The Cruel Prince of Wolves

7

"So, is this your idea somewhere else?" Ramona casts a glance at the forest. Trees tall as the castle towers rose to the sky, they stood side by side in rows like a wall of soldiers protecting a castle. Beautiful redwood trees, willows and pine forming a canopy of shade above. There are an assortment of wild shrubs scattered on the ground. It felt like she was transported to a different world.

She kicked the ground layered in old and newly fallen and rotting leaves, sending the bugs scattering for cover while Lucian crouched on the ground inhaling the fresh scent of the forest. His wolf spun in circles excitedly aching to be let out. He had to calm it down, as he instructed the majestic animal that it's not the right time. He promised that he'd do so later tonight when they could enjoy the run fully without any distraction.

This was one of Val, Renin, Lucian and Ramona's playgrounds inside the palace grounds. There were many of them but this is the area where they spent most of their free time together. Val, Renin, Lucian, and Ramona used to spend hours here getting lost playing and making believe.

"Did you bring me here to remind me of old times?" She asked, feeling a deep ache in her chest. It felt like it's been forever since she stepped foot on this side of the palace.

"I thought this place would make you feel better." Lucian replied. He had nothing but good memories here. "Give you time to calm down and think."

A deep sigh escaped her lips. What is there to think about? How to quietly murder a wolf prince and get away with it?

She took another look around and saw the ghosts of their childhood. Locked away memories spilled like a stream of water. This is where she and Val exchanged their first kiss when she was fourteen. It was a secret she dared not tell anyone. But what good are such memories when they bring nothing but pain and heartache? She recoiled at the thought of Val with his mistress on his lap.

"Is there anywhere else you'd rather be?" Lucian twisted around to meet her gaze gently, he was being exceptionally careful with his tone of voice, sensing her mood, feeling bad for her. "The old dens where our ancestors used to live are not too far from here." He doesn't recall Ramona stepping foot on the abandoned place before. Ramona was rarely let out of the palace for her own safety. It was too dangerous for a human to wander around in a kingdom full of werewolves who could murder a helpless human so easily.

She shrugged. "Sure, why not?" She's got nothing else to do and nowhere else to be and she's too angry to go back to the palace.

A smile stretched upon Lucian's full lips and reached his large calloused hand for her to take.

The den was nothing like she imagined. They're located inside a large cave high in the hill, a perfect safe haven for wolves to live and raise families. There were intricate channels of tunnels that lead to pockets where dens had been dug up. She craned her head up and saw streams of sunlight coming in from above. A flow of water can be heard from not too far away. A river must be nearby.

"Our history all started here." Murmured Lucian quietly. "Back when it was just one large pack. Now that pack has turned into a kingdom still led by the latest generation of the original Alpha. He's said to be blessed by the goddess of the moon herself. Luna had granted him the power to be stronger and larger than any of the werewolves. It is said that her blessing was passed down to his generation of descendants. They were all blessed and chosen to lead. Of course the entire population of wolves had grown so big that it became a kingdom and was broken into branches of packs governed by local alphas that answered to the King alpha, the highest of authority."

"Who would have thought Val is chosen and blessed." She laughed bitterly. She continued to assess the cave, mesmerized at the mere size of it.

Lucian smiled. "He really isn't that bad."