King Darius was a hulking wall of muscle, standing at about 7 feet tall. His blonde hair was neatly parted and brushed to the side, matching the neatness of his clean shaven face. He was dressed in a suit, with the jacket having been forgotten elsewhere. His muscles were clearly outlined by the fabric, leaving little to the imagination.

To Aislinn, she could admit he was attractive; but, his eyes sealed the deal for her. They were a beautiful green, and she could imagine they'd light up if he ever smiled; although, she doubted he did. Instead, his eyes were cold and showed his caution, as if he was wary of everyone around him. She couldn't help but compare them to Ryan's eyes that were always sparkling with love, laughter and mischief. Those were the eyes she wanted in a mate, not this coldness.

Additionally, she couldn't handle his pomposity. Sure, he was King of the werewolves; but, the way he held himself was as if it was a gift to merely be in his presence. Given the fact that the trio believed he was to blame for many of Aislinn's hardships, she and Ryan were at best apathetic in the man's presence, while Rei appeared anxious.

King Darius was used to others admiring him, or desiring to please him. Upon entering a room, it wasn't unheard of for others to bow, or beg to help him with the most trivial of tasks. At minimum, he was used to a warm greeting before he was able to even utter a word. Upon entering Aislinn's hospital room, though, he was met with silence by the three wolves before him. Not so much as a hello!

Although confused, he found the experience almost refreshing. He hated when people hid their true feelings, or outright lied to him about their views of him. It always kept him guarded, and uncertain of those he could truly trust. With these three, though, he suspected he'd have no issues with them trying to suck up to him.

After the silence in the room stretched for an uncomfortable amount of time, the one who announced the King's arrival, his steward, couldn't take it anymore. "Why aren't you greeting his majesty?! On your knees, you peasants!" He spat angrily.

Ryan bristled at this, but his mother stepped between him and the King before he could respond. In a graceful move, Rei bowed her head respectfully to the King.

"Apologies, your Majesty. Your impending arrival was only announced to us moments ago, and we've had no time to collect ourselves. We appreciate your consideration in visiting my son's hospital bed" she said smoothly, keeping her head bowed and eyes lowered the whole time.

Aislinn and Ryan exchanged looks, unsure how to act. The duo hated the King, that much was true; however, they realized they'd have to follow Rei's lead to avoid being kicked out of the castle. So, barely hiding a grimace, Ryan stiffly bowed his head as well.

Darius raised an eyebrow, surprised by the lone wolf's eloquence. He looked from Rei to Ryan, and noted the younger wolf's stiff posture, which nearly had him smirking. Finally, his eyes landed on Aislinn, whose eyes struck him as no other word than beautiful. The colour, shape, and even the fire within them was striking to be sure; however, he was additionally struck by the boy's boldness.

Unlike most, Aislinn did not drop her head immediately when their eyes met. She held his gaze for a few moments before realizing what she was doing, then dropped her head in an awkward bow . She mumbled a flat, raspy "hello, your Majesty."

"That's enough" Darius said, waving the doctor and the steward away to indicate he wanted to be alone with the trio. The doctor, although surprised, merely bowed and backed out of the room. On the other side, the steward stuttered out his disbelief and disagreement.

"Majesty! Surely you don't mean to be alone with these...These...Mutts! They barely acknowledge you—" the steward was saying, practically begging the King to reconsider.

The King, irritated with his steward's typical desire to control him, snapped at the man before he could finish. "Are you implying that I, the Alpha of our pack, and Alpha to all Alphas, could not defend myself against these three mutts? Have you so little regard for my capacity as King as to doubt my intelligence, strength and sense?!" He yelled at the steward angrily.

The steward was basically trembling as he dropped to his knees in a bow. "No, my King! I would never think such a thing! I merely wa—" he began, trying to justify his concerns.

"Then OUT!" The King roared, pointing to the door.

With impressive speed for his position, the steward remained on his knees and bowing while scuttling backwards out of the room. As soon as the door clicked shut, the King returned his attention to his guests.

"Apologies" he said, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt a little while clearing his throat. "My staff mean well; but...They tend to overstep. It frustrates me" he said as a simple explanation.

Aislinn looked up at him in shock. That was his excuse for berating a concerned staff member so harshly in front of strangers?!

Ryan coughed to hide his snort; but, as was happening more frequently, his mother covered for him. "No apologies necessary, your Majesty. We cannot begin to imagine how stifling that must feel" she replied, still bowing.

The King returned his attention to Rei, inspecting her curiously. "Please, relax. You may look at me" he said to the room, noting that Aislinn had already released herself without regard for his authority. He let it slide, suspecting the teen had little experience with royalty as a lone wolf.

"Thank you, sir" Rei said, still not looking the King in the eye.

Not needing to be told, Ryan also relaxed without looking the man in the eye. Making eye contact with any Alpha was basically a challenge; however, to do so with the King was asking for a death sentence. Aware of the rules; but, finding that her hatred for this man ran too deeply, Aislinn once again met his gaze when his eyes returned back to her.

This caused the King to smirk a little, as he directed his next statement to her. "I am told you, a boy of fifteen, were able to single-handedly kill a vampire and protect one of my pack from certain death" Darius began, trying to stare Aislinn down into submissively averting her eyes. "Additionally..." he continued, pausing for good measure to allow her time to submit. When Aislinn didn't avert her gaze despite his usually-overwhelming dominance, he raised an eyebrow. "You do not submit to me."

Rei gasped and looked at Aislinn in shock, with Ryan quietly doing the same. Aislinn's eyes widened, and she immediately dropped her stare.

Darius let out a dark chuckle as he walked closer to her bed. "So, tell me, boy...Who are you? Why are you here? And are you a friend...Or foe?"