard you even acquired the most prized, ’Sanctuary of Glint’. Nobody could convince the artist, ’Dev-ine’, to sell the piece, as the person is anonymous and is quite hard to find. So, how did you convince him? Do you, by chance, know him personally? Is he an acquaintance?" Jacob questioned.
Dion felt a little uneasy with Jacob’s questions. Though he didn’t let it show on his face, he had an inkling that Jacob might know about the real identity of this artist named ’Dev-ine’. ’But how can it be possible? We have been quite discreet. Not even anyone from our pack knows that ’Dev-ine’ is your alias,’ Drey was confused as he stated.
Jacob tapped his glass to get Dion’s attention, "Young Alpha, what happened? If it is too hard to answer, that’s okay if you don’t."
"I don’t know him personally. It was by sheer luck that I got to know him, and we cracked a deal as our interests were aligned," Dion was quick with his answer.

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