Royal Wolf Box Set by Haley Weir
Chapter One
“You cheated!” Holly shouted at her brother as he caught up with her in their game of chase and managed to tackle her to the ground.
“I didn’t cheat,” Theo said. “I’m just better at this than you are.”
“You are not,” she protested.
Theo threw his head back and laughed.
“Oh yes, I definitely am,” he said. “And if we were in our other forms, I would beat you even faster at this game.”
“Hush,” their mother scolded as she came toward them in the hallway. “You need to mind what you say in these hallways. Honestly, you’d think at some point you would start acting more like young adults instead of pups.”
Cassandra may have been trying to scold them to protect them, but she loved her children so much that even her scolding sounded like no more than playful banter.
“Mom,” Theo said. “If you want me to hush about shifting in the hallway, then you might also want to keep your voice down about us being pups.”
Cassandra looked amused at her son’s warranted correction.
“Besides,” Holly said with an indignant tone in her voice at being called a pup, “we’re adults now.”
“Young adults,” her mother corrected gently. “And yes, you are. So please try to act the part, at least every so often.”
Theo laughed again, and Holly couldn’t help but join in. Their family was filled with love, and even Holly’s father, Rubius, who was not Theo’s father, was welcome as part of the family now as the human kingdom of Grenvich thrived under the rule of the royal family.
When their father also emerged in the hallway, though, Theo knew that the fun and games were over for today. Aeron had been pressing Theo to begin his training to be groomed for his role as heir to the throne someday. But Theo wasn’t looking forward to it. He preferred running wild to ruling tamely, and he dreaded the day that he would one day assume the throne.
Thankfully, since shifters lived an inexplicably long time, barring meeting death in any unforeseen incident, Theo wouldn’t have to worry about assuming the throne anytime soon. Still, Aeron liked to be prepared, and so he was on a mission to begin training Theo now that he had just reached adulthood. Aeron knew that Theo’s rash impulses (especially when it pertained to his wolfish side) were dangerously unpredictable, and he figured that the sooner he could help his son get his emotions and his duties under control, the better. Theo groaned when he realized that his sister would get to go run around on the castle grounds and possibly even into the forest with the other packs, while he had to stay confined to the castle and play at performing his princely duties.
“Come now,” Aeron said. “It’s not that bad. There are many young men in the pack that would give their tail to be a prince in the city.”
“Can I just give them my tail and trade places with them instead?” Theo said with a witty grin.
Holly laughed until Aeron shot her a look. He loved her like a daughter, and she loved him as if he were a second father, but she also respected his position as King of Grenvich and knew when not to cross him.
“No one wants your tail anyway,” Holly teased as she got ready to leave him to perform his required tasks.
Holly and Cassandra walked down the hall together until they were out of sight, leaving Theo standing in the corridor alone with his father.
“Can I at least get something to eat before we start?” Theo asked,
“Of course,” Aeron said as he smiled fondly at his son. “And maybe today, after we attend to a few things inside of the castle, we’ll go into the forest for a little bit as well.”
“Really?” Theo asked excitedly. The forest was his favorite place to be and shifting into his wolf form was his favorite thing to do.
Aeron nodded in response.
“There are things to attend to with the packs as well,” Aeron said.
“One day, will I assume leadership of the pack and replace you as alpha too?” Theo asked.
He wasn’t trying to usurp his father’s leadership; he was simply curious because the thought of having to be both king of a human city and alpha for a pack of wolf shifters seemed like a daunting task. Although it always seemed as though his father managed it with ease.
“That remains to be determined,” Aeron answered. “Pack leadership works differently among humans than being an heir to the throne works for humans. Here in Grenvich, simply being my son makes you the next in line for the throne. The humans are strange that way; most things are based solely on privilege. The hierarchy of the packs works differently. To be an alpha, you must earn your place.”
“How do you earn your place as an alpha?” Theo asked.
“Usually by challenging and killing the current alpha.”
Theo certainly had no intention of killing his father, so at least that was one duty that he likely wouldn’t have to assume. Although, if he were to have to choose between the two, he would have much preferred being an alpha to being a king.
Theo went to the castle’s kitchen to grab some food before heading out with his father. Being part wolf combined with being a muscular young male meant that he was hungry almost all the time. He was thinking about how he felt regarding fulfilling his future obligation to the throne and not watching where he was going as he walked in through the kitchen door and bumped carelessly right into Marquette.
Theo had known Marquette since the two of them had been children. And since the day Marquette’s mother was accidentally killed by a wolf hunter who was actually after Theo, the royal family had taken her in and given her a home inside the castle. Since no one really knew quite what to do with a human child back then, especially since they knew they couldn’t reveal who they really were to her, Marquette ended up just kind of assuming a place as a servant within the castle. She cooked and cleaned and tended to the needs of the royal family. But they always treated her more like a friend of the family than a regular servant. Marquette was happy there, and well cared for. She had been friends with Theo and Holly as the three of them grew up alongside each other and played together frequently as children.
But as Theo began growing into a man, the dynamic between he and Marquette changed. Instead of feeling like comfortable friends, Theo found himself being constantly distracted by Marquette anytime that she was around. He felt awkward, and because of that, he didn’t talk to her as much as he used to. He wanted to; he just felt inept at speech anytime he tried to open his mouth in her presence. But as much as he tried to brush it off, Marquette attracted his eye every single time that he saw her.
“I’m sorry,” he said, reflexively reaching his hands out to her waist to prevent her from being knocked down after he had bumped into her.
As soon as his hands touched her waist, he retracted them as if something had scalded his skin. He felt his face flush, and he hated it. He hated feeling out of control.
“It’s okay,” Marquette smiled at him. “Hi, Theo. I haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?”
Her voice sounded as though it could have been made out of honey: sweet, and smooth, and appealing enough to make him want to put his tongue against her words.
“Good,” he said, as he abruptly walked past her to grab some of the meats and cheeses that he saw sitting on a tray.
He was mad at himself for acting rude to her. He knew that he should have just stopped and turned around and smiled at her. They could have talked like they used to, and he didn’t have to act so cold and odd around her. But then he also realized that he couldn’t just talk to her, because if he tried to, then something else was sure to come spilling out of his mouth that he didn’t intend to say. Something like how much he desired to bury his face in the tangled strands of her long blonde hair as he made love to her. That was the reason that he had to just keep acting like a jerk.
“Ready?” Aeron said as he walked into the kitchen and smiled at Marquette when he saw her. “Hello, Marquette.”
She smiled and greeted him in return.
“Yes,” Theo said. He had never been so happy to see his father.
He grabbed another handful of meat and cheese and walked briskly out the open doorway into the halls. This was how it had to be between him and Marquette to keep himself from doing something stupid. The only problem was that their paths began to cross more and more frequently on the castle grounds, and it became harder and harder for Theo to ignore her presence.