Unsevered Ties

9. Mixing Breed

Chapter 9: Mixing Breeds

Aiden stared out at the two of them as they both stared back with a look of pure shock on their faces. He smiled politely as he waited. Riel had been right. It seemed news of his coronation hadn't reached too far yet. The blame partly lied with him for the lack of information. His kingly duties tended to fall behind other, more fun activities.

"What?" Sega spoke first, blinking slowly as he tried to wrap his head around the words. "King of what? King? Alpha? Of the Mountain Pack? The largest Pack in the Shashiva lands? You?"

"You're the new King of the Mountain Pack?" Rafeo's brows furrowed over his green eyes as he frowned and summarized all of Sega's valid questions of disbelief. "There's no way in- How can that be? We received no news that the King died." Hell, that was only the start of his spiral of questions. “How would you even… Why would you be-”

"Our two packs are not exactly on the friendliest terms, are we?" Aiden asked with an arch of his brows. "Would it surprise you to hear that we would not inform you of his death? What would we do if you wanted to wage a fight in the time of our grief?"

"Do you think we are that petty?" Sega asked, irritated at the reference to his pack's name. "And what we were and what we are now are two different things. It's been five years, Aiden. Certainly not long enough for a King to pass his title to a foreigner."

"Shouldn't that be King Aiden?" Aiden corrected, feeling a bit petty because of Sega's aggressive tone. He sighed, dropping the dramatics. No one could out-dramatic Sega. "Calm down, please, Prince, Your Highness. I mean no disrespect to your pack. I would say that you should know this, but apparently, I don't have the right to speak about this place in a familiar way anymore. It seems five years is enough to become a foreigner."

Aiden glanced from one to the other, standing there in their royal colors. Rafeo was clad in dark blue and green, and Sega wore white and gold. They both looked strong and regal now. He always felt in awe of the two, but being older, he felt confident in himself now as well, and their looks no longer intimidated him. "When I was sent away, I roamed the mountains for months, maybe even longer. Time stopped. The land was not kind, and neither were its inhabitants. To this day, I don't know if I would have survived if it were not for King Yusiel."

Aiden rose, a golden brown sash tied across his waist trailing over the floor as he walked to the tall, arched window to lean against the sill. "He took me in, and I quickly became his disciple... A little Field castaway becomes the prodigy of the Mountain King... I still don't believe my fortunes to this day. Goddess Fate was kinder to me than I deserved."

Aiden looked back at the two, "don't mistake my words as a lack of shame for what I did those years ago." He glanced away for a moment. "But that will have to wait. I'm hoping one of you might drop your Stony demeanor towards me and explain in your own time. The details of his passing aren't important to you. King Yusiel had no children and no immediate family to take over his throne. It was not in my immediate interest to become a ruler to anyone, as you've said, I was not born in the Mountain Pack. It was his last wish, and the Pack and Council stood by his choice, so I took on this responsibility."

Aiden left the window, crossing the room again to stand in front of the other two. "This may be abrupt, and I know that there are rules and procedures for these sorts of things. King Yusiel wished for the feud between our lands to come to an end. The Mountain Pack no longer has a need to push for border control over the river north of the mountains. As King, I'd like to offer your father an official peace treaty and a partnership."

Sega scowled. Everything Aiden said came out so abruptly that he didn't know what to say or feel. However, his duties in the absence of his father came before his personal feelings. He had to be Prince Sega right now, not some emotionally torn fool.